[Senate Prints 113-21, Volume II]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress
2d Session JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT S. Prt.
113-21
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2011
VOLUME II--EUROPE AND EURASIA,
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
----------
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S. SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES FOR 2011
VOLUME II--EUROPE AND EURASIA, NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
113th Congress
2d Session JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT S. Prt.
113-21
_______________________________________________________________________
COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
PRACTICES FOR 2011
VOLUME II--EUROPE AND EURASIA,
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
__________
R E P O R T
SUBMITTED TO THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
U.S. SENATE
AND THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTIONS 116(d) AND 502B(b) OF THE FOREIGN
ASSISTANCE ACT OF 1961, AS AMENDED
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
85-286 WASHINGTON : 2014
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman
BARBARA BOXER, California BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire MARCO RUBIO, Florida
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
TOM UDALL, New Mexico JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
TIM KAINE, Virginia RAND PAUL, Kentucky
EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
Daniel E. O'Brien, Staff Director
Lester E. Munson III, Republican Staff Director
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American
DANA ROHRABACHER, California Samoa
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio BRAD SHERMAN, California
JOE WILSON, South Carolina GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
TED POE, Texas GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
MATT SALMON, Arizona THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina KAREN BASS, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
MO BROOKS, Alabama DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
TOM COTTON, Arkansas ALAN GRAYSON, Florida
PAUL COOK, California JUAN VARGAS, California
GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina BRADLEY S. SCHNEIDER, Illinois
RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY III,
SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania Massachusetts
STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas AMI BERA, California
RON DESANTIS, Florida ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California
TREY RADEL, Florida GRACE MENG, New York
DOUG COLLINS, Georgia LOIS FRANKEL, Florida
MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii
TED S. YOHO, Florida JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas
LUKE MESSER, Indiana
Amy Porter, Chief of Staff Thomas Sheehy, Staff Director
Jason Steinbaum, Democratic Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Letter of Transmittal............................................ ix
Preface.......................................................... xi
Overview and Acknowledgments..................................... xiii
Introduction..................................................... xvii
Volume I
Africa
Angola....................................................... 1
Benin........................................................ 18
Botswana..................................................... 28
Burkina Faso................................................. 39
Burundi...................................................... 51
Cameroon..................................................... 66
Cape Verde................................................... 85
Central African Republic..................................... 92
Chad......................................................... 110
Comoros...................................................... 123
Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................ 129
Congo, Republic of the....................................... 151
Cote d'Ivoire................................................ 163
Djibouti..................................................... 181
Equatorial Guinea............................................ 193
Eritrea...................................................... 204
Ethiopia..................................................... 218
Gabon........................................................ 237
Gambia, The.................................................. 246
Ghana........................................................ 259
Guinea....................................................... 273
Guinea-Bissau................................................ 286
Kenya........................................................ 294
Lesotho...................................................... 318
Liberia...................................................... 328
Madagascar................................................... 340
Malawi....................................................... 354
Mali......................................................... 367
Mauritania................................................... 377
Mauritius.................................................... 391
Mozambique................................................... 399
Namibia...................................................... 412
Niger........................................................ 425
Nigeria...................................................... 437
Rwanda....................................................... 466
Sao Tome and Principe........................................ 486
Senegal...................................................... 491
Seychelles................................................... 505
Sierra Leone................................................. 512
Somalia...................................................... 530
South Africa................................................. 550
South Sudan.................................................. 570
Sudan........................................................ 583
Swaziland.................................................... 604
Tanzania..................................................... 620
Togo......................................................... 639
Uganda....................................................... 650
Zambia....................................................... 665
Zimbabwe..................................................... 678
East Asia and the Pacific
Australia.................................................... 705
Brunei Darussalam............................................ 716
Burma........................................................ 724
Cambodia..................................................... 741
China (Including Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)................ 756
Tibet...................................................... 794
Hong Kong.................................................. 803
Macau...................................................... 816
Fiji......................................................... 824
Indonesia.................................................... 837
Japan........................................................ 857
Kiribati..................................................... 869
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of....................... 874
Korea, Republic of........................................... 884
Laos......................................................... 895
Malaysia..................................................... 906
Marshall Islands............................................. 934
Micronesia, Federated States of.............................. 940
Mongolia..................................................... 945
Nauru........................................................ 956
New Zealand.................................................. 961
Palau........................................................ 968
Papua New Guinea............................................. 973
Philippines.................................................. 982
Samoa........................................................ 1001
Singapore.................................................... 1008
Solomon Islands.............................................. 1022
Taiwan....................................................... 1029
Thailand..................................................... 1038
Timor-Leste.................................................. 1064
Tonga........................................................ 1072
Tuvalu....................................................... 1077
Vanuatu...................................................... 1082
Vietnam...................................................... 1089
Volume II
Europe and Eurasia
Albania...................................................... 1113
Andorra...................................................... 1123
Armenia...................................................... 1127
Austria...................................................... 1143
Azerbaijan................................................... 1151
Belarus...................................................... 1169
Belgium...................................................... 1196
Bosnia and Herzegovina....................................... 1203
Bulgaria..................................................... 1219
Croatia...................................................... 1231
Cyprus....................................................... 1247
Area Administered by Turkish Cypriots (Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus)........................................... 1261
Czech Republic............................................... 1270
Denmark...................................................... 1281
Estonia...................................................... 1288
Finland...................................................... 1296
France....................................................... 1305
Georgia...................................................... 1319
Germany...................................................... 1345
Greece....................................................... 1357
Hungary...................................................... 1371
Iceland...................................................... 1391
Ireland...................................................... 1399
Italy........................................................ 1406
Kosovo....................................................... 1417
Latvia....................................................... 1432
Liechtenstein................................................ 1442
Lithuania.................................................... 1448
Luxembourg................................................... 1457
Macedonia.................................................... 1462
Malta........................................................ 1478
Moldova...................................................... 1486
Monaco....................................................... 1505
Montenegro................................................... 1509
Netherlands.................................................. 1531
Norway....................................................... 1541
Poland....................................................... 1550
Portugal..................................................... 1563
Romania...................................................... 1569
Russia....................................................... 1585
San Marino................................................... 1614
Serbia....................................................... 1618
Slovakia..................................................... 1630
Slovenia..................................................... 1644
Spain........................................................ 1655
Sweden....................................................... 1665
Switzerland.................................................. 1673
Turkey....................................................... 1682
Ukraine...................................................... 1704
United Kingdom............................................... 1724
Near East and North Africa
Algeria...................................................... 1735
Bahrain...................................................... 1749
Egypt........................................................ 1767
Iran......................................................... 1784
Iraq......................................................... 1823
Israel and the Occupied Territories.......................... 1845
The Occupied Territories................................... 1858
Jordan....................................................... 1884
Kuwait....................................................... 1898
Lebanon...................................................... 1909
Libya........................................................ 1924
Morocco...................................................... 1940
Oman......................................................... 1956
Qatar........................................................ 1965
Saudi Arabia................................................. 1975
Syria........................................................ 1992
Tunisia...................................................... 2008
United Arab Emirates......................................... 2018
Western Sahara............................................... 2031
Yemen........................................................ 2037
Volume III
South and Central Asia
Afghanistan.................................................. 2057
Bangladesh................................................... 2079
Bhutan....................................................... 2100
India........................................................ 2107
Kazakhstan................................................... 2139
Kyrgyz Republic.............................................. 2157
Maldives..................................................... 2176
Nepal........................................................ 2188
Pakistan..................................................... 2204
Sri Lanka.................................................... 2233
Tajikistan................................................... 2254
Turkmenistan................................................. 2265
Uzbekistan................................................... 2277
Western Hemisphere
Antigua and Barbuda.......................................... 2295
Argentina.................................................... 2301
Bahamas, The................................................. 2314
Barbados..................................................... 2323
Belize....................................................... 2330
Bolivia...................................................... 2338
Brazil....................................................... 2349
Canada....................................................... 2364
Chile........................................................ 2373
Colombia..................................................... 2384
Costa Rica................................................... 2411
Cuba......................................................... 2421
Dominica..................................................... 2434
Dominican Republic........................................... 2440
Ecuador...................................................... 2458
El Salvador.................................................. 2473
Western Hemisphere--Continued
Grenada...................................................... 2487
Guatemala.................................................... 2492
Guyana....................................................... 2507
Haiti........................................................ 2516
Honduras..................................................... 2534
Jamaica...................................................... 2546
Mexico....................................................... 2559
Nicaragua.................................................... 2576
Panama....................................................... 2592
Paraguay..................................................... 2605
Peru......................................................... 2615
Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................ 2631
Saint Lucia.................................................. 2636
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines............................. 2642
Suriname..................................................... 2648
Trinidad and Tobago.......................................... 2656
Uruguay...................................................... 2665
Venezuela.................................................... 2672
Appendixes
Appendix A: Notes on preparation of Report................... 2697
Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights....................... 2705
Appendix C: Selected International Human Rights Conventions.. 2707
Appendix D: Description of International Human Rights
Conventions in Appendix C.................................. 2715
Appendix E: FY 2010 Foreign Assistance Actuals............... 2717
Appendix F: United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee
Country Resolution Votes 2010.............................. 2737
Appendix G: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights..................................................... 2743
?
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
Department of State,
Washington, DC, April 8, 2012.
Hon. John F. Kerry,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.
Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Secretary of State, I
am transmitting to you the Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 2011, prepared in compliance with sections
116(d)(1) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as
amended, and section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended.
We hope this report is helpful. Please let us know if we
can provide any further information.
Sincerely,
Michael H. Posner,
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor.
Enclosure.
(ix)
SECRETARY'S PREFACE
----------
The world changed immeasurably over the course of 2011.
Across the Middle East, North Africa, and far beyond, citizens
stood up to demand respect for human dignity, more promising
economic opportunities, greater political liberties, and a say
in their own future. Often they faced tremendous odds and
endured violent responses from their governments. The resulting
upheavals are still unfolding today in places like Syria, where
the regime has brutalized its own people. In Burma, after years
of repression, the government has taken preliminary steps to
allow reforms to begin. This year's Country Reports on Human
Rights Practices chronicle these dramatic changes and the
stories of the people defending human rights in almost 200
countries around the world.
Congress mandated these country reports more than three
decades ago to help guide lawmakers' decisions on foreign
military and economic aid, but they have evolved into something
more. Today, governments, intergovernmental organizations,
scholars, journalists, activists, and others around the world
rely on these reports as an essential update on human rights
conditions around the world--where we have seen progress, where
progress has come too slowly or at great cost, and all too
often, where it has been rolled back.
Our reports are founded on the simple truth at the heart of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights--that all people are
born free and equal in dignity and rights. Respect for human
rights is not a western construct or a uniquely American ideal;
it is the foundation for peace and stability everywhere.
Universal human rights include the right of citizens to
assemble peacefully and to seek to reform or change their
governments, a central theme around the world in 2011. As
President Obama has said, ``History offers a clear verdict:
Governments that respect the will of their own people, that
govern by consent and not coercion, are more prosperous, they
are more stable, and more successful than governments that do
not.''
In my travels around the world as Secretary of State, I
have met many individuals who put their lives on the line to
advance the cause of human rights and justice. In ways small
and large, they hold their governments accountable for
upholding universal human rights. Their courage and commitment
to peaceful reform are an inspiration. This report recognizes
their bravery and should serve as a reminder: The United States
stands with all those who seek to advance human dignity, and we
will continue to shine the light of international attention on
their efforts.
These reports are part of our broad commitment to promote
human rights. Every day, officials from the State Department,
the U.S. Agency for International Development, and many other
government agencies devote themselves to advancing human rights
as a priority of U.S. foreign policy. They champion our values
in every country of the world and stand up for the inherent
rights and freedoms of all people. I am honored to work
alongside them, and I thank them for their contributions to
this report.
On behalf of all of them, and everyone around the world
working to protect human rights, I hereby transmit the
Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
for 2011 to the United States Congress.
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
----------
WHY THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED
This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department
of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended. The law
provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 ``a full and
complete report regarding the status of internationally
recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A)
in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B)
in all other foreign countries which are members of the United
Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human
rights report under this Act.'' We have also included reports
on several countries that do not fall into the categories
established by these statutes and thus are not covered by the
congressional requirement.
In the early 1970s the United States formalized its
responsibility to speak out on behalf of international human
rights standards. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating
a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a
position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. Legislation
also requires that U.S. foreign and trade policy take into
account countries' human rights and worker rights performance
and that country reports be submitted to the Congress on an
annual basis.
How the Reports Are Prepared
The Department of State prepared this report using
information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign
government officials, nongovernmental and international
organizations, and published reports. U.S. diplomatic missions
abroad prepared the initial drafts of the individual country
reports, using information they gathered throughout the year
from a variety of sources, including government officials,
jurists, the armed forces, journalists, human rights monitors,
academics, and labor activists. This information gathering can
be hazardous, and U.S. Foreign Service personnel regularly go
to great lengths, under trying and sometimes dangerous
conditions, to investigate reports of human rights abuse.
Once the initial drafts of the individual country reports
were completed, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
(DRL), in cooperation with other Department of State offices,
worked to corroborate, analyze, and edit the reports, drawing
on their own sources of information. These sources included
reports provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign
government officials, representatives from the United Nations
and other international and regional organizations and
institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Bureau
officers also consulted experts on worker rights, refugee
issues, military and police topics, women's issues, and legal
matters, among many others. The guiding principle was that all
information be reported objectively, thoroughly, and fairly.
As has proven the case in the past, we anticipate that the
reports will be used as a resource for shaping policy;
conducting diplomacy; and making assistance, training, and
other resource allocations. They will serve also as a basis for
the U.S. government's cooperation with private groups to
promote the observance of internationally recognized human
rights.
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover
internationally recognized civil, political, and worker rights,
as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; from prolonged
detention without charges; from disappearance or clandestine
detention; and from other flagrant violations of the right to
life, liberty, and the security of the person.
Universal human rights seek to incorporate respect for
human dignity into the processes of government and law. All
individuals have the right to nationality; the inalienable
right to change their government by peaceful means; and the
right to enjoy basic freedoms, such as freedom of expression,
association, assembly, movement, and religion without
discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin,
or gender. The right to join a free trade union is a necessary
condition of a free society and economy. Thus the reports
assess key internationally recognized worker rights, including
the right of association, the right to organize and bargain
collectively, the prohibition of forced or compulsory labor,
the status of child labor practices, the minimum age for
employment of children, and acceptable work conditions.
As was begun with the 2010 reports, DRL has continued to
use hyperlinks to other key human rights documents produced by
the Department of State. Specifically, readers are asked to
follow hyperlinks for complete information on religious freedom
issues by consulting the International Religious Freedom Report
and the Trafficking in Persons Report. Additionally, the
Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child
Labor report is linked, as well as the several current
publications produced by the Department's Consular Affairs
Bureau on international child abductions, if applicable to the
country in question.
Within DRL, the editorial staff of the Country Reports Team
consists of the following: Editor in Chief Stephen Eisenbraun;
Office Directors Eric Falls, Randy Fleitman, Francisco
Gonzalez, Jeffrey Hawkins, John Kincannon, Mark Mittelhauser,
Susan O'Sullivan, and Brian Walch; Senior Editors Jonathan
Bemis, Sarah Buckley-Moore, Douglas B. Dearborn, Daniel Dolan,
Jerome L. Hoganson, Victor Huser, Patricia Meeks Schnell, Marc
J. Susser, and Julie Turner; Editors Naim Ahmed, Mitch Alva,
Pauline W. Anderson, Cory Andrews, Mary Angelini, Bob Bailey,
Chase Ballinger, Harold Bonacquist, Sarah Brooks, Laura Carey,
Elise Carlson-Rainer, Cornelius Cremin, Frank Crump, Sarah
D'Ambrisi, Randall Doyle, Mort Dworken, Rob Ehrmann, Ryan
Fiorsi, Karen Gilbride, Joan Garner, Carrie George, Jeffrey
Glassman, Jamie Gusack, Maxwell Harrington, Patrick Harvey,
Lauren Hayes, Caitlin Helfrich, Matthew Hickey, Brandon Hines,
Alexandra Hoey, Stan Ifshin, Simone Joseph, Mancharee Junk,
Gina Kassem, Yelda Kazimi, Katharine Kendrick, Orly Keiner,
Stephen Kopanos, Sheri Labenski, Kevin Martin, Stacey May, Cari
McCachren, Amelia Mitchell, David Moo, Sarah Morgan, Amal
Moussaoui Haynes, Sandra Murphy, Daniel L. Nadel, Aislyn
Namanga, Oyinkansola Oshodi, Doug Padgett, Blake Peterson,
Brianna Powers, Jessica Rodgers, Peter Sawchyn, Lisa Sherman,
Wendy Silverman, Magda Socha, Rachel Spring, Jason Starr,
Leslie Taylor, James C. Todd, Nadia Tongour, David Wagner,
Micah Watson, Andrew White, Helen Wong and Mareham Youssef;
Associate Editor Regina Waugh; Technical Assistant Corey
Martin.
INTRODUCTION
----------
On January 14, Tunisian president Zine el-Abedine Ben Ali
boarded a plane in Tunis with his family and departed for Saudi
Arabia. Twenty-seven days later, Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak resigned. After eight months of brutal attacks on
Libyans seeking peaceful change, Moammar Qadhafi was
overthrown. For the first time in history, the Yemeni President
transferred power through the ballot box. Forces loyal to
Syrian President Bashar al-Asad have committed heinous and
widespread human rights abuses against their own people since
March 2011, and yet the protesters have not been cowed.
These still unfolding citizen uprisings in the Middle East
and North Africa have sent aftershocks rumbling around the
world. Millions of citizens in many other countries have also
expressed their dissatisfaction with governments that fail to
deliver results to their people. Whether in grand movements or
small acts, people in countries around the world are standing
up and demanding their universal rights, dignity, greater
economic opportunity, and participation in their countries'
political future.
The yearning for change we have witnessed in Tunisia,
Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Syria is inspirational, and yet change
often creates instability before it leads to greater respect
for democracy and human rights. After decades of repression,
during which open political participation was not allowed, it
will take time to create diverse political parties, a robust
civil society, a climate conducive to freedom of expression,
and a transparent political culture. Transitions are times of
uncertainty. They can be chaotic, unstable, and at times
violent. And even when they succeed, they are rarely linear,
quick, or easy. The challenge during these transitions is to
keep societies open to political debate. Protecting human
rights and fundamental freedoms ensures that negotiations over
a country's future can take place without fear or intimidation,
and that anti-democratic forces do not snuff out genuine
political participation. As Secretary Clinton said, ``All
political parties, religious and secular alike, have to abide
by basic ground rules: reject violence; uphold the rule of law;
respect the freedoms of speech, religion, association, and
assembly; protect the rights of women and minorities; give up
power if you are defeated at the polls; and especially in a
region with deep divisions within and between religions, avoid
inciting sectarian conflicts that pull societies apart.'' If
these fundamental rules are violated, she warned, ``The victors
of revolutions can become their victims.''
In the turmoil of 2011, thousands of citizens were killed
across Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. Many
others were abused by security forces that used excessive
force. But the images of demonstrators who had seemingly lost
all fear, risking their lives to oppose governments they deemed
illegitimate, inspired people around the world. Even in the
most isolated places, the desire for greater freedom and
political and economic opportunity began to flicker.
The year 2011 brought remarkable changes in Burma, long
isolated because of the government's poor treatment of its own
people. In dramatic fashion, the Burmese government took a
number of bold steps to begin the long and difficult process of
political reform and reconciliation with those who have
struggled peacefully for freedom for decades. In last year's
report, we wrote about the dire situation of hundreds of
political prisoners who remained in jail in Burma, some of whom
had been imprisoned for decades for taking part in protests or
simply for reading ``subversive'' poetry. In October 2011, the
government released more than 200 of these prisoners. As next
year's country report will cover, in January 2012 the Burmese
government released 300 more, including some who had been
detained for many years, and allowed the National League for
Democracy to register and field candidates for parliamentary
elections, including party leader Aung Sun Syu Kyi.
Burma offers an example of a government moving towards a
model of greater openness, democracy, and liberty, attributes
that can lead to greater innovation, prosperity, and inclusion.
Much remains to be done to implement reforms and especially to
address the legacy of decades of violence against ethnic
minorities. But the size of the task ahead does not diminish
the excitement of these first steps, or the sense of
possibility they may inspire in other closed societies, such as
Iran, North Korea, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, or Sudan.
Several other countries also took important steps in 2011
toward improving their human rights records, although more work
remains to be done. In Colombia, the government worked to
address the climate of impunity with respect to harassment,
intimidation, and killings of human rights workers,
journalists, teachers, and trade unionists. Extrajudicial
killings declined in large measure due to efforts by the
government to stop such crimes. In Zambia, presidential,
parliamentary, and local elections held in September were free,
credible, and orderly. The incumbent president relinquished
power and accepted the will of the Zambian people. In Tunisia,
citizens held transparent and credible elections for a
Constituent Assembly, which in turn elected a former political
prisoner as the country's interim president. The country is now
rewriting its constitution.
Along with such hopeful developments, this report documents
a range of negative developments in 2011. A number of countries
became less free as a result of flawed elections; the
imposition by powerful leaders of less democratic
constitutional provisions; restrictions on the universal rights
to freedom of expression, assembly, or association, including
on the Internet; moves to censor or intimidate the media; or
attempts to control or curtail the activities of
nongovernmental groups. In Nicaragua, extensive irregularities
in the electoral process marked a setback to democracy and
undermined the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government
accountable.
Other disturbing trends in 2011 include continued
persecution of religious minorities, including, but not limited
to, Ahmadis, Bahais, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and
others. In many countries there was an uptick in discrimination
against members of racial and ethnic minorities; people with
disabilities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT)
people, all of whom were frequent targets of abuse,
discrimination, and violence. In some countries medical
personnel were harassed, intimidated, and arrested. Both
governments and opposition forces tried to prevent humanitarian
assistance from reaching civilians in dire circumstances.
Egypt and Kyrgyzstan held historic elections that were
deemed to be generally free and fair. Yet the elections in
these countries, as well as the standoff following the 2010
presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire, provided a poignant
reminder that elections are a critical but insufficient element
in genuine transitions to democracy and the rule of law.
Committed citizens in each of these countries continued to work
toward building the habits and institutions of democratic
governance, including a political culture in which electoral
losers understand they must cede power, and elected
representatives wield power fairly.
Overall human rights conditions remained extremely poor in
many of the countries that were spotlighted in our 2010 country
reports, including, but not limited to, Iran, North Korea,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Belarus, and China.
Several broader trends were prominent in 2011. New
connective technologies spread news of citizen activism, and
political change, around the world. People continued to find
innovative ways to use technology to break down the walls of
fear and isolation that undemocratic governments erected to try
to keep their populations quiescent. They used these
technologies to speak out against societal discrimination,
corruption, and restrictions on civil and political liberties
that are keeping them from enjoying equal rights, dignity, or
respect. Yet repressive regimes also used those same
technologies to spy on their own citizens for the purposes of
silencing dissent.
As we consider the implications of connective technologies
on human rights and democracy, we realize that technology
itself does not usher in progress on human rights. People do.
Technology can help people exercise their universal human
rights, connect with others across borders, and transcend time
zones and even language barriers. But technology is a platform,
not a substitute for political organizing, advocacy, or
persuasion. The Internet does not bring people into the street.
Grievances do. The Internet did not spark the Arab Spring.
Injustice did.
Because the story of how people express themselves,
associate with one another, and share ideas and opinions is
increasingly unfolding online, protecting and promoting
Internet freedom is a core priority of the United States. We
report on its status in the pages that follow.
We also report on the status of media freedom, which
remained poor in many countries and declined in others. The
year 2011 brought an increase in the number of journalists and
bloggers silenced to death or jail as they attempted to bring
news to the public. These reports also chronicle the many ways
in which some governments attempted to censor the media through
regulations or laws that are contrary to the universal right to
freedom of expression and opinion, and through harassment,
intimidation, or violence. In Ecuador and Venezuela, government
actions against independent media outlets had a chilling effect
on media freedom.
This year's reports highlight the treatment of marginalized
people, including LGBT people and people with disabilities. Too
many countries still criminalize consensual same-sex sexual
activity, and LGBT people face discrimination and violence in
many more countries. We continue to focus on other vulnerable
populations, including women and children. Domestic and
societal violence and discrimination against women continue to
be serious problems in many countries. Women and children are
often the first to suffer during conflicts.
In addition, we continue to monitor challenges to civil
society organizations promoting respect for human rights and
democratic transitions in their own countries. In last year's
Human Rights Reports, we noted a surge in efforts by repressive
governments to control and stifle independent non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). Over the last several years, more than 90
governments have sought to pass laws that hampered the ability
of NGOs to register, operate freely, or receive foreign
funding. In a number of countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia,
Malaysia, Algeria, Cambodia, and Russia, governments have
imposed or threatened greater restrictions on foreign funding
of these organizations, taken other measures that severely
hamper their operations, or sought to intimidate them or shut
them down completely. In many other places, the work of these
organizations is misunderstood, or actively misrepresented by
insecure governments that fear independent scrutiny of their
actions. These trends intensified in 2011, when we saw a sharp
escalation of official restrictions on the work of human rights
and democracy advocates.
As President Obama has said, societies change from within.
Civil society organizations lead that change by engaging
citizens in conversations about how people want to be governed.
These organizations spotlight human rights abuses, fight
discrimination, and monitor whether authorities are upholding
the rule of law. They speak out against the exclusion,
persecution, or hatred of vulnerable minorities, and document
where their societies fall short. By holding up a mirror to
society, they ask their governments and their citizens to do
better and to be better. In all of these ways, civil society
groups are the lifeblood of free and open societies, and they
are most vital in countries where democratic traditions and
institutions are just beginning to take root.
The events of 2011, as documented in these pages, remind us
once again that human rights and global security are
inextricably linked. From Tunis to Tehran, from Cairo to
California, from Moscow to Rangoon, citizens were ever more
interconnected and so were the interrelationships between their
freedoms, economic opportunity, and the security and prosperity
of their societies.
Around the world, we see that where human rights are
consistently abused or threatened, by authorities or by
criminal, sectarian, or other undemocratic groups that enjoy
impunity, the result is frequently political strife, economic
contraction, and destabilization that too often spills across
borders. In contrast, where human rights are respected, the
rule of law is enforced, and government actions are
transparent, societies are more stable and secure. People who
feel empowered to engage in the political process and who see
their rights respected are less likely to join extremist groups
that threaten domestic tranquility and international stability.
They gradually develop a greater trust of their government
and feel a greater stake in the success of the system. In this
way, respect for human rights builds political stability and
lays the foundations for democratization, economic growth,
shared prosperity, and enhanced global security.
This critical connection between human rights and national
security plays out repeatedly in the pages that follow. It will
continue to play out in the transitions to democracy occurring
in the Arab world and beyond. The people who took to the
streets to demonstrate in Tunis, Cairo, Tripoli, and Sanaa have
proven that change can come without turning to extremism. In
2011 we saw too many governments crack down in the name of
restoring order when their citizens demanded universal human
rights and a voice in how they were governed. These acts of
repression triggered more confrontation, more chaos, and
ultimately greater instability. The events of the year showed
that the real choice is not between stability and security; it
is between reform and unrest.
I want to add a word about the production of these reports.
Each year, they are prepared by human rights officers at U.S.
embassies and other posts around the world, working with their
counterparts in Washington, D.C. Each country team collects,
analyzes, and synthesizes information from a variety of
sources, including domestic and international human rights
organizations, other governments, multilateral organizations,
and members of civil society. Once the reports are drafted,
they are rigorously edited, reviewed, and fact-checked to
ensure accuracy and objectivity.
This year, we made the human rights reports easier to read
online. Readers can jump directly to topics of interest with a
new table of contents, share reports on social media, and
research topics across countries with the Build a Report tool.
Our goal is to allow readers to gather information quickly
across regions on the issues that most interest them.
We have also attempted to make the reports more accessible
to a broader spectrum of readers. Over the past 35 years, the
length of the human rights reports had expanded, even as
Congress mandated separate annual reports on the status of
international religious freedom and human trafficking. This
year, we have developed a streamlined format for each country
report. As a result, we do not attempt to catalog every
incidence, however egregious, of a particular type of human
rights abuse in a country. Rather, we spotlight examples that
typify and illuminate the types of problems frequently reported
in 2011 in that country. The mention of fewer cases in a
particular report should not be interpreted as a lessening of
concern for the overall human rights situation in any
particular country. Rather, our goal is to shed light on the
nature, scope, and severity of the reported human rights
abuses. For the first time, we have also added an executive
summary at the top of each report. We hope readers will find
these changes useful.
2011 Country Highlights
AFRICA
Internal conflicts in the East, particularly in the North
and South Kivu and Orientale provinces, continued to plague the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Human rights abuses were
committed by all parties to the conflict. Reported human rights
abuses included killings, disappearances, and torture. Rebel
and militia groups and some army units engaged in the illegal
exploitation and trade of natural resources in the east.
Foreign rebel and militia groups and some local militias formed
coalitions, battled government forces, and attacked civilian
populations. State security forces arrested, illegally
detained, raped, tortured, or summarily executed civilians and
looted villages during military actions against rebels.
Fighting in the East impeded humanitarian aid in some areas,
exacerbating an already severe humanitarian crisis that affects
some 1.7 million displaced persons. Impunity remained a
significant problem. The deeply flawed election in November was
accompanied by disappearances and restrictions on freedoms of
assembly, expression and movement.
Widespread human rights violations continued in Eritrea,
where the government is under the control of authoritarian
President Isaias Afwerki. The government forced men and women
to participate in the national service program from which there
were no clear criteria for demobilization, and persons worked
indefinitely in any location or capacity chosen by the
government. Security forces tortured and beat army deserters,
draft evaders, persons attempting to flee the country, and
members of certain religious groups. Harsh prison and detention
center conditions, which included unventilated and underground
cells with extreme temperatures, led to multiple deaths. The
government controlled all media. It reportedly continued to
detain more than 30 journalists, providing no information about
their places of detention.
In Ethiopia, the government continued to repress civil
society, including the media. The government arrested more than
100 opposition figures, activists, journalists, and bloggers,
charging several of those arrested with terrorist or seditious
activity. However, observers found the evidence presented at
trials to be either open to interpretation or indicative of
acts of a political nature rather than linked to terrorism. The
Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO law) continued to
impose severe restrictions on civil society and NGO activities.
As a result of the law, civil society activities have been
severely curtailed. The government also restricted access to
the Internet and blocked the websites of news organizations,
opposition sites, and blogs.
In Nigeria, a campaign of attacks by the radical Islamist
sect known as Boko Haram intensified during the year and
violence spread to more areas of the country. The group
committed bombings and drive-by shootings, assassinated
religious leaders, security personnel and politicians, attacked
police stations and banks, and conducted suicide bombings. In
Maiduguri, Borno State, shootings and bombings were a weekly
and sometimes daily occurrence, with violence also occurring in
neighboring states. In August, Boko Haram targeted an
international organization for the first time, bombing the U.N.
House headquarters in Abuja and killing 24 persons. The
government deployed the Joint Task Force, which committed
extrajudicial killings during attempts to apprehend Boko Haram
members. The April 2011 general elections were Nigeria's most
successful since its return to multiparty democracy in 1999.
However, postelection violence erupted in the north and in the
Middle Belt States, resulting in loss of lives, property
damage, and restrictions of movement.
The Government of Sudan continued to conduct aerial
bombardment of civilian areas. In Darfur, fighting involved
government forces, government-aligned militias, rebel groups,
and ethnic groups. These groups killed, injured, and raped
civilians, and used child soldiers. During the year violence
broke-out in the disputed border area of Abyei, as well as in
the Sudanese states of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile. The
violence in these areas resulted in widespread civilian
displacement and human rights abuses. Human rights abuses in
Sudan went unpunished and impunity remained a serious problem.
Parties to the conflicts obstructed the work of humanitarian
organizations and the United Nations. In addition, the
government also continued to crack down on journalists and
restrict freedoms of speech, assembly, association, religion,
and movement, and security forces continued to kill, torture,
beat, and harass suspected political opponents and others.
In Zimbabwe, the chronically bad human rights situation did
not improve. Despite a fledgling Government of National Unity,
the government remains mostly under the control of President
Mugabe's political party, Zimbabwe African National Union-
Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), which retains authority over the
military, police and intelligence services. These security
services continued to arrest, abuse, and torture non-ZANU-PF
party members and civil society activists with impunity. The
government infringed on citizens' freedoms of speech, assembly,
association, and movement. Executive influence and interference
in the judiciary remained a serious problem, and NGOs reported
that magistrates were promised farms and homes for providing
rulings favorable to ZANU-PF. In rural areas ZANU-PF
sympathizers used threats and intimidation against local
magistrates to gain favorable rulings.
EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
Burma took important steps to improve human rights
conditions in 2011, including the release of hundreds of
political prisoners and the adoption of a labor law that, when
implemented, can provide workers the right to organize and
strike. In November, following the adoption of a revised
political party registration law, Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy and other opposition parties were allowed
to re-register as legal political parties. However, significant
human rights problems persisted, including military harassment
and abuse of activists promoting human rights and democracy,
and denial of the rights to freedom of expression, association,
assembly, religion, and movement. The government detained
activists indefinitely and without charges and regime-sponsored
mass-member organizations harassed and abused them. Authorities
arrested, detained, convicted, and imprisoned citizens for
expressing political opinions critical of the government. The
government took initial steps in 2011 toward lifting some of
the longtime restrictions on the media. If implemented, these
measures would lay the groundwork for meaningful freedom of
expression in the country.
In China, the human rights situation deteriorated,
particularly the freedoms of expression, assembly, and
association. The government exercised tight control over
Internet access and content. Members of civil society,
including human rights activists, journalists, writers, and
dissidents, were harassed and detained. Public interest lawyers
who took cases deemed sensitive by the government faced
disbarment and the closure of their firms, and in some cases
were subject to arrest and detention. Activists, dissidents,
and members of religious minorities were denied the freedoms to
assemble, practice their religions, or travel. The government
stepped up efforts to silence political activists and resorted
to extralegal measures, including enforced disappearance,
``soft detention,'' and strict house arrest, including house
arrest of family members, to prevent the public voicing of
independent opinions. Abuses peaked around high-profile events,
such as visits of foreign officials, sensitive anniversaries,
and in response to calls for ``Jasmine revolution,'' protests.
In Tibet, at least 12 monks and nuns immolated themselves to
protest political restrictions and lack of religious freedom.
Vietnam's May elections were neither free nor fair, since
all candidates were required to pass vetting by the
authorities. The government severely restricted political
rights, including the freedoms of expression, assembly,
movement, and association. It also restricted access to
Internet content, and monitored bloggers. There were confirmed
reports of attacks against websites critical of the Vietnamese
government. Peaceful political activists were arbitrarily
arrested, detained, and sentenced to prison; those alleged to
have ties to foreign-based pro-democracy groups were particular
targets. And 19 people reportedly died in police custody,
including a man beaten while in detention for a traffic
violation. At year's end, the government reportedly held more
than 100 political detainees, although some international
observers claimed there were more. Independent nongovernmental
organizations were not permitted, and corruption was a problem
in the judiciary as well as at various levels in the police.
Prosecution of officials who committed abuses was inconsistent.
EUROPE
Conditions in Belarus remained poor following the flawed
presidential election of December 2010. Security forces beat
protestors and detainees, and there were credible reports of
torture. Trials were conducted behind closed doors or in
absentia with verdicts predetermined. Five of the nine
candidates who opposed incumbent Alyaksandr Lukashenka in the
presidential election were tried and convicted. Individuals
were detained for civic activism. For example, during the June-
September ``silent'' demonstrations organized via Internet,
police detained more than 2,000 people and sentenced many of
them to large fines or up to 15 days of administrative
detention. The government targeted for harassment
representatives of nongovernmental organizations, journalists,
and political activists following the presidential elections
and further restricted freedom of association.
In Russia, domestic and international monitors reported
significant irregularities and fraud in many regions during the
December elections to the State Duma, but also highlighted
unprecedented civic involvement by Russians committed to trying
to improve the process. There were large demonstrations in
major cities protesting the conduct of the elections. While
freedom of expression on the Internet and in some print media
continued, self-censorship and the government's ownership of
and pressure on some print and most broadcast media outlets
limited political discourse. Attacks on and killings of
journalists and activists continued. Individuals who challenged
the government or well-connected business interests sometimes
faced physical attack, harassment, increased scrutiny from
government regulatory agencies, politically-motivated
prosecutions, harsh detention conditions, and other forms of
pressure. In the North Caucasus, the conflict among the
government and insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal
elements led to numerous human rights abuses by security forces
and insurgents.
In Ukraine, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and 12
other senior members of her government were charged with abuse
of power and misuse of state funds during their tenure. Three
have been convicted, including Tymoshenko and former interior
minister Yuriy Lutsenko. Two others remain in custody, and the
former minister of the economy, Bohdan Danylyshyn, fled the
country and was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic.
Many domestic and foreign observers considered the prosecutions
to be politically motivated.
NEAR EAST
In Bahrain, mass protests began in February calling for
political reform and expanded civil rights for members the Shia
majority. The government imposed a state of emergency, or
``State of National Safety,'' from March 15 to June 1, during
which time military and civilian security forces committed a
number of human rights violations, including torture, arbitrary
detentions, limitations on freedoms of speech and association,
and lack of due process. Public employees were dismissed from
their jobs for participating in protests, and individuals were
prosecuted in both state security courts and civilian courts.
In July, the king established the Bahrain Independent
Commission of Inquiry (BICI), which determined that 13 Bahraini
civilians died at the hands of security forces and an
additional five as a result of torture. Individuals who
expressed critical opinions, including through music and social
media, faced arrest, were subjected to extended detention, or
prosecution. In its November 23 report, the BICI described a
``culture of impunity'' created by a lack of accountability of
security officials during the unrest. Over the course of 2011,
some political prisoners were released and some dismissed
employees were reinstated, but other prosecutions of
journalists, activists, and oppositions figures for their
alleged anti-government activities continued. After the release
of the report, the government began to take steps to implement
the recommendations of the BICI, such as allowing access to
prisons by the International Committee of the Red Cross,
establishing a process to address worker reinstatements in
collaboration with the trade union and employers, and
restructuring oversight mechanisms in the Ministry of Interior
and Bahrain National Security Agency.
In Egypt, massive street demonstrations culminated in the
February 11 resignation of President Hosni Mubarak and the
transfer of executive authority to the Supreme Council of the
Armed Forces. A March 2011 referendum for a new constitution,
and voting in parliamentary elections conducted from November
2011 through February 2012, were considered the freest in
decades. However, human rights abuses were rampant during the
uprising and continued after Mubarak's resignation. Attacks on
demonstrators by security forces and clashes among
demonstrators killed more than 900 people; female protesters
were subjected to harassment and so-called ``virginity tests,''
and journalists and bloggers were detained for criticizing the
military. Sectarian violence escalated over the course of the
year, with more than 90 people, primarily Coptic Christians,
killed in religious clashes. Few perpetrators of abuses were
held accountable.
The government of Iran continued to deny its citizens human
rights, including the freedoms of expression, assembly,
association, movement, and religion. It sentenced hundreds of
people to death and carried out hundreds of executions without
due process. It cracked down on all forms of dissent, arresting
and detaining activists, opposition leaders, lawyers,
journalists, artists, and academics. It executed juveniles,
tortured political prisoners, and detained more journalists
than nearly any country in the world. It limited the rights of
citizens to peacefully change their government through free and
fair elections, and also placed under house arrest for most of
the year the two leaders of the main opposition movement,
arbitrarily arrested their supporters, closed their websites
and newspapers, and harassed their families. The Iranian
government arrested, tortured, and prosecuted many for dissent,
including demonstrators who rallied in solidarity with
protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. It continued to mistreat
women, LGBT people, and members of ethnic and religious
minorities. Government officials made anti-Semitic statements,
and disproportionately targeted members of minority groups,
including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluchis, for arbitrary
arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. The government
also isolated its citizens by imposing severe restrictions on
the Internet.
Iraq's most significant human rights abuses included
reports of unlawful killings and violence, torture, impunity,
disappearances, and widespread corruption. Abuses were
committed by sectarian and ethnic armed groups and government-
affiliated forces. Both terrorist groups, principally Sunni,
such as al-Qaida in Iraq, and militant organizations, largely
Shia, committed attacks against members of other sects or
ethnic groups, security forces, places of worship, religious
pilgrims, economic infrastructure, and government officials.
Through suicide bombings, attacks with improvised explosive
devices, drive-by shootings, and other acts of violence, the
groups aimed to weaken the government and deepen sectarian
divisions.
In Libya, a revolution ended the Qadhafi regime, which
perpetrated systematic human rights abuses throughout its four-
decade rule and was also responsible for the majority of
civilian deaths and abuses during the seven-month conflict in
2011. Abuses were committed by various actors in 2011,
including after the conflict, and often with impunity. These
included disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary
arrests, abuse and lack of review in detention, and violence
and widespread discrimination against migrants and members of
some ethnic minorities. Following Qadhafi's death on October 20
and the takeover of his last stronghold in Sirte, the
Transitional National Council declared the country's
``liberation'' on October 23 and remained an arm of the interim
government engaged in transition planning. The interim
Government of Libya expressed support for the protection of
human rights for all people in Libya, but due to weak
institutions, limited capacity, and a lack of control over the
security environment, its ability to enforce the rule of law
was limited. Continuing violence, organizational dysfunction,
and corruption led to ongoing human rights abuses, particularly
in the areas outside government control.
In Syria, nonviolent antigovernment demonstrations began in
mid-March and continued throughout 2011. The government of
President al-Asad used indiscriminate and deadly force to quell
peaceful protests throughout the country and launched military
assaults on several of its own cities. Government forces
deprived cities of electricity, water, and medical services,
and restricted entry and exit for approximately 20 days while
using military weaponry on buildings, mosques, and other
civilian targets. Despite the regime's November 2 agreement to
an Arab League plan to engage in reforms and cease killing
civilians, it continued to use deadly force against peaceful
protesters. At the year's end, activists reported ongoing
arrests, torture, intimidation, rape, extra-judicial killings
and the use of military force against civilians. The government
attempted to stop the flow of information about state violence,
including by banning smart phones that had been used to
document state violence against civilians, including children.
Nonetheless, images of protesters allegedly being beaten,
arrested, and killed continued to be smuggled out of the
country and to appear on social media sites such as YouTube and
Facebook. As next year's Human Rights Reports will cover, the
situation deteriorated sharply early this year, with the
government waging massive military operations against cities
and towns, and laying siege to Homs and other cities. As of
March, the United Nations estimated that more than 9,000
civilians had been killed since the beginning of the
demonstrations. Efforts by the International Committee of the
Red Cross to provide humanitarian assistance and medical care
to besieged civilians were frequently thwarted by state forces.
The Arab Spring began in Tunisia in December 2010, when a
young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire in
front of the headquarters of the provincial government to
protest the confiscation of his goods by the police and the
refusal of local officials to hear his complaint. That action,
and the weeks of protests it sparked, ultimately toppled the
Ben Ali regime. On October 23, a Constituent Assembly, the body
that will draft a new constitution and appoint a new interim
government, was elected. The proceedings were considered free
and fair and marked the first open, inclusive, and truly
democratic election in Tunisia's history. Overall, the January
Revolution created an extraordinary opening for the protection
of human rights in Tunisia. Under Ben Ali's 23-year
dictatorship, human rights were systematically ignored. After
the Revolution, restrictions on freedom of expression,
assembly, and association diminished significantly. Exiled
activists returned, political prisoners were released, and
civil society and human rights activists pursued their work
without disruption or intimidation by the state.
South and Central AsiaAfghanistan experienced continuing
human rights challenges in 2011, including armed insurgent
groups' killings of persons affiliated with the government and
indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Corruption was pervasive.
International organizations documented cases of alleged torture
and abuse of detainees by the National Directorate for Security
and Afghan National Police. Violence and discrimination against
Afghan women and girls remained widespread, and in many cases,
the police did not respond to such abuses. Women active in
public life faced threats and violence and were attacked by the
Taliban and other insurgents. A political dispute continued
during the year over President Karzai's appointment of a
special tribunal, not envisioned in the constitution, to
adjudicate the disputed 2010 election results, until it was
resolved in accordance with Afghan law in August.
In October, Kyrgyzstan experienced its first peaceful
transfer of power in the republic's 20-year history. The
elections, in which Almazbek Atambayev, the sitting prime
minister, became president, were deemed generally transparent
and competitive by independent observers. Ethnic tensions that
had erupted in clashes in the south of Kyrgyzstan in 2010
continued in 2011, as did pervasive discrimination against
ethnic Uzbeks and members of other minority groups. Law
enforcement officers in the south reportedly committed such
violations as arbitrary arrest, mistreatment, torture, and
extortion against all demographic groups, but particularly
against ethnic Uzbeks. The central government's inability to
hold human rights violators accountable allowed security forces
to act arbitrarily, emboldening law enforcement to prey on
vulnerable citizens. Further, the weakness of central authority
empowered mobs to disrupt dozens of trials by attacking
defendants, attorneys, witnesses, and judges.
Pakistan continued to struggle with extrajudicial killings,
torture, and forced disappearances committed by security forces
and by extremist or separatist groups. These affected thousands
of citizens in nearly all areas of the country. Both militant,
terrorist, or extremist groups and security forces committed
human rights abuses. Religious tensions remained high. On
January 4, Punjab Governor Salman Taseer was assassinated by
his bodyguard because of his opposition to the blasphemy law,
which was used to clamp down on freedoms of expression and
religion. On March 2, Federal Minister for Minorities Shabbaz
Bhatti, the only Christian in the Pakistani Cabinet, was shot
to death. Bhatti also was an outspoken critic of the blasphemy
law. The political, sectarian, and ethnic violence that has
long plagued Karachi worsened during the year due in part to a
large influx of Sindhi, Baloch, and Pashtun migrants following
the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. Political parties and
their affiliated gangs vied for political and economic control
over these new populations. It was estimated that between 925
and 1,400 persons were killed due to sectarian and political
violence in Karachi between January and August.
In Sri Lanka, disappearances and killings pro-government
paramilitary groups continued, predominantly in Tamil areas.
There were persistent reports of close, ground-level ties
between paramilitary groups and government security forces.
Civil society activists, persons viewed as Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam sympathizers, and journalists were attacked,
intimidated or harassed by persons allegedly tied to the
government. Torture and abuse of detainees and poor prison
conditions remained a problem, and authorities arbitrarily
arrested and detained citizens. A number of suspects died in
detention under questionable circumstances. There was official
impunity for a wide range of such human rights abuses. The
president used his authority under the 18th Amendment, which
passed in September 2010, to take greater control of
appointments to previously independent public institutions that
oversee compliance by the judiciary and the police, and with
Sri Lanka's human rights obligations. A disproportionate number
of victims of human rights abuses were Tamils.
In Uzbekistan, the centralized executive branch dominated
political life and exercised nearly complete control over the
other branches of government. Security forces reportedly
tortured and abused detainees. Criminal suspects were denied
due process and fair trial. Religious freedom was restricted,
and religious minority group members were harassed and
imprisoned. Other continuing human rights problems included:
incommunicado and prolonged detention; harsh and sometimes
life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and
detention; restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, and
association; governmental restrictions on civil society
activity; restrictions on freedom of movement; restrictions on
the media; violence against women; and government-organized
forced labor in cotton harvesting. Authorities subjected human
rights activists, journalists, and others who criticized the
government to harassment, arbitrary arrest, and politically
motivated prosecution and detention. Government officials
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Western HemisphereIn Cuba, the government continued its
systemic repression of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including freedoms of speech, assembly, and association, and
imposed severe restrictions on the media. The government
strictly controlled all access to information. Human rights
advocates were detained arbitrarily with increasing frequency;
the number of short-term detentions doubled from 2010 to 2011.
The government continued to organize mobs intended to
intimidate opposition groups, particularly the Damas de Blanco
(``Ladies in White''). These acts of repudiation (``actos de
repudio'') were particularly aggressive in July and August, and
in October the government belied its claim that the mobs were
spontaneous by announcing that it would deploy them to prevent
the Damas de Blanco from marching peacefully. Government
officials and government-organized mobs detained, harassed, and
assaulted dozens of peaceful human rights activists,
journalists, and others to prevent them from marking Human
Rights Day on December 10. Almost 800 detentions were recorded
in December, a 30-year high.
Honduras had an extremely high murder rate, and crime and
human rights abuses continued at very high levels. As in much
of Central America, violence was perpetrated by gangs and drug
trafficking organizations, and was a significant problem. The
Honduran police force had deep-seated and unaddressed
corruption problems, and police officers targeted vulnerable
persons, including LGBT people. Four journalists were murdered.
On December 7, unknown gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed
former senior government advisor on security Alfredo
Landaverde. In the weeks preceding his death, Landaverde
alleged that the National Police leadership was linked to
organized crime and called for a clean-up. Police, vigilantes,
and former members of the security forces carried out arbitrary
and summary killings. The Honduran government established an
independent internal affairs office and an outside police
reform commission to address corruption in the National Police.
In the Bajo Aguan region, there continued to be reports of
killings of private security guards, agricultural workers, and
security forces related to a land dispute.
In Mexico, the most serious human rights challenges in 2011
emanated from the country's fight against organized crime,
which involved frequent clashes between security forces and
drug cartels, which function as transnational criminal
organizations (TCOs). Both TCOs and the gangs linked to them
battled for control of drug trafficking routes and markets.
TCOs remained the most significant perpetrator of violent
crimes in Mexico. They engaged in human trafficking and used
brutal tactics against citizens, including inhumane treatment,
murder, and widespread intimidation. TCOs had a chilling effect
on the media, executing bloggers who reported on their
activities and threatening journalists who criticized them. In
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, TCOs killed two bloggers in September
and posted messages on their bodies warning of retaliation
against anyone commenting about their activities on social
media. A third Nuevo Laredo blogger was allegedly beaten and
then killed in November, again in retaliation for posting
comments on the Internet about local drug cartels. In the
context of the fight against TCOs, but also at times unrelated
to it, security forces reportedly engaged in unlawful killings,
forced disappearances, and instances of physical abuse and
torture.
In Venezuela, there was an accelerating concentration of
power in the executive branch. President Chavez used a December
2010 law granting him broad authority to decree laws for a
period of 18 months without consultation or approval by the
elected National Assembly, to decree restrictions to
fundamental economic and property rights. The government also
took actions to impede freedom of expression and criminalize
dissent. It harassed and intimidated privately owned television
stations, other media outlets, and journalists throughout the
year, using threats, fines, property seizures, targeted
regulations, and criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Anti-Semitism colored official media attacks on opponents. The
government used the judiciary to intimidate and prosecute
political, union, business, and civil society leaders who were
critical of government policies or actions.
EUROPE AND EURASIA
----------
ALBANIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Albania is a parliamentary democracy. The
constitution vests legislative authority in the unicameral Assembly
(parliament), which elects both the prime minister and the president.
The prime minister heads the government, while the president has
limited executive power. On May 8, the country held nationwide local
elections, which the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) characterized as competitive and transparent, but
nevertheless highly polarized, due to mistrust between political
parties in government and in the opposition. Security forces reported
to civilian authorities.
Corruption in all branches of government, and particularly within
the court system, remained a serious problem. A highly polarized
electoral environment characterized by incidents of fraud and
controversial ballot counting undermined the right of citizens to
change their government freely. Police beating and other mistreatment
of suspects during detention and interrogation, sometimes to elicit
confessions, were also significant problems.
Other human rights problems included some cases of physical
mistreatment in police detention centers, domestic violence and
discrimination against women, child abuse, and discrimination on the
basis of ethnic minority status and sexual orientation and gender
identity. Cases of trafficking in persons continued to be reported.
The government did not always take steps to prosecute officials who
committed abuses. Many government officials enjoyed immunity from
prosecution, and those with powerful business interests often were able
to avoid prosecution. Some lower-level officials were punished for
abuses, but police impunity for physical abuse persisted.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year
there was one incident in which government security forces killed four
persons.
On January 21, Republican Guards shot at protestors during a
violent opposition demonstration at the Prime Ministry. Four protestors
were killed during the demonstration. The prosecutor general opened an
investigation into the killings. The investigation proceeded slowly. As
of year's end, no Republican Guards or government officials had been
indicted for their roles in the shooting deaths.
On January 25, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(COE) passed a resolution calling on the international community and
government, together with authorities in Serbia and Kosovo, to
``undertake measures'' to answer COE rapporteur Dick Marty's
allegations that the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and affiliates
participated in the detention in Albania of civilian ``prisoners of
war'' from Kosovo, who were held under inhumane conditions and
subsequently believed to have been killed between July 1999 and mid-
2000. A number of the persons killed allegedly were held at temporary
locations at Bicaq, Burrel, Rripe, and Fushe-Kruje, and had organs
removed at the time of their killings; their organs were trafficked out
of Albania for medical use abroad.
The EU Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) War Crimes Unit
maintained an open investigation into the Marty allegations. On
November 11, lead investigator Clint Williamson met with Albanian
officials to begin laying the groundwork for a planned three-year
investigation. The government publicly expressed its willingness to
cooperate with the investigation into the alleged crimes. The
investigation was ongoing at year's end.
During the year there were continuing reports of societal killings,
including both generational ``blood feud'' and revenge killings. Such
killings sometimes involved criminal gangs. According to the Interior
Ministry, there were five blood feud-related killings during the year.
Blood feud cases are tried by district courts. The law punishes
premeditated murder, when committed for revenge or a blood feud, with
20 years' or life imprisonment.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions; however,
police and prison guards sometimes beat and abused suspects and
detainees.
During the violent political protest organized by the opposition on
January 21 at which Republican Guards shot and killed four persons,
protesters provoked and assaulted some police officers. Some of the
police officers retaliated and severely beat protestors; dozens of
police and protesters were injured.
There were no reported incidents of rape or other sexual abuse
during arrest and detention or during institutional confinement.
The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) and the Albanian Human Rights
Group (AHRG) reported that police sometimes used excessive force or
inhuman treatment. The majority of the complaints involved unjustified
stops by police, detention past legal deadlines, failure to make
citizens aware of their rights when detained, and poor conditions of
detention centers. According to the AHRG, police more often mistreated
suspects at the time of arrest or initial detention. The AHRG reported
that abuse was more likely to occur in pretrial detention rather than
prison facilities. Roma, Balkan-Egyptians, and members of marginalized
communities, especially transgender and gay or lesbian individuals,
were particularly vulnerable to police abuse.
Police sometimes used threats and violence to extract confessions.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
widely between prison facilities dating from the communist period and
those opened after 1991. The facilities dating from the communist
period had inadequate sanitation, ventilation, lighting, health care,
and access to potable water. Access to modern medical care was not
always available in prisons. Some facilities lacked the appropriate
infrastructure and were overcrowded. Infrastructure conditions in some
of the police detention facilities were very troubling. The Ombudsman's
Office found corruption to be a serious problem in the country's
detention centers. Prisons opened after 1991 generally met
international standards.
At the end of November, there were 4,779 detainees in prisons and
detention centers, including 94 female prisoners and 123 juveniles.
There were no reports that authorities held minors together with
adults. Men and women were held in separate facilities, and pretrial
detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners.
Prisoners and detainees have the right to meet relatives, and
meetings can occur up to four times per month for adults and up to
eight times for juveniles. Prisoners and detainees are free to exercise
their religion, and some facilities have special places for religious
services. Prisoners and detainees are permitted to submit complaints to
the ombudsman. Every penal installation has a mailbox in which
prisoners and detainees are entitled to submit complaints without
censorship. The ombudsman reported that this service was functional.
The ombudsman position remained vacant from March 2010 until December
22, 2011, severely hampering the ability of the Ombudsman's Office to
carry out many of its duties.
Prisoners and detainees are also entitled under the law to submit
complaints to judicial and administrative authorities. Authorities
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented
the results of such investigations, although the results were not
always easily accessible to the general public.
The government allowed local and international human rights groups,
the media, International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as
international bodies such as the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture, to monitor prison conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law and constitution
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were some
reports that police occasionally arbitrarily arrested and detained
persons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Local police units
report to the Ministry of Interior and are the main force responsible
for internal security. The Republican Guard protects high-level state
officials and residences. The armed forces are mainly responsible for
protecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of
the country, with some additional tasks assisting the population in
times of peace, crisis, or war. The State Intelligence Service gathers
information and carries out foreign intelligence and
counterintelligence activities aimed at protecting the state's
integrity, independence, and constitutional order.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police,
Republican Guard, armed forces, and state intelligence services. The
government has mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption, but there were reports of unpunished abuse and corruption
within state security agencies. In some instances police impunity was a
problem. Despite improvements in law enforcement training and
management, police did not consistently respect the rights of citizens
and were not fully accountable to the rule of law. Police forces
participated in internationally coordinated training on detainee
rights. Visual aids outlining detainee rights and police
responsibilities were posted in several police stations and detention
facilities. Police launched a new database tracking tool that improved
accountability for detainees.
Police officers did not enforce the law equally, and an
individual's political or criminal connections often influenced
enforcement of laws. Low salaries contributed to continued corruption
and unprofessional behavior, which remained impediments to the
development of an effective police force.
During the year the Ombudsman's Office processed complaints against
police officers mainly on arrest and detention problems. The
Ombudsman's Office received and made inquiries into 2,029 complaints
during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution requires that a judge or prosecutor issue a warrant for a
suspect's arrest based on sufficient evidence. There were no reports of
secret arrests. The prosecutor may release the suspect or petition the
court within 48 hours to hold the individual further. A court must
decide within 48 hours whether to place a suspect in detention, require
bail, prohibit travel, or require the defendant to report regularly to
the police. In practice prosecutors requested and courts routinely
ordered detention in many criminal cases. However, courts routinely
denied prosecutors' requests for detention of well-connected, high-
profile defendants. The constitution requires that authorities inform
detained persons immediately of the charges against them and of their
rights. Police sometimes failed to do so. Under the law, police must
immediately inform the prosecutor of an arrest. There is not an
effective system for handling the monetary aspect of bail. Instead,
courts often order suspects to report to police or prosecutors on a
weekly basis. Courts must provide indigent defendants with free legal
counsel. This right was respected in practice and defendants were
generally informed of this right.
Many suspects are ordered to remain under house arrest, often at
their own request, because they receive credit for serving this time if
they are convicted. House arrest is not effectively monitored, and
suspects can freely move outside without being detected by authorities.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary detentions or false arrests occurred
infrequently.
Pretrial Detention.--At the end of November, there were 1,901
persons in pretrial detention centers and 2, 878 convicted persons in
prisons. Thus, pretrial detainees constituted 39.7 percent of the total
prisoner population. The law requires completion of most pretrial
investigations within three months; however, a prosecutor may extend
this period to two years or longer. The law provides that the maximum
pretrial detention should not exceed three years; there were no reports
that authorities violated this limit during the year. However, lengthy
pretrial detentions often occurred due to delayed investigations,
defense mistakes, or the intentional failure of defense counsel to
appear. Under the law, a judge cannot hold an attorney in contempt of
court to prevent such delaying actions by attorneys.
Limited material resources, lack of space, poor court calendar
management, insufficient staff, and failure of attorneys and witnesses
to appear prevented the court system from adjudicating cases in a
timely fashion.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, political pressure, intimidation,
widespread corruption, and limited resources sometimes prevented the
judiciary from functioning independently and efficiently. In addition,
court hearings are often closed to the public. Court security officers
routinely refuse entry to hearings and routinely call the presiding
judge in each case to ask if the person seeking admission may attend
the hearing. Some agencies routinely disregard court orders. The
politicization of appointments to the High and Constitutional Courts
threatened to undermine the independence and integrity of these courts.
On September 9, a remotely detonated bomb killed district court
Judge Skerdilajd Konomi in Vlore. The investigation into his death was
ongoing at year's end.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that defendants are presumed
innocent until convicted. The court system does not provide for jury
trials. Defendants have the right to consult with an attorney, and to
have one provided at public expense if they cannot afford one.
Defendants have the right to confront witnesses against them, and
present witness and evidence in their defense. Defendants have the
right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Citizens could appeal
decisions involving alleged violations of the European Convention on
Human Rights by the state to the ECHR after they had exhausted all
possibilities for appeal in the country's court system.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals and
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations;
however, courts were susceptible to corruption, inefficiency,
intimidation, and political tampering. Many court hearings were held in
judges' offices, which contributed to a lack of professionalism and
opportunities for corruption. These factors undermined the judiciary's
authority, contributed to controversial court decisions, and led to an
inconsistent application of civil law.
Property Restitution.--A large number of conflicting claims for
private and religious property confiscated during the communist era
remained unresolved. A 2010 European Parliament study found a lack of
human resources, constant turnover within the Office for the
Restitution of Property (ORP), failure to implement existing
legislation, and allegations of corruption hampered efforts to restore
property to rightful owners.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice; however,
there were reports that the government and businesses influenced and
pressured the media.
Freedom of Speech.--In general individuals could criticize the
government publicly or privately without reprisal, although there were
some exceptions. There were reports that some government employees were
required to attend government rallies during the election campaign.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and largely
unrestrained, although there were cases of direct and indirect
political pressure on the media, including threats against journalists.
At times political pressure and lack of funding constrained the
independent print media, and journalists reported that they practiced
self-censorship. Political parties, trade unions, and other groups
published newspapers or magazines independent of government influence.
The government controlled the editorial line of the public Albanian
Radio and Television, which operated a national television channel and
a national radio station and, by law, received 50 percent of its budget
from the government. While private stations generally operated free of
direct government influence, most owners believed that the content of
their broadcasts could influence government action toward their other
businesses. Business owners also freely used media outlets to gain
favor and promote their interests with both major parties.
Violence and Harassment.--There were incidents of violence against
members of the broadcast media during the year, and journalists were
subject to pressure from political and business actors.
On January 21, police personnel beat journalist Ened Janina,
political editor of the daily newspaper Shekulli, while he was covering
a political demonstration in Tirana. According to Janina, a prosecutor
initiated an investigation and received Janina's testimony shortly
after the protest, but he was never summoned again to testify. The same
day, reporter Fatos Mahmutaj was grazed by a bullet that killed a man
standing on the media riser. Mahmutaj claimed on several television
shows that the bullet wounding him and killing another man came from
Republican Guard soldiers. Mahmutaj reportedly received several death
threats after his public statements and left the country days after the
protest. In the spring, Mahmutaj was granted political asylum in
Belgium.
Reporter Artan Hoxha aired footage of the January 21 protest that
allegedly showed how one of the protestors died. Hoxha stated that four
days after the broadcast, unknown men handed his 10-year-old son at
home an envelope that contained three bullets.
There were no reports of any specific government action to preserve
media safety or to ensure the individuals who attacked journalists were
prosecuted.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists continued to
complain that publishers and editors censored their work either
directly or indirectly in response to political and commercial
pressures. Many journalists complained that their lack of employment
contracts frequently hindered their ability to report objectively and
encouraged them to practice self-censorship. Broadcasters and
publishers complained that the government distributed its advertising
based on favorable reporting rather than viewership or readership.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The law punishes libel with a prison
sentence of up to two years and a fine. In November two
parliamentarians filed libel cases against reporters. Both cases were
ongoing at year's end.
In 2009 newspaper publisher Mero Baze was sued by appellate court
judge Zegjine Sollaku for libel. The Tirana District Court ruled in
favor of Baze. However, Baze claimed that in September 2010 the
appellate court, without notifying Baze or his lawyer, ruled that he
should pay Sollaku 10 million leks ($91,500) in moral damages and
Baze's newspaper company should pay Sollaku 5 million leks ($45,750).
Baze appealed the ruling to the High Court, which reportedly failed to
inform Baze about their ruling upholding the lower court decision
before initiating collection procedures.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
In-country Movement.--Internal migrants must transfer their civil
registration to their new community of residence to receive government
services and must prove they are legally domiciled through property
ownership, a property rental agreement, or utility bills. Many persons
could not provide this proof and thus lacked access to essential
services. Other citizens lacked formal registration in the communities
in which they resided, particularly Roma and Balkan-Egyptians. The law
does not prohibit their registration, but it was often difficult in
practice to complete.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. Under the
law, there is no time limit for requesting asylum, but the government
must make the decision regarding granting asylum within 101 days of the
initial request. The government generally complied with this time
frame. The government actively cooperated with the UNHCR, which
provided assistance to refugees.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Temporary Protection.--The government reported there were no
refugees seeking temporary protection during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On May
8, the country held nationwide elections for mayors and city councils
that the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission characterized as
``competitive and transparent'' but ``highly polarized, with mistrust
between political parties in government and opposition.'' The Central
Election Commission's (CEC) decision to overturn initial results in the
mayoral contest in Tirana was widely perceived to be partisan and
undermined confidence in its independence and impartiality.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The law mandates that women
fill 30 percent of appointed and elected positions, and the electoral
code provides that 30 percent of candidates should be women. However,
not all parties followed the electoral code. There were 23 women
elected to the 140-seat parliament in 2009, an increase from nine in
the previous parliament. These included the speaker and one woman in
the Council of Ministers.
Civil registration requirements and lack of identification among
the Roma population made it difficult for many of them to participate
in the May 8 elections. Some Roma candidates were elected to local
offices. International observers reported attempts to influence
illiterate Roma voters. There were no Roma elected to parliament nor
serving in ministerial or subministerial positions. Several members of
the Greek minority served in parliament and in the executive branch in
ministerial and subministerial positions, including as the minister of
labor.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Corruption in the executive branch was widespread and pervasive.
The education system remained corrupt, and officials sometimes required
bribes from students for them to matriculate or pass examinations.
Doctors and other medical personnel frequently demanded payment to
provide what should have been free government services. As in other
sectors, high-profile defendants usually were found not guilty, even in
the face of overwhelming evidence. While numerous low and mid-level
officials were prosecuted and often convicted for corruption,
prosecuting higher level officials remained problematic.
The government prosecuted corrupt officials and managed complaints
regarding corrupt police through the ombudsman and the Internal Control
Service of the Albanian State Police. However, broad immunity
provisions for judges, members of parliament, and other high-level
officials prohibit not only prosecution but any use of investigative
measures, hindering the government's ability to prosecute high-level
corruption.
The government's task force against organized crime coordinated
anticorruption activities. The prime minister headed the task force,
which included several ministers and heads of independent state-owned
agencies, such as the public electricity company, and representatives
of the police and intelligence organizations.
The joint investigative units to fight economic crime and
corruption (JIUs) are multiagency units that investigated and
prosecuted public corruption and other financial crimes. The JIUs
continued to bring cases in numerous sectors rife with corruption.
The law prohibits government ministers and their close family
members from owning a company directly tied to their official
responsibilities. Since its inception in 2003, the High Inspectorate
for the Declaration and Audit of Assets (HIDAA) has received assets
declarations from officials. During the year HIDAA sent 16 cases to
prosecutors for further investigation and facilitated the resolution of
210 conflict of interest cases. During the year there were 427
officials who declared their assets for the first time. During the year
HIDAA fined 117 individuals for delaying their submissions and fined
them for conflict of interest.
The Ministry of Interior reported that state police investigated
2,065 cases related to corruption and financial crimes during the year,
and authorities arrested 266 persons. The courts ruled to confiscate
assets in five cases totaling 259,830,519 leks ($2,377,700) and to
sequester assets in 11 cases totaling 757,600,138 leks ($6,932,780).
Corruption in the judiciary is pervasive. Many judges issue rulings
that do not appear to have any basis in law or fact, leading some to
believe that the only plausible explanation is corruption or political
pressure. Broad immunity enjoyed by judges prohibits prosecutors from
investigating corruption allegations until they make a public request
to the High Council of Justice to lift the accused judge's immunity,
and receive its approval. Few judges have been prosecuted for
corruption because most criminal investigations must remain secret, at
least initially, in order to be successful.
Despite these obstacles, at least two corruption cases were pending
against judges in which ordinary citizens recorded themselves offering
a bribe to the judge, then provided the video to prosecutors. In a
recent similar case involving video of a prosecutor discussing a bribe,
however, the Court of Appeals reversed the conviction, concluding that
the recording could not be used unless it was ``authorized'' by law
enforcement.
The law provides public access to government information, but the
process for making the information public was often not clear, and
officials were sometimes reluctant to release information.
The law requires public officials to release all information and
official documents with the exception of classified documents and state
secrets. Citizens often faced serious problems in obtaining such
information. Most government ministries and agencies posted public
information directly on their Web sites. However, businesses and
citizens complained of a lack of transparency and the failure to
publish regulations or legislation that should be basic public
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally cooperated and responded to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman is the main human
rights institution for promoting and enforcing human rights. The
ombudsman has the authority to monitor judicial proceedings, inspect
detention and prison facilities, and initiate cases in which a victim
is unwilling or unable to come forward. Although the ombudsman lacked
the power to enforce decisions, he acted as a monitor for human rights
violations. The most common cases included citizen complaints of police
abuse of power, lack of enforcement of court judgments in civil cases,
wrongful dismissal, and land disputes. The ombudsman reports to
parliament annually. The vacancy in the ombudsman position for nearly
the entire year hampered many of the office's activities. Support staff
at the ombudsman's office was able to perform some of the ombudsman's
functions during the year.
The parliament has a committee on legal issues, public
administration, and human rights. However, this committee largely was
ineffective on human rights problems and remained constrained in its
work by the Socialist Party parliamentary boycott that continued until
September.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender; race;
color; ethnicity; language; gender identity; sexual orientation;
political, religious, or philosophical beliefs; economic, education, or
social situation; pregnancy; parentage; parental responsibility; age;
family or marital condition; civil status; residence; health status;
genetic predispositions; disability; or affiliation with a particular
group. No cases have been presented in court to test enforcement since
the law was passed in 2010.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The criminal code penalizes
rape, including spousal rape; however, victims rarely reported spousal
abuse, and officials did not prosecute spousal rape in practice. The
concept of spousal rape was not well established, and authorities and
the public often did not consider it a crime. The law imposes penalties
for rape and assault depending on the age of the victim. For rape of an
adult, the prison term is three to 10 years; for rape of an adolescent
between the ages of 14 and 18, the term is five to 15 years; and, for
rape of a child under the age of 14, the sentence is seven to 15 years.
Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained
a serious problem. During the year police reported cases of domestic
violence and the government pressed charges in some cases. The
Department of Equal Opportunities at the Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs, and Equal Opportunity covers women's issues, including
domestic violence.
The government opened a new shelter for domestic violence victims
in Tirana on April 24 that assisted 10 women and 25 children during the
year; however, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) complained that
the state-run shelter could not accept victims without a court order.
NGOs operated 15 shelters in Albania, six in Tirana and nine outside
the capital. Police reported they received 2,349 domestic violence-
related complaints through their emergency hotline. According to
government figures, there were 2,181 cases of domestic violence
reported during the year, compared with 1,744 in 2010. There were 1,779
cases involving female victims and 402 cases involving male victims.
Police often did not have the training or capacity to deal with
domestic violence cases.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment; however,
officials rarely enforced the law. In many communities women were
subjected to societal discrimination as a result of traditional social
norms that considered women to be subordinate to men.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Citizens have access to
contraception. Under the law, health care is provided to all citizens;
however, the quality of and access to care, including obstetric and
postpartum care, was not satisfactory, especially in the remote rural
areas. This was due mainly to a lack of resources as well as poor local
governance and resource management problems in rural areas. Women were
equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV.
Discrimination.--The law provides equal rights for men and women
under family law and property law, and in the judicial system. Women
were not excluded from any occupation in either law or practice, but
they were underrepresented at the highest levels of their fields.
Although the law mandates equal pay for equal work, the government and
employers did not fully implement this provision.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth
within the country's territory and/or from a parent. In general parents
are required to register the birth of a child in the community where
they are registered within 60 days if they are residing in the country
or 90 days if they are residing abroad.
According to the Children's Rights Center of Albania (CRCA),
children born to internal migrants or those returning from abroad
frequently had no birth certificates or other legal documentation and,
as a result, were unable to attend school. This was particularly a
problem for Romani families, who often married young and failed to
register the birth of their children.
Education.--The law provides for nine years of free education and
authorizes private schools. School attendance is mandatory through the
ninth grade or until age 16, whichever occurs first. In practice many
children left school earlier than the law allowed to work with their
families, particularly in rural areas. Parents must purchase supplies,
books, uniforms, and space heaters for some classrooms, which were
prohibitively expensive for many families, particularly Roma and other
minorities. Many families also cited these costs as a reason for not
sending girls to school.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse, including sexual abuse, occurred,
although victims rarely reported it.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 18. Underage
marriages occur infrequently, mostly in rural areas. According to
UNICEF statistics, 10 percent of women were married or in union before
they were 18 years of age. Some NGOs have reported child marriages
occur in rural communities as part of human trafficking schemes.
Parents give permission for their girls to marry older foreign men who
subsequently traffic them into other countries.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--In some cases children under the
age of 18 engaged in prostitution. The penalties for the commercial
sexual exploitation of children range from fines to 15 years'
imprisonment. The country has a statutory rape law and the minimum age
of consensual sex is 14. The penalty for statutory rape of a child
under the age of 14 is a prison term of five to 15 years. The law
prohibits making or distributing child pornography; penalties are a
fine of 1 million leks to 5 million leks ($9,150 to $45,750) and a
prison sentence of one to five years.
Displaced Children.--Displaced and street children remained a
problem, particularly Romani children. Street children begged or did
petty work; some migrated to neighboring countries, particularly during
the summer. These children were at highest risk of trafficking, and
some became trafficking victims. Very few child trafficking cases were
prosecuted.
Institutionalized Children.--There were reports that orphans
leaving the custody of the state at adulthood faced significant
challenges finding adequate housing and services.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were reportedly only a few hundred Jews
living in the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
In September the government recognized Judaism as an official
religion.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. However, employers,
schools, health care providers, and providers of other state services
sometimes discriminated against such persons. The law mandates that new
public buildings be accessible to persons with disabilities, but the
government only sporadically enforced the law. Widespread poverty,
unregulated working conditions, and poor medical care posed significant
problems for many persons with disabilities.
Persons with disabilities are not restricted from participating in
civic affairs. However in practice resource constraints and lack of
infrastructure make it difficult for them to participate fully in many
activities. The government has set up social services agencies to
protect the rights of persons with disabilities, but the agencies are
often unable to implement their programs for lack of funding.
The ombudsman regularly inspects mental health institutions. The
admission and release of patients at mental health institutions was a
problem due to lack of sufficient financial resources to provide
adequate psychiatric evaluations.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports of
significant societal discrimination against members of the Romani and
Balkan-Egyptian communities. Some schools resisted accepting such
students, particularly if they appeared to be poor. Local NGOs reported
that many schools that accepted Romani students marginalized them in
the classroom, sometimes by physically setting them apart from other
students. In February two men set fire to a Romani settlement in
Tirana, destroying dozens of homes and forcing the entire community to
relocate. The men admitted to their crime in a deal that guaranteed a
reduced sentence and excluded the Romani victims from seeking damages
for the property destruction. In November the Tirana District Court
ruled that the arson did not constitute a hate crime because it did not
involve the use of ``words or writing.'' The government had not
provided the victims with an adequate permanent housing solution at
year's end.
The law permits official minority status for national groups and
separately for ethnolinguistic groups. The government defined Greeks,
Macedonians, and Montenegrins as national groups; Greeks constituted
the largest of these. The law defined Aromanians (Vlachs) and Roma as
ethnolinguistic minority groups.
The ethnic Greek minority pursued grievances with the government
regarding electoral zones, Greek-language education, property rights,
and government documents. Minority leaders cited the government's
unwillingness to recognize ethnic Greek towns outside communist-era
``minority zones,'' to utilize Greek in official documents and on
public signs in ethnic Greek areas, or to include a higher number of
ethnic Greeks in public administration. The government translated
election materials into Greek and Macedonian for the May 8 elections.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibited
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
individuals; however, no official claims of discrimination were made,
and the government has not had an opportunity to enforce the law.
Despite the law and Albania's formal support for LGBT rights,
homophobic attitudes remained. In December 2010 the vice chairman of
the Parliamentary Commission for Social Issues and Health stated during
a hearing that ``homosexuality should be cured with hormonal treatment
and psychological consultations.'' After an appeal by LGBT groups, the
commissioner against discrimination sent a letter to the vice chairman
on September 30 recommending he avoid discriminatory remarks and
clarifying that homosexuality was not a disease. LGBT NGOs reported
some discrimination and loss of employment due to sexual orientation.
Reports of police harassment of LGBT persons and police brutality
against transgender sex workers were verified.
Several NGOs were active in promoting LGBT rights in Albania.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; however, enforcement at
times was lacking. There is a general social stigma against persons
with HIV/AIDS, although there were no reports of violence against such
individuals during the year.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Workers have the right to form independent unions, conduct legal
strikes, and bargain collectively, and they exercised these rights in
practice. The law prohibits members of the military and senior
government officials from joining unions, and requires that a trade
union have at least 20 members to be registered. The law provides the
right to strike for all workers except uniformed military, police,
indispensable medical and hospital personnel, persons providing air
traffic control and prison services, and both essential and
nonessential workers in water and electrical utilities. Workers not
excluded by their position exercised their right to strike in practice.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and provides for
reinstatement for workers fired for union activity. In practice,
domestic and migrant workers rarely are protected by these laws.
Civilian workers in all fields have the constitutional right to
organize and bargain collectively, and the law establishes procedures
for the protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining
agreements. Unions representing public sector employees negotiated
directly with the government. Effective collective bargaining remained
difficult, and agreements were hard to enforce. Unions are often
associated with political parties, and strikes sometimes became
politicized. The law prohibits strikes that courts judge to be
political.
Miners at the Bulqiza chromium mine initiated a hunger strike in
July to demand increased wages, improved working conditions, and a
lower retirement age, among other demands. Negotiations between the
mine owner, ACR Decometal, and miners' unions repeatedly failed. ACR
refused to negotiate with union representatives because it claimed
union organizers were instigating the strike for personal and political
gain. In an effort to end the strike, ACR requested miners sign
individual contracts that would allow ACR to reorganize the miners'
union. The company relented in September, and the miners ended the
strike on mutually agreed upon terms after nearly three months.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, women and children were trafficked for labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets the minimum age of employment at 16 years and regulates the
amount and type of labor that children under the age of 18 may perform.
Children between the ages of 16 and 18 can work in certain specified
jobs. While the law provides that the Ministry of Labor, Social
Affairs, and Equal Opportunity is responsible for enforcing minimum age
requirements through the courts, it lacked resources to adequately
enforce the law. Labor inspectors investigated the formal labor sector,
whereas most child labor occurred in the informal sector. Most labor
inspections occurred in shoe and textile factories; some instances of
child labor were found during these inspections.
The law criminalizes exploitation of children for labor or forced
services, but the government did not enforce the law effectively.
According to a CRCA estimate released in 2010, more than 50,000
children under the age of 18 worked at least part time. The CRCA
reported that the majority of child laborers worked as street or shop
vendors, beggars, farmers or shepherds, drug runners, vehicle washers,
textile factory workers, miners, or shoeshine boys. Research suggested
that begging started at a young age--as early as four or five years of
age. While the criminal code prohibits the exploitation of children for
begging, police generally did not enforce this law.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was
20,000 leks ($183) per month. According to INSTAT, the average wage for
government workers in the second quarter of the year was 47,000 leks
($430) per month. In comparison, the national poverty threshold in 2010
was $61 per month. The Albanian Institute of Statistics reported that
average monthly wages in the public sector had increased 6.6 percent
from 2010. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunity
is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. The law establishes a
40-hour workweek; however, individual or collective agreements
typically set the actual workweek. The law establishes paid annual
holidays, but in practice only employers in the formal labor market
guaranteed the right to paid holidays. Many persons worked six days a
week. The law requires payment of overtime and rest periods, but
employers did not always observe these provisions in practice. The law
limits the maximum hours of work per week to 50, and provides for
premium pay for overtime. The government had no standards for a minimum
number of rest periods per week and rarely enforced laws related to
maximum work hours, limits on overtime, or premium pay for overtime. In
practice these laws did not often apply to workers in the informal
sector such as domestic employees and migrant workers.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunity is
responsible for enforcing occupational health and safety standards and
regulations. Enforcement was lacking overall. Workplace conditions
frequently were very poor and, in some cases, dangerous. Penalties
often do not deter violations because law enforcement agencies lack the
tools to enforce collection and consequently rarely charge violators.
Some serious industrial accidents resulting in deaths occurred
during the year, particularly in the mining sector. Following a
prolonged strike and mine inactivity, on October 18, an explosion in
the Bulqiza chromium mine killed one miner and injured eight others. A
short time later, a landslide in the mine killed a second miner. Wage
and occupational safety standards violations occur most frequently in
the textile and shoe industries, construction, and mining sectors.
__________
ANDORRA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Principality of Andorra is a constitutional parliamentary
democracy. Two co-princes--the president of France and the Spanish
bishop of La Seu d'Urgell--serve with joint authority as heads of
state, and a delegate represents each in the country. On April 3, the
country held free and fair multiparty elections for the 28 seats in the
General Council of the Valleys (the parliament), which selects the head
of government. Having won a majority in the parliament, the Democrats
for Andorra (DA) elected Antoni Marti Petit as head of government. The
national police, the country's sole security force, reported to
civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem in Andorra is the failure
of the law to protect effectively the right of workers to bargain
collectively or to strike. Pretrial detention of up to a year
reportedly existed for foreigners charged with crimes involving two or
more countries.
There were no reports that government officials or the national
police committed abuses or acted with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of disappearances or
politically motivated abductions or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
There were no reports of deaths in prison or the pretrial detention
center.
According to information obtained from the government, as of
September, there were 36 adults, six women and 29 men, as well as one
minor in incarceration. The only prison and detention center in the
country had a capacity of 125 persons.
The prison regime separated prisoners according to gender, age, and
other personal circumstances. Conditions of prisoners were the same
regardless of gender. Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and
were permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners
and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions and the government permitted monitoring by
independent nongovernmental observers. There is no prison ombudsman,
but the country's ombudsman is allowed to visit prisoners without
restriction. The government investigated and monitored prison and
detention center conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police, the country's
only security force, and the government had effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving police during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are
required for arrest. Police legally may detain persons for 48 hours
without bringing them in front of a judge. The judge then has up to 24
hours to charge the detainee with a crime or to release him. Police
generally observed this time limit in practice. A system of bail
exists. The law allows detainees to have prompt access to a lawyer.
Persons charged with a crime may either choose their own lawyer or
accept one designated by authorities. Detainees generally had prompt
access to family members.
Foreigners accounted for most cases of lengthy (up to one year)
detentions, primarily because such cases often involved two or even
three countries.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public,
and defendants can request a jury. Defendants have the right to be
present and consult with an attorney in a timely manner. If a defendant
facing serious criminal charges cannot afford an attorney, the
government must appoint a public attorney. Defendants can confront or
question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on
their behalf. Defendants and attorneys have access to government-held
evidence in their cases. The law extends the rights to all citizens
with no exception. Defendants have the right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the court
made no rulings involving Andorra.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary is
independent and impartial in civil matters. Plaintiffs can bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. They may appeal adverse rulings to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech
including for members of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. However, the
government from time to time cooperated with the UNHCR and other
organizations in assisting refugees ``for humanitarian reasons.''
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Observers considered the General Council elections on April 3 to be
free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--After the elections on
April 3, there were 15 women in the 28-seat parliament, a majority for
the first time. Two women sat in the nine-seat cabinet.
Citizens were ethnically and linguistically homogeneous but
represented only 38 percent of the country's population. The majority
of the population consists largely of immigrants from Spain, Portugal,
and France. Because only citizens have the right to vote and hold
official position, there were no members of minorities in government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Unit for the Prevention and the Fight against Corruption is the
governmental agency responsible for the implementation and monitoring
of the provisions contained in the law.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government permitted access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--From November 28 to December
1, a delegation from the Council of Europe's Committee to Prevent
Torture made a periodic visit to the country to review the safeguards
afforded to persons detained by the police following recent legislative
reforms and to the conditions of detention in the country. The
committee did not release the report by the end of the year.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman's main function is
to defend and oversee the fulfillment and application of the rights and
liberties included in the constitution and to ensure that the
performance of the public sector adheres to constitutional principles.
The ombudsman is independent from other institutions and provides its
functions free of charge for interested persons. The ombudsman enjoyed
the government's cooperation and operated without government
interference. In general the ombudsman had adequate resources and was
considered effective. The ombudsman makes a published annual report to
parliament with recommendations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law declare all persons equal before the law
and prohibit discrimination on grounds of birth, race, gender, origin,
opinions, disability, language, or social condition. For the most part,
the government effectively enforced these provisions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape; both of which are punishable by up to 15 years'
imprisonment. Authorities enforced the law effectively, but there were
no rape cases reported during the year.
The law penalizes domestic violence with a sentence of up to three
years for physical or psychological violence. The government enforced
the law effectively, and there was no police or judicial reluctance to
act. According to the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family, there
were 185 reports of physical abuse against women during the year, a
decrease from 2010 when 192 were reported in the first six months. Of
the 185 cases to which the State Secretariat for Equality and Welfare
of the Ministry of Health attended, 35 percent of the women were
Portuguese nationals and 30 percent Spanish. About 50 percent of the
cases resulted in conviction or punishment.
Victims of domestic violence could also request help from the
Andorran International Women's Association (AIWA) and the Andorran
Women's Association, but victims rarely filed a complaint with police
due to fear of reprisal. In December 2010 the government opened its
first shelter for women. Four families have been accommodated in the
shelter, while an additional five families chose to stay in a hotel
that the government put at their disposal. In addition, the government
and AIWA placed abused women and their children in the private
apartments of families who agreed to provide them with shelter. The
government also operated a hotline and provided medical and
psychological services to victims of domestic violence. Caritas, a
religious nongovernmental organization (NGO), worked closely with the
government and AIWA on social problems.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment under the
provisions for other sexual aggressions, punishable by three months' to
three years' imprisonment.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely the number of children they wish to have. There was easy
access to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth. Women
and men were treated equally for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--The law prohibits discrimination against women
privately or professionally; however, the USDA, an NGO working for
women's rights, and trade union representatives, reported cases of
gender discrimination especially related to unequal salaries for the
same work. Caritas estimated that women earned 26 percent less than men
for comparable work. The government made an effort to combat pay
discrimination in general, and it applied pay equality within the
government. There are no limitations on women's participation in the
labor market, and the government encouraged women to participate in
politics.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents; birth in the country's territory does not confer citizenship.
Child Abuse.--Violence against children persisted, although it
decreased from the 222 minors treated for various forms of abuse in
2010 to the 183 treated in 2011. Authorities placed eight minors with a
shelter family.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The country's general law against
rape also covers statutory rape. Child pornography is illegal and
carries a prison sentence of up to four years. The age of majority, 18
years, is also the age of consent. The penalty for statutory rape is 15
years' imprisonment, the same as for rape in general.
International Child Abductions.--On July 1, the 1980 Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abductions
entered into force for the country.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts against
the approximately 500-person Jewish community.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the
provision of other state services. The government enforced it
effectively. The law mandates access to public buildings, information,
and communications for persons with disabilities, and the government
generally enforced this provision. Nevertheless, societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities existed on a small
scale in the form of social and cultural barriers. Persons with
disabilities also faced disadvantages in the labor market.
According to the National Commission of Assessment (Conava),
schools continued to implement the law to adapt infrastructure to the
needs of children with disabilities. An association for persons with
disabilities operated in the principality. There is no restriction for
persons with disabilities to participate in civic affairs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--On the basis of constitutional
provisions for the right to freedom of ideas, religion, and ideology,
the government acts against any discrimination that may occur in the
country. There were no reports of official or societal discrimination
based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment or
occupation, housing, or access to education or health care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
However, the government bars immigrants with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law recognize that workers have the right to form
trade unions to defend their economic and social interests. However,
the law does not provide for collective bargaining or the right to
strike. Alternate dispute mechanisms such as mediation and arbitration
exist. Unions continued to criticize the lack of laws that effectively
develop and protect the constitutional rights of workers.
In practice the government lacked mechanisms to protect worker
rights. Neither collective bargaining nor strikes occurred during the
year. On May 1 (Labor Day), a holiday in the country for the first
time, approximately 50 workers conducted a peaceful demonstration
calling on the government to approve new laws further developing
workers rights. While the law does not prohibit antiunion
discrimination, there were no official reports that it occurred during
the year. However, workers continued to be reluctant to admit to union
membership, fearing retaliation by their employers, and unions did not
make their membership numbers public.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Slavery and forced
or compulsory labor are punishable by a maximum of 12 years in prison.
There were no reports that such practices occurred.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Without exception, the law prohibits children younger than 14 from
working. Children aged 14 and 15 may work up to two months per year
during school holidays following strict regulations contained in the
law. Laws limit work by children aged 14 and 15 to no more than six
hours per day and by children aged 16 and 17 to eight hours per day,
provide for safety restrictions, restrict the type of work children may
perform, and outline other conditions.
Laws protect children from exploitation in the workplace, and the
government effectively enforced these laws.
The labor inspection office in the Ministry of Social Welfare,
Public Health, and Labor effectively enforced child labor regulations.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage is
5.36 euros ($ 6.97) per hour and 929.07 euros ($1,210) per month. The
labor inspection office enforced the minimum wage effectively. The law
limits the standard workweek to five eight-hour days for a total of 40
hours per week. Workers may work up to two overtime hours per day or 15
hours per week, 50 hours per month, and 426 hours per year. The law
provides for premium pay of time plus 25 percent the first four hours
per week and time plus 50 percent the following four hours. There is a
required rest period of 12 hours between working shifts.
The labor inspection office sets occupational health and safety
standards and has the authority to levy sanctions and fines against
companies violating them. The law includes agricultural, domestic, and
migrant workers. Penalties were sufficient to deter violations and
identify specific government action during the year to prevent
violations and improve wages and working conditions, particularly for
hazardous sectors or vulnerable groups.
During the year the labor inspection office received 101 complaints
against companies for violating health and safety regulations.
Accidents at work declined from 4,019 in 2010 to 3,725 in 2011. The
majority of reported accidents came from the construction, motor, and
machinery sectors.
__________
ARMENIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Armenia's constitution provides for a republic with an elected head
of state and a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. In 2008
Serzh Sargsian became president after a significantly flawed election.
The ruling coalition, led by Sargsian's Republican Party of Armenia,
continued to dominate the political system. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problems were limitations on
citizens' right to change their government, freedom of speech and
press, and the independence of the judiciary. The government released
the remaining six opposition members detained in connection with the
2008 clashes between security forces and protesters disputing the
outcome of the 2008 presidential election. Since April 28 the
government began permitting demonstrations and opposition rallies in
previously restricted areas of the capital city, and all were held
without incident, although demonstrators from outside of Yerevan at
times were impeded in their attempts to travel to rallies. The media,
in particular television, continued to lack diversity of political
opinion and objective reporting. The government decriminalized libel
and defamation but established high new civil fines that encouraged
journalists and media outlets to practice self-censorship. The process
used to switch from analog to digital television reduced media
pluralism. Courts remained subject to political pressure from the
executive branch, and judges operated in a judicial culture that
expected courts to find the accused guilty in almost every case.
During the year suspicious deaths occurred in the military under
noncombat conditions, while hazing and other mistreatment of conscripts
by officers and fellow soldiers, and a lack of accountability for such
actions, continued. Allegations of torture continued. Many prisons were
overcrowded, unsanitary, and lacking in medical services for inmates.
Police reportedly beat citizens during arrest and interrogation.
Authorities continued to arrest and detain criminal suspects without
reasonable suspicion and to detain individuals arbitrarily due to their
opposition political affiliations or political activities. Authorities
and laws restricted religious freedom for certain groups. Corruption
remained a problem, with authorities taking limited measures to curb
it. Domestic violence remained a problem but largely went unreported to
authorities. Human trafficking was a problem, but authorities made
efforts to combat it. Persons with disabilities experienced
discrimination in almost all areas of life. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons were subjected to societal abuse and
discrimination by military and prison authorities. There were reports
of forced labor. Workers' rights were limited and existing labor laws
weakly enforced.
Although the government took some steps to punish officials in the
security forces and elsewhere who committed abuses, some members of the
security forces continued to commit human rights abuses with impunity
while under the direction of civilian leadership. A government-issued
report on the deaths of eight civilians and two police officers killed
in the 2008 postelection violence did not identify the individuals
responsible for the deaths and largely justified the police response.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings, but noncombat deaths in the army continued to be a
problem. The government reported that during the year 15 military
servicemen died under noncombat conditions, a decrease from 2010.
On June 29, soldier Tigran Hambardzumyan's mutilated body was
discovered in a forest near a military unit based in Kapan. Military
officials claimed Hambardzumyan had left the base the day before and
committed suicide.
Authorities initiated an investigation into the death on suspicion
of inducing suicide, but by the end of the year there were no
defendants or suspects in the case. According to the parents, the place
and circumstances under which their son's body was discovered did not
match the official version, and no fingerprints were discovered on the
razor blade Hambardzumyan allegedly used to commit suicide. According
to official information the razor blade was found more than 50 feet
away from the body. The parents claimed their son was killed by
somebody from the officer corps, but their attempts to open a murder
investigation were unsuccessful. At the end of the year, the
investigation continued.
On June 15, the Court of Appeals affirmed the 2010 conviction of
police officers Ashot Harutyunyan and Moris Hayrapetyan for inducing
the April 2010 suicide of Vahan Khalafyan while he was in police
custody. The court also affirmed the acquittal of officers Garik
Davtyan and Gagik Ghazaryan, who had been charged with abuse of power
in the case. The court applied the May 26 amnesty resolution, reducing
the remaining part of Harutyunyan's eight-year sentence by one-third
and cancelling Moris Hayrepetyan's suspended sentence.
On August 22, five defendants--Captain Hakob Manukyan, Senior
Lieutenant Vahagn Hayrapetyan, and Privates Adibek Hovhannisyan,
Haroutik Kirakosyan, and Mkhitar Mkhitaryan--went on trial for inducing
the suicide of Lieutenant Artak Nazaryan in 2010. The Helsinki
Association's review of the investigation alleged nearly 100 procedural
and material violations, including destruction of the fingerprints on
the weapon and of the cartridge case of the weapon. Nazaryan's family
claimed that Nazaryan did not commit suicide and unsuccessfully
appealed to initiate a new criminal case for murder. The defendants
also denounced the conduct of the investigation and claimed to be
innocent. In an interview with Radio Liberty on December 5, Manukyan's
defense attorney claimed that the five defendants were scapegoats. The
trial continued at the end of the year.
Human rights observers asserted that in a majority of reported
incidents of hazing and deaths in the military, authorities presented a
sanitized version of events and focused their follow-up investigations
on reinforcing the initial versions. Observers claimed that the armed
forces in most cases declined to punish those responsible.
In April President Sargsian called for a more energetic approach to
the investigation of the deaths of eight civilians and two police
officers killed in 2008 as a result of clashes between security forces
and protesters disputing the results of the 2008 presidential election.
The Special Investigative Service issued a report on December 23 on the
status of the ongoing investigation. The report did not identify
individuals responsible for the deaths and largely concluded that the
police response was justified. Opposition and human rights figures
strongly criticized the report.
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's support, continued to
control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven
surrounding Azerbaijani territories. According to government sources,
land mines that were placed along the border with Azerbaijan and along
the line of contact in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict killed one and
injured three military personnel.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, members of the
security forces continued to employ them regularly. Witnesses reported
that police beat citizens during arrest and interrogation. Human rights
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) made similar allegations, but
noted that most cases of police mistreatment were unreported due to
fear of retaliation. According to human rights groups, many individuals
transferred to prisons from police facilities alleged that police
tortured, abused, or intimidated them while they were in police custody
mainly to extort confessions. Most abuses reportedly took place in
police stations, which were not subject to public monitoring, rather
than prisons and police detention facilities, which were.
For example, on May 17, the Civil Society Institute called for
fairness in the trial of Stepan Hovakimyan and Vahram Kerobyan, who
claimed that they confessed to theft in a downtown Yerevan cinema only
after police subjected them to repeated physical and psychological
abuse. The Civil Society Institute asked for an independent
investigation of the defendants' torture allegations and an end to the
practice of basing cases on self-incriminatory confessions. According
to his lawyer, Hovakimyan was illegally summoned to the police
department of Yerevan's Kentron district several times and subjected to
physical and psychological abuse in order to elicit a confession.
Hovakimyan finally confessed after the police officers threatened to
abuse him sexually and to ``bring in'' his girlfriend. According to the
lawyer, the alleged victim of the larceny reported the crime only after
Hovakimyan had confessed, and police were thus carrying out an
investigation before a crime was reported. Observers reported that no
credible investigation was conducted into the allegations of torture
and the court disregarded Hovakimyan's statements that the confession
was obtained under duress. The trial continued at year's end.
On June 21, the Public Monitoring Group of Police Detention
Facilities (PMG) released its annual report covering 2010. The report
noted that 175 of the 888 persons transferred from police stations to
police detention facilities in the capital of Yerevan showed bruises
and bodily injuries. The causes of the injuries were not identified,
and no one was held responsible for them. The report described
inadequate conditions for women and juveniles at police detention
facilities. According to the PMG, the absence of female police officers
in the police detention facilities resulted in violations of a number
of rights of female arrestees, as well as some cases of degrading
treatment.
In February the Office of the Human Rights Defender (the
ombudsman's office) released its 2010 annual report. It stated that
citizen complaints about illegal actions by police, including
allegations of torture, continued to grow in comparison with previous
years. The complaints mostly concerned citizens who claimed they had
been summoned to police stations, detained there illegally, and
subjected to inhuman treatment, including torture and beating.
Complainants also alleged that police officers sought to extort
confessions through violence, threats, and unlawful pretrial detention.
According to the report, police routinely provided uninformative,
formulaic responses to the ombudsman's inquiries about allegations of
abuse. The report added that such an atmosphere of impunity contributed
to the increase in such abuse.
Within the armed forces, substandard living conditions, corruption,
and the impunity and lack of accountability of commanders continued to
contribute to mistreatment and noncombat injuries. Although no reliable
statistics on the prevalence of military hazing were available,
soldiers reported to human rights organizations that abuses continued.
Soldiers' families claimed that corrupt officials controlled military
units, while human rights monitors and the ombudsman reported that the
government conscripted soldiers with serious disqualifying health
conditions. According to official information, during the year courts
convicted 248 military personnel of hazing and related violations and
27 additional trials were underway at year's end.
The ombudsman's 2010 annual report stated that the content of the
complaints about military conscription were unchanged from those
received in 2009. In general the applicants complained that medical
examination commissions made incorrect assessments about recruits'
fitness for military service, and immediate supervisors, commanders,
and others used violence toward conscripts at the military units, and
that military units failed to provide proper medical care to sick
conscripts. On December 30, conscript Hayk Khachatryan died of
complications from chicken pox. The family blamed the doctors of the
military hospital for negligence and the commander of his unit, who
disregarded Khachatryan's complaints and forced him to run more than
six miles.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to official
data, the number of deaths in prisons during the year was 32, compared
with 37 in 2010, with most deaths in both years listed as the result of
illness and some from suicides. Human rights organizations attributed
the deaths to overcrowding, the poor condition of the buildings, and
negligence in providing healthcare to inmates. Human rights monitors
and the ombudsman reported overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, and
inadequate medical care and meals at penitentiaries. Prisons were
connected to local potable water supply networks but experienced
occasional disruptions in service.
Although the number of inmates in prisons was reduced as a result
of an amnesty adopted by the National Assembly on May 26, overcrowding
remained a significant problem. There were no reports of steps to use
alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders or to improve
recordkeeping. Prisons did not have ombudsmen.
Human rights activists and attorneys continued to voice concerns
over the performance of the Commissions on Early Release and Release on
Parole. The Chamber of Advocates, the country's bar association,
protested the absence of strict criteria guiding the commissions'
decision making and withdrew their representatives from the commissions
in January. The absence of an appeal mechanism and the
overrepresentation of law enforcement representatives on the
commissions remained obstacles to due process.
The Civil Society Monitoring Board (CSMB) consisting of NGO
representatives continued reporting to the Ministry of Justice on the
deteriorating health of convicts whom they claimed remained in prison
despite being qualified for early release. The interagency medical
commission in charge of considering the early release of prisoners on
health grounds was generally very slow to act.
During the year, according to authorities, the average number of
persons in penitentiaries was 4,812. This included an average of 393
pretrial detainees and 432 detainees whose cases were in progress or
who were awaiting verdicts. Pretrial detainees were confined separately
from convicts. The total capacity of all penitentiary institutions was
4,395 persons.
The average numbers of women and juveniles held in the Abovian
penitentiary for women and juveniles during the year were 198 and 34,
respectively. One of the 34 juvenile prisoners was female. There were
no facilities for female juvenile convicts, mainly because juvenile
girls were rarely convicted. When convicted they were held with adult
women. Inmates were housed in large dormitories--with women housed
separately from juvenile boys; according to domestic observers, this
arrangement generated conditions that were worse than those observed at
penitentiaries where inmates were confined in separate cells.
Overcrowding in police detention cells and the use of these cells
as holding centers for pretrial detainees were described as significant
problems in the PMG's 2010 report. By law pretrial detainees may not be
held in police detention cells for more than three days, since cells
are not equipped to offer detainees suitable conditions for longer-term
incarceration. Outside of Yerevan pretrial detainees outnumbered
arrestees in such cells by more than three to one--3,500 of the former
compared with 951 of the latter. In 2010, according to the report,
there was a significant decline in the number of pretrial detainees
held longer than three days. While the report covered police detention
facilities, the PMG was not permitted to monitor police stations.
Human rights organizations and the ombudsman continued to raise
concerns that convicts and detainees did not always have reasonable
access to visitors and that even their minimal visitation entitlement
was not always met because of overcrowded conditions and lack of
suitable space. For example, the ombudsman's annual report stated that
convicts in Yerevan's Kentron penitentiary met their relatives only for
short visits due to the lack of suitable space for long-term (conjugal)
visits and that even during the short-term visits an officer was
present during the meetings.
According to the Helsinki Association and the Helsinki Citizens'
Assembly-Vanadzor, authorities did not investigate credible allegations
of inhumane conditions. Authorities did not always permit prisoners and
detainees to submit uncensored appeals to authorities concerning
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. By law censorship of the
communications of pretrial detainees requires a court order. In
practice, according to human rights organizations, there were numerous
cases when prison administrators censored the letters of detainees
without judicial oversight.
The Oversight Department of the Ministry of Justice was in charge
of monitoring the implementation of the legal standards for
penitentiaries, but domestic human rights NGOs asserted that these
standards were not vigorously enforced because the Oversight Department
did not have sufficient staff and resources to carry out this function
effectively.
According to the Ministry of Justice during the year, there were no
reports or complaints received on violence toward inmates.
Although the government generally permitted domestic and
international human rights groups to monitor prison conditions, in
March the Ministry of Justice prohibited the Helsinki Association's
continued independent monitoring of penitentiaries after the NGO
released a critical report on prison conditions. To justify its
decision, the Ministry of Justice said the Helsinki Association's
report caused ``objective discontent among a number of convicted and
detained persons, the prison administration and various layers of
society.'' The International Committee of the Red Cross was permitted
to visit both prisons and pretrial detention centers and did so in
accordance with its usual practice. Authorities generally permitted
CSMB personnel to visit prisons without advance notice.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention. Although the law requires adequate judicial
review, judges were often reluctant to challenge prosecutors' requests
to detain individuals or police conduct during arrests. Statutory law
does not require that a person who is apprehended under authority of an
arrest warrant be promptly brought before a judge for review of his
detention. On the other hand, case law from the Cassation Court (the
country's highest court for cases that are not related to
constitutional issues) does require prompt judicial review. In practice
authorities on occasion arrested and detained criminal suspects without
reasonable suspicion. Authorities continued, albeit on a much reduced
scale compared with previous years, to detain individuals who held
political affiliations or engaged in activities perceived to be in
opposition to the government.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police are
responsible for internal security, while the National Security Service
is responsible for national security, intelligence activities, and
border control. The president appoints the heads of both organizations.
The police and the National Security Service continued to lack
sufficient training, resources, and established procedures to prevent
incidents of abuse. In contrast with previous years, however, law
enforcement bodies began to conduct more credible investigations of
allegations of abuses committed by their personnel, including abuses
allegedly committed by high-ranking officials.
There was no dedicated independent mechanism for investigating
police abuse, a deficiency noted by the Council of Europe. Citizens may
sue police in court.
According to official information, during the year police conducted
35 internal investigations related to complaints and reports of
official misconduct and brutality. Of these, police found 17 to be
unsubstantiated, four inquires were suspended, and in the remaining
cases police officers involved underwent disciplinary actions and
received administrative fines and warnings, including one demotion in
rank.
Although suspects have the legal right to file complaints before
trial concerning abuses allegedly committed by law enforcement
personnel during criminal investigations, they must obtain permission
from police or the Prosecutor's Office to undergo the forensic medical
examination necessary to substantiate an accusation of physical abuse.
Human rights organizations continued to report that authorities rarely
granted such permission or delayed it until a later date when physical
signs of abuse were no longer visible. In addition, NGOs reported that
judges routinely ignored defendants' claims that their testimony was
coerced through physical abuse.
Police corruption continued to be a problem, and authorities took
some measures to combat it, including the prosecution of some high-
ranking officials (see section 4).
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law an
investigative body must either formally arrest or release an individual
within three hours of taking him or her into custody. Within 72 hours
the investigative body must release the arrested person or bring
charges and obtain a detention warrant from a judge. Judges rarely
denied police requests for detention warrants. At times police summoned
individuals and held them longer than three hours without a formal
arrest on the pretext that they were material witnesses rather than
suspects. Domestic observers contended police avoided labeling summoned
persons as suspects to avoid the legal requirement to grant them the
rights of suspects.
The law requires police to inform detainees of their rights to
remain silent, to make a telephone call, and to representation by an
attorney from the moment of arrest. Detainees must be provided with
public defenders if they are indigent. In practice police often
questioned and pressured detainees to confess to crimes prior to
indictment and in the absence of legal counsel. The practice of
detaining individuals as ``material witnesses'' before designating them
as suspects subjected individuals to questioning without the benefit of
a defense attorney. The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Working Group
criticized this practice. In addition, police sometimes restricted
detainees' access to family members and attorneys.
According to the PMG's 2010 report, monitors reported numerous
instances of persons being formally arrested only after being held from
one to three days in police stations. Others were formally arrested
within the required three-hour limit but were subsequently held in
police stations for one to three days. The report indicated that the
registries of police detention facilities noted only 238 occasions when
the right to meet with an attorney had been exercised by the 5,339
persons held in such facilities during 2010, including multiple
instances when the same person met with his attorney on several
occasions. The law provides for a bail system, but in practice courts
generally denied requests for bail and ordered that defendants remain
in pretrial detention.
In some cases defendants were released on their own recognizance
pending trial, with the requirement that they surrender their passports
and sign statements promising not to leave the country or, in some
cases, the city limits.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The UNHRC Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
noted in a report issued in February that police, National Security
Service personnel, and border guards often detained or arrested
individuals without an arrest warrant. Arrests were often not a
consequence of a police investigation; rather, people were detained in
order to be investigated. This was consistent with the common police
practice of arresting persons at the beginning of an investigation in
order to obtain a confession, making further investigation unnecessary.
On July 13, police officers took 14-year-old Yura Simonyan to the
Shengavit police station in Yerevan. According to media and human
rights organizations, Simonyan was a witness to an incident involving
gunfire. On July 14, Simonyan's attorney made several unsuccessful
attempts to reach her client, but police investigator Kamo Sharoyan
repeatedly denied the attorney access. Police released Simonyan without
charge on the evening of July 14. Simonyan said police officers beat
him and forced him to admit he had seen the gun being fired.
Pretrial Detention.--According to official information, during the
year approximately 8 percent of the prison population consisted of
pretrial detainees, and an additional 9 percent were detainees whose
trials were in progress.
Although the law requires that decisions about detention be
reasonable and that detention be used as a measure of last resort,
attorneys and court observers complained that in practice detention was
often approved routinely by courts with little consideration given to
whether less restrictive alternatives might suffice to assure the
orderly administration of justice. The overuse of detention applied
also to juvenile offenders. There is no separate system of justice for
dealing with juvenile offenders.
Lengthy pretrial or preventive detention remained a chronic
problem. Although the law requires a well-reasoned justification for
extending pretrial custody, judges routinely prolonged custody on
unclear grounds. On the other hand, authorities generally respected the
provision prohibiting pretrial detention beyond 12 months. The law does
not establish any time limits on the detention of defendants once their
cases are sent to court. According to the UNHRC's February report,
prosecutors regularly requested and received trial postponements from
judges, on the grounds that they require more time to prepare for
trial. Postponements were used as an excuse to prolong investigations.
On the other hand, prosecutors claimed that the responsibility for the
postponement of trials belonged to the defense lawyers, because they
usually argued the need for more time to prepare their defense.
Amnesty.--In May the National Assembly, at the initiative of the
president, declared a general amnesty. The last of the individuals
detained in connection with the 2008 presidential election and
postelection unrest were released (see section 1.e.). As a result of
the amnesty, 602 convicts were released and over 800 prosecutions were
terminated.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; in practice courts remained subject to political
pressure from the executive branch as well as the self-imposed
expectation that judges would find the accused guilty in almost every
case. Although judicial corruption continued to exist, courtroom
observers believed it occurred less frequently than in the past, in
part because an increasing number of mid- to low-level government
personnel charged with corruption made judges conscious that they might
be at greater risk of disciplinary action than in the past. At the same
time, the UNHRC reported that the government's fight against corruption
also had negative implications for the independence of judges, who
appeared to be ordering harsher penalties from fear of being seen as
complicit in corruption.
One of the main impediments to a fair trial was the lack of an
independent judiciary. Judges themselves lacked efficient legal
remedies if the executive or legislative branch decided to punish them.
In one case during the year, the president removed Judge Samvel
Mnatsakanyan from the bench for granting a defendant's motion to be
released on bail. The Council of Justice recommended Mnatsakanyan's
dismissal because he allegedly failed to justify the defendant's
release; the dismissal was ordered even though the prosecutor had not
objected to bail and the defendant was ultimately acquitted.
In a second case during the year, the Cassation Court reportedly
forced Judge Surik Ghazaryan to resign, and the government denied him
his full pension, allegedly in retaliation for not consulting with the
Cassation Court prior to his 2010 ruling in a high-profile case. The
ruling (reversed at higher levels) followed the 2005 decision of the
London Court of International Arbitration in favor of Moravel
Investments LC and ordering OAO Yukos Oil Company to pay Moravel
Investment more than $655 million. Moravel filed suit in Armenia
seeking the implementation of the arbitration decision and recovery of
the assets of OAO Yukos Oil Company. Ghazaryan's appeals to reinstate
his pension were pending at year's end.
The vulnerability of judges to dismissal for their decisions,
combined with the absence of any effective remedy for such treatment,
had a strong chilling effect on the judiciary. The Council of Justice
may charge a judge with a miscarriage of justice even for a ruling that
was never appealed to a higher court or in which the appellate courts
found no errors. The decisions of the Council of Justice are not
subject to further review. There were reports that the Cassation Court
was directly involved in dictating the outcome of almost every case to
lower court judges.
Authorities generally complied with court orders.
Trials usually met many of the procedural standards for fairness.
They were often unfair in substance, however, because many judges felt
compelled to work with prosecutors to achieve convictions. Judges were
reluctant to challenge police experts or hold the prosecution
accountable for meeting an appropriately high standard of guilt,
thereby hampering the defendant's ability to mount a credible defense.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of
innocence, but in practice this right was violated. The law requires
that most trials be public but permits exceptions, including in the
interest of ``morals,'' national security, and for the ``protection of
the private lives of the participants.'' Juries are not used, a single
judge issues verdicts in trial courts (except for crimes punishable by
life imprisonment), and panels of judges preside in the higher courts.
Defendants have the right to counsel of their own choosing, and the
government is required to provide them with defense counsel--a public
defender--upon request. Outside of Yerevan this obligation was
frequently not honored due to a shortage of defense lawyers.
By law defendants may confront witnesses, present evidence, and
examine the government's case in advance of a trial, but in practice
defendants and their attorneys had very little ability to challenge
government witnesses. This was particularly prejudicial to defendants
in challenging the evidence of police officers, who are prohibited by
law from testifying in their official capacities unless they are a
witness or a victim in a case. Thus, official police reports detailing
the evidence found at a crime scene or the confession of a defendant
were routinely received as evidence without any in-court testimony from
police. Defense lawyers had almost no ability to challenge the findings
of these official reports, which courts generally considered to be
unimpeachable. Judges controlled the ``witness list,'' which designated
the witnesses deemed to have evidence relevant to a criminal case, and
defense attorneys complained that at times they were not allowed to
call or obtain the attendance at trial of witnesses whom they believed
to have evidence helpful to their client's defense. Defendants,
prosecutors, and the injured party have the right of appeal and often
exercised it.
In its 2011 annual report, the Helsinki Association alleged that
judges at times questioned the accused in a manner that appeared to
assume their guilt and dismissed defense attorneys' motions without
justification, limiting themselves to evidence and motions submitted by
prosecutors. According to the Helsinki Association, judges at times
prohibited independent observers from attending trials and rarely gave
credence to defendants' allegations of torture.
As in the past, the vast majority of criminal cases sent to trial
resulted in convictions. Although many weak cases resulted in
convictions, the practice by police investigators of declining to
forward weak cases to the courts may also have played a role in the
high conviction rate. The acquittal rate during the year was 1.9
percent, compared with 0.9 percent in 2010.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year authorities
released the last six individuals incarcerated in connection with the
2008 presidential election and postelection unrest. Some were granted
early release; others were released in the May amnesty.
On November 11, the first instance court of Malatia Sebastia
sentenced Andranik Makvetsyan, a Jehovah's Witness, to six months in
prison. Makvetsyan was immediately incarcerated. Initially Makvetsyan
was investigated and tried on charges of battery, threats, and
arrogation over an altercation with a priest of the Armenian Apostolic
Church, Artak Artenyan, on a public walkway near the church. Makvetsyan
was acquitted of these charges but convicted of preventing Artenyan's
``right to preach'' near a church and his ``right to prevent''
Makvetsyan from proselytizing. In an amicus curiae brief to the court
of appeal, the Civil Society Institute argued that the trial court
found Makvetsyan guilty of violating a right that does not exist in
Armenia. The institute's brief also contended that the conviction
unjustly interfered with Makvetsyan's right to express his personal
beliefs and violated religious freedom. At year's end Makvetsyan
remained incarcerated pending the outcome of his appeal.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Citizens who exhausted
domestic legal remedies could appeal to the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) against alleged violations by the state of the European
Convention on Human Rights. Dozens of appeals were pending before the
court at year's end. During the year the ECHR issued judgments in three
new cases involving the country and found violations of the convention
by the state in two of the cases.
During the year the ECHR ruled in Bayatyan v. Armenia that the
imprisonment of a plaintiff on account of his objection to military
service was a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. At
year's end 58 people remained in prison for refusing to serve in the
military or in the alternative service administered by the Ministry of
Defense, citing reasons of conscience. The government paid the monetary
judgment awarded by the ECHR to the plaintiff. According to the
Ministry of Justice, the ECHR ruling was not applicable to those
imprisoned for refusing alternative service, since there were no
provisions for alternative service when Bayatyan was imprisoned.
The government generally complied with ECHR decisions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although citizens had
access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation
of, human rights violations, the courts were widely perceived as
corrupt, and potential litigants in civil cases often evaluated the
advisability of bringing suit by comparing their and their opponent's
respective resources with which to influence the judge. Citizens also
had access to the Office of the Ombudsman, as well as the possibility
of challenging the constitutionality of legislation in the
Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court exercised its power to
determine the constitutionality of statutes in more than 40 cases
during the year, but its decisions were unevenly enforced because lower
courts report to the Cassation Court rather than the Constitutional
Court.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the constitution prohibits unauthorized
searches and provides for the right to privacy and confidentiality of
communications, there were unconfirmed reports that the government at
times violated these rights in practice and that law enforcement bodies
tapped the telephone communications and e-mail correspondence of
certain individuals whom the government wanted to keep under scrutiny,
including human rights activists and the political opposition.
Law enforcement bodies may not wiretap a telephone, intercept
correspondence, or conduct searches without obtaining permission by the
judge. Law enforcement bodies generally adhered to the legal
procedures, but attorneys claimed that judges, who should only
authorize such actions after being presented with compelling evidence
of criminal activity, granted permission arbitrarily, rendering the
procedure largely a formality.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
Status of Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides
for freedom of speech and press. In practice the government did not
always uphold these rights. Instances of violence against journalists
decreased, but free speech was limited by a surge of libel and
defamation lawsuits in which members of the politically connected
business elite were awarded large monetary damages against opposition
newspapers and journalists. News outlets engaged in self-censorship
from fear of punitive monetary judgments against them if they published
information about the politically connected elite. The media,
especially television broadcasters, continued to lack diversity of
political opinion and objective reporting. The switchover process from
analog to digital television broadcasts further restricted the number
and diversity of channels on the air. The government did not release
the audit of the country's television and radio frequencies that
provided the technical basis for limiting the number of digital
broadcasting licenses.
Freedom of Press.--Most newspapers, with the exception of
government-sponsored Hayastani Hanrapetutyun and its Russian-language
version, Respublika Armenii, were privately owned. The print media
published a wide range of viewpoints, although most publications tended
to reflect the political leanings of their proprietors and financial
backers. The political factions and business interests that sponsored
these publications showed little interest in developing fair and
balanced nationwide coverage. Only a handful of newspapers operated as
efficient and self-sustaining enterprises.
Online Web sites were the country's most independent information
sources. Social media, such as Facebook and YouTube, exerted a small
but growing influence on social discourse.
Newspaper circulation remained limited, as did the audience for the
country's 21 radio stations, three of which were public and two
broadcast from abroad. All but three of the 82 television stations in
operation during the year were privately owned; most were small
broadcasters based in outlying regions. Four stations broadcast from
abroad. Most stations were owned by politicians in the ruling party or
politically connected businessmen and presented one-sided views of
events. Regional television channels provided some alternative
viewpoints, often via externally produced content.
Violence and Harassment.--Media outlets, particularly broadcasters,
feared reprisals for reporting that was critical of the government.
These reprisals could include lawsuits, the threat of losing a
broadcast license, a selective tax investigation, or loss of revenue
when advertisers learned an outlet was in disfavor with the government.
This fear of retribution led to a high degree of media self-censorship.
Censorship and Content Restrictions.--Gyumri-based GALA TV
continued its legal disputes over broadcast rights. The station's
initial difficulties began in late 2007 when GALA refused to restrict
its content and continued to provide air to the opposition in advance
of the 2008 presidential elections. On February 17, in response to a
suit filed by the city of Gyumri against GALA over the station's use of
a disputed television tower that the city hall claimed to be its
property, the trial court ordered GALA to remove its transmitter-
antenna and cable from the tower. Both the court of appeals and the
Cassation Court upheld the decision. Following the ruling, GALA asked
the Ministry of Transport and Communication to permit the transfer of
its antenna and equipment to the central television tower in Gyumri. In
contrast with similar requests in the past, the ministry offered to do
so under acceptable terms, and on October 25, GALA moved its equipment
and started transmission from the central tower with minimal
disruptions to its programming. Gala continued to experience problems
securing advertisers, who GALA alleged were under government pressure
not to patronize the station.
On October 3, the Administrative Court rejected an appeal by the
independent A1Plus television news outlet of the denial by the National
Commission on Television and Radio of its application for a broadcast
license. This was the 13th unsuccessful bid for a frequency by A1Plus
since it was forced off the air in 2002. According to A1Plus, it
appealed after it reviewed the successful application of its competitor
for the license and found a number of inconsistencies and
falsifications. It claimed that the commission committed procedural
violations in rejecting its application. A1Plus continued to maintain
an active Internet presence.
A September 9 resolution by the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe addressed the A1Plus case, among other issues. It
noted that ``the outcome of the December 2010 licensing tender has not
resulted in a more pluralist media environment,'' and that the ``the
authorities--in this case, the National Commission on TV and Radio--
rejected the bid from A1Plus, while being fully aware about its
significance, on what would seem to be purely technical/administrative
arguments.''
Libel Laws/National Security.--The repeal of criminal penalties for
libel in 2010 was initially welcomed by many media and human rights
observers. However, since the same law set a relatively high ceiling
for monetary damages that could be awarded by courts in civil libel
cases, it contributed to a chilled media environment in which outlets
had to weigh the candor of their reporting against the prospect that
they could become targets for retaliatory lawsuits that would force
them out of business. Following several court decisions ordering
newspapers to pay high fines, authorities complied with the ombudsman's
call for a Council on Information Disputes. The council, with the
participation of lawyers and journalists, examined libel cases that had
been tried during the year and produced expert opinions on individual
cases, which were published in the media as well as sent to courts and
related organizations. In one case a court took into consideration a
report published by the council during a hearing.
On November 15, the Constitutional Court, responding to an appeal
by the ombudsman, confirmed the constitutionality of the 2010 law. At
the same time, the court recommended that lower courts not hold media
outlets liable for their critical assessment of facts or, when they
were convicted, order them to pay disproportionately heavy fines.
In April former president Robert Kocharian sued the Hraparak
newspaper for six million drams ($15,584) following its publication in
February of an article that referred to him as ``bloodthirsty.'' The
court agreed to a temporary freeze of the newspaper's assets. The case
remained pending at the end of the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no reports of
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of
assembly, but the government occasionally restricted this. In April the
National Assembly passed a new law on freedom of assembly.
International experts, who reviewed an earlier draft of the law,
including the Council of Europe's Venice Commission and the Office of
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), judged it an improvement
over the existing law. After its enactment, however, local and OSCE
experts expressed concern that the manner and speed of its adoption was
an apparent violation of National Assembly procedures and that the
final version of the law contained blanket restrictions that gave state
bodies excessive power to obstruct. One of most troublesome provisions
allows state bodies to prohibit an assembly if it is held ``at such a
distance from the Presidency, National Assembly, government buildings,
courts, or penitentiary institutions that threatens their natural
activity.'' Since the law does not specify a distance, in practice
authorities could use this provision to obstruct routine protests.
On at least two occasions early in the year authorities refused to
accept notifications by the opposition Armenian National Congress
seeking to hold demonstrations in Freedom Square. On March 17,
authorities permitted a spontaneous demonstration to enter Freedom
Square. Beginning on April 28, after the parliament approved the new
law on freedom of assembly, the government began formally permitting
demonstrations and opposition rallies in previously restricted areas of
the capital city, and all were held without incident, although
demonstrators from outside of Yerevan at times were impeded in their
attempts to travel to rallies.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected it in practice.
Nevertheless registration requirements for all political parties,
associations, and secular and religious organizations remained
cumbersome. The law gives citizens the right to form associations,
including political parties and trade unions, except for persons
serving in the armed services and law enforcement agencies.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. In practice there were some reports of limited
restrictions connected with travel to political rallies. Authorities
cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and
assistance to refugees, returning refugees and asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
In-country Movement.--During the year there were reports that
authorities restricted freedom of movement by preventing citizens
residing outside Yerevan from traveling to attend opposition rallies in
the capital. In February authorities reportedly prevented vehicles from
traveling from Gyumri to Vanadzor, where protests were being held
against changes to vehicle registration requirements. On October 6, the
ombudsman received complaints that transportation companies stopped
providing transportation services during times coinciding with
scheduled rallies. In response to an inquiry by the ombudsman, the
Ministry of Transport and Communications verified the interruption in
service of certain routes and issued a warning to all transport
companies, in particular companies operating in the cities of
Etchmiadzin and Abovyan, that they would lose their licenses if they
suspended services again.
Foreign Travel.--To leave the country on a temporary or permanent
basis, citizens must obtain exit visas. Exit visas for temporary travel
out of the country may be routinely purchased within one day of
application for approximately 1,000 drams ($2.60) for each year of
validity.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--During the country's war with
Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, authorities evacuated approximately
65,000 households from the border region, but most IDPs later returned
to their homes or settled elsewhere. During a visit to the country in
September 2010, the U.N. representative on the human rights of IDPs,
Walter Kaelin, cited a lack of adequate housing and limited economic
opportunities as remaining obstacles faced by some of the country's
IDPs and former refugees.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
granting asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for providing protection to refugees.
Refugee Abuse.--Asylum seekers serving sentences for illegal entry
into the country were generally not released following the registration
of their asylum applications and were required to serve the remainder
of their sentences.
Access to Basic Services.--Due to a lack of institutional capacity,
authorities often struggled to integrate asylum seekers into society
once they obtained permanent residency status. Housing allocated to the
refugees was often inadequate in supply and in poor condition. Refugees
faced the same social and economic hardships that confronted the
general population.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Although the constitution and law provide citizens with the right
to change their government peacefully, observers criticized government
interference with that right during the country's most recent national
elections.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Observers criticized the 2008 presidential election as significantly
flawed, with reports of favorable treatment of the government's
candidate; ballot stuffing; vote buying; multiple voting; and
intimidation of voters, candidates, and the media during the 2008
campaign. According to the OSCE, the vote count demonstrated
deficiencies of accountability and transparency, and complaints and
appeals procedures were not fully effective. The Central Election
Commission and the National Commission on Television and Radio did not
ensure that media provided a level playing field for all candidates,
and media bias was evident.
There were continuing complaints that opposition parties had
limited access to media.
On May 26, the National Assembly adopted a new electoral code that
introduced many reforms that the Venice Commission and other
international observers judged to be improvements. Nevertheless, these
reforms did not dispel concerns about their implementation, the
composition of the electoral commissions, or the continued possibility
of fraud and abuse in connection with the estimated 500,000 to 800,000
registered voters who reside abroad.
Political Parties.--There were no reports of undue legal
restrictions on the registration or activity of political parties.
Nevertheless, there were some complaints that the government used its
administrative resources to discourage contributions to opposition
parties, thereby limiting their activities. Additionally, there were
allegations that the government discriminated against members of
opposition political parties in hiring decisions.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women's participation in
political and public life, especially in decision-making bodies,
remained low. As of the end of the year, there were 11 women in the
131-seat National Assembly, two in the cabinet, and no female
governors. Only five of the elected 52 Yerevan City Council members
were women, and no women headed any of Yerevan's 12 administrative
districts.
The revised electoral code increased from 15 to 20 percent the
required proportion of female candidates included on each party list of
candidates for proportional voting. However, in the past a significant
proportion of female candidates withdrew their candidacy after the
election, with the result that the proportion of women in the National
Assembly was well below that intended by the law. The new electoral
code also introduced minimum gender balance requirements for the
central and territorial election commissions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively. Corruption
remained a serious problem; officials frequently engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity, and authorities took limited preventive
measures. Civic groups working to address corruption stated that
authorities continued to ignore media reports implicating government
officials in corrupt practices.
The government implemented some measures to combat corruption in
several state agencies and ministries. For example, it introduced
revised procedures for obtaining drivers' licenses, passports, and
business registrations to discourage the acquisition of these documents
through bribery. The effect of these measures was not reported. During
the year the Special Investigative Service investigated 58 cases of
alleged corruption. It forwarded 23 cases involving 47 people,
including 33 state officials, to the court.
On May 12, the Chamber of Control presented its 2010 annual report,
which found that the State Social Security Service issued thousands of
pensions in the names of pensioners who had been dead for years. The
report implied that this money, approximately 113 million drams
($293,500), was pocketed by officials from the service in Yerevan. The
chief of the service, Vazgen Khachikian, was dismissed from his post
shortly after the report's issuance. The Prosecutor's Office combined
the criminal case launched into the embezzlement with the criminal case
of other violations in the service, namely embezzlement of
approximately 60 million drams ($155, 840) by the regional subdivisions
of the service. At the end of the year, a special police task force was
investigating the case. The task force had not brought charges against
Khachikian at year's end, although according to official information,
24 others had been indicted.
Corruption among police remained a problem. Several anticorruption
probes of senior police officials suggested that officials were being
held accountable more frequently than in previous years for their
alleged malfeasance. On March 24, authorities arrested Major-General
Hovhannes Tamamian, head of the Directorate General of Criminal
Investigations of the national police, on charges of abusing his
authority with grave consequences. Prosecutors accused Tamamian of
deliberately mishandling the investigations of killings in May 2010 in
Yerevan and in 2009 in Gavar, presumably to help persons connected to
him. On March 15, prior to Tamamian's arrest, President Sargsian
convened an extraordinary assembly of senior law enforcement officials,
where he accused police leadership of corruption and incompetence,
alluding to the Tamamian case in particular.
On August 30, Colonel Margar Ohanian, head of the country's traffic
police, was arrested for abuse of power, grand larceny, and embezzling
218 million drams ($566,230) worth of gasoline intended for traffic
police vehicles. Ohanian was relieved of his duties on September 1 and
faced up to eight years in prison for his alleged crimes.
Financial disclosure laws require that all public officials and
their family members, as well as citizens with annual incomes exceeding
eight million drams ($20,780), file annual asset declarations. It was
unclear to what extent officials and individuals with high incomes
complied. Domestic observers reported that tax authorities lacked the
capacity and resources to verify the reliability of those asset
declarations that were filed.
Although the constitution and laws prohibit individuals engaged in
entrepreneurial activity from holding public office, businessmen
continued to occupy seats in parliament, and various government
officials reportedly continued to use their offices to promote their
private business interests.
The law provides for public access to government information. In
practice many government bodies and officials were reluctant to grant
such access. As of year's end, the government had not adopted the
regulations on the collection and provision of information that were
required by, and supplementary to, the 2003 Freedom of Information Law.
Officials cited the absence of these regulations when refusing to
provide information. NGOs were more successful in gaining access to
information through the courts than obtaining it directly from
government agencies.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restrictions, freely
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Government officials were sometimes cooperative and responsive to their
views.
Authorities generally did not deny requests to meet with domestic
NGO monitors and followed some NGO recommendations, particularly those
related to social welfare, education, and local matters. At the same
time, they were usually unresponsive to NGO allegations of mistreatment
and abuse by law enforcement bodies. Authorities' general response in
such instances was that they had investigated the allegations but could
not corroborate them.
Authorities occasionally harassed selected human rights groups. For
example, in October the group ``Army in Reality,'' together with
several human rights NGOs, joined to support families whose sons had
died in the army and who were holding regular protests in front of
government buildings. They protested against human rights violations
and noncombat deaths and demanded investigations into the deaths. The
NGOs' participation spurred negative reactions by high-ranking Defense
Ministry officials. The then deputy minister of defense, subsequently
national chief of police, Vladimir Gasparyan, in several interviews
called the ``Helsinki organizations'' participating in the initiative
``grant-eaters'' and people ``without dignity and patriotism.'' In
interviews Gasparyan accused the human rights organizations of carrying
out orders of international donors. On November 10, the Helsinki
Citizens Assembly-Vanadzor filed a lawsuit against Gasparyan and
demanded a public apology to the protesters and symbolic compensation
of 10 drams (approximately two cents) for damages to the organization's
reputation. On December 6, a member of the National Assembly from the
ruling Republican Party, Karen Avagyan, made similar comments about the
organizations in the National Assembly.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is an ombudsman whose
mandate is to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms from abuse
by the national, regional, and local governments. The National Assembly
selected a new ombudsman on March 2.
An August 2010 decree establishing a body overseeing the activities
of nonprofit organizations was not actively implemented during the
year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status. In practice the
government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a criminal offense and
carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. There are no laws explicitly
criminalizing marital rape. According to official statistics,
authorities registered 15 cases of rape and attempted rape during the
year. In connection with these cases, eight individuals were convicted,
and the remaining cases remained under investigation. Crimes such as
rape continued to be underreported due to social stigma.
There was no law that specifically addressed domestic violence.
Spousal abuse and violence against women were believed to be
widespread. From January to June, the Women's Resource Center
registered 709 calls to its hotline complaining of domestic violence. A
majority of those (442) involved psychological violence, 260 involved
physical violence, and seven involved sexual violence. The center also
reported that the number of families receiving support in its emergency
shelter increased by nine in the first half of the year; from January
to June, the shelter served 25 women with 27 children.
In addition to the one permanent NGO-supported shelter for
survivors of domestic violence, a new state-of-the-art private facility
opened in a village near Yerevan in June. The facility served
disadvantaged and vulnerable women, including, but not limited to,
domestic violence survivors.
According to domestic observers, most domestic violence continued
to go unreported because victims were afraid of physical harm,
apprehensive that police would return them to their husbands, or
ashamed to disclose their family problems. There were also reports that
police were reluctant to act in such cases and discouraged women from
filing complaints, especially in the regions outside of Yerevan. The
majority of domestic violence cases were of low or medium gravity. In
such cases a victim can decline to press charges, and victims who
reported domestic violence were often pressured by perpetrators to
withdraw charges or recant previous testimony.
In March Yanis Sargisov went on trial for causing the death of his
wife Zaruhi Petrosyan. A coalition of women's rights NGOs actively
followed the case, attending the trial, and organizing protests
demanding justice. According to Petrosyan's sister, both Petrosyan's
husband and her mother-and-law abused her. Officials did not
corroborate abuse by the mother-in-law, however, and the Guardianship
and Custody Commission of Nork-Marash administrative district of
Yerevan granted the mother-in-law custody of Petrosyan's two-year-old
daughter. On October 14, the court convicted Sargisov and sentenced him
to 10 years in prison, the maximum punishment under the law.
The police reported 528 cases of domestic violence during the year,
of which 396 were cases of abuse by a husband or a partner. Those cases
included instances of battery, intentional infliction of damage to
health, threats, and hooliganism.
Sexual Harassment.--The law does not specifically prohibit sexual
harassment, although it addresses lewd acts and indecent behavior.
While there was no public data on the extent of the problem, observers
believed that sexual harassment of women in the workplace was
widespread.
Reproductive Rights.--According to the law, couples and individuals
have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing,
and timing of their children and to have the information and means to
do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. In practice,
especially in more traditional families, such decisions were often made
by the male spouse and his parents. There was little access to, or
information about, contraception, especially in rural areas. Skilled
attendance during childbirth was more accessible in large towns and
other population centers. There were reports that women, especially
those in rural or remote areas, faced insufficient access to adequate
general and reproductive health-care services. Women were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections equally with men.
Discrimination.--Men and women enjoy equal legal status, but
discrimination on the basis of gender and age were continuing problems
in the public and private sectors. Women generally did not enjoy the
same professional opportunities or wages as men and were often
relegated to more menial or low-paying jobs. According to official
statistical data for 2010, there was a significant gap between the
average monthly salary of men and women; also the average monthly
salary for women notably decreased from younger age groups to older.
Women remained underrepresented in leadership positions in all branches
and levels of government. A survey released during the year found that
an overwhelming majority (71 percent) considered it undesirable for a
woman to be president, although more respondents considered it
desirable for women to hold leadership positions at the community or
local level.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Observers indicated that some parents, particularly the
poorest and most socially disadvantaged, were unable to register their
children at birth, in part because of the cost of transportation to
registration centers, thereby potentially depriving them of essential
social services and increasing their children's vulnerability. During
the year international donors continued to work with authorities to
address the situation.
Child Abuse.--During the year the domestic branch of the
international NGO Save the Children published an assessment of child
abuse in the regions of Kotayk, Aragatsotn, and Shirak. It reported
children were subjected to physical and psychological abuse and
neglect, particularly the failure to provide adequate food, clothing,
and shelter. Children reported being subjected to abuse outside the
home as well, including physical and psychological abuse in
institutions, schools, and occasionally on the streets. According to
the assessment, some parents also exploited their children economically
by forcing them to work. The assessment indicated that children were
unaware of their rights, and this lack of awareness appeared to make
violence against children socially acceptable.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Antitrafficking statutes prohibit
the sexual exploitation of children. These provide for sentences of
seven to 15 years in prison for trafficking of children, depending on
aggravating circumstances. Child pornography is punishable by
imprisonment for up to seven years.
According to domestic observers, the legal framework was inadequate
for assessing and prosecuting sexual crimes involving children.
Statutory rape, defined in the law as sexual acts with a person under
16, is punishable by a fine and up to two years in prison. Sexual
solicitation of minors and the failure to report statutory rape are not
crimes. During the year authorities prosecuted a high-profile case of
pedophilia in the town of Akhtala. The investigation into the case
began in January, based on a report and video recordings submitted to
the National Security Service. The recordings reportedly showed Serob
Der-Boghosian, a former adviser to the prime minister and Akhtala's
primary employer, engaging in a sexual act with an underage boy.
Reports and evidence gathered indicated that Der-Boghosian made videos
and photographs of underage boys from poor families, gave them money,
and forced them to perform sexual acts. On November 17, a court of
first instance of Lori District convicted Der-Boghosian of violent
sexual acts and sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment, the maximum
punishment under the law.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The size of the country's Jewish population was
estimated at between 500 and 1,000 persons. There were no reports of
anti-Semitic violence during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and the provision of other state services; however,
discrimination remained a problem. The law and a special government
decree mandate accessibility to buildings, including schools, for
persons with disabilities, but in practice very few buildings or other
facilities were accessible. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities but
failed to do so effectively. Official statistics showed there were
177,076 persons with disabilities as of December 31.
In spite of the large number of officially registered persons with
disabilities, disabled persons are seldom seen outside the home due to
the social stigma associated with disabilities. In extreme cases the
social stigma sometimes prompts families to hide their disabled
children completely from public view, thus depriving them of access to
education and integration into society.
Persons with all types of disabilities experienced problems in
virtually all spheres of life, including health care, social and
psychological rehabilitation, education, transportation, communication,
access to employment, and social protection. Access to information and
communications was a particularly significant problem for persons with
sensory disabilities.
Hospitals, residential care, and other facilities for persons with
serious disabilities remained substandard. According to official data,
more than 90 percent of persons with disabilities who were able to work
were unemployed.
In February the media reported that the Diplomatic School of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs refused to consider the application of
Artak Beglaryan because he was blind. Beglaryan, a graduate of the
International Relations Department of Yerevan State University,
appealed to the Administrative Court, claiming that blindness was not
included on the list of the health problems precluding public service.
He accused the ministry of discrimination. On October 10, the
Administrative Court turned down Beglaryan's appeal, holding that the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no responsibility for its Diplomatic
School.
The Helsinki Association's 2011 report included a chapter on the
conditions for patients in psychiatric clinics. The report described a
number of significant shortcomings in such clinics, in particular poor
sanitary and hygienic conditions, inadequate access to communications
and information, and inadequate medical care.
There were widespread reports of corruption and arbitrary rulings
in the Medical-Social Expertise Commission, a governmental body under
the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs that determines a person's
disability status. In his 2010 annual report, the ombudsman noted an
increase in complaints about the commission's decisions. Citizens
complained that the commission arbitrarily deprived them of disability
status despite their worsening health.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Societal attitudes toward LGBT
persons remained highly negative, with society generally viewing
homosexuality as an affliction. Societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity negatively affected the employment,
family relations, and access to education and health care of sexual
minorities.
Openly gay men were exempt from military service, purportedly
because of concern that fellow servicemen would abuse them. However,
the actual exemption required a medical finding, by means of a
psychological examination, that an individual had a mental disorder;
this information was stamped in the individual's personal documents.
According to human rights activists, sexual minorities were
frequent targets for humiliating discrimination in prisons, where they
were forced to perform degrading labor and separated from the rest of
the prison population.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
during the year of acts of societal violence or discrimination against
persons with HIV/AIDS.
Many employers reportedly discriminated against potential employees
by age, most commonly requiring job applicants to be between the ages
of 18 and 30. While this discrimination appeared to be widespread,
authorities did not take any action to mitigate it. After age 40,
unemployed workers, particularly women, had little chance of finding
jobs appropriate to their education or skills.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except for personnel of the armed forces and
law enforcement agencies, to form and to join independent unions. The
law also provides for the right to strike, with the same exceptions,
and permits collective bargaining. These activities could be conducted
without government interference. The law stipulates that workers'
rights cannot be restricted because of their membership in a union. The
labor code provides a list of reasons a person can be fired, which does
not include union activity.
Labor rights were not always respected in practice. Labor
organizations remained weak because of employer resistance, high
unemployment, and poor economic conditions. Labor unions were generally
inactive with the exception of those connected with the mining
industry. Unions were closely tied to the government. There were no
reports of specific acts of antiunion discrimination; but there were
reports that some mining enterprises, including some financed by
foreign investors, discouraged employees from joining labor unions with
the implied threat of loss of employment.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced and compulsory labor but there were reports that
women and girls were subjected to conditions of forced labor and that
men were subjected to forced labor in the construction sector. A small
number of girls were subjected to sex trafficking and boys to forced
begging.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace. The minimum age for employment is 16, but children may
work from the age of 14 with permission of a parent or a guardian.
Persons under 18 are prohibited from working overtime; in harmful,
strenuous, or dangerous conditions; at night; or on holidays.
Authorities responsible for enforcing compliance with child labor law
failed to implement the law in practice.
According to observers, many children, especially in rural regions,
worked in family enterprises, mainly in agriculture. Observers also
reported seeing children in Yerevan selling flowers and drawings and
working in local markets after school hours. Children also worked in
trade, construction, and car services, operated vehicles, and gathered
waste metal and bottles. According to a 2008 UNICEF study on child
labor, 4.7 percent of children between seven and 18 years of age had
paying jobs. This percentage did not include children working on family
farms or in family businesses. The survey also found almost one-third
of working children were below the legal working age, almost all
children worked without legal contracts, and some children were
employed in heavy manual work as laborers and loaders.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage was
32,500 drams ($84.41), which was approximately equal to the poverty
line.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, 28 days of mandatory
annual leave, and compensation for overtime and nighttime work. The law
provides that compulsory overtime cannot exceed four hours in two
consecutive days and 180 hours within a year. In practice authorities
did not effectively enforce these standards. Many private sector
employees were unable to obtain paid leave and were required to work
more than eight hours a day without compensation. According to
representatives of some employment agencies, many employers also
continued to hire employees for a ``probationary'' period of 10 to 30
days, during which they were not paid. Often these employees were
subsequently dismissed and unable to claim payment for the time they
worked because their initial employment was undocumented.
Occupational and health standards were established by government
decree. The State Labor Inspectorate, with its 140 inspectors, was
responsible for enforcing these standards but did not do so
effectively. During the year the State Labor Inspectorate reportedly
made little progress toward implementing an inspection regime or
enforcing the labor code, and its work was reportedly undermined by
corruption. Managers of enterprises that were the primary employers in
certain poor areas frequently took advantage of the absence of
alternative jobs and neglected issues related to adequate pay, job
safety, and environmental concerns. Workers in the informal sector were
excluded from any form of governmental protection.
Work safety and health conditions remained substandard in numerous
sectors, and there was one fatal workplace incident during the year.
__________
AUSTRIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Austria is a parliamentary democracy with
constitutional power shared between a popularly elected president and a
bicameral parliament (Federal Assembly), in which the members of one
house are directly elected and the other named by the constituent
states. In practice the multiparty parliament and the coalition
government it elects exercise most day-to-day governmental powers.
National parliamentary elections in 2008 and presidential elections in
2009 were free and fair.
There were no widespread and systemic human rights abuses during
the year. There continued to be reports that police at times used
excessive force, particularly against members of minority groups.
Societal discrimination persisted against ethnic minorities, including
Muslims of immigrant origin, Roma, Jews, and foreigners of African
origin.
Other reported abuses included shortcomings in detention centers,
particularly those holding persons awaiting deportation. Freedom of
speech was restricted by laws that criminalize the public denial,
belittlement, approval, or justification of Nazi genocide, and by laws
forbidding incitement, insult, or expressions of contempt toward a
group because of its members' race, nationality, or ethnicity. Public
corruption remained a problem, as did violence against women and
children. There were unconfirmed reports that female genital mutilation
(FGM) was practiced among some immigrant groups. There were some anti-
Semitic incidents, including physical attacks, taunting, property
damage, and vilifying and threatening letters and telephone calls. Laws
mandating access for persons with disabilities were not adequately
enforced.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were few
indications that government officials employed them. The government
investigated allegations of such practices and prosecuted cases in
which credible evidence was found. A Human Rights Advisory Council
monitored police respect for human rights and made recommendations to
the interior minister.
In late December the public prosecutor began an investigation into
allegations that earlier in the month a police officer in Graz used
excessive force against an animal-rights activist attempting to film a
hunt.
In September a Vienna appellate court reduced from 2,800 euros to
1,600 euros ($3,640 to $2,080) the fine imposed on the police officer
found guilty of negligence in the 2009 beating of a foreign citizen.
The court found that the incident had not been racially motivated, as
originally charged.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
Nevertheless, improving conditions in detention centers was one of the
key recommendations resulting from the Universal Periodic Review of the
country's human rights performance to the U.N. Human Rights Council in
January. The recommendations of the review also included that Austria
provide free legal counsel to persons awaiting deportation.
According to January statistics from the Justice Ministry, there
were 8,540 persons in prison, including 555 women and 650 juveniles.
Human rights groups continued to criticize the incarceration of
nonviolent offenders, including persons awaiting deportation, for long
periods in single cells or inadequate facilities designed for temporary
detention. Beginning on October 1, in keeping with EU regulations and a
ruling by the Constitutional Court, authorities made free advice from
the legal experts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) available to
asylum seekers and those in detention while awaiting deportation.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. The government investigated and monitored prison
and detention center conditions. The federal ombudsman's office can
investigate on behalf of prisoners and detainees but cannot consider
such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders
to alleviate overcrowding. There were strict checks on the enforcement
of pretrial detention restrictions and bail provisions, and detailed
recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners did not serve beyond
the maximum sentence for the offense with which they were charged.
NGOs monitored detained prisoners on a regular basis.
Prisoners had access to potable water, and prison conditions for
women and men were generally the same. The federal ombudsman monitors
the situation in prisons. There are sentencing alternatives for
nonviolent offenders.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and information available during the year
suggested that the government generally observed these prohibitions.
However, the strict application of libel laws tended to discourage
reports of police abuse.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police and army, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year.
NGOs continued to criticize the police for allegedly targeting
minorities for frequent identity checks. Racial sensitivity training
for police and other officials continued with NGO assistance. In
response to a 2010 report by the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture, the government expanded human rights training
for police officials in detention centers.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests are
based on sufficient evidence and based on documentation issued by a
duly authorized official. The arrested person is brought before an
independent judiciary. In criminal cases the law allows investigative
or pretrial detention for up to 48 hours, during which a judge may
decide to grant a prosecution request for extended detention. The law
specifies the grounds for investigative detention and conditions for
bail. The judge is required to evaluate investigative detention cases
periodically. The maximum duration for investigative detention is two
years. There is a functioning bail system. Police and judicial
authorities generally respected these laws and procedures in practice.
Detainees have the right to a lawyer. Although indigent criminal
suspects have the right to an attorney at government expense, the
criminal procedures code requires an attorney be appointed only after a
court decision to remand such suspects into custody (i.e., 96 hours
after apprehension). Criminal suspects are not legally required to
answer questions without an attorney present.
There were isolated reports of police abuse, which authorities
investigated.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial.
Persons charged with criminal offenses are presumed innocent until
proven guilty; juries are used in trials for major offenses. Attorneys
are not mandatory in minor offense cases, but legal counsel is
available at no charge for needy persons in cases where attorneys are
mandatory. Trials must be public and conducted orally. Defendants can
confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and
evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. A system of judicial
review provides multiple opportunities for appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decided 11 cases involving
Austria and found violations in four. The cases concerned the
protection of property, the right to a fair trial, and the prohibition
of discrimination. The government complied with the ECHR orders and
decisions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including an appellate
system. These institutions are accessible to plaintiffs seeking damages
for human rights violations. Administrative and judicial remedies were
available for redressing alleged wrongs. Individuals could appeal
adverse decisions to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and the press.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views
with few restrictions. Individuals generally could criticize the
government publicly or privately without reprisal.
The law prohibits public denial, belittlement, approval, or
justification of the Nazi genocide or other Nazi crimes against
humanity in a print publication, a broadcast, or other media. It also
prohibits incitement, insult, or contempt against a group because of
its members' race, nationality, or ethnicity if the statement violates
human dignity. The government strictly enforced these laws (see Section
6, Anti-Semitism).
Strict libel laws discouraged reporting of governmental abuse. For
example, many observers believed that the ability and willingness of
the police to sue for libel discouraged individuals from reporting
abuse by police.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
In April authorities arrested three men because of their connection
to a neo-Nazi Web site that displayed links to Hitler's Mein Kampf,
called for actions to preserve the ``German heritage,'' and denounced
persons who fight right-wing extremism. The suspects were charged under
the law banning neo-Nazi activity and were awaiting trial at year's
end.
There were no reports that the government attempted to collect
personally identifiable information of persons in connection with their
peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or
beliefs. There were no reports that the government censored Web sites.
However, authorities continued to try to restrict access to Web sites
containing information that violated the law, such as neo-Nazi and
child pornography sites. Authorities restricted access to banned sites
by trying to shut down such sites and forbidding the country's Internet
service providers to carry them.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
In-country Movement.--Asylum seekers' freedom of movement was
restricted to the district of the refugee camp where authorities
assigned them for the duration of their initial application process,
i.e., until the country's responsibility for examining the application
is determined. Under the law asylum seekers must be physically present
in the centers of first reception for up to 120 hours during the
initial application process. Authorities had 20 days in which to
determine Austria's responsibility and jurisdiction.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. Rejected
asylum seekers have recourse to the Federal Asylum Court, a special
court mandated to process asylum cases, and the right to appeal to the
Constitutional Court when constitutional issues arise. Some asylum
advocates criticized the limited right of asylum seekers to appeal
their cases.
Safe Country of Origin or Transit.--The government requires asylum
seekers who transit a country determined to be ``safe'' to return to
that country to seek refugee status. Authorities consider all
signatories to the 1951 refugee convention and its 1967 protocol to be
safe countries of transit. However, in response to a ruling by the ECHR
and the recommendations of the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, the
government in February put a de facto halt to the return of asylum
seekers to Greece.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
In October Human Rights Watch released a report criticizing the
deportation back to Kosovo of Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians by a number
of European countries, including Austria, because adequate reception
conditions for safe and dignified returns had not been established.
Similarly, the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights urged
European states to stop forced returns until Kosovo could provide
adequate living conditions, health care, social services, and
employment. Authorities continued deportations to Kosovo during the
year.
Access to Basic Services.--Asylum seekers and refugees were
entitled to state medical care, a subsistence allowance, and housing.
While they were legally restricted from seeking regular employment,
they were eligible for seasonal employment. Asylum seekers and refugees
between the ages of six and 15 were eligible to go to school.
Temporary Protection.--The government did not provide temporary
protection during the year to any individuals who did not qualify as
refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
country held national parliamentary elections in 2008 and presidential
elections in 2009; there were no reports of serious abuse or
irregularities in either election.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The parliament consists of
the National Council, which is popularly elected, and the Federal
Council, whose members are named by the federal states. At year's end
50 women were in the 183-seat National Council and 19 women in the 62-
member Federal Council. There were six women in the 14-member Council
of Ministers (cabinet).
There appeared to be relatively little representation of ethnic
minorities at the national level. The Federal Council includes one
Muslim woman.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. The
Central Public Corruption Prosecution Department has countrywide
authority to prosecute cases. Anticorruption laws and regulations
extend to civil servants, public officials, governors, members of
parliament, and employees and representatives of the country's
companies. The law is well developed, but the government's record on
execution and prosecution lagged. In October the state prosecutor began
investigating a senior interior ministry staffer for abuse of office.
In October the parliament established a committee to investigate a
series of corruption charges against former government officials,
including former ministers of defense, interior, and infrastructure.
There are financial disclosure laws for public officials, and there
were no reports of failure to comply with disclosure requirements.
The courts are responsible for adjudicating corruption cases.
Parliamentary committees oversee ethics rules for elected officials.
The law provides for full public access to government information,
and the government generally respected this provision in practice.
Authorities may only deny access if it would violate substantial data
protection rights or involve national security information. Petitioners
could challenge denials before the Administrative Court.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views, but some
groups were dissatisfied with the information supplied by authorities
in response to specific complaints. Several NGOs complained that the
government did not consult civil society in preparing Austria's
response to Universal Periodic Review recommendations for the U.N.
Human Rights Council, particularly those relating to detention center
conditions.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--A human rights ombudsman's office
consisting of three independent commissioners examines complaints
against the government. There were no parliamentary human rights
committees.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for protection against discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the
government generally enforced these protections. In October the
parliament passed a law prohibiting public incitement against persons
with disabilities.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Abuse.--Under the law rape, including
spousal rape, is punishable by up to 15 years' imprisonment. The
government generally enforced the law. Government statistics on rape
and sexual coercion included 1,156 reported occurrences and 146
convictions in 2010. There were no reports of police or judicial
reluctance to prosecute spousal or other rape cases.
Domestic violence is illegal, but violence against women, including
spousal abuse, was a problem. The Office of Women's Affairs and Civil
Service estimated that 10 percent of adult women have suffered from
violence in a relationship. Fewer than 10 percent of women abused by an
intimate partner filed complaints. Police can issue a two-week order
barring abusive family members from contact with the victim, and courts
may extend the order for up to six months. Domestic violence is
punishable under the criminal code provisions for murder, rape, sexual
abuse, and bodily injury.
According to Justice Ministry statistics released in February,
courts issued injunctions prohibiting abusive family members from
returning home in 6,759 cases in 2010.
Under the law psychosocial care, as well as legal aid and support
throughout the justice process, is mandated for survivors of gender-
based violence. Police training programs address sexual or gender-based
violence and domestic abuse.
The government funded privately operated intervention centers and
hotlines for victims of domestic abuse. The centers provided for
victims' safety, assessed the threat posed by perpetrators, helped
victims develop plans to stop the abuse, and provided legal counseling
and other social services. NGOs observed that these centers were
generally effective in providing shelter for victims of abuse.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--Authorities can prosecute FGM
under the criminal code's general bodily injury provisions; it is
punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. There were unconfirmed
reports by NGOs that FGM was practiced in some immigrant communities,
but no information on the incidence of this practice was available.
There were no reports of police or judicial reluctance to pursue FGM
cases.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, and the
government generally enforced the law. Of the 3,479 cases of
discrimination brought to the ombudsman in 2010 for reasons of gender,
422 involved sexual harassment. The labor courts may order employers to
compensate victims of sexual harassment on the basis of the Federal
Equality Commission's finding in a case; the law entitles a victim to a
minimum of 1,000 euros ($1,300) in financial compensation.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and are free to do so without any discrimination, coercion,
or violence. Statistics Austria reported that during the year there
were approximately four maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Women
were diagnosed and treated on an equal basis with men for sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights as men, and the
Federal Equality Commission and the ombudsman for equal treatment of
gender oversee laws requiring equal treatment of men and women. The
ombudsman provides advice in discrimination cases and can file
complaints with the Federal Equality Commission on behalf of persons
who assert that they have been discriminated against. The minister for
women's affairs and social service is responsible for promoting the
legal rights of women.
According to Statistics Austria's Women's Report 2010, released in
February, women earned on average 25.5 percent less than men and 15
percent less for equivalent work. The participation for women ages 15
to 64 in the labor force was 69 percent, approximately the same as for
men. The report attributed an observed increase in female participation
in the labor market to a rise in part-time work. Approximately 41.5
percent of employed women worked part time, compared with 30.7 percent
in 1998.
Female employees in the private sector may invoke laws prohibiting
discrimination against women. Depending on the Federal Equality
Commission's findings, labor courts may award the equivalent of up to
four months' salary to women who are found to have experienced gender
discrimination in promotion. The courts may also order compensation for
women who were denied a post despite having equal qualifications.
Children.--Birth Registration.--By law children derive citizenship
from one or both parents. Births are registered immediately.
Child Abuse.--According to Interior Ministry statistics, 1,391
cases of child abuse were reported to authorities in 2010, most
involving intercourse with a minor. Child abuse is punishable by up
five years' imprisonment, extendable to 10 years if the victim dies
because of negligence. Severe sexual abuse or rape of a minor is
punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment, which may be increased to
life if the victim dies as a result of the abuse. The Justice Ministry
reported in October that prosecutors obtained convictions in 410 cases
of child abuse in 2010.
The government continued its efforts to monitor child abuse and
prosecute offenders. The Ministry for Economics, Family, and Youth
estimated that close family members or family friends committed 90
percent of child abuse. Officials noted a growing readiness to report
instances of child abuse.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides up to 10 years'
imprisonment for an adult convicted of sexual intercourse with a child
under the age of 14. If the victim becomes pregnant, the sentence may
be extended to 15 years. In 2010, according to government statistics,
413 cases were reported and 153 convictions obtained for sexual abuse
and severe sexual abuse of minors.
It is a crime to possess, trade, or privately view child
pornography. Exchanging pornographic videos of children is illegal.
Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to two years'
imprisonment; trading in child pornography is punishable by up to 10
years' imprisonment. According to government statistics, 315 instances
of these abuses were reported, and prosecutors obtained 208
convictions.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for legal marriage is 18.
Adolescents between 16 and 18 may contract a legal marriage if they
have obtained a special permit for this purpose. During the year the
media occasionally carried reports of underage marriage, primarily in
the Muslim and Romani communities, but such cases were undocumented.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to 2001 census figures and 2011 estimates
from the Vienna Institute of Demography, a branch of the Austrian
Academy of Sciences, the Jewish community in the country numbered
approximately 7,000.
The NGO Forum against Anti-Semitism reported 70 anti-Semitic
incidents in 2010, including four physical assaults in addition to name
calling, graffiti and defacement, threatening letters, anti-Semitic
Internet postings, property damage, and vilifying letters and telephone
calls. The Vienna Jewish Community's offices and other Jewish community
institutions in the country, such as schools and museums, continued to
receive extra police protection.
The law banning neo-Nazi activity prohibits public denial,
belittlement, approval, or justification of the Nazi genocide or other
Nazi crimes against humanity in print publication, broadcast, or other
media. The government strictly enforced these laws. For example, in
April authorities arrested three men connected to a Web site that
displayed links to Hitler's Mein Kampf, called for actions to preserve
the ``German heritage,'' and denounced persons who fight right-wing
extremism.
On September 11, the Vienna Criminal Court granted parole to
convicted Holocaust denier Gerd Honsik on condition that he not commit
any other offenses in the next three years. Honsik was serving a two-
year prison sentence for violating the law prohibiting neo-Nazi
activities. The conviction stemmed from the 2009 publication of two
neo-Nazi books in which Honsik made accusations concerning the work of
Simon Wiesenthal.
On October 15, an Austrian soldier participating in an
international peacekeeping mission in Syria reportedly bought flags
depicting banned Nazi-era signs and slogans. The soldier was
repatriated and faced disciplinary measures, as well as a possible
indictment, for violating Austrian law prohibiting neo-Nazi activities.
School curricula fostered discussion of the Holocaust and the
tenets of different religions and advocated religious tolerance. The
Education Ministry offered special teacher training seminars on
Holocaust education while also conducting training projects with the
Anti-Defamation League.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects persons with physical,
sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities from discrimination in
housing, education, employment, and access to health care and other
government services. The government's performance in enforcing these
provisions was mixed.
Federal law mandates access to public buildings for persons with
physical disabilities; however, NGOs complained that many public
buildings lacked such access due to insufficient enforcement of the law
and low penalties for noncompliance. Persons with disabilities
generally had access to information and communications.
The law provides for involuntary sterilization of adults with
mental disabilities in cases where a pregnancy would be considered life
threatening. However, authorities have not performed any involuntary
sterilization in recent years. The law prohibits the sterilization of
minors.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Consumer Protection
handles disability-related problems. The government funded a wide range
of programs for persons with disabilities, including the providing
transportation and other assistance to help integrate schoolchildren
with disabilities into regular classes and employees with disabilities
into the workplace.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Interior Ministry statistics
released in September cited 580 neo-Nazi, right-wing extremist,
xenophobic, or anti-Semitic incidents in 2010. The government continued
to express concern over the activities of extreme right-wing and neo-
Nazi groups, many with links to organizations in other countries.
An NGO operating a hotline for victims of racist incidents reported
745 complaints in 2010. It noted an increase in verbal abuse against
women wearing headscarves.
In October a court in Styria Province acquitted a right-wing party
official of charges of anti-Muslim incitement. The charges stemmed from
an Internet pop-up game appearing on the party's Web site that allowed
players to ``gain points'' by pasting stop signs on minarets and men in
traditional Turkish attire. The public prosecutor appealed the verdict.
Human rights groups continued to report that Roma faced
discrimination in employment and housing. The head of the Austrian
Romani Cultural Association reported that the situation of the Romani
community, estimated at more than 6,200 indigenous, and between 15,000
and 20,000 nonindigenous, individuals, continued to improve. Government
programs, including financing for tutors, helped school-age Romani
children move out of ``special needs'' and into mainstream classes.
NGOs reported that Africans living in the country experienced
verbal harassment in public. In some cases black Africans were
stigmatized for perceived involvement in the drug trade or other
illegal activities.
In response to criticism that it had failed to enforce
Constitutional Court rulings regarding the Slovene minority's language
rights in Carinthia Province, parliament on July 6 passed a law
doubling the number of bilingual town signs, wider use of the Slovene
language in administrative offices, and funding for Slovene cultural
and educational institutions. Federal law recognizes Croats, Czechs,
Hungarians, Roma, Slovaks, and Slovenes as national minorities.
The government continued training programs to combat racism and
educate the police in cultural sensitivity. The Interior Ministry
renewed an agreement with a Jewish group to teach police officers
cultural sensitivity, religious tolerance, and the acceptance of
minorities.
Poor German-language skills were a major factor preventing
minorities from entering the workforce. The Labor Ministry continued
efforts to combat this situation by providing German-language
instruction and skilled-labor training to young persons with immigrant
backgrounds.
In April the government appointed its first state secretary for
integration. Reporting to the interior minister, the state secretary is
responsible for coordinating the government's efforts to integrate the
country's immigrants.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was some societal
prejudice against gay men and lesbians; however, there were no reports
of violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
identity. Organizations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
persons generally operated freely. Vienna hosted an annual gay pride
march in July, and the city provided police protection.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers the right to form and join independent unions
and bargain collectively. It prohibits antiunion discrimination or
retaliation against strikers, and provides for the reinstatement of
workers fired for union activity. It allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference. The Austrian Trade Union Federation
was the exclusive entity representing workers in collective bargaining.
Unions are technically independent of government and political parties,
although some sectors have unions closely associated with parties.
There were no reports of antiunion discrimination or other forms of
employer interference in union functions. The right to strike was
recognized in practice. Laws providing for collective bargaining,
protecting unions from interference and workers from retaliation for
union activities were enforced. There were no reported instances of
antiunion discrimination or employer use of short-term contracts to
avoid hiring workers with union rights.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that women were subjected to involuntary domestic servitude and
that children were subjected to forced begging.
See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum legal working age is 15, with the exception that children at
least 12 years old may engage in certain forms of light work on family
farms or businesses. Children age 15 and older are subject to the same
regulations on hours, rest periods, overtime wages, and occupational
health and safety restrictions as adults, except for additional
limitations on hazardous forms of work or limitations for ethical
reasons.
Laws and policies protect children from exploitation in the
workplace and prohibit forced or compulsory labor, and the government
generally enforced these laws and policies effectively.
There were reports of trafficking of children for begging. In 2010
the Crisis Center for Unaccompanied Minors in Vienna assisted 40
children, primarily from Bulgaria and Romania, who were subjected to
forced begging in the country.
The labor inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs,
and Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcing child labor laws
and policies in the workplace, and the inspectorate enforced the laws
effectively. The labor inspectorate did not find any violations of
child labor laws during the year.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislated national
minimum wage. Instead, nationwide collective bargaining agreements set
minimum wages by job classification for each industry. All collective
bargaining agreements provide for a minimum wage of 1,000 euros
($1,300) per month--the official poverty level was 951 euros ($1,236)
per month. Wages where no such collective agreements exist, such as for
domestic workers, janitorial staff, and au pairs, are regulated in
pertinent law and are generally lower than those covered by collective
bargaining agreements.
The law provides for a maximum workweek of 40 hours, but collective
bargaining agreements also give more than half of all employees 38- or
38.5-hour workweeks. Regulations to increase flexibility in work hours
allow firms to increase the maximum regular time from 40 hours to 50
hours per week with overtime. In special cases work hours can be
increased to a maximum of 60 hours per week, including overtime, for a
maximum of 24 weeks annually. However, these 24 weeks can only be in
eight-week segments, with at least a two-week break between each eight-
week period.
Overtime is officially limited to five hours per week and 60 hours
per year; however, authorities did not enforce these laws and
regulations effectively, and some employers exceeded legal limits on
compulsory overtime. Collective bargaining agreements can specify
higher limits. The law stipulates premium pay of 50 percent for
overtime and requires time off on weekends and official holidays. An
employee must have at least 11 hours off between workdays. Wage and
hour standards were equitably enforced across all groups.
Foreign workers in both the formal and informal sectors make up
approximately 13 percent of the country's workforce. Wage and hour
regulations were not effectively enforced in the informal sector.
The labor inspectorate regularly enforced mandatory occupational
health and safety standards. Workers could file complaints anonymously
with the labor inspectorate, which could sue the employer on behalf of
the employee. However, workers rarely exercised this option and
normally relied instead on the nongovernmental worker's advocacy group,
the Chamber of Labor, which filed suits on their behalf.
The law gives workers the right to remove themselves from a job
without incurring any prejudice to their careers if they fear serious,
immediate danger to life and health, and workers were able to exercise
this right in practice.
__________
AZERBAIJAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Azerbaijan constitution provides for a republic with a
presidential form of government. Legislative authority is vested in the
Milli Mejlis (parliament). In practice the president dominated the
executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. November
2010 Milli Mejlis elections did not meet a number of key standards of
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for
democratic elections. Although there were more than 50 political
parties, the president's party, the Yeni Azerbaijan Party, dominated
the political system. Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's
support, continued to control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of
the country and seven surrounding Azerbaijani territories. The
government did not exercise any control over developments in those
territories. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem during the year was the
restriction of freedoms of expression, assembly, and association. For
example, throughout the year, but especially in the spring, several
political protests calling for democratic reform and the government's
resignation were forcefully dispersed, and 15 protesters were sentenced
to 18 months to three years in jail for their participation in such
protests. Applications to hold protests in Baku were repeatedly denied
throughout the year. A second significant human rights problem involved
the fairness of the administration of justice due to reports of strong
executive branch influence over the judiciary, lack of due process,
politically motivated imprisonments, measures against independent
lawyers, and reports of torture and abuse in police or military custody
that resulted in at least nine deaths. A third major problem area was
the violation of citizens' property rights, including forced evictions
and demolitions on dubious eminent domain grounds, and inadequate
compensation.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included
generally harsh prison conditions that in some cases were life
threatening. Arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of
individuals considered by the government to be political opponents, and
lengthy pretrial detention continued. The government continued to
imprison persons for political reasons, although authorities released
some of these individuals during the year. The government continued to
restrict the religious freedom of some unregistered Muslim and
Christian groups. Pervasive corruption, including in the judiciary and
law enforcement organizations, continued. Cases of violence against
women were also reported. Trafficking in persons remained a problem.
The government failed to take steps to prosecute or punish most
officials who committed human rights abuses. Impunity remained a
problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed any arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year. However, human rights monitors
reported that at least nine persons died in police or military custody.
For example, on January 13, Elvin Asgarov died while being taken
into the custody of Baku's Nizami Police. Police stated that Asgarov
died from injuries suffered when he fell several times while running
from police. Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and
representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) found this claim less than credible based on autopsy
photos of his injuries. After Asgarov family members came forward with
their suspicions, Khalid Baghirov, the family's lawyer, was suspended
from the government-influenced bar association for allegedly slandering
the police.
On August 28, Turaj Zeynalov died while in the custody of Ministry
of National Security officials in Nakhchivan. The ministry at first
claimed the death was due to skin cancer and stated that the burns and
injuries found on his chest, back, and stomach were the result of
radiation treatment. NGOs disputed these assertions. A video of
Zeynalov's body, filmed at his funeral and posted on the Internet on
December 6, showed signs of abuse.
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia's support, continued to
control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven
surrounding Azerbaijani territories. During the year shooting incidents
continued along the militarized line of contact separating the two
sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and caused numerous casualties
on both sides. Figures for civilian casualties along the line of
contact were not available.
Abuse in the military was widespread and at times resulted in
death. Local human rights organizations reported that there were at
least 97 deaths in the military during the year, 83 of which were not
related to combat, including 17 soldiers killed by fellow servicemen,
12 who committed suicide, and nine who died in unknown circumstances.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
The State Committee on the Captive and Missing reported that 4,046
Azerbaijani citizens were registered as missing persons as the result
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It further reported that three
Armenian military personnel and one civilian departed the territory of
Azerbaijan. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) sent these three military personnel to a third country and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the return
of the civilian to Armenia. The State Committee also reported the
return of one Azerbaijani solider through the auspices of the ICRC.
The ICRC continued to process cases of persons missing in
connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and worked with the
government to develop a consolidated list of missing persons. At year's
end, according to tracing requests made by relatives to the ICRC, 4,603
persons remained unaccounted for as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, with 4,193 cases being handled by the ICRC in Azerbaijan,
including Nagorno-Karabakh.
The ICRC continued to pay special attention to prisoners of war and
civilian internees (POWs/CIs) and conducted monthly visits throughout
the year to ensure their protection under international humanitarian
law. The ICRC regularly facilitated the exchange of Red Cross messages
between POWs/CIs and their families to help them reestablish and
maintain contact. The government reported that the ICRC facilitated the
repatriation of one prisoner of war and one civilian internee.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and criminal code prohibit such practices
and provide for penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment. However,
there were credible reports security forces beat detainees to extract
confessions and assaulted demonstrators and journalists and military
personnel physically abused subordinates. Reports indicated that most
mistreatment took place while detainees were in custody at a police
station; most detainees reported that abuse ceased once they were
transferred to a pretrial detention facility.
Domestic human rights monitors reported that security forces
tortured or abused 136 persons in custody during the year, compared
with 169 in 2010; at least nine individuals died in custody (see
section 1.a.). Impunity remained a problem. Authorities reportedly
maintained a de facto ban on independent forensic examinations of
detainees who claimed mistreatment and delayed their access to an
attorney.
Democracy activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, arrested January 24 on
charges of draft evasion, reported that he was punched and threatened
with rape shortly after his bail was revoked on March 4 (see section
1.e.). According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Hajiyev's lawyer Elchin
Namazov observed an open wound on his client's neck, bruises on his
eyes, and a hematoma on his nose during a March 5 visit. Namazov
reportedly requested the General Prosecutor's Office to investigate,
citing a medical report on Hajiyev's condition prepared by a detention
center doctor. The ombudsman's representatives visited Hajiyev on March
7 and reported a one-inch scratch on his neck. The Ombudsman's Office
appealed to the prosecutor general to investigate the abuse allegation.
On March 18, the Prosecutor General's Office replied that no abuse had
been confirmed, which it reiterated during a Supreme Court hearing on
December 5.
Local observers reported widespread bullying and abuse in military
units during the year, including physical and sexual abuse. In one case
online sources reported that soldier Zakir Quliyev shot six colleagues
on February 20 and then committed suicide, in reaction to mistreatment
Quliyev experienced from fellow soldier Nurlan Suanverdiyev. The
sources quoted a prosecutor's statement that nine officers from
Quliyev's military unit were arrested and tried in a Ganja city court
on abuse and misconduct charges in a separate case. The military
commander of the unit was dismissed. Authorities charged Suanverdiyev
with taking bribes, abusing other soldiers, and abuse of power. His
case was pending at year's end. Parents of the soldiers who were killed
in the incident complained in a written appeal to the president that
the investigation was unfair and not transparent.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
harsh, and some prison conditions were life threatening, despite
continuing prison infrastructure improvements. Overcrowding, inadequate
nutrition, deficient heating and ventilation, lack of water, and poor
medical care combined to make the spread of infectious diseases a
problem.
The prison population numbered approximately 20,000 persons. Of
these, 13.5 percent were in pretrial detention; 2.1 percent were women.
Reports of rape in the prison system were rare.
According to the ICRC, the government undertook significant efforts
to improve detention conditions by building new facilities and
modernizing existing detention centers. During the year the Ministry of
Justice assumed responsibility for an ICRC-initiated campaign to fight
tuberculosis in detention facilities, a program that experts considered
a model in the region.
Despite continuing infrastructure improvements, most prisons were
Soviet-era facilities that did not meet international standards.
Authorities limited physical exercise for prisoners as well as visits
by attorneys and family members. There were few opportunities for
prisoners to work or receive training. Former prisoners reported guards
punished prisoners with beatings or holding them in isolation cells.
Local and international monitors continued to report poor conditions at
the maximum security Qobustan Prison.
The Ministry of Justice reported that 113 persons died in detention
during the year, an increase from 106 deaths reported in 2010. The
ministry reported treating 746 prisoners for tuberculosis, up from 497
in 2010. Tuberculosis remained the leading cause of death in prison
facilities, but according to the Ministry of Justice, deaths from it
decreased to 24. The government reported that the other major causes of
death among prisoners and detainees were cancer (13), HIV/AIDS (six),
and suicide (10).
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported two cases of suicide in
pretrial detention facilities. Authorities dismissed three officers,
including the chief of one detention facility, and reprimanded another
detention facility chief for negligence in connection with these
deaths.
Men and women were held together in pretrial detention facilities;
however, all women were housed in a separate prison facility after
being sentenced. Local NGO observers reported that female prisoners
lived in better conditions than male prisoners, were monitored more
frequently, and had more access to training and other activities.
Although minors were also supposed to be held in separate facilities,
international monitors observed some children being held with adults.
Prisoners had access to family visitors and were permitted religious
observance. While most reported that they could submit complaints to
judicial authorities and the ombudsman's office without censorship,
domestic NGOs reported that some prisoners in high security facilities
had difficulty submitting complaints to judicial authorities. Prison
authorities regularly read prisoners' correspondence. Prison record
keeping appeared sufficient. The national human rights ombudsman and
the ombudsman for the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic received a variety
of human rights complaints, including from prisoners.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that on January 26, it
allocated 236,000 manat ($295,000) for the renovation of detention
facilities. The ministry stated that during the year it constructed new
pretrial detention facilities for the Antitrafficking Department and
for the police departments of the Nasimi District and Sabunchu
districts of Baku, as well as those of Absheron, Samukh, Hajugabul,
Tovuz, and Guba districts. It renovated the pretrial detention
facilities at the Bilajari Main Transportation Police Department and
the Khatai, Binagadi, and Yasamal districts of Baku, as well as in
Aghdash, Aghsu, Goranboy, Khojaly, Ujar, Bilasuvar, Barda, Gakh,
Gazakh, Gobustan, Zagatala, Imishli, Yevlakh, Khyzy, Jalilabad,
Shirvan, Saatly, Gabala, and Beylagan. At year's end construction
continued at the Nizami District of Baku, as well as in Sumgayit and
Lankaran.
The Ministry of Justice reported that during the year it renovated
prisons Nos. 4, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, and 17. It further reported that,
at prisons Nos. 2, 5, and 16, it installed treatment facilities,
fostering facilities, and heating systems. It reported the completion
of five out of nine blocks at the Baku pretrial (investigation)
detention facility. It started construction at the Shaki mixed regime
penitentiary.
The government permitted some prison visits by international and
local humanitarian and human rights groups, including the ICRC, Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), OSCE, EU
(accompanied by some of its members' missions), and Azerbaijan
Committee against Torture. Since 2009 the Ministry of Justice has
required the Azerbaijan Committee against Torture to obtain prior
notification before visiting its facilities, but the Ministry of
Internal Affairs continued to allow the committee immediate access to
its pretrial detention centers. The ICRC had unobstructed access to the
POWs/CIs who were held in connection with the conflict over Nagorno-
Karabakh as well as to detainees held in facilities under the authority
of the Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, and National Security.
A joint government-human rights community prison monitoring group,
known as the Public Committee, was able to gain access to prisons, but
only with prior notification to the Penitentiary Service. On some
occasions during the year, however, the group reportedly experienced
difficulty obtaining access even with prior notification. Nevertheless
the committee was able to conduct 22 monitoring visits, consulting with
369 prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, the government generally did not
observe these prohibitions in practice, and impunity remained a
problem.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Ministry of National Security are responsible
for internal security and report directly to the president. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs oversees local police forces and maintains
internal civil defense troops. The Ministry of National Security has a
separate internal security force.
The OSCE mission in Baku reported that police crowd control tactics
observed during peaceful demonstrations in March and April appeared
``more appropriate, proportional, and measured'' than in the past and
reflected standards taught during OSCE training.
While security forces were generally able to act with impunity, the
government asserted that it took action against 248 Ministry of
Internal Affairs employees during the year, dismissing 24, demoting 10,
and administering other forms of disciplinary punishment to 214. The
ministry further reported that it brought 175 counts of misconduct
against ministry officials accused of violating citizens' rights.
The Ministry of Justice reported that 474 of its employees were
disciplined for impeding citizen's legal rights during the year. The
ministry referred 11officials, involved in eight cases, to the
Prosecutor General's Office for investigation. During the year nine
officials were charged with fraud, embezzlement, and/or abuse of power,
and four were convicted. Two investigations were pending at year's end.
The military prosecutor reported 37 cases against 47 officials in
the Ministry of Defense in 2011. Also during the year, 54 officers were
disciplined for abusing subordinates. Additionally, the military
prosecutor brought charges against 12 military employees and one
civilian employee of the military commissariats.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law states
that persons who are detained, arrested, or accused of a crime should
be advised immediately of their rights, given the reason for their
arrest, and accorded due process. In practice the government did not
respect these provisions.
The law allows police to detain and question an individual for 48
hours without a warrant. However, police detained individuals for
several days without warrants. Legal experts asserted that in other
instances judges issued warrants after the fact.
Judges sentenced detainees to administrative detention within the
statutory 48 hours of their arrest, but sometimes without allowing them
access to an attorney. Local observers alleged that this was the case
with seven of the eight persons detained on March 11at the first
protest calling for political reform. Amnesty International (AI) and
HRW alleged that this was also the case with a majority of detentions
in the period before and during demonstrations on April 2. Persons in
administrative detention are placed in pretrial detention facilities
and may be held for up to 15 days. For example, the Nasimi District
Court sentenced human rights lawyer Vidadi Isganderov to 15 days'
administrative detention after he was arrested on his way to a protest
on April 17. After 15 days his imprisonment was extended to three
month's pretrial detention a result of his being officially charged
with obstructing the implementation of the right to vote and
interfering with the operation of election commissions during the 2010
parliamentary elections.
The law provides for access to a lawyer from the time of detention.
In practice access to lawyers was poor, particularly outside of Baku.
Although entitled to it by law, indigent detainees often did not have
such access. Family members reported that authorities occasionally
restricted family-member visits, especially to persons in pretrial
detention, and occasionally withheld information about detainees. Days
sometimes passed before families could obtain any information about
detained relatives. There was no formal, functioning bail system,
although individuals were sometimes permitted to vouch for detainees,
enabling their conditional release during pretrial investigation. In
addition authorities in some cases independently released defendants
during the investigative phase. Politically sensitive suspects were at
times held incommunicado for several hours or sometimes days while in
police custody.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest, often based on spurious
charges of resisting police, remained a problem throughout the year,
especially during the series of peaceful demonstrations that occurred
throughout the spring. Police violations of arrest and detention
procedures were also reported. In particular there were a number of
cases of police detaining members of opposition political parties in
connection with their attempts to hold peaceful political
demonstrations.
Lengthy pretrial detention of up to 18 months occurred. The
prosecutor general routinely extended the initial three-month pretrial
detention period permitted by law in successive increments of several
months until the government completed an investigation.
Amnesty.--On May 28, the president pardoned several persons,
including imprisoned journalist Eynulla Fatullayev, whose imprisonment
was widely considered to have been politically motivated, and the
former first deputy head of the executive power of Baku, Eldaniz
Lahijev, who was convicted of embezzling funds that should have been
paid as compensation to owners of property confiscated through eminent
domain.
On December 26, the president pardoned three prisoners who were on
NGOs' lists of political prisoners: Jabbar Savalan, who was arrested in
February and convicted May 4 of drug possession and sentenced to two
and one-half years in prison; Nizami Shakhmuradov, a former riot police
commander allegedly involved in a 1995 mutiny; and Mekhman Mamedov, the
driver for a former prosecutor of Baku, who was charged with
involvement in an alleged coup d'etat.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, in practice judges did not function
independently of the executive branch. The judiciary remained corrupt
and inefficient. Verdicts were largely unrelated to the evidence
presented during the trial.
The executive branch continued to exert a strong influence over the
judiciary. The Ministry of Justice controlled the Judicial Legal
Council, which administered the examination for judge candidates.
Credible reports indicated that judges and prosecutors took
instruction from the presidential administration and the Justice
Ministry, particularly in cases of interest to international observers.
There continued to be credible allegations that judges routinely
accepted bribes. The ministry reported that the Judicial Council
dismissed two judges, transferred one to another position, and
disciplined four other judges in 2011. Another 17 judges received
various lesser disciplinary punishments.
In one case HRW reported that authorities convicted human rights
lawyer Vidadi Isganderov in a flawed trial without presenting
sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges of election
interference and without considering evidence raised by Isganderov's
lawyer in his defense. Isganderov's lawyer, Khalid Baghirov, was
suspended from the bar association allegedly for slandering the police
in the Elvin Asgarov case (see section 1.a.).
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for public trials except in
cases involving state, commercial, or professional secrets or
confidential, personal, or family matters. While the law provides for
the presumption of innocence in criminal cases; the right of the
defendant to review evidence, confront witnesses and present evidence
at trial, the right of indigent defendants to a court-approved
attorney, and the right of both defendants and prosecutors to appeal,
these provisions were not always respected in practice. Even when the
presumption of innocence was not violated explicitly, the practice of
having the accused appear in handcuffs inside locked metal cages did so
implicitly. However, authorities discontinued this practice following a
May 31 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that keeping
a nonviolent defendant in a cage violated the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Judges often failed to read verdicts publicly or give the reasoning
behind their decisions, leaving the accused without knowledge of the
reasoning behind the judgment.
Jury trials were not used. Foreign and domestic observers usually
were allowed to attend trials. The use of small courtrooms with
inadequate seating prevented public attendance at some hearings.
Information regarding trial times and locations was generally
available, although there were some exceptions, particularly in the
Court of Grave Crimes.
Although the constitution prescribes equal status for prosecutors
and defense attorneys, in practice prosecutors' privileges and rights
outweighed those of the defense. Judges reserved the right to remove
defense lawyers in civil cases for ``good cause.'' In criminal
proceedings judges may remove defense lawyers because of a conflict of
interest or if a defendant requests a change of counsel. Judges often
favored prosecutors when assessing motions, oral statements, and
evidence submitted by defense counsel.
The law limits representation in criminal cases to members of the
country's government-influenced Collegium (bar association). The number
of lawyers who are collegium members has been decreasing: at year's end
there were 738 defense lawyers, while in 2010 and 2009, the numbers
were 761 and 783, respectively. The number of Collegium lawyers
practicing outside the capital remained relatively steady at
approximately 26 percent of all lawyers. This imbalance between the
capital and the rest of the country implied that access to licensed
legal representation was limited outside of Baku.
During the year the collegium disbarred or suspended three of the
six lawyers who represented politically sensitive defendants arrested
and tried for participating in peaceful opposition demonstrations in
late winter and early spring. While the collegium stated that the three
men--Osman Kazimov, Elchin Namazov, and Khalid Baghirov--were disbarred
or suspended because they failed to uphold the standards expected of
defense lawyers, local NGOs and international organizations asserted
that the collegium's action was politically motivated and not the
result of legitimate complaints. Observers also viewed the collegium's
disciplinary action against lawyer Aslan Ismayilov as politically
motivated. Other lawyers, including Anar Gasimly, Asabali Mustafayev
and Ramiz Mammadov, reported being under pressure by the presidium of
the collegium, but according to the presidium, they did not receive any
disciplinary punishment.
The presidium is the managing body of the collegium and has the
authority to suspend or expel lawyers, in conjunction with its
disciplinary committee. The presidium was elected in 2004 to a five-
year term, which should have ended in 2009.
The constitution prohibits the use of illegally obtained evidence.
However, despite some defendants' claims that testimony was obtained
through torture or abuse, courts did not dismiss cases based on claims
of abuse, and there was no independent forensic investigator to
determine the occurrence of abuse. Judges often ignored claims of
police mistreatment. Investigations often focused on obtaining
confessions rather than gathering physical evidence against suspects.
Serious crimes brought before the courts most often ended in
conviction, as judges generally required only a minimal level of proof
and collaborated closely with prosecutors. In the rare instance when a
judge determined that the evidence presented was not sufficient to
convict a defendant, it could be returned to the prosecutor for
additional investigation, effectively giving the prosecutor another
chance at a conviction.
With the exception of the Court of Grave Crimes and the Military
Court of Grave Crimes, courts often failed to provide translators.
Courts are entitled to contract translators during hearings, with the
expenses covered by the Ministry of Justice.
There were no verbatim transcripts of judicial proceedings;
testimony, oral arguments, and judicial decisions were not recorded.
Instead the court officer generally took notes that tended to be sparse
and decided what should be included in the notes.
The country has a military court system with civilian judges. The
military court retains original jurisdiction over any case in which
crimes related to war or military service are adjudicated.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Local NGOs maintained that the
government continued to hold political prisoners, although estimates of
the number varied from 27 to 65. The government denied it held
political prisoners. NGO estimates of the number of political prisoners
also included persons imprisoned in previous years, such as individuals
who were arrested in 2005 on charges of plotting a coup and
subsequently convicted of corruption.
During the year the government released journalist Eynulla
Fatullayev. On the other hand, authorities arrested, tried, and
convicted 17 politically active men whom AI described as ``prisoners of
conscience.''
In one example, on January 20, approximately 100 opposition
activists and politicians marched to commemorate the anniversary of the
1990 killing of more than 100 Baku civilians by Soviet forces. After a
standoff with police, activists were allowed to approach the martyrs'
graves and lay flowers, but police confiscated a sign which was held on
one end by youth activist Jabbar Savalan. On February 4, following
prodemocracy demonstrations in several Arab countries, Savalan called
for a ``day of rage'' on his Facebook page as well as on the Facebook
page of the Public Chamber, an opposition umbrella group. On February
5, authorities arrested Savalan and on May 4, they convicted him of
opium possession and sentenced him to two and one-half years in prison.
Local and international observers viewed Savalan's arrest as
politically motivated and his conviction as unsupported by the
evidence. The president pardoned Savalan on December 26.
In another case widely viewed as politically motivated, youth
activist and former independent parliamentary candidate Bakhtiyar
Hajiyev was arrested on January 24 and had his bail revoked on March 4
within days of having participated in an online effort to organize
protests for March 11. On May 18, Hajiyev was sentenced to two years in
prison for refusing to serve in the military. He had sought an
alternative to military service permitted by the constitution.
Progovernment Lider Television ran a campaign in June and July that
appeared aimed at discrediting Hajiyev, a graduate of Harvard
University, by questioning his patriotism and whether he really had
graduated from Harvard. Both Hajiyev's family and former professors
protested the campaign.
Other public figures included among AI's ``prisoners of
conscience'' were senior Musavat Party official Arif Hajili, human
rights lawyer and former parliamentary candidate Vidadi Isganderov, and
senior Popular Front Party official Sahib Karimov.
During the spring demonstrations, opposition newspaper reports
indicated that police administratively detained at least seven
activists in the days before a planned demonstration on March 11; 26 on
March 11; 64 on March 12; 13 in the four days before a planned
demonstration on April 2; 112 on April 2; and 64 on April 17.
Administrative detentions ranged between six and 15 days. More than 350
other individuals who participated in the March and April
demonstrations were briefly detained by police and released the same
day without being charged.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Citizens have the right to
appeal court decisions on human rights cases to the ECHR within six
months of the first Supreme Court ruling on a case. Citizens continued
to exercise this right frequently. At year's end there were
approximately 100 cases involving the country awaiting action by the
ECHR.
During the year the ECHR issued nine judgments that found a
violation by the state of commitments under the European Convention on
Human Rights. The government's compliance with ECHR decisions was
mixed. In April 2010 the ECHR ruled that the imprisonment of journalist
Eynulla Fatullayev violated his right to freedom of expression and
ordered his immediate release. The government released Fatullayev on
May 26, more than a year after the ECHR ruling. On August 8, 16 months
after the ruling, the government paid Fatullayev 27,000 manat ($33,750)
compensation as ordered by the ECHR.
In another case the ECHR ruled in November 2010 in favor of former
minister for economic development Farhad Aliyev, who had challenged the
length of his pretrial detention. In its decision the court called for
the government to provide financial compensation to Aliyev for
nonmaterial damage and legal expenses within three months of the date
on which the decision became final, February 9. As of year's end, the
government had not implemented the court's judgment. Aliyev was
arrested in 2005 on coup plotting charges but was convicted of
corruption.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law does not provide
for an independent and impartial jury in civil matters; all trials are
decided by the judge. District courts have jurisdiction over civil
matters in their first hearing; appeals are addressed by the Court of
Appeals and then by the Supreme Court. Citizens have the right to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations.
As with criminal trials, all citizens have the right to appeal to the
ECHR within six months after exhausting all domestic legal options.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary invasions of privacy and
monitoring of correspondence and other private communications. The
government did not respect these legal prohibitions in practice.
While the constitution allows for searches of residences only with
a court order or in cases specifically provided by law, authorities
often conducted searches without warrants. It was widely believed that
the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs
monitored telephone and Internet communications, particularly those of
foreigners, some political and business figures, and persons engaged in
international communication.
Police continued to intimidate and harass family members of
suspected criminals and political opposition members. They continued to
intimidate and harass employees and leaders of certain NGOs and their
family members. Citizens reported that authorities fired individuals
from jobs in retaliation for the political or civic activities of other
family members.
NGOs reported that authorities did not respect the laws governing
eminent domain and expropriation of property. Domestic monitors
reported that the number of property rights complaints they received
continued to rise compared with previous years. NGOs reported that many
citizens did not trust the country's court system and were therefore
reluctant to pursue compensation claims. The country's scores for the
protection of private property in the Index of Economic Freedom
released on January 12 and conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the
Heritage Foundation, indicated that private property rights were only
weakly protected. On August 24, a consortium of local NGOs issued a
press statement alleging that in the previous two years in Baku,
approximately 20,000 inhabitants of 400 buildings had lost their
residences and been unfairly compensated. On June 12, HRW reported that
homeowners often received compensation well below market value and had
few options for legal recourse.
On August 11, authorities demolished a building containing the
offices of the Institute for Peace and Democracy, the Women's Crisis
Center, and Azerbaijan's Campaign to Ban Landmines without prior notice
and despite a court order forbidding its demolition. The leader of the
Institute for Peace and Democracy, Leyla Yunus, owned the building. She
and other observers attributed the demolition to her activism in
support of property rights, citing in particular an article quoting her
on the subject that the New York Times newspaper published the day
before the demolition.
In another high profile case, on September 9, security forces of a
subsidiary of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan reportedly beat
family members of journalist Idrak Abbasov while partially destroying
his family's home without a prior eviction notice. An independent
journalist with the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety,
Abbasov considered these actions as retribution for his work. Following
the beatings his parents and a brother were hospitalized.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press and
specifically prohibits press censorship; however, the government often
did not respect these rights in practice. During the year the
government continued to limit media independence. Although the
government released journalist Eynulla Fatullyev, three journalists
remained imprisoned or faced criminal charges at year's end.
Freedom of Speech.--The constitution provides for freedom of
speech, but the government restricted this right with regard to
subjects it considered politically sensitive. For example, authorities
routinely denied activists' requests to hold public meetings, and in
March and April they prevented youth and opposition activists from
holding peaceful demonstrations in Baku. The convictions of 17 people
during the year who attempted to exercise freedom of speech raised
concerns about authorities' use of the judicial system to punish
dissent.
Freedom of Press.--A number of opposition and independent media
outlets operated during the year. While the print media expressed a
wide variety of views on government policies, objective, professional
reporting was rare. Newspaper circulation rates remained low, not
surpassing 5,000 in most cases. Credible reports indicated that
opposition newspapers were available outside of Baku only in limited
numbers due to the refusal of a number of distributors to carry them.
The broadcast media adhered almost exclusively to a progovernment line
in their news coverage. All foreign broadcasters, including the Voice
of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and the BBC, remained
prohibited from broadcasting on FM frequencies.
The government used the media to discredit those with dissenting
views. In one example, in April, an illegitimately obtained video of
journalist Gan Turali and another of journalist Natig Adilov's private
activities while at the Afra Hotel in Oguzwere broadcast on nationwide
Lider Television in an apparent attempt to disgrace the journalists.
Adilov sued Lider Television for breaking the law prohibiting
videotaping or photographing anyone without their permission. Lider was
considered to be closely aligned with the government. At the last
hearing held on September 9, the judge postponed Adilov's proceeding
indefinitely. At year's end no date for its continuation had been set.
During the year the government released journalist Eynulla
Fatullayev; three journalists remained in prison or faced criminal
charges. Ramil Bayramov, the editor in chief of islamazeri.az online
newspaper, was arrested on weapons and narcotics charges by the
Ministry of National Security on August 11. Aydin Janiyev, a Khural
newspaper reporter, was convicted of hooliganism while resisting an
official police order on November 21. He was sentenced to three years
in prison. Avaz Zeynalli was accused of blackmail and arrested on
October 28. Ayear's end Zeynalli's and Janiyev's trials were pending.
International and local commentators believed that the government
targeted the journalists due to their criticism of government figures
and policies.
Violence and Harassment.--A media-monitoring NGO reported that
during the year there were 90 incidents involving 72 journalists,
compared with 106 incidents involving verbal or physical assaults on
journalists in 2010 and 51 such cases in 2009.
For example, according to Radio Free Europe (RFE), on April 3,
three unidentified assailants kidnapped opposition Azadliq reporter
Ramin Deko and warned him to stop criticizing authorities and
participating in protests. On April 4, RFE reported that two
unidentified assailants attempted to beat Deko when he was returning
home from work.
Four days after Institute for Reporter Freedom and Safety reporter
Hakimeldostu Mehdiyev helped Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung journalist
Michael Ludwig attempt to report a story on Nakhchivan, the deputy head
of the executive authority of the Sharur District in Nakhchivan,
Aladdin Mammadov, came to Mehdiyev's home on July 13 and cut the power
supply to the car-washing station in his driveway. Police allegedly
assaulted journalists Elman Abbasov and Ilgar Nasibov as they attempted
to film the scene and briefly detained Mehdiyev, Abbasov, and Nasibov.
Ludwig had left Nakhchivan on July 9, unable to write his story because
of officials' interference. Shortly thereafter the Sharur Regional
Prosecutor's Office opened a criminal case against Mehdiyev for
allegedly diverting electricity. The court of first instance found
Mehdiyev guilty, and the Supreme Court of Nakhchivan upheld his
conviction.
There were reports of police officers harassing, and in some cases
assaulting, journalists trying to cover the spring demonstrations (see
Section 2.b.)
There were no indications that authorities held any police officers
accountable for physical assaults on journalists in recent years.
Journalists and media rights leaders, including the OSCE's
representative for freedom of the media, continued to call for
accountability for the 2005 killing of Elmar Huseynov. Lawsuits
suspected of being politically motivated were also used to intimidate
journalists and media outlets.
The majority of independent and opposition newspapers remained in a
precarious financial situation and continued to have problems paying
wages, taxes, and periodic court fines. Most relied on political
parties or influential sponsors for financing. According to prominent
journalists, government representatives directly or indirectly
dissuaded companies and institutions from placing advertising in
opposition media. As a result paid advertising was largely absent in
opposition media.
The government prohibited some state libraries from subscribing to
opposition newspapers, prohibited state businesses from buying
advertising in opposition newspapers, and pressured private businesses
not to advertise in them. Political commentators noted that these
practices reduced the wages that opposition and independent outlets
could pay to their journalists, allowing progovernment outlets to hire
away quality staff. In addition international media monitoring reports
indicated that intimidation by officials of the Ministry of Taxes
further limited the independence of the media.
While there were no restrictions on systems to receive satellite
broadcasts by foreign stations, the National Television and Radio
Council required that local, privately owned television and radio
stations not rebroadcast entire news programs of foreign origin.
Censorship or Content Restriction.--Most media practiced self-
censorship and avoided topics considered particularly sensitive.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The law allows for large fines and
up to three years' imprisonment for persons convicted of libel.
Administration officials stated publicly in 2009 that this provision
would be removed from the criminal code, and subsequently courts
overturned the conviction of two journalists for libel. However, libel
remains a criminal offense. According to a local media rights
organization, during 2011 judges found instances of libel and awarded
fines to the complainants in the amount of 2.7 million manat ($3.4
million) against newspapers or their owners.
Publishing Restrictions.--The government continued to use import
controls and withhold government preapproval to make it difficult for
religious organizations to import religious materials. An editor
reported that he failed to find either a publisher or a distributor for
a new newspaper project because the publisher knew that to publish such
a newspaper would imperil his business.
Internet Freedom.--The government generally did not restrict access
to the Internet, but it required Internet service providers to be
licensed and have formal agreements with the Ministry of Communications
and Information Technologies.
There were indications that the government monitored Internet
communications. For example, a majority of those detained before the
peaceful March 11 protest had been politically active on Facebook.
The government was accused of blocking access to opposition Web
sites on occasion. For example, on September 5, access to the Web site
of the opposition newspaper Azadliq suffered a denial of service
attack, according to editor Rovshan Hajiyev. In the exclave of
Nakhchivan, Web site blockages were reportedly much more common.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government on occasion
restricted academic freedom. At year's end opposition activists
estimated that at least three students, Jabbar Savalan, Tural Abbasli,
and Elnur Majidli, had been expelled for their participation in the
spring peaceful protests.
On November 4, the Forum of Azerbaijani Intelligentsia (FAI) held a
discussion entitled ``The Road to National Unity.'' At the discussion
participants expressed concerns regarding corruption, bureaucratic
arbitrariness, increasing social injustices, and a widening gap between
the rich and the poor. On November 7, the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy
fired Rafig Aliyev, a full member of the National Academy of Sciences
and chairman for 22 years of the Oil Academy's Department of Automated
Management Systems. Opposition sources believed Aliyev's firing was in
retaliation for his participation at the FAI. On November 14, 245
professors reportedly signed a statement condemning the FAI and
supporting the government. Later, a few recanted their signatures,
stating they did not intend to sign, had not signed the statement, or
thought they were signing a petition in support of Rafig Aliyev. On
December 29, the FAI attempted to hold another meeting at the Hyatt
Regency, which hotel management prevented by turning off the
electricity, as reported in the opposition press. The meeting was held
at an NGO's office the next day.
Some domestic observers raised concerns that the government's
selection of participants for state-sponsored study abroad programs was
biased and took political affiliation into account. The government
maintained that its selection process was transparent and political
affiliation was not a factor. Opposition party members continued to
report difficulties in finding jobs teaching at schools and
universities. Most known opposition party members teaching in state
educational institutions had been fired in previous years.
NGOs reported that local executive authorities on occasion
prevented the expression of minority cultures, for example, by
forbidding dances and the use of store signs in minority languages.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly. However, the
government severely restricted the right of assembly in practice. At
year's end 15 activists remained imprisoned after participating in
peaceful demonstrations during the spring, including: Arif Hajili,
Shahin Hasanli, Sahib Karimov, Mahammad Majidli, Rufat Hajibeyli, Ulvi
Guliyev, Tural Abbasli, Elnur Israfilov, Elnur Majidli, Babek Hasanov,
Vidadi Isganderov, Zulfugar Eyvazli, Arif Alishli, Elshan Hasanov, and
Ahad Mammadli.
While the constitution stipulates that groups may peacefully
assemble after notifying the relevant government body in advance, the
government continued to interpret this provision as a requirement for
prior permission. Local authorities continued to require all rallies to
be preapproved and held at designated locations, always far from city
centers. Most political parties and NGOs found such requirements
unacceptable and believed them to be unconstitutional. Authorities
throughout the country routinely refused to acknowledge notifications,
thereby effectively denying the freedom to assemble.
During the first four months of the year, youth and opposition
activists organized a number of peaceful protests. Following similar
demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa, protesters called
for democratic reforms and the government's resignation. The government
responded by denying activists' requests to hold such rallies on
multiple occasions and forcibly breaking up several unsanctioned
pickets and demonstrations. Some international human rights
organizations reported that security forces used excessive force.
Authorities incarcerated a number of protesters (see sections 1.d,
1.e., and 2.a.).
The government also denied NGO and religious activists' requests to
hold demonstrations during the year.
Officials often detained protesters for several hours, often
arbitrarily. For example, on March 12, the opposition Musavat party
held a demonstration after formally notifying the Baku Municipal
Authority. Baku officials refused to accept the notification, and
police detained 64 protesters temporarily and sentenced 10 to
administrative detention for eight to 10 days.
In another case, on April 2, the Public Chamber held a
demonstration, after formally notifying the Baku Municipal Authority.
Thirteen citizens were detained in advance of the demonstration. During
the demonstration police arrested 112 protesters, including several who
later were convicted of criminal charges and recognized by Amnesty
International (AI) as prisoners of conscience.
According to observers from the OSCE Office in Baku who monitored
the April 2 protest activities at five locations, the conduct of
uniformed and nonuniformed personnel was inconsistent and varied from
measured and proportionate to undue and disproportionate. In addition
the observers saw nonuniformed personnel beating protesters, kicking
them when they were lying on the ground, and hitting journalists
wearing clearly marked press clothing.
AI characterized the government's response to the March and April
rallies as a ``crackdown on freedom of assembly.'' In a November
report, AI stated that its representatives monitoring the March 11 and
12 demonstrations saw police use ``excessive force to disperse and
arrest the peaceful protesters.''
Authorities applied restrictions on unsanctioned protests
arbitrarily, permitting demonstrations against the political opposition
to take place even when advance notice had not been officially
provided. For example, during the year at least four unsanctioned
progovernment protests attempted to smear an opposition leader by
making allegations about his sexual orientation, playing on popular
prejudices against homosexuality. Authorities allowed these protests to
go forward, and no one was detained or arrested.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, although in practice the government's restriction of this
right continued during the year. A number of provisions allow the
government to regulate the activities of political parties, religious
groups, businesses, and NGOs, including a requirement that all
organizations register either with the Justice Ministry or the State
Committee on Work with Religious Associations. Although the law
requires the government to act on registration applications within 30
days of receipt, vague, cumbersome, and nontransparent registration
procedures continued to result in long delays that limited citizens'
right to associate.
On March 4, Ganja regional officials evicted three local NGOs from
their offices, according to an AI report, without any legal
justification. On March 7, the authorities ordered the National
Democratic Institute (NDI) Azerbaijan office to stop its activities
pending registration by the Ministry of Justice, a process that would
involve the negotiation of an agreement between NDI and the ministry.
On March 10, officials issued a similar order to the Norwegian Human
Rights House of Azerbaijan. On March 16, the government issued a decree
on the implementation of a 2009 law's requirements for international
NGOs operating in the country. In September authorities authorized NDI
to resume its work while approval of its registration application
remained under consideration.
In an October 19 opinion, the Venice Commission raised a number of
concerns about the compatibility of the law on NGOs with human rights
standards and noted with concern that ``to condition the views,
activities, and conduct of an NGO before allowing it to obtain the
legal personality necessary for its operation, goes against the core of
the values underlying the protection of civil and political rights.''
The law on NGOs restricts freedom of association, including by
requiring deputies of NGO branches to be Azerbaijani citizens and
requiring foreign NGOs to sign an agreement with the government before
opening an office. In addition a presidential decree modifying the law
on NGOs includes a requirement that they register all grants they
receive with the Ministry of Justice.
Some experts estimated that approximately 1,000 NGOs remained
unregistered at year's end. The Ministry of Justice stated that it
registered 144 NGOs in 2011 and 124 in 2010.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, the government limited freedom of movement at
times, particularly for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern. The State Migration Service was responsible for all
refugee matters, including refugee status determination. International
NGOs continued to report that this department remained inefficient and
did not operate transparently.
Foreign Travel.--Since 2006 the government has prevented the
foreign travel of Popular Front Party chairman Ali Kerimli by refusing
to renew his passport. The government cited an outstanding civil
complaint against him from 1994 as the reason for the refusal, although
it had renewed Kerimli's passport without objection on several
occasions in the years since the complaint was filed. Kerimli's appeal
of the decision was rejected at all levels of the court system. In 2009
Kerimli submitted a complaint to the ECHR, which had not heard the case
at year's end.
The law requires men of draft age to register with military
officials before traveling abroad. Those pursuing higher education may
request a deferment to complete their studies. The law on military
service does not stipulate deferments for undergraduate or graduate
studies although military draft boards commonly granted such deferments
upon presenting annual proof of enrollment. Some travel restrictions
were placed on military personnel with access to national security
information. Citizens charged with or convicted of criminal offenses
and given suspended sentences were not permitted to travel abroad.
Officials regularly extracted bribes from individuals who applied for
passports.
While official government policy allows citizens of ethnic Armenian
descent to travel, low-level officials reportedly often requested
bribes or harassed ethnic Armenians who applied for passports.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As of year's end the UNHCR
reported that there were 599,192 registered IDPs in the country,
representing 152,548 families. The vast majority fled their homes
between 1988 and 1993 as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
IDPs were required to register their places of residence with
authorities and could live only in approved areas. This ``propiska''
system is a carryover from the Soviet era and was enforced mainly
against persons who were forced from their homes after ethnic Armenian
separatists took control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent
territories in the western part of Azerbaijan. The government asserted
that registration was needed to keep track of IDPs in order to provide
them with assistance. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring
Center, many IDPs who resided in Baku were unable to register their
residences or gain access to formal employment, government assistance,
health care, education, or pensions and had difficulty buying property.
In December the Brookings Institution-London School of Economics
Project on Internal Displacement released a report that noted that
while the government took demonstrable steps in recent years to improve
IDP living conditions, many IDPs still lived in dilapidated,
overcrowded public buildings and had poor access to social services,
particularly education and health services.
The UNHCR reported that during the year, the government rehoused
2,120 families, representing approximately 10,600 individuals. The
rehousing occurred in the Agjabadi, Goranboy, Absheron, Baku. and Qazax
regions.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to some
refugees through the Refugee Status Determination Department at the
State Migration Committee. The UNHCR recognized 1,703 individuals
(asylum seekers, persons of concern to UNHCR, and refugees recognized
under the UNHCR mandate) in Azerbaijan and provided them with UNHCR
Letters of Protection. The three largest active refugee populations
were Chechens, Afghans, and Iranians.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. According to the UNHCR, most persons granted refugee
status were ethnic Azerbaijanis from Iran. The government did not
provide any notable assistance to government- or UNHCR-recognized
refugees or asylum seekers. However, it did not force refugees back to
their countries of origin, and it respected the UNHCR protection
letters.
Temporary Protection.--The government has no legal mechanism to
provide temporary protection to individuals who do not qualify as
refugees. The government accepted the protection letters the UNHCR
issued to those it considered refugees. As a result the UNHCR continued
to carry out all protection and assistance functions for populations of
concern in the country. Despite UNHCR recognition of Chechens, Afghans,
and Iranians as populations of concern, Azerbaijani laws on residence,
registration, and the status of refugees and IDPs do not apply to these
persons, who are required to register with police and are not entitled
to residence permits. Neither those refugees recognized by the State
Migration Committee nor those protected by the UNHCR's letters were
legally allowed to work.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the
country or from one's parents. The law provides for the right to apply
for stateless status. However, in practice some persons could not
obtain the documentation required for the application and therefore
remained formally unrecognized. The law on citizenship was amended in
2008 to make it harder for foreigners and stateless persons to obtain
citizenship.
According to UNHCR statistics, there were 2,078 stateless persons
in the country at the end of 2009. The vast majority of these were
ethnic Azeris from Georgia or Iran. NGOs estimated there were many
other undocumented stateless persons, with estimates ranging from
hundreds to tens of thousands.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully; however, the government continued to
restrict this right in practice by interfering in elections. The law
also provides for an independent legislature; however, the Milli
Majlis's independence was constrained, and it exercised little
legislative initiative independent of the executive branch.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Although
both progovernment and opposition political parties participated in the
November 2010 parliamentary elections, these elections did not meet a
number of international standards for democratic elections. According
to domestic and international observers, shortcomings included a biased
candidate registration process, constraints on freedom of assembly and
expression, a restrictive political environment, unbalanced media
coverage of candidates, and unequal treatment of candidates by
authorities. The OSCE observation mission final report concluded that
overall, the elections did not meet a number of key OSCE commitments
for democratic elections or important elements of domestic legislation.
There also were reports of pressure on domestic election observers,
candidates, and family members. Such pressure included the firing of
such individuals from their jobs and, in Nakhchivan, beatings.
President Ilham Aliyev, the son of former president Heydar Aliyev,
was elected to a second term in 2008, also in a flawed election.
Political Parties.--There were 50 registered political parties.
However, the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party continued to dominate the
political system. Domestic observers reported that membership in the
ruling party conferred advantages, such as being given preference for
public positions. For the first time since the country's independence,
the Milli Mejlis after the 2010 election did not include
representatives of the Musavat and Popular Front opposition parties.
Members of the opposition were more likely to experience official
harassment and arbitrary arrest and detention than other citizens.
Members of regional and central branches of opposition parties reported
that local authorities often took actions to prevent routine party
activities, for example, by pressuring restaurant owners not to allow
opposition parties to use their facilities for meetings and events.
During the year there were reports that these types of pressure
occurred in Baku. Regional party members often had to conceal the
purpose of their gatherings and hold them in remote locations.
Opposition party members reported that police often dispersed small
gatherings at tea houses and detained participants for questioning.
Opposition parties continued to have difficulty renting office space,
reportedly because landlords were afraid of official pressure; some
parties operated out of their leaders' apartments.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 19 women in the
Milli Mejlis. The percentage of female members of parliament increased
from 11 to 16 percent between 2005 and 2010. One woman held a
ministerial-level position. Members of minority groups such as the
Talysh, Avars, Russians, and Jews served in the Milli Mejlis and in
government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, the government did not effectively enforce the law, and there
was widespread corruption with impunity, including in the civil
service, government ministries, and the highest levels of government.
On February 2, the government launched a well-publicized
anticorruption campaign. Many low- and mid-level bureaucrats were fired
and local observers reported a reduction in bribe seeking by government
employees. The campaign did not reach the upper levels of government,
however, and local sources reported that in some areas low-level
government officials returned to bribe seeking.
Transparency International and other observers described corruption
as widespread during the year.
Key provisions of the government's 2007 national strategy for
increasing transparency and combating corruption remained unimplemented
at year's end, although new anticorruption measures were included in
the National Action Plan on Human Rights issued on December 27. One
measure in the plan repeated the call for implementation of the law
requiring officials to disclose their annual income, sources of income,
property, and financial liabilities. Other measures would prohibit
nepotism and limit gifts and direct or indirect financial benefits to
public officials or third parties.
Criminal cases related to bribery and other forms of corruption
affecting daily life were initiated during the year. However, no senior
officials were prosecuted for corruption.
Corruption among law enforcement officers was a problem. Despite a
decrease in bribe seeking early in the year, police later returned to
their previous practice of levying spurious, informal fines for traffic
and other minor violations and extracting protection money from local
residents. During the year traffic police officers received pay raises
to counter corruption, but the low wages of other law enforcement
officials continued to contribute to police corruption.
During the year the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that it
investigated 38 counts of corruption. It took disciplinary action for
corruption-related violations against 53 employees during the year,
dismissing 29, demoting 22, and issuing official warnings to two. The
Baku City Central Police Department forwarded investigations against
two employees to the prosecutor general's Anticorruption Department.
The department opened a criminal case, which continued under
investigation at year's end.
There were reports that police officials required additional
payment on top of court-imposed fines before returning prisoners'
clothing and releasing them.
Military service is universal for men between the ages of 18 and
35. Service may be waived for physical reasons such as poor eyesight.
There was widespread belief in society that one could pay a bribe for a
waiver from military service. Citizens also believed that assignments
to easier military duties could be bought for a smaller bribe.
The law provides for public access to government information by
individuals and organizations; however, the government often did not
permit access. Although various government ministries have separate
procedures on how to request information, they all routinely denied
requests, claiming not to possess the information. Individuals have the
right to appeal the denials in court, but the courts generally upheld
the decisions of the ministries.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although the
government maintained ties with some human rights NGOs and responded to
their inquiries, on occasion it criticized and intimidated other human
rights NGOs and activists. The Ministry of Justice continued routinely
to deny registration to some human rights NGOs on arbitrary grounds.
For example, it routinely rejected the registration applications of
NGOs whose names contained the words ``human rights,'' ``democracy,''
``institute,'' and ``society.'' A number of cases challenging such
rejections were making their way through the court system, and at least
one was submitted to the ECHR. Local NGOs monitoring the registration
process estimated that there were approximately 1,000 unregistered
NGOs. During the year the Ministry of Justice registered 144 NGOs.
During the year a number of NGOs reported continued pressure
against their activities, and some reported that pressure and
restrictions increased (see section 2.b., Freedom of Association). In a
high-profile example, authorities demolished a Baku building housing
three NGOs, including the Institute for Peace and Democracy. The
institute's head and owner of the building, prominent human rights
advocate Leyla Yunus, considered the demolition to be government
retribution for her activism on behalf of property rights. Her
employees reported being followed or having authorities visit their
houses. In another example a human rights monitor was told by an
employee of the Nakhchivan Ministry of National Security that she was a
traitor to the country.
Some civil society organizations reported landlords were under
pressure not to rent to them. For example, on March 10, the Ministry of
Justice ordered the Human Rights House of Azerbaijan (HRH) to cease its
activities, although it had been registered since 2007. The order was
allegedly to remain in effect until an agreement between the Ministry
of Justice and HRH was reached. HRH was unable to reach such an
agreement, and in December local observers reported that the landlord,
under pressure from the government, refused to renew HRH's lease.
During the year the Council of State Support to NGOs provided two
million manat ($2.5 million) to 338 NGOs. While many of these NGOs were
considered progovernment or politically neutral, some NGOs that were
critical of the government also received grants. One NGO sued the
council for revoking a grant awarded to it in 2010. The NGO stated the
grant was revoked after the NGO submitted an official complaint about
the council's grant review process, which the NGO alleged was corrupt.
The Supreme Court dismissed the case on June 30, and the NGO appealed
the case to the ECHR.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally
permitted unrestricted access to alleged political prisoners by
international humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC as well as
U.N. representatives. However, the government did not issue a visa to
the Council of Europe rapporteur on political prisoners, Christoph
Straesser, during the year.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Citizens may appeal violations
committed by the state or by individuals to Ombudsman for Human Rights
Elmira Suleymanova, or Ombudsman for Human Rights for the Nakhchivan
Autonomous Republic Ulkar Bayramova. The ombudsman may refuse to accept
cases of abuse that are more than a year old, anonymous complaints, or
cases already being handled by the judiciary.
The Ombudsman's Office received 8.7 percent more complaints than in
2010 (12,680, up from 11,660). The office accepted 47 percent of the
complaints for investigation and reported resolving 65 percent of the
accepted complaints. The top three complaint categories were labor
rights, social provisions, and legal rights.
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic's Ombudsman reported receiving
26 complaints, a decrease from 48 the year before. The ombudsperson
found 20 complaints to be without merit and addressed six complaints.
The Milli Mejlis and the Ministry of Justice also had human rights
offices that heard complaints, conducted investigations, and made
recommendations to relevant government bodies. Officials of the Human
Rights Office within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regularly met with
the diplomatic community to discuss issues of concern.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, but the government did not always respect
these prohibitions in practice or effectively enforce them.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal and carries a
maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The Ministry of Internal
Affairs reported 16 counts of rape (three involving victims who were
minors), 11 counts of attempted rape, 28 counts of violence of a sexual
nature, four counts of sexual violence against a minor, two counts of
forcing actions of a sexual nature, 112 counts of statutory rape, and
two counts of immoral conduct with minors.
During the year female members of parliament and the head of the
State Committee on Women and Children increased their activities
against domestic violence. Media coverage of domestic violence issues
also began to raise awareness of the problem. A 2010 law establishes a
framework for investigation of domestic violence complaints, defines a
process to issue restraining orders, and calls for the establishment of
a shelter and rehabilitation center for victims. Some critics of the
domestic violence law asserted that a lack of clear implementing
guidelines reduced its effectiveness. Despite the law, violence against
women, including domestic violence, continued to be a problem. In rural
areas women had no effective recourse against assaults by their
husbands or others.
In Baku a women's crisis center associated with the Institute for
Peace and Democracy provided free medical, psychological, and legal
assistance to women. The center also worked on a number of projects
funded by international donors to combat gender-based violence and
trafficking in persons in the Caucasus region.
Sexual Harassment.--While the law prohibits sexual harassment, the
government rarely enforced the prohibition. The State Committee for
Family, Women, and Children Affairs worked extensively on women's
issues.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children.
Information was accessible so families and individuals could make
reproductive decisions free from discrimination, coercion, and
violence. Contraception was widely available, but demographic surveys
showed low levels of use. Skilled attendance during childbirth was
accessible, as was prenatal care and essential obstetric and postpartum
care. Women and men had equal access to the diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections. Patriarchal norms, based on cultural,
historical, and socioeconomic factors, in some cases limited women's
reproductive rights.
Discrimination.--Women nominally enjoy the same legal rights as
men; however, societal discrimination was a problem. Traditional social
norms and lagging economic development in the country's rural regions
continued to restrict women's roles in the economy, and there were
reports that women had difficulty exercising their legal rights due to
gender discrimination. Women were underrepresented in high-level jobs,
including top business positions. A local NGO reported that women's
average salaries were approximately 70 percent of men's average
salaries.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth
within the country or from one's parents. Registration at birth
happened routinely for births occurring in hospitals or clinics.
However, among some of those born at home (for example, Romani families
or those suffering from economic deprivation), registration sometimes
did not occur and statelessness for the children was a problem. The
Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice made progress
during the year in registering undocumented children after identifying
them as a population vulnerable to trafficking.
Education.--The law requires the government to protect the rights
of children with regard to education and health care. In practice
government programs provided a low standard of education and health
care for children. While education was compulsory, free, and universal
until the age of 17, large families in impoverished rural areas
sometimes placed a higher priority on the education of male children
and kept girls to work in the home. Some poor families forced their
children to work or beg rather than attend school. A Baku NGO working
with street children reported that boys and girls engaged in street
begging and prostitution. The French news service Agence France Presse
reported that some parents kept their daughters out of public schools
in response to the ban on the hijab in elementary and secondary schools
that was announced by the minister of education in December 2010.
Child Abuse.--During the year the Ministry of Internal Affairs
reported the receipt of three counts of rape involving underage
victims; four counts of sexual violence against minors; 112 counts of
statutory rape; and two counts of immoral acts against minors. There
were reports that children were trafficked for sexual exploitation and
begging. Statutory rape is defined as ``the sexual relations or other
actions of sexual nature, committed by a person who has reached 18,
with a person who has not reached 16'' and is punishable by up to three
years' imprisonment.
Child Marriage.--NGOs reported that the number of early marriages
continued to increase. Girls who married under the terms of religious
marriage contracts (kabin or kabin-nama) were of particular concern, as
these evade governmental oversight and do not entitle the wife to
recognition of her status in case of divorce. The Social Union of
Solidarity among Women reported numerous instances in which men moved
to Russia for work, leaving their underage wives in Azerbaijan.
A joint study conducted in 2011 by the Azerbaijan State Committee
on Family, Woman, and Children; the International Center for Social
Studies and UNICEF examined the increasing incidence of child marriage
and found that 59 percent of respondents were convinced that the local
population approved of child marriage while 22 percent believed that
the local population disapproved. Although the report described
difficulties in obtaining an accurate estimate of early marriages, it
cited the growing number of children delivered by mothers who were
between the ages of 15 and 17 as indirect evidence of earlier
marriages. According to the study, between 1990 and 2004, the number of
children born to women without registered marriages rose from 2.6
percent to 20.3 percent.
According to newspaper reports, in November the parliament amended
the age of consent law to state that a girl can marry at the age of 18
and with the local authority's permission, at the age of 17. The law
further states that a boy can marry at the age of 18. In 2002 the
Caucasus Muslim Board issued a fitva (fatwa) that defined 18 as the
marriage age, but the fitva failed to have much effect on kabin
religious marriage contracts.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Pornography is prohibited by law,
and its production, distribution, or advertisement is punishable by
three years' imprisonment. The recruitment of minors for the purpose of
prostitution (involving a minor in immoral acts) is punishable by a
sentence of three to five years, although the presence of such
aggravating factors as violence could increase the potential sentence
to five to eight years. During the year the Ministry of Internal
Affairs reported one count involving the illegal distribution of
pornographic materials and two involving the recruitment of minors for
prostitution.
Displaced Children.--A large number of refugee and IDP children
lived in substandard conditions. In some cases these children were
unable to attend school. During the year the government reported that
it spent 320-400 million manat ($400-$500 million) on assistance to
IDPs, primarily for housing, health care, and education. The government
stated that it spent 3.6 billion manat ($4.5 billion) on assistance to
IDPs during the previous five years.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no credible reports of anti-Semitic acts
against the country's Jewish community, which numbered between 15,000
and 20,000 individuals.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services, but the government did not enforce
these provisions effectively. Employment discrimination remained a
problem. A common belief persisted that children with disabilities were
ill and needed to be separated from other children and
institutionalized. Several international and local NGOs developed
educational campaigns to change social perceptions and reintegrate
disabled children.
There were no laws mandating access to public or other buildings,
information, or communications for persons with disabilities, and most
buildings were not accessible.
Care in facilities for persons with mental and other disabilities
varied; some provided adequate care, while in others, qualified
caregivers, equipment, and supplies were inadequate to maintain
sanitary conditions and provide a proper diet.
The Ministries of Health and Labor and Social Welfare are
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Some of the approximately
20,000 to 30,000 citizens of Armenian descent living in the country
historically complained of discrimination in employment, housing, and
the provision of social services. Citizens who were ethnic Armenians
often concealed their ethnicity by legally changing the ethnic
designation in their passports. There were no reports of violence
against Armenians during the year.
Some groups reported sporadic incidents of discrimination,
restrictions on their ability to teach in their native languages, and
harassment by local authorities. These groups included Talysh in the
south, Lezghi in the north, Meskhetian Turks, and Kurds displaced from
the regions controlled by Armenia-supported Nagorno-Karabakh
separatists.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Numerous incidents of police
brutality against individuals based on sexual orientation occurred,
according to a local NGO. Authorities did not investigate or punish
those responsible for such acts, and victims often were unwilling to
file complaints due to fear of social stigma. A local NGO reported 80
police raids directed at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT) community during the year.
Members of the LGBT community continued to refuse to lodge formal
complaints with law enforcement bodies out of fear of reprisal or
retaliatory persecution.
One NGO worked on LGBT issues in the country. This NGO worked to
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and provided legal advice, psychological
assistance, and outreach activities. The NGO reported no official
harassment of its work. There were no attempts to organize gay pride
marches during the year, but there was a small private gathering on May
17 to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia.
There was societal prejudice against LGBT persons. While dismissing
an employee for reasons related to sexual orientation is illegal, LGBT
individuals reported that employers found other reasons to dismiss
them. Discrimination in access to health care was also a problem. LGBT
persons reported that police often broke up their gatherings and
blackmailed them into giving the police money.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discriminations against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for freedom of association, including the right to
form labor unions. Uniformed military and police are prohibited from
joining unions. The law also prohibits managerial staff from joining
unions, but managers in government industries often had union dues
automatically deducted from their paychecks. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without government interference. The law
provides most workers with the right to strike. Categories of workers
prohibited from striking include high-ranking executive and legislative
officials; law enforcement officers; court employees; fire fighters;
and health, electric power, water supply, telephone, railway, and air
traffic control workers. Striking workers who disrupt public
transportation could be sentenced to up to three years in prison. The
law prohibits retribution against strikers, such as dismissal or
replacement. The law provides workers with the right to bargain
collectively; however, unions could not effectively negotiate wage
levels and working conditions because government-appointed boards ran
major state-owned firms and set wages for all government employees. The
law does not prohibit trade unions from carrying out political
activities. Restrictions on trade unions' associating with or receiving
finances from political parties exist, although this provision was not
uniformly enforced.
Although the labor law applied to all workers and enterprises, the
government could negotiate bilateral agreements that effectively
exempted multinational enterprises from national labor laws. For
example, production-sharing agreements (PSAs) between the government
and multinational energy enterprises did not provide for employee
participation in a trade union. Labor organizations and local NGOs
reported that some of these companies discouraged employees from
forming unions, and most employees of multinational enterprises
operating under PSAs were not union members, although there were
exceptions. Workers employed by British Petroleum were unionized, but
the situation was worse in other multinational corporations, especially
companies with third-country subcontractors.
The Azerbaijani Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) is the only trade
union confederation in the country. Although ATUC was registered as an
independent organization, some workers considered it closely aligned
with the government.
In practice there were some restrictions on the right to form
unions and conduct union activities. Most unions were not independent.
The overwhelming majority of them remained tightly linked to the
government, with the exception of some journalists' unions. Both local
and international NGOs claimed that workers in most industries were
largely unaware of their rights and afraid of retribution if they
initiated complaints. This was especially true for workers in the
public sector.
Collective bargaining agreements were often treated as formalities
and not enforced. ATUC reported that at the start of the year it
represented 1,600,000 members in 26 spheres. ATUC only has access to
those organizations that are members. If a firm is not a member of
ATUC, responsibility falls to the Ministry of Labor and Social
Protection. During the year ATUC stated that it helped 235 persons
appeal their dismissal from work, including 87 from a private oil
company. In addition 109 organizations joined ATUC and 171 left it, the
latter because they went out of business. During the year ATUC received
approximately 159,000 appeals and resolved 109,000. Each year ATUC
signs a tripartite agreement with the Council of Ministers and the
Confederation of Enterprises. Many of the state-owned enterprises that
dominated the formal economy withheld union dues from workers' pay but
did not deliver the dues to the unions. A quarter of the dues collected
for the oil workers' union were officially withheld by employers for
``administrative costs'' associated with running the union. Moreover, a
complete lack of transparency made it impossible to tell exactly how
dues were spent. Unions and their members had no recourse to
investigate withheld funds.
Membership in the Union of Oil and Gas Industry Workers remained
mandatory for the State Oil Company's 65,000 workers, whose union dues
(2 percent of each worker's salary) were automatically deducted from
their paychecks.
There were reports of antiunion discrimination by foreign companies
operating in Baku. For example, ATUC reported that management at
McDonalds actively discouraged its workforce of 140 employees from
unionizing. ATUC stated that court cases over such discrimination
continued. Labor NGOs reported that multinational energy companies and
their subcontractors often discouraged union membership by their
employees. For many multinational companies, the absence of union
membership rights in the PSAs facilitated this behavior.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, except in circumstances of war
or in the execution of a court's decision under the supervision of a
government agency.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in the
workplace and from work that is dangerous to their health. There were
few complaints of abuses of child labor laws. Two local NGOs stated
that the drastic decline in cotton production reduced the number of
children working in this sector. In addition the government,
accompanied by an NGO, investigated and found no children working in
the cotton fields. Children were reportedly trafficked for begging.
The minimum age for employment depended on the type of work. In
most instances the law permits children to work from age 15; children
age 14 may work in family businesses or, with parental consent, in
daytime after-school jobs that pose no hazard to their health. Children
under 16 may not work more than 24 hours per week; children between the
ages of 16 and 17 may not work more than 36 hours per week. The law
prohibits employing children under 18 in difficult and hazardous work
conditions and identifies specific work and industries from which
children are barred, including work with toxic substances and
underground, at night, in mines, in night clubs, bars, casinos or other
businesses that serve alcohol. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Security is responsible for enforcing child labor laws. The unit
responsible was working on becoming more effective.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The government raised the
national minimum wage to 93.50 manat ($117) per month on December 1.
The government defined the 2011 poverty line, on average, to be 95
manat per month ($119), adjusting the level for certain categories to
102 manat ($128) for able-bodied persons, 72 manat ($90) for
pensioners, and 76 manat ($95) per child.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek; the maximum daily work
shift is 12 hours. Workers in hazardous occupations may not work more
than 36 hours per week. The law requires lunch and rest periods, which
are determined by labor contracts and collective agreements. It was not
known whether local companies provided the legally required premium
compensation for overtime, although international companies generally
did. There was no prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime.
However, most individuals worked part-time in the informal economy,
where the government did not enforce contracts or labor laws.
The law provides equal rights to foreign and domestic workers.
However, local human rights groups, including the Oil Workers Rights
Defense Council, maintained that employers, particularly foreign oil
companies, did not always treat foreign and domestic workers equally.
Domestic employees of foreign oil companies often received lower pay
and worked without contracts or health care.
While the law sets health and safety standards, government
inspection of working conditions was weak and ineffective, and
standards were widely ignored. ATUC monitored compliance with labor and
trade regulations, including safety and health conditions. The Ministry
of Labor Inspectorate reported conducting 4,657 inspections during the
year.
According to the Oil Workers Rights Defense Council, an NGO
dedicated to protecting worker rights in the oil sector, during the
year there were 23 deaths (an increase from 10 in 2010) and 22
complaints of on-the-job injuries. There were also complaints of
failure to pay allowances.
ATUC reported that industrial deaths totaled 97 during the year,
with 26 of them in construction. Only one of the 26 construction deaths
occurred in an ATUC-affiliated construction firm. Of the 97 workers
killed, 37 were employed as ATUC members.
__________
BELARUS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Belarus is an authoritarian state. The country's constitution
provides for a directly elected president, who is chief of state, and a
bicameral parliament, the national assembly. A prime minister appointed
by the president is the nominal head of government. In practice,
however, power is concentrated in the presidency. Since his election as
president in 1994, Alyaksandr Lukashenka has consolidated his power
over all institutions and undermined the rule of law through
authoritarian means, including manipulated elections and arbitrary
decrees. Subsequent presidential elections, including the one held in
December 2010, were neither free nor fair and fell well short of
meeting international standards. The 2008 parliamentary elections also
failed to meet international standards. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities and to Lukashenka in particular.
The most significant human rights problems continued to be the
inability of citizens to change their government; a system bereft of
checks and balances in which authorities committed frequent, serious
abuses; and the government's politically motivated imprisonments of
hundreds of people during the year. Additionally, the government failed
to account for past politically motivated disappearances.
Other human rights problems included abuses by security forces,
which beat detainees and protesters, used excessive force to disperse
peaceful demonstrators, and reportedly used torture and/or maltreatment
during investigations and in prisons. Prison conditions remained
extremely poor. Authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained, and
imprisoned citizens for criticizing officials, for participating in
demonstrations, and for other political reasons. The judiciary lacked
independence, and suffered from inefficiency and political
interference; trial outcomes often were predetermined, and many trials
were conducted behind closed doors or in absentia. Authorities
continued to infringe on citizens' privacy rights. The government
further restricted civil liberties, including freedom of speech, press,
assembly, association, religion, and movement. The government seized
printed materials from civil society activists and prevented
independent media from disseminating information and materials. The
government continued to hinder or prevent the activities of some
religious groups, at times fining them or restricting their services.
Authorities harassed human rights groups, nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), and political parties, refusing to register many and then
threatening them with criminal prosecution for operating without
registration. Official corruption in all branches of government
remained a problem. Violence and discrimination against women were
problems, as was violence against children. Trafficking in persons
remained a significant problem. There was discrimination against
persons with disabilities, Roma, ethnic and sexual minorities, persons
with HIV/AIDS, and those who sought to use the Belarusian language.
Authorities harassed and at times dismissed members of independent
unions, severely limiting the ability of workers to form and join
independent trade unions and to organize and bargain collectively.
Authorities at all levels operated with impunity, and failed to
take steps to prosecute or punish officials in the government or
security forces who committed human rights abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports during the year that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--The prosecutor general again extended the 11-
year investigation into the 1999 disappearance of former interior
minister and opposition leader Yury Zakharanka. There were no
developments in the continuing investigations into the 2000
disappearance of journalist Zmitser Zavadski, and the 1999
disappearances of opposition activist Viktar Hanchar and businessman
Anatol Krasouski. There was evidence of government involvement in these
cases, but authorities continued to deny any connection with the
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, the Committee
for State Security (KGB), riot police, and other security forces
continued to beat detainees and demonstrators routinely. Security
forces also reportedly used torture during investigations. During
arrests police frequently beat individuals as well as persons detained
for organizing or participating in demonstrations and other opposition
activities. In June and July dozens of participants in nationwide
``silent'' demonstrations reported that unidentified plainclothesmen
who were supposedly security or police officers brutally beat them
either during their arrest or in minivans and buses without license
plates, or while in detention. For example, on July 6 in Brest, police
severely beat demonstrators; one person sustained a broken finger and
fractured ribs.
On December 19, unidentified individuals believed to be from the
KGB arrested three female Ukrainian activists protesting election fraud
in Minsk. The activists reported that they were abducted, taken to a
forest, forced to disrobe, doused with gasoline, and threatened with
immolation. They were found by local residents at a remote village near
the Ukrainian border, treated at a local hospital, and returned to
Ukraine.
In December 2010 police used physical force and violence to break
up crowds of peaceful demonstrators following presidential elections;
many were beaten and more than 700 persons were detained, including
seven opposition presidential candidates. Scores of demonstrators and a
small number of police officers were injured. Before the polls closed,
police stopped a group of protesters led by presidential candidate
Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu and a van carrying a sound system for the
demonstration. A group of unidentified men in black uniforms believed
to be special forces tossed stun grenades at the group. They beat
Nyaklyaeu in the attack and seized the sound equipment. Supporters took
him to a hospital for treatment, but unidentified men later abducted
him from his hospital bed and held at the KGB detention center. On
January 26, Internal Affairs Minister Anatol Kulyashou claimed that
police officers were not involved in attack and beating of Nyaklyaeu,
his supporters, and foreign journalists. On August 10, the Prosecutor
General's Office notified Nyaklyaeu that the government would not open
a criminal investigation into his beating.
Human rights advocates, opposition leaders, and activists released
from detention facilities continued to report torture and other forms
of physical and psychological abuse of suspects during criminal and
administrative investigations. For example, shortly after his release
from the KGB detention center on February 28, former presidential
candidate Ales Mikhalevich claimed that, as a condition of his release,
authorities forced him to sign a statement that he would assist the
KGB. Mikhalevich said that unidentified officers wearing black masks
dragged him from his cell, handcuffed him, twisted his arms, bent him
to the floor, and forced him to remain in uncomfortable positions for
long periods of time.
According to Mikhalevich, KGB guards undressed prisoners and
searched their cells, while prisoners were forced to remain in a cold
room and do physical exercises. Authorities deprived prisoners of sleep
and placed them in unventilated cells in which the floors had been
freshly painted with acetone-based paint. KGB officers threatened
Mikhalevich with further physical abuse against him and his family if
he complained about these conditions. Other political prisoners,
including Uladzimir Kobets, Alyaksandr Atroschankau, and Andrei
Sannikau, echoed Mikhalevich's description of detention center
conditions. On April 4, the Prosecutor General's Office refused to
launch a criminal investigation into Mikhalevich's claims of torture,
stating that the claims were unfounded and constituted ``false
denunciations.'' On September 16, the Military Prosecutor's Office
turned down Sannikau's request to investigate his claims of torture,
citing a lack of evidence.
Authorities also targeted lower-profile opposition activists, who
were charged and convicted of participating in mass disturbances during
the December 2010 demonstration. They subjected the activists to
violence, psychological pressure, and other forms of intimidation to
force them into testifying against the opposition presidential
candidates. The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), a local human
rights group, documented a police practice of charging individuals as
accomplices in certain crimes in order to induce them to implicate
others, then dropping the charges and forcing them to serve as
prosecution witnesses. Women detained in the December 2010 protests
reported that authorities threatened them with rape while in custody.
Many of those who were ultimately charged with criminal behavior were
detained for the maximum 10 days without charge, permitting authorities
to put pressure on them by denying them visits, receipt of medicines,
and food from their families.
The hazing of new army recruits, including beatings and other forms
of physical and psychological abuse, continued; however, the situation
improved somewhat as the government increased its prosecution of
offenders. On May 16, the Prosecutor General's Office stated that
military leaders and prosecutors were taking ``effective measures'' to
prevent deaths, injuries, and incidents of hazing in the army.
Prosecutors claimed that in 2010 there were no reports of hazing deaths
or assaults causing severe bodily harm. They reported that the number
of incidents of assault and battery decreased 33 percent and injuries
among servicemen decreased 21 percent between 2009 and 2010.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions remained poor and in many cases posed threats to life
and health. There were shortages of food, medicine, warm clothing, and
bedding and inadequate access to basic or emergency medical care and
clean drinking water. Ventilation in cells and overall sanitation were
poor, and authorities failed to provide conditions necessary for
maintaining proper personal hygiene. Prisoners frequently complained of
malnutrition and low-quality uniforms and bedding. Some former
political prisoners reported psychological abuse and being forced to
share a cell with violent criminals. The law permits family and friends
to bring detainees food and hygiene products and to send them parcels
by mail, but in many cases authorities did not adhere to the law.
Former prisoners reported that access to medical care was severely
limited and frequently provided by under-qualified medical personnel
and the results of medical check-ups were often fabricated. As a result
of these conditions, tuberculosis, pneumonia, HIV/AIDS, and other
communicable diseases were widespread in prisons. According to domestic
human rights groups, the rate of tuberculosis infection in prisons was
seven times the national average. The Ministry of Internal Affairs
reported that, out of approximately 50,000 inmates nationwide, 1,170
suffered from active tuberculosis. The death rate from tuberculosis
among inmates was 1.3 times the national average. According to NGOs,
authorities continued their practice of isolating certain prisoners--
particularly inmates with HIV/AIDS and foreign citizens. According to
official data, at the end of 2010 there were 1,098 inmates with HIV/
AIDS, accounting for 15 percent of the total number of persons with
HIV/AIDS in the country.
In March members of the public monitoring commission under the
Justice Ministry visited a prison in Vorsha and reported that the
prison was 500 inmates above capacity. Commission official Tatsyana
Krauchanka said that, despite the overcrowding, prison conditions were
``not bad.'' She claimed that the commission visited different prisons
once a quarter and paid special attention to inmates' complaints
regarding their conditions, although in most cases such complaints were
dismissed as illegitimate. She concluded that prisons were not ``a
resort'' and generally conditions were ``good.''
At a press conference on April 20, Deputy Prosecutor General
Alyaksei Stuk admitted that prisons and detention centers were
overcrowded and conditions at times failed to meet legal norms. Stuk
cited the failure to conform to space standards per inmate and a
shortage of rooms for private visits as two examples. Officials also
admitted that prison facilities were short of medical personnel,
equipment, and medicines but claimed that all prisoners received
sufficient medical care. He dismissed reports that the situation with
tuberculosis was ``alarming,'' although he admitted that rates of
infection in certain prisons were higher than the nationwide average.
In the Mahilyou region, local prosecutors reported in April that while
80 percent of prisons were overcrowded, prison administrations failed
to provide adequate medical assistance to inmates only in isolated
instances.
In August authorities reported that of the 50,000 inmates held
nationwide, approximately 38,000 persons were in prisons and 7,380 were
in pretrial detention facilities. Approximately 4,500 other persons
were held in a form of internal exile known as ``khimiya.'' Persons
sentenced to khimiya were allowed to work outside of detention
facilities but were required to return to prison barracks where they
lived under strict conditions and supervision.
According to NGOs and former prisoners, authorities routinely
abused prisoners. Former prisoners credibly reported that their
complaints to higher authorities were often censored or not forwarded
by prison officials, and that prison administrators either ignored or
selectively considered requests for investigation of alleged abuses.
Complaints could result in retaliation against prisoners who spoke out,
including humiliation, death threats, or other forms of punishment. For
example, in August a former prisoner at the Hlybokae high security
prison stated that guards beat and abused inmates after prisoners
complained about their conditions and sought a meeting with the
prosecutor general. Two prisoners began a hunger strike. The Internal
Affairs Ministry dismissed as false the reports of disturbances at
Hlybokae prison. On October 20, the Vitsyebsk regional prosecutor
reported that a probe into the beatings established that use of force
against inmates was justified ``to restore order'' in jail after
inmates put forward ``illegitimate demands'' and injured themselves.
Prisoners and detainees had limited access to visitors, and denial
of meetings with families was a common punishment for disciplinary
violations. Political prisoners were often denied meetings with
families as a means of pressure and intimidation. For example,
political prisoner and former presidential candidate Dzmitry Uss'
scheduled three-day visit with his wife in September was unexpectedly
shortened to one day.
Credible sources maintained that prison administrations turned
other inmates against political prisoners for purposes of intimidation
and to compel confessions. They also reported that authorities neither
explained nor protected their legal rights and penalized inmates for
any minor violation of the ``internal regime.'' For example, on June
17, Mikita Likhavid, convicted of participating in postelection
demonstrations, was placed in solitary confinement for the fourth time
in 40 days. The harsh conditions in solitary confinement reportedly
included denial of bedding, lack of time outdoors, and sleep
deprivation. Authorities refused to provide warm clothing, despite the
frequently low temperatures in the cells.
On September 16, independent media reported that the U.N. Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women upheld a complaint
by opposition activist Inha Abramava regarding conditions at a
detention center in Brest. She filed an individual complaint in 2008
after local courts rejected her complaints regarding discriminatory
conditions at the detention center that had only men on its staff. She
claimed that she was subject to sexual harassment by guards who also
attempted to incite violent inmates against her.
Although the law provides for freedom of religion, and there were
no reports of egregious infringements, prisoners generally were
prevented from holding religious services and performing rituals that
did not comply with prison regulations. Zmitser Dashkevich, a Malady
Front leader preemptively detained a day before the December 19, 2010
elections and later convicted on politically motivated charges, told
his lawyer that prison administration officials forbade him to have the
Bible and forced him to speak Russian instead of Belarusian in response
to commands from prison guards.
Corruption in prisons was a serious problem, and observers noted
that the outcome of parole applications often depended on bribes to
prison personnel.
While authorities claimed to conduct periodic investigations and
monitoring of prison and detention center conditions, human rights
groups asserted that such inspections--even if they did occur--lacked
any credibility. There was no ombudsman who could serve on behalf of
prisoners and detainees; human rights advocates who were not members of
state-controlled bar associations had no access to prisoners and
detainees, and could not provide them with legal counsel.
Authorities did not permit independent monitoring of penal
institutions. Despite numerous requests to the Ministries of Internal
Affairs and Justice, government officials continued to refuse to meet
with human rights advocates or approve requests to visit detention
facilities. There were no reports during the year of independent
monitoring of prison conditions by domestic or international human
rights groups, independent media, or the International Committee of the
Red Cross.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law limits arbitrary
detention; however, the government did not respect these limits in
practice. Authorities continued to arrest individuals for political
reasons and to use administrative measures to detain political
activists before, during, and after protests.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs exercises authority over the police, but the KGB, the
financial investigations department under the State Control Committee,
and the presidential security services also exercise police functions.
The president also has the authority to subordinate all security bodies
to his personal command. Impunity among law enforcement personnel
remained a serious problem. Individuals have the right to report police
abuse to a prosecutor; however, the government often did not
investigate reported abuses or hold perpetrators accountable.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law police
must request permission from a prosecutor to detain a person in excess
of three hours; in practice these procedures were usually ignored, and
police routinely detained and arrested individuals without warrants.
Authorities may hold a criminal suspect for up to 10 days without
filing formal charges and for up to 18 months after filing charges.
Under the law prosecutors, investigators, and security service agencies
have the authority to extend detention without consulting a judge.
Detainees have the right to petition the legality of their detention,
but in practice appeals by suspects for a court review of their
detention frequently were suppressed or ignored.
Arbitrary Arrest.--During the year authorities routinely detained
or arrested hundreds of individuals, including opposition figures,
members of the independent media, social media activists, and civil
society activists, for reasons widely considered to be politically
motivated.
For example, during the June-September ``silent'' demonstrations
organized via Internet, police detained more than 2,000 persons for
participating in an unsanctioned demonstration and sentenced them to
large fines or up to 15 days of administrative detention. People were
arrested for little more than walking or clapping their hands.
On October 6, police arbitrarily detained prominent sociologist and
independent pollster Aleh Manayeu for three hours to impede his
presentation of polling results to the Minsk diplomatic corps. At a
press conference on October 7, Lukashenka stated that police
apprehended Manayeu over alleged possession of drugs; however, he
subsequently was released without charge.
On October 8, opposition and trade union leaders staged rallies
called ``people's assemblies'' across the country to protest the
government's ineffective economic policies. Prior to the event police
detained and warned a number of activists against participating in
unsanctioned rallies. On October 13, police detained Viktar
Ivashkevich, the main organizer of the assemblies. Following a seven-
hour hearing, a Minsk district court fined him 1.4 million rubles
($169) for violating mass events regulations.
Pretrial Detention.--Authorities may hold a criminal suspect for up
to 10 days without filing formal charges. Prior to being charged, the
law provides detainees with no access to their families or to food and
medical supplies from outside the detention facility. In an effort to
maximize pressure on such detainees, police routinely held persons for
the full 10-day period before charging them.
Police often detained individuals for several hours, ostensibly to
confirm their identity, and then released them without charges. Police
and security forces frequently used this tactic to detain members of
the opposition and demonstrators, to prevent the distribution of
leaflets and newspapers, or as a pretext to break up civil society
meetings and events.
Following the December 2010 demonstrations, authorities detained a
number of leading supporters of opposition parties, including seven
presidential candidates. Five candidates subsequently were charged with
and convicted of ``organizing and leading mass disturbances'' or other
charges. Authorities delayed pressing charges for the maximum legal
period of 10 days. A number initially were denied access to their
lawyers on the pretext that no rooms were available for such
consultations.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, Lukashenka and his government did not
respect judicial independence in practice. Corruption, inefficiency,
and political interference with judicial decisions were widespread.
Prosecutors and courts convicted individuals on false and politically
motivated charges, and senior leaders and local authorities dictated
the outcomes of trials.
According to the latest available report by a U.N. special
rapporteur, prosecutors wield ``excessive and imbalanced'' authority
because they may extend detention without the permission of judges. The
2006 report also noted an imbalance of power between the prosecution
and the defense. Defense lawyers were unable to examine investigation
files, be present during investigations and interrogations, or examine
evidence against defendants until a prosecutor formally brought the
case to court. Lawyers found it difficult to challenge some evidence
because technical expertise was under the control of the Prosecutor's
Office. According to many defense attorneys, these imbalances of power
persisted throughout the year, especially in politically motivated
criminal and administrative cases. In very few cases during the year
were criminal defendants exonerated.
By presidential decree bar associations are independent; however,
in practice they remained subordinate to the Ministry of Justice.
Lawyers must be licensed by the ministry, are required to work in
regional bar associations, and must renew their licenses every five
years. The law prohibits attorneys from engaging in private practice,
although private legal companies are allowed to provide legal
assistance and advice to private companies and represent their clients
in economic courts.
During the year authorities revoked the licenses of at least nine
attorneys who represented prominent opposition leaders, civil society
activists, and independent journalists arrested on or after December
19, 2010, for activities related to the defense of their clients. In a
notice posted on its Web site in January, the Justice Ministry charged
that ``certain lawyers'' who were defending individuals facing criminal
charges, including the presidential candidates, were committing ``gross
violations'' of the rules of professional ethics for lawyers as well as
of the country's laws. The ministry accused the lawyers of distorting
information about the investigations of their clients, their state of
health, and their conditions of detention. Subsequently, the ministry
announced that all licensed lawyers, excluding junior staff, had to
pass extraordinary performance reviews to renew their licenses. As a
result of this review, attorneys defending key presidential candidates
and activists were disbarred. On January 4, a lawyer in Hrodna lost her
license for participating in postelection demonstrations. The BHC
reported that additional lawyers engaged to defend arrested activists
were suspended for indefinite periods. On October 22, authorities
removed Alyaksandr Pylchanka, the head of the Minsk city bar
association, who openly spoke against debarring lawyers and said that
the situation threatened the independence of the bar.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of
innocence. However, because of the lack of judicial independence and
government use of official media to report on trials, and also due to
practices that limit a defendant's right to self-defense in court, the
burden of proof was in practice frequently on defendants.
The law also provides for public trials; however, trials
occasionally were closed and frequently were held in judges' offices,
where attendance was severely limited. Judges adjudicate all trials;
there is no system of trial by jury. For the most serious cases, in a
throwback to the Soviet past, two civilian advisers assist a judge.
Government-controlled media frequently conducted propaganda
campaigns declaring the guilt of suspects prior to trial and revealing
alleged materials from ongoing investigations designed to demonstrate
further the ``guilt'' of persons awaiting trial. For example, in
January following the postelection demonstrations in December 2010,
state television broadcast a documentary called The Square: When Metal
Hits Glass, which purported to demonstrate that leading members of the
opposition had plotted a violent coup with help from abroad. The
documentary also claimed that Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu was attacked by
rivals within the opposition, rather than by security forces. On
January 14, the government-run newspaper Sovietskaya Bielorussiya
published an article purporting to reveal documents demonstrating that
leaders of the opposition were plotting to overthrow the government
with support from abroad.
The law provides defendants the right to attend proceedings, to
confront witnesses, and to present evidence on their own behalf;
however, in practice authorities did not always respect these rights.
During the year numerous opposition politicians and NGO leaders were
tried and convicted without being permitted to be present at their
trials. For example, a Minsk district court notified a Mahilyou-based
opposition activist on January 13 that she had been fined 1.05 million
rubles ($127) in absentia for her participation in the December 2010
postelection demonstrations. On September 7, a court in Horki sentenced
Malady Front activist Ivan Shyla in absentia to 20 days' imprisonment
for demonstrating in front of a prison on August 2 in support of his
detained associate, Zmitser Dashkevich.
The law provides for access to legal counsel for detainees and
requires that courts appoint a lawyer for those who cannot afford one;
however, at times some detainees were denied access to a lawyer and at
other times, to a Belarusian-language interpreter if they requested
hearings in that language. Most judges and prosecutors were not fluent
in Belarusian and rejected motions for interpreters. The law provides
for the right to choose legal representation freely; however, a
presidential decree prohibits NGO members who are lawyers by training
from representing individuals other than members of their organizations
in court. The government's disbarment of at least nine attorneys who
represented political opponents of the regime limited defendants'
choice of counsel in high-profile political cases.
Those charged in connection with the December 2010 demonstrations
had very limited access to lawyers, and authorities did not allow any
of the detainees to meet in private with their lawyers at holding
facilities. Some lawyers openly stated that authorities obstructed
their seeing clients. For example, attorney Tamara Sidarenka, who
represented presidential candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, was allowed
only two visits with her client over the course of 50 days. She
reported that lawyers were required to wait in line outside of the KGB
detention center and often were sent away after being told that no
meetings rooms were available.
Courts often allowed information obtained by use of force and
threats of bodily harm during interrogations to be used against
defendants.
Defendants have the right to appeal court decisions, and most
defendants did so. However, appeals courts upheld the verdicts of the
lower ones in the vast majority of cases, including in all criminal
cases in connection with postelection demonstrations.
Between March and May, more than 50 opposition leaders, including
six 2010 presidential candidates, their aides and campaign staffers,
activists, and independent journalists were put on trial or faced
charges for allegedly organizing, leading, or participating in ``mass
disturbances,'' or in activities that ``violated public order.''
Independent observers and human rights advocates concluded that
prosecutors failed to present any credible evidence of criminal acts by
the defendants, and guilty verdicts in these politically motivated
trials were largely based on fabricated testimony by prosecution
witnesses. Local and international human rights groups alleged that
authorities orchestrated a ``storming'' of the main government building
as a pretext for a broader crackdown on civil society, political
opposition, and independent media. The prosecution's witnesses for all
trials were approximately 30 police officers who purportedly were
injured during the demonstrations, although observers noted numerous
discrepancies in the medical records presented by the officers in
court. Independent trial observers reported that witnesses gave
scripted (and nearly identical) testimony at the various trials but
often failed to appear in court for subsequent hearings, citing illness
or vacation. Videos shown in court were edited extensively.
The prosecution overtly pressured low-profile defendants to testify
against presidential candidates and accuse the candidates of having
planned and led the riots. During the trials several defendants
recanted incriminatory statements they previously had made under
physical duress or threat of torture during police investigations. One
defendant claimed at trial that investigators promised him the
investigation against him would be dropped and he would be released if
he was willing to testify that the presidential candidates had paid him
to take part in the demonstrations. When he refused, police brought
criminal charges of participating in mass disturbances against him.
One of the leading opposition presidential candidates on trial,
Andrei Sannikau, stated that KGB head Vadzim Zaytsau blackmailed him by
threatening the lives of his wife and four-year-old son and that
investigators coerced him to sign scripted statements. At a trial of
candidate Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu, prosecutors played telephone
conversations between presidential candidates and their aides that were
taped during the presidential campaign, months before the
demonstrations and criminal investigations against the activists. A
deputy general prosecutor reportedly sanctioned the wiretapping, and
judges disregarded defense lawyers' motion to hear the taped materials,
including private conversations, behind closed doors.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year authorities
filed criminal charges against persons from the political opposition,
human rights and civil society groups, and independent media
organizations in connection with the large-scale demonstration in Minsk
on the night of December 19, 2010. Following trials that failed to
conform to international standards, most of these political prisoners
were convicted of the crimes of organizing or actively participating in
``mass disturbances'' or ``activities that severely violated public
order.'' In many of the cases the authorities did not allow prisoners
to meet with lawyers, family members, embassies, or prison monitoring
groups.
During the year there were 53 political prisoners in Belarus. Of
these, 46 were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment, partial house
arrests, large fines, or khimiya. Some were given suspended sentences.
Charges against six were dropped, and one presidential candidate
against whom charges were not dropped fled abroad. Later, 25 of those
convicted were pardoned; many of them faced pressure by authorities to
sign petitions to be pardoned, while some were simply released. At
year's end eight political prisoners remained in jail, including two
presidential candidates, Mikalai Statkevich and Andrei Sannikau. Many
of those in jail reportedly faced maltreatment and severe pressure.
All politically motivated trials ended during the year. During
April and May, 46 activists, including five presidential candidates,
were convicted, while authorities dropped criminal charges against six
more activists, including one presidential candidate. Candidate Ales
Mikhalevich fled the country. Of those convicted, candidate Mikalai
Statkevich received the longest jail term of six years in high security
facilities, and two candidates Uladzimir Nyaklyaeu and Vital
Rymasheuski along with six other activists received suspended sentences
of up to two years.
Candidate Andrei Sannikau was sentenced to five years in jail, and
candidate Dzmitry Uss to five and a half years. Rymasheuski's aide
Paval Sevyarynets received a sentence of three years of internal exile.
Most other activists received up to four years in a high security jail.
Sannikau, Statkevich, Dzmitry Bandarenka (Sannikau's aide), and
Sevyarynets continued to serve their sentences at year's end.
Lukashenka pardoned other political prisoners in August-October except
those who received suspended sentences. Prisoners were often pressured
to appeal for pardon.
Authorities also convicted Malady Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich
and Malady Front activist Eduard Lobau, two opposition youth activists
preemptively detained on December 18, 2010, on politically motivated
charges of ``severe hooliganism.'' Human rights groups believed the
sentences were directly related to the December 19, 2010, postelection
demonstrations and crackdown. Dashkevich was sentenced to two years and
Lobau to four. Both remained in jail at year's end.
On May 27, a court convicted five members of an anarchist group for
a series of Molotov cocktail attacks on various facilities in Minsk,
including the Russian embassy compound, the Defense Ministry, the
offices of state-controlled trade unions, a detention center, and a
bank. In a similar case in Babruisk on May 18, a court sentenced three
anarchists who partially admitted their guilt to seven years in prison
for attacking a local KGB office with Molotov cocktails. During court
hearings the defendants stated that they were interrogated without
their lawyers present and coerced into confessions after being
threatened with lengthy imprisonment and harsher detention conditions.
Authorities used the investigation as a pretext to detain and
interrogate a range of individuals, and they reportedly threatened many
of these persons and their family members with physical abuse in order
to compel their testimony against the defendants. In court several
witnesses claimed the KGB forced them to testify against the activists,
and some witnesses recanted their earlier statements. One witness
stated that investigators beat him after his arrest and that he spent
nine days in custody. Leading local human rights groups, including
Vyasna and the BHC, recognized three anarchist activists sentenced to
eight, four and a half, and three years in jail as prisoners of
conscience.
On August 4, police arrested Ales Byalyatski, chairman of Vyasna,
one of the country's leading human rights organizations, and charged
him with ``large-scale concealment of income and tax evasion.''
Byalyatski used bank accounts in Lithuania and Poland to channel NGO
assistance funds to support his organization's efforts and assist
persons arrested and convicted during the postelection crackdown.
Authorities considered this money ``income'' because his NGO was
prohibited by the government from being legally registered. The KGB and
financial police searched Byalyatski's apartment and summer cottage as
well as the office housing Vyasna. Authorities also charged
Byalyatski's deputy, Valyantsin Stephanovich, with tax evasion under
the civil code. On December 16, a court in Minsk upheld the district
tax office's suit against Stephanovich and ordered him to pay a total
of approximately 54.4 million rubles ($6,570) in overdue taxes and
penalties.
During the year Vaukavysk entrepreneur and anticorruption activist
Mikalai Autukhovich remained in prison, having been convicted of
illegal weapons' possession in 2010. Amnesty International and other
human rights groups recognized Autukhovich as a political prisoner.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides that
individuals can file lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a
human rights violation; however, the civil judiciary was not
independent and was rarely impartial in such matters.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions; however, the
government did not respect these prohibitions. Authorities used
wiretapping, video surveillance, and a network of informers to deprive
persons of privacy to express dissenting political views.
By law persons who obstruct law enforcement personnel in the
performance of their duties can be penalized or charged with an
administrative offense even if the ``duties'' may be perceived as
illegal. ``Obstruction'' could include any effort to prevent KGB or law
enforcement officers from entering the premises of a company,
establishment, or organization; refusing to allow KGB audits; or
denying or restricting KGB access to information systems and databases.
The law requires a warrant before, or immediately after, conducting
a search; however, the KGB and riot police entered homes, conducted
searches, and read mail without warrants. The KGB has the authority to
enter any building at any time, as long as it applies for a warrant
within 24 hours after the entry. There were credible reports that
government agents covertly entered homes of opposition activists and
offices of opposition groups and monitored the actions of individuals.
In numerous instances authorities searched residences and offices for
apparent political reasons.
Following the December 2010 postelection protest, authorities
raided the offices and homes of hundreds of opposition leaders,
democratic activists, independent journalists, and civil society
organizations across the country during two months or more. In most
instances police seized electronic equipment and paper files. For
example, on January 5, the KGB raided the offices of the BHC and seized
computers and servers. KGB officers also searched the residence of BHC
Director Aleh Hulak. On January 14, on the basis of allegations that
the office was used during Sannikau's presidential campaign, police
raided the Minsk-based offices of the independent Trade Union of
Electronic Industry Workers for more than five hours and seized
computers. On January 19, police raided the offices of the Center for
Human Rights and seized three computers; the KGB concurrently searched
the apartment of the center's chairwoman, Raisa Mikhailouskaya.
Security forces continued to target prominent opposition and civil
society leaders with arbitrary searches and interrogations at border
crossings and airports. For example, on July 2, Stanislau Shushkevich,
leader of the Hramada Social Democratic Party and former head of state,
and a group of 12 students from the Vilnius-based European Humanities
University, were taken off a train and detained for more than six hours
at the Lithuanian border. Border guards detained the students on
suspicion of drug smuggling, photographed them, and warned against
participating in unsanctioned protests. Border guards did not give
Shushkevich any explanation for his detention. All were released
without charge.
The law prohibits authorities from intercepting telephone and other
communications without a prosecutor's order. In practice authorities
routinely monitored residences, telephones, and computers. Nearly all
opposition political figures and many prominent members of civil
society groups reported that authorities monitored their conversations
and activities.
The law allows the KGB, Ministry of Internal Affairs, special
security services, financial intelligence personnel, and certain border
guard detachments to use wiretaps. Wiretaps require the permission of a
prosecutor; however, the lack of prosecutorial independence rendered
this requirement meaningless.
The Ministry of Communications has the authority to terminate the
telephone service of persons who violate their telephone contracts, and
such contracts prohibit the use of telephone services for purposes
contrary to state interests and public order.
There were numerous reports that the government employed a number
of means to coerce young persons, including university students and
military conscripts, to join the state-funded Belarusian Republican
Youth Union (BRYU) with a reported membership of 500,000 persons. To
this end the government reportedly employed a widespread system of BRYU
civilian patrol squads whose objective was to recruit youths and
students for various projects around the country in the name of good
citizenship.
During the year authorities continued to harass family members of
NGO leaders and civil society and opposition activists, including
political prisoners. For example, on January 13, KGB officers prevented
Milana Mikhalevich, spouse of political prisoner and presidential
candidate Ales Mikhalevich, from going to Poland for hearings on
Belarus. They first detained her by conducting a lengthy search of her
residence and later stopped her vehicle on the way to Warsaw with the
warning that she was banned from traveling out of the country and would
be turned away at the border.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the
press; however, the government did not respect these rights in practice
and enforced numerous laws to control and censor the public and the
media. Moreover, the all-dominant state press almost exclusively
propagated views in support of Lukashenka.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could not criticize the government
publicly or discuss matters of general public interest without fear of
reprisal. Authorities videotaped political meetings, conducted frequent
identity checks, and used other forms of intimidation. Wearing masks,
displaying unregistered flags and symbols, and displaying placards
bearing messages deemed threatening to the government or public order
are also prohibited.
The law also limits free speech by criminalizing actions such as
giving information to a foreigner about the political, economic,
social, military, or international situation of the country that
authorities deem to be false or derogatory.
Freedom of Press.--The government restricted press freedom and
censored the media. Authorities warned, fined, detained, interrogated,
or jailed members of the media and harassed bloggers who publicly
criticized the government. Under the law the government may close a
publication after two warnings in one year for violating a range of
restrictions on speech and the press. In addition regulations give
authorities arbitrary power to prohibit or censor reporting. The
Information Ministry can suspend periodicals or newspapers for three
months without a court ruling. The law also prohibits the media from
disseminating information on behalf of unregistered political parties,
trade unions, and NGOs.
The Information Ministry continued to deny registration to many
independent media outlets, i.e., privately owned media perceived to be
publishing information independently of government control. In spite of
the lack of registration, independent media, including newspapers,
magazines, and Internet news Web sites, sought to provide objective and
independent coverage of events. However, they operated under repressive
media laws, and most faced discriminatory publishing and distribution
policies.
State-owned media, which was extremely biased and served as a
propaganda arm of the regime, dominated the information field and
maintained the highest circulation through generous subsidies and
preferences. There is no country-wide private television. The state-
owned postal system, Belposhta, and the state-owned kiosk system,
Belsayuzdruk, continued to refuse to deliver or sell at least 10
independent newspapers that covered politics.
Although authorities continued to allow the circulation of
Narodnaya Volya and Nasha Niva, two national independent newspapers,
through state distribution systems, they remained subject to
restrictions and financial penalties. For example, in January
Belsayuzdruk refused to increase the number of Nasha Niva copies
available for sale despite high demand for the newspaper. On July 29,
the Minsk city economic court fined Nasha Niva 14 million rubles
($1,690) for receiving two warnings during the year. On August 8, the
Supreme Economic Court fined the Narodnaya Volya the same amount on
similar charges.
International media continued to operate in the country but not
without interference and prior censorship. Euronews and the Russian
channels First Channel, NTV, and RTR were generally available, although
only through paid cable services in many parts of the country. At times
authorities blocked, censored, or replaced their news programs with
local programming. Broadcasts from other countries, including Poland
and Lithuania, could be received in parts of the country, usually along
the border.
On May 27, Lukashenka criticized Russian media for helping provoke
an ``artificial'' economic crisis. On June 13, presidential Chief of
Staff Uladzimir Makei dismissed what he called speculation about a ban
on Russian media in the country as ``complete nonsense.'' Conversely,
Makei charged that Russian authorities disregarded ``flagrant
violations of Belarusian laws and journalistic code of ethics by a
number of Russian media outlets.''
Violence and Harassment.--Authorities continued to routinely
harass, arrest, and assault journalists.
Security forces arrested seven members of the Belarusian
Association of Journalists (BAJ), who later were convicted of
``participating in mass disturbances'' or organizing activities that
``violated public order'' as a result of their work on presidential
campaigns. These included Sannikau spokesman Alyaksandr Atroshchankau,
sentenced to four years in jail in March and pardoned in September;
Sannikau aide Zmitser Bandarenka, sentenced to two years in jail;
Nyaklyaeu aides Alyaksandr Fyaduta and Syarhei Vaznyak, both given two-
year suspended sentences; Rymasheuski aide Paval Sevyarynets, sentenced
to three years of internal exile; independent journalist and Sannikau's
wife Iryna Khalip, given a two-year suspended sentence; and editor of
the Charter97 Internet portal Natallya Radzina, who was charged,
released from pretrial holding facilities on her own recognizance, and
fled the country in March. Authorities dropped charges against Radzina
in August.
On December 19, 2010, police detained at least 15 local
journalists, all members of the BAJ, and at least five foreign
correspondents. Mariya Antonova of Agence France Presse was detained
overnight. Twenty-two other local and foreign journalists reported
being the victims of physical violence during the police crackdown.
These included Michael Schwirtz and James Hill of the New York Times,
Anton Kharchenko and Victor Filyaev of television channel Russia Today,
and Hanz Cezarek, a photojournalist for the Austrian Internet-based
news service news.at. At least 11 local independent journalists were
jailed for up to 15 days for participating in an unsanctioned
demonstration.
In the weeks following the December 2010 crackdown, authorities
raided offices of media organizations, including the Minsk office of
Poland-based European Radio for Belarus (ERB), the Minsk office of
Poland-based Belsat TV, and Nasha Niva. Security forces also raided the
residences of at least 12 journalists in search of videos, photographs,
or printed materials related to postelection demonstrations. During
their search of the ERB offices, police removed all employees from the
premises and then seized more than 50 pieces of office and studio
equipment, leaving little but tables and chairs behind. In anticipation
of the raid, Belsat staff had vacated their premises several days
earlier. Between December 19, 2010, and late February, police seized at
least 114 pieces of office and studio equipment from media outlets and
independent journalists around the country.
On January 26, Internal Affairs Minister Anatol Kulyashou claimed
that police raided the homes and offices of journalists in a manner
consistent with the law and had not used violence against reporters
during the postelection crackdown. He also claimed that a journalist
had assaulted a police officer with a video camera.
Security forces continually hampered efforts of independent
journalists to cover ``silent'' and other protests in Minsk. During the
year more than 80 independent journalists were detained for their
coverage of ``silent'' protests across the country. Thirty journalists
petitioned the Office of the Prosecutor General to probe the arrests of
their colleagues during the ``silent'' protests. In response, the
prosecutor general sent a letter to the interior minister urging him to
have police comply with the media law, which allows journalists to
attend and report on public demonstrations. The letter also noted that
police were entitled to temporarily limit or ban access of individuals,
including journalists, to some places and even have them leave such
places for personal and public security reasons. The BAJ welcomed the
prosecutor general's statement in July that police officers should be
punished if they impeded journalists covering protests; however,
according to press reports no sanctions against police followed.
Routine harassment of journalists was also common. For example, on
March 25, police detained BelaPAN news agency correspondent Uladzimir
Laptsevich and BAJ member Dzmitry Salauyou at a Freedom Day
demonstration. Three days later, a court in Mahilyou convicted the two
of using obscenities and resisting police orders. Laptsevich was
sentenced to seven days in jail, and Salauyou received five days.
Authorities refused Laptsevich's request for trial proceedings to be
conducted in Belarusian or for an interpreter to be present.
On June 15, Hrodna-based journalist Ihar Bantsar was jailed for
five days on charges of minor hooliganism. Police arrested Bantsar just
outside his home on June 14 to prevent him from attending his associate
Andrzej Paczobut's court hearing.
Authorities also harassed and obstructed the work of foreign
journalists. Following the crackdown on civil society, political
opposition, and independent media in the wake of the December 2010
postelection demonstrations, a number of journalists reporting for
international media were detained, interrogated, searched, and
threatened with prosecution for their coverage of political events and
ongoing criminal investigations. For example, on February 16,
authorities questioned Belsat correspondent Tatsyana Bublikava about
her cooperation with foreign media. On February 28, the prosecutor
general issued her a warning that she could face liability for working
without accreditation.
On March 28, the Foreign Ministry recalled the newly issued
accreditation of Russian journalist Aleksandr Lashmankin, editor in
chief of the Samara-based Svoboda news agency. Authorities detained him
upon arrival in Vorsha on March 24, and jailed him for three days on
charges of disorderly conduct. On May 30, police arrested Russian
``Dozhd'' television channel correspondent Rodion Marinichev after he
interviewed political prisoner Iryna Khalip. Officers confiscated his
materials, deported him, and banned him from the country for five
years.
On June 27, two BBC journalists were notified by the Belarusian
embassy in London that their visas were cancelled and they could not
travel to Belarus despite being accredited by the Foreign Ministry.
Citing a right not to give an explanation for cancellation, embassy
officials advised the journalists against applying for visas ``in the
near future.''
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The vast majority of
publications were forced to exercise self-censorship. The government
tightly controlled the content of domestic broadcast media. Local
independent television stations operated in some areas and reported
local news; however, most were under government pressure to forgo
reporting on national issues or risk censorship. Authorities frequently
pressured such stations into sharing materials and cooperating with
authorities to intimidate local opposition and human rights groups that
met with foreign diplomats.
In 2009 Lukashenka again stated that control of radio and
television stations was a high priority for the government and that
private stations would not be allowed to operate in the country. He
dismissed concerns about closing Russian channels. Following the
December 2010 postelection demonstrations, Lukashenka threatened
journalists, saying they would be held ``fully responsible for every
word.''
In June Minsk authorities discontinued broadcasting Russian popular
entertainment channel TNT known for satirical and critical jokes about
Lukashenka.
Only the state-run radio and the state-run television networks were
allowed to broadcast nationwide. The government continued to use its
monopoly of television and radio broadcasting to disseminate its
version of events and minimize all opposing viewpoints. State
television apparently coordinated its propaganda documentaries with the
country's security services, as evidenced by the use of surveillance
footage and wiretaps transcripts in broadcasts. Authorities banned
state media and radio from citing works and broadcasting music by
independent local and well-known foreign musicians, artists, writers,
and painters who were named on an alleged ``black list.''
Local authorities frequently warned independent editors and
journalists to avoid reporting on certain topics and not to criticize
the government. Authorities harassed bloggers for the same reasons.
Authorities also warned businesses not to advertise in newspapers that
criticized the government. As a result independent media outlets
operated under severe budgetary constraints. During the year the
Ivatsevichy-based independent newspaper Gazeta Dlia Vas was forced to
close due to reduced advertising.
Journalists reporting for international media that gave extensive
coverage to the country, such as the Warsaw-based independent satellite
channel Belsat TV and the Polish radio station Radio Racyja, continued
to receive warnings from the Prosecutor's Office for working without
accreditation. After enactment of the new media law, authorities sent
warnings to at least 24 independent journalists.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel is a criminal offense. There
are large fines and prison sentences of up to four years for defaming
or insulting the president. Penalties for defamation of character make
no distinction between private and public persons. A public figure who
is criticized for poor performance while in office may sue both the
journalist and the media outlet that disseminated the critical report.
For example, in April police arrested Andrzej Paczobut on charges
of slandering and insulting the president. On July 5, a court in Hrodna
convicted him of slander in a closed-door proceeding and sentenced him
to a three-year suspended sentence, with two years of probation. He was
acquitted of the charge of insult. Paczobut also was prohibited from
leaving the country. On September 20, a higher court rejected his
appeal.
In June Lida-based blogger Yauhen Kutsko was fined 700,000 rubles
($85) after a court convicted him of slandering the then chairman of
the Lida regional government. Following the publication of the
offending article on his blog at the end of 2010, Kutsko was dismissed
from his job and remained unemployed at year's end.
Authorities also frequently cited national security as grounds for
censorship of media. On January 12, authorities closed popular
independent radio station Autoradio, claiming that it broadcast
``public calls for extremist activities'' by broadcasting legal
campaign advertisements for presidential candidate Sannikau.
Autoradio's multiple legal appeals to resume broadcasting were denied.
After an explosion at a Minsk subway station on April 11,
authorities issued at least nine warnings to independent journalists
and media outlets for disseminating ``unfounded information regarding
the tragic event at the subway'' and ``speculations that discredit the
Belarusian state and public.'' Nasha Niva and Narodnaya Volya were
among the warned outlets, and KGB officers interrogated Nasha Niva
editor in chief Andrei Skurko on April 18 and forced the newspaper to
remove a video of the explosion site from the newspaper's Web site.
Publishing Restrictions.--The government took numerous actions
during the year to limit the independent press, including limiting
access to newsprint and raising the cost of printing presses. Several
independent newspapers, including Vitsyebski Kuryer and Tavarysch,
printed materials in Russia because domestic printing presses (almost
all of which were state-owned) refused to print them. Tavarysch
subsequently was forced to suspend publication due to financial
constraints. Both newspapers remained out of circulation in the country
at year's end. Other independent newspapers, such as Salidarnasc, BDG,
and Bobruysky Kuryer, disseminated Internet-only versions due to
printing and distribution restrictions.
Conversely, authorities provided robust support for government-
controlled media. On August 26, authorities pledged that 25 state-owned
publications would receive more than 400 billion rubles ($48 million)
in subsidies to cover printing costs, the purchase of paper, and
salaries for staff. On August 23, Information Minister Aleh
Pralyaskouski said that state newspapers were more popular ``than so-
called opposition publications and numbers of their subscribers could
not even be compared.''
During the year the government confiscated numerous independent and
opposition newspapers and seized leaflets and other materials deemed to
have been printed illegally. For example, on March 21, police briefly
detained distributors of the independent newspaper Novy Chas in central
Minsk and in Slutsk, confiscating more than 200 copies of the
newspaper.
Internet Freedom.--The government continued to restrict access to
the Internet and actively monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms.
While individuals and groups were generally able to engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, all
who did so risked legal and personal repercussions. Opposition
activists faced the likelihood that their e-mails and other Web-based
communications would be monitored.
The authorities monitored Internet traffic. By law the
telecommunications monopoly, Beltelekam, and other organizations
authorized by the government have the exclusive right to maintain
Internet domains.
In July 2010 Lukashenka issued an edict that requires registration
of service providers and Internet Web sites, establishes restrictions
on access to sites containing ``extremist activity'' (which many
activists believed could be interpreted to include government
opponents), and requires the collection of information on users at
Internet cafes. It requires service providers to store data on the
Internet use of individuals for a year and to provide that information
to law enforcement agencies upon their request.
The edict restricts access to Web sites whose content includes
``extremist activities''; materials related to illicit weapons,
explosives, and drugs; trafficking in persons; pornography; and
promotion of violence. It requires service providers to eliminate
access to these subject areas from government offices, educational
facilities, and cultural institutions if ordered to do so by the KGB,
prosecutor general, the presidential administration's Operation and
Analytical Center, and other state agencies. According to credible
sources, the list, which was not released publicly, contained
approximately 60 Web sites, including opposition portals Charter97 and
Belarusian Partisan. Internet service providers are required to update
the list on a daily basis. Decisions to restrict access to Internet
sources may be appealed to the courts. In addition to restrictive
actions, authorities made frequent statements during the year on the
need for further control of the Internet.
On June 17, Lukashenka attempted to justify limitations on Internet
access nationwide, stating he was ``fine with the Internet'' but
claiming that he had to ``get engaged [in Internet monitoring] to
protect our stability, security, and the country.'' On August 29, he
ordered the government to restrict students' access to ``destructive''
Web sites, including social networking portals, at educational
institutions. The day after the December 2010 demonstrations,
Lukashenka pledged to ``reform the Internet,'' which he asserted was
used to ``mock authorities and the people.''
State companies and organizations, which included the workplaces of
80 percent of the country's workers, reportedly had Internet filters.
On occasion government providers blocked independent and opposition Web
sites during major political events. In response to the government's
interference and Internet restrictions, many opposition groups and
independent newspapers switched to Internet domains operating outside
the country. The few remaining independent media sites with domestic
``BY'' (Belarus) domains practiced self-censorship.
On several occasions during the year, cyberattacks of unknown
origin led to the temporary disabling of independent news portals and
social networking sites, including the following: Web sites of
Charter97, independent news agency BelaPAN, Radio Liberty, Belarusian
Partisan, Vyasna, Belarusian Christian Democracy, electroname.com,
citizenby.org, Salidarnasc, Twitter, Facebook, and LiveJournal. In June
an Internet-organized group known as ``Revolution through Social
Networks'' created a page on the popular Russian social networking Web
site ``Vkontakte.ru,'' which called for ``silent'' demonstrations to
take place in public spaces around the country. As these protests
gained attention and broader public support, Internet users reported
being unable to access Vkontakte.ru for several hours before the
``silent'' protests were to take place. There were also reports of
users being redirected to fake mirror Web sites that attempted to
collect users' full names and other personal information.
The government continued to collect and obtain personally
identifiable information on independent journalists and democratic
activists. For example, during raids in January and February,
investigators hacked personal passwords to access e-mails, Skype
records, and other materials, to read decoded files, and to retrieve
deleted information on the computers confiscated from independent
journalists and postelection demonstration participants and activists.
Also, some family members of political prisoners reported that their
accounts were hacked.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and cultural events. Educational institutions were
required to teach an official state ideology that combined reverence
for the achievements of the former Soviet Union and of Belarus under
the leadership of Lukashenka. Use of the word ``academic'' was
restricted; NGOs were prohibited from including the word ``academy'' in
their titles. Opportunities to receive a higher education in the
Belarusian language in the majority of fields of study were scarce.
Administrations of higher educational institutions made no effort to
accommodate students wishing to study in Belarusian-language classes.
In 2009 Deputy Education Minister Tatsyana Kavalyova stated that
ideology remained ``the backbone'' of education in the country and gave
``special flavor to the educational environment.'' She also noted that
every educational institution maintained an ideology department. In
March the presidential administration first deputy, Alyaksandr Radzkou,
stated that ideology played a crucial role in shaping an individual.
During the year authorities harassed, intimidated, and dismissed
teachers on political grounds. For example, on April 25, the Minsk
regional court upheld a lower court's decision to reject former history
teacher Natallya Illinich's appeal of her dismissal from a school in
Talka. On January 5, KGB and police searched Illinich's house and
seized computer equipment and printed materials. She served as a
presidential election observer and collected signatures in support of
opposition candidates. The school principal dismissed her on January
27, disregarding a petition on her behalf signed by students and
parents.
On June 2, administrators of an art school in Mahilyou fired music
teacher Katsyaryna Kastusyova, daughter of presidential candidate Ryhor
Kastusyou and a member of his campaign team. Officials claimed that her
dismissal was performance-related and not politically motivated.
Government-mandated textbooks contained a heavily propagandized
version of history and other subjects. All schools, including private
institutions, were obligated to follow state directives to inculcate
the official ideology and could not be led by opposition members. The
education minister has the right to appoint and dismiss the heads of
private educational institutions.
The BRYU urged university students to join the BRYU in order to
receive benefits and dormitory rooms. Local authorities also pressured
BRYU members to campaign on behalf of government candidates. In
addition authorities at times pressured students to act as informants
for the country's security services.
High school students feared that they would not be allowed to
enroll in universities without BRYU membership, and university students
reported that proof of BRYU membership was often required to register
for popular courses or to receive a dormitory room. Universities also
offered BRYU members discounts on tuition. In 2008 former education
minister Alyaksandr Radzkou stated that membership in the BRYU would be
considered in new mandatory recommendations for students who wished to
train for professions in foreign affairs, state administration, and
journalism.
According to an Education Ministry directive, educational
institutions may expel students who engage in antigovernment or
unsanctioned political activity and must ensure the proper ideological
education of students. In January authorities claimed that they would
not expel students who took part in the December 2010 postelection
demonstration in Minsk. The Belarus Sate University administration
stated it would review written explanations submitted by students who
were arrested and served short sentences before taking further action.
In December 2010 Viktar Iuchankau, spokesman for the Education
Ministry, asserted that students were not expelled from universities
for political reasons. However, during the year at least 45 students
were expelled for political reasons, compared with three or more in
2009. Some school officials continued to cite poor academic performance
or absence from classes as the official reason for the expulsions.
The government continued to ban teachers and democratic activists
from promoting the wider use of the Belarusian language and the
preservation of its culture. For example, citing ``inexpediency,''
authorities in June discontinued studies in the Belarusian language at
a junior high school in the town of Byaroza after four successful
years. Originally more than 15 parents sent a petition to local
authorities seeking their children to be taught in Belarusian.
The government also restricted cultural events. During the year the
government continued to force opposition theater and music groups into
such venues as bars and private apartments and to suppress unofficial
commemorations of historical events. For example, on November 25,
owners of a private cafe in Brest were pressed by local authorities not
to provide a venue to prominent signer Lyavon Volski, who was forced to
perform in a church. During the year authorities also banned a number
of concerts and cultural performances by other prominent musicians and
artists.
The government also restricted activities of a dissident writers
union and extensively supported the progovernment Union of Writers of
Belarus. On October 25, Lukashenka accused dissident writers of being
obsessed with stalling ``nationalism and political intrigue'' and
``exchanging their talent for foreign grants,'' and smearing ``their
country, insulting their people, and instigating youth to senseless
rioting.'' He added that ``renegades'' were not allowed to ``profane''
Belarusian culture and supported the progovernment union as a ``healthy
creative force,'' noting that authorities were expecting ``vibrant and
talented works'' from them.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of peaceful assembly;
however, the government severely restricted this right in practice.
Only registered political parties, trade unions, and NGOs could request
permission to hold a demonstration of more than 1,000 persons, and
denials were the norm for critical groups. Security forces frequently
forcibly dispersed participants, often causing injuries.
Freedom of Association.--The law criminalizes participation in the
activities of unregistered NGOs, training persons to demonstrate,
financing of public demonstrations, or solicitation of foreign
assistance ``to the detriment'' of the country. During the year the law
was amended to also prohibit the announcing of demonstrations,
especially via the Internet or social networks, before they are
approved by authorities. Violations are punishable by up to three years
in prison.
Authorities employed a variety of means to discourage
demonstrations, break them up, to minimize their impact, and punish the
participants. Organizers must apply at least 15 days in advance for
permission to conduct a public demonstration, rally, or meeting, and
government officials are required to respond no later than five days
prior to the scheduled event. However, authorities generally refused
permits to opposition groups or granted permits only for demonstrations
held far from city centers. Authorities used intimidation and threats
to discourage persons from participating in demonstrations, openly
videotaped participants, and imposed heavy fines or jail sentences on
participants in unsanctioned demonstrations.
During the year authorities broke up scores of unauthorized
demonstrations, often detaining and harassing participants. Numerous
protest participants were detained, fined, and sentenced to periods of
up to 15 days in administrative detention. On scores of occasions
authorities fined opposition activists and members of NGOs for
participating in unauthorized protests. On many occasions police and
other security officials beat and detained demonstrators before,
during, and after unsanctioned peaceful demonstrations.
In early June an Internet-organized group known as Revolution
through Social Networks began calling for ``silent'' protests across
the country to protest the undemocratic rule of Lukashenka. The group
urged people to assemble in areas freely accessible to the public to
express concern over economic and political conditions without
displaying any flags or banners or political identification and without
chanting any slogans.
On June 14, the prosecutor general warned against unsanctioned
protests, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesman claimed that
protests could lead to ``explosions and gunfire.'' On June 15, several
thousand people defied the warnings and gathered in central Minsk and
in approximately 20 other cities across the country. The protesters
silently marched and clapped their hands. Human rights groups reported
that more than 240 persons, including independent journalists, were
detained around the country. The vast majority were released without
charge within a few hours.
On June 22, more than 6,000 persons took part in silent protests
across the country, leading to at least 460 detentions, including
independent journalists. Thirty-three participants reportedly were
fined up to 1.05 million rubles ($127) on the charges of ``disorderly
conduct.''
At a large demonstration on July 3, the number of detained
protesters reached nearly 400, including 20 independent journalists.
Minsk police warned ahead of protests that individuals would be
``allowed to clap freely'' only during the July 3 official Independence
Day parade, thus apparently criminalizing a major tactic of the
``silent protests.'' The majority of the detained on July 3 were
sentenced to up to 15 days in jail; others received fines up to 1.05
million rubles ($127). On July 6, more than 2,500 persons gathered for
silent protests in 35 localities across the country. Police detained
400 persons, including 28 independent journalists. Administrative
courts convicted 193 activists of ``disorderly conduct,'' and the
majority served 15 days in jail. The rest were fined up to 1.05 million
rubles ($127).
After organizers of ``silent'' protests announced that the next
rally would take place on September 21, police conducted a number of
preventive arrests and ``preventative talks'' with activists throughout
the country. A number of universities scheduled their classes for late
evenings to prevent students from participating in demonstrations. No
detentions were reported on September 21.
In the wake of the December 2010 postelection demonstration,
security officers continued to harass and jail activists who protested
police actions on that night. For example, on January 13, a court in
Minsk fined Polish minority activist and journalist Andrzej Paczobut
1.75 million rubles ($211) for participating in unsanctioned
postelection demonstrations. Police searched his residence in Hrodna
and transported him for proceedings in Minsk a day earlier. The judge
dismissed Paczobut's statements that he was covering the demonstration
as part of his professional duties. On January 31, European Belarus
campaign members Katsyaryna Lyudvik, Paulina Kuryanovich, and Maksim
Vinyarski received 10 days in jail each for participating in a peaceful
demonstration in protest of police repression in front of the KGB
building on January 30. Four other demonstrators, including the common-
law spouse of political prisoner Mikalai Statkevich, were fined 1.05
million rubles ($127) each.
Police also used preemptive arrest and detention to prevent
democratic activists' participation in protests. For example,
authorities took various measures to deter prodemocracy activists from
celebrating the March 25 anniversary of the country's initial
declaration of independence in 1918, an event the government does not
recognize. Of at least 50 opposition activists detained on March 25,
the majority were apprehended ahead of the demonstrations. Authorities
blocked a number of opposition, youth, and civil society leaders in
their residences early in the morning, or detained them while they were
en route to demonstration sites, to prevent their leading
demonstrations. Police dispersed a small gathering in central Minsk and
fenced off another site at a downtown park where the activists intended
to lay flowers, citing an alleged bomb threat.
On December 19, civil society activists gathered at a Catholic
cathedral in downtown Minsk to mark the first anniversary of the
December 2010 crackdown of postelection demonstrations and the
continued detention of political prisoners. Police arrested more than
50 activists, and authorities sentenced at least 28 persons to up to 15
days in jail or fines up to 1.05 million rubles ($127) on December 20.
Eight journalists were detained in Minsk and one in Vitsyebsk. Police
searched their belongings and equipment and released them without
charge.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association; however, the government severely restricted it in
practice.
The government enforced laws and registration regulations to
restrict the operation of independent associations that might be
critical of the government. All NGOs, political parties, and trade
unions must receive prior approval from the Ministry of Justice to
register. A government commission reviews and approves all registration
applications; in practice its decisions were based largely on political
and ideological compatibility with the government's authoritarian
philosophy. NGOs are also required to receive the approval and to
register all foreign grants and technical aid with the Department for
Humanitarian Affairs under the presidential administration; otherwise,
they are banned from appropriating these funds.
In November authorities enforced amendments to the already strict
law on public associations that banned NGOs from keeping funds at
foreign financial institutions for local activities. The law also
prohibited NGOs from facilitating provision of any support or benefits
from foreign states to Belarusian citizens based on their political,
religious views or ethnicity, clearly aimed at the Polish minority.
Registration procedures required applicants to provide the number
and names of founders, along with a physical address in a
nonresidential building, an extraordinary burden given the tight
financial straits of most NGOs and the fear of individual property-
owners to rent space. Individuals listed as members were vulnerable to
retribution. The government's refusal to rent office space to
unregistered organizations and the expense of renting private space
reportedly forced most organizations to use residential addresses. This
allowed authorities to deregister existing organizations and deny their
reregistration.
During the year the government denied registration to numerous NGOs
and political parties on a variety of pretexts, including ``technical''
problems with applications. Authorities frequently harassed and
intimidated individuals who identified themselves as founding members
of organizations in an effort to induce them to abandon their
membership and thus deprive groups of the number of petitioners
necessary for registration. Many of the rejected groups previously had
sought and been denied registration on multiple occasions. The
government continued deregistering groups during the year. For example,
after Center for Developing Volunteerism founder Mikalai Kvantaliyani
filed for registration in March, KGB officers attempted to recruit him
as an informant in exchange for unimpeded registration and
possibilities to receive foreign donations. When Kvantaliyani refused
and voiced his concerns to media, the Justice Ministry denied
registration.
On February 28, the Supreme Court upheld the Justice Ministry's
October 2010 denial of a registration application by the Belarusian
Christian Democracy party on the grounds that the party allegedly had
provided false information about its founders. This was the party's
third registration attempt, and each time authorities exerted pressure
on members to disavow their affiliation with the party, threatening
them with dismissal from jobs, expulsion from universities, and
criminal prosecution. Party leaders called the refusal ``politically
motivated,'' biased, and ``predetermined.''
On October 19, the Supreme Court upheld a denial of a registration
application by the Tell the Truth movement, led by political prisoner
and former presidential candidate Nyaklyaeu. The Justice Ministry
refused to register the group in August, citing failure to submit a
document confirming the landlord's ownership of the property intended
as the group's offices. The ministry denied a previous registration
application in February.
During the year the Ministry of Justice continued to issue written
warnings to NGOs, political parties, and trade unions. For example, on
July 28, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal by the BHC of the
second warning issued on June 6 by the ministry. This warning was based
on the BHC's refusal to pay taxes on technical aid received in 2004 in
the framework of the EU's TACIS program (a program to promote the
transition to a market economy and reinforce democracy and the rule of
law), a case on which authorities took no further action. The first
warning of January 12 was related to the BHC's open complaint to the
U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on
Belarus, which concerned pressure on defense lawyers in the
postelection criminal case. The ministry claimed that the human rights
group distributed false information and discredited law enforcement
agencies and the judiciary. By law two warnings can result in a
liquidation suit against an NGO. This allowed authorities to keep the
BHC in a tenuous situation and closely monitor its activities.
Harassment in the form of inspections by security officials and
confiscation of political literature continued.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement, including the right to emigrate. However, the government at
times restricted the right of its citizens to foreign travel. The
government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and persons of
concern.
In-country Movement.--Passports serve as a form of national
identity and are required for permanent housing, work, and hotel
registration. Police continued to harass individuals who lived at a
location other than the legal place of residence indicated in mandatory
stamps in their passports.
The law also requires persons who travel to areas within 15 miles
of the border to obtain an entrance pass.
Foreign Travel.--The government maintained a database of persons
who were banned from traveling abroad. According to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, the list contained the names of at least 120,000
persons who were prohibited from foreign travel, including those who
possessed state secrets, faced criminal prosecution or civil suits, or
had outstanding financial commitments. Opposition politicians and civil
society activists criticized the database, saying it restricted freedom
of travel. Some persons were informed by letter that their names were
in the database; others were informed at border crossings. In certain
cases opposition activists either were turned away at the border or
detained for lengthy searches.
For example, in November former political prisoners Dzmitry Drozd
and Syarhei Kazakou, both of whom received presidential pardons in
August, were turned away at the border with Lithuania without
explanation. They later discovered that the database was outdated and
read that they were still charged under the criminal case against
postelection demonstrations participants.
Under a presidential decree, any student who wishes to study abroad
must obtain permission from the Minister of Education. The decree,
ostensibly intended to counter trafficking in persons, also requires
the Ministry of Internal Affairs to track citizens working abroad and
obliges employment agencies to report individuals who do not return
from abroad as scheduled.
Exile.--The law does not allow forced exile, but sources asserted
that security forces threatened opposition leaders with bodily harm or
prosecution if they did not leave the country. The law allows internal
exile, known as khimiya, for persons convicted of crimes, and
authorities employed it during the year.
Many university students who had been expelled or were under threat
of expulsion for their political activities opted for self-imposed
exile. Since 2006 more than 500 students have left the country to
continue their studies at foreign universities. After Lukashenka
pardoned political prisoners Fyodar Mirzayanau and Illya Vasilevicht in
September, they left the country to study in Poland. Both were
previously expelled from universities in Minsk and sentenced to three
years in jail for participating in postelection demonstrations.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice
the government provided protection against expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion.
While all foreigners have the right to apply for asylum, no Russian
nationals received either refugee status or complementary protection in
the country. Immigration authorities and courts asserted that under the
terms of treaties on the union with Russia, and as a result of the
equal rights of citizens in each country, Russians can legally settle
and obtain residence permits in the country based on their Russian
citizenship and therefore do not need asylum. Nevertheless, as of
October 1, immigration authorities accepted five asylum applications
from Russian citizens during the year.
Asylum seekers have freedom of movement within the country but must
reside in the region where they filed their applications for refugee
status and in a place known to the authorities. Authorities reportedly
often required asylum seekers to settle in rural areas. Change of
residence was possible only with notification to authorities.
Authorities issue registered asylum seekers certificates that serve as
identification documents and protect them from expulsion. In accordance
with the law, they also must register with local authorities to obtain
identity documents.
Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided
it to approximately six persons during the year.
In accordance with asylum legislation, aside from refugee status
there is also complementary protection and ``nonrefoulement
protection'' (in the form of temporary residence for a one-year term).
During the year one person applied for extension of complementary
protection (extension was granted); five persons were able to extend
nonrefoulement protection for one year.
Stateless Persons.--As of January 1, the UNHCR listed 7,731
stateless persons in the country.
Arbitrary detention of, and violence against, stateless persons
generally were not problems. However, stateless persons faced
discrimination in employment because authorities often required them to
settle in rural areas and prohibited them from seeking jobs outside of
the regions where they lived. In practice stateless persons could not
change their region of residence.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides the right for citizens to change their government
peacefully; however, the government denied citizens this right in
practice.
Since his election in 1994 to a five-year term as the country's
first president, Lukashenka steadily consolidated power in the
executive branch to dominate all branches of government, effectively
ending any separation of powers among the branches of government.
Flawed referenda in 1996 and 2004 amended the constitution to broaden
his powers, extend his term in office, and remove presidential term
limits. Subsequent presidential elections, including the one held in
December 2010, continued to deny citizens the right to express their
will to choose between opposing candidates in an honest and transparent
process with fair access to media and resources.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
December 2010 presidential election was marred by numerous violations
of procedures and an absence of transparency and accountability that
led the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observer
mission to report that the country still had ``a considerable way to go
in meeting its international commitments.'' OSCE/ODIHR observers
assessed the vote count as ``bad or very bad in almost half of all
observed polling stations,'' with clear instances of ballot stuffing
and tampering. Although opposition candidates enjoyed somewhat greater
freedom to enter the race and promote their candidacies than in earlier
elections, preelection campaigning remained extremely limited, and
government harassment of independent newspapers, opposition political
parties, and independent NGOs throughout the year limited the
opposition's ability to mount effective campaigns.
According to the OSCE/ODIHR mission, broadcasters nationwide
devoted 90 percent of their political coverage to Lukashenka, and
coverage of opposition candidates was overwhelmingly negative. Despite
a nominal increase in opposition representation, authorities continued
to exclude opposition representatives from election commissions at all
levels. The majority of observers at local polling places appeared to
be from government-sponsored NGOs; many of them received instructions
in advance to report to foreign observers that the proceedings were
``in order.''
However, the most serious violations took place after the polls
closed, when, as the OSCE/ODIHR mission observed, the situation
``deteriorated significantly.'' In many instances international
observers reported that counting was conducted silently and at a
sufficient distance as to make evaluation of the count impossible.
There were a number of reports that vote totals changed as the ballot
boxes were transported between local precincts and the territorial
election commission offices. No genuinely independent organizations
were permitted to conduct exit polls, but in the opinion of the
independent NGO ``For Fair Elections,'' which monitored 250 polling
stations across the country, the president failed to gain the 50
percent of the vote necessary to avoid a runoff. The official results
gave Lukashenka 79.65 percent of the vote against nine other
candidates.
The September 2008 parliamentary elections also fell significantly
short of international standards for democratic elections, according to
the final report by the OSCE/ODIHR observer mission.
Political Parties.--Authorities routinely harassed and impeded the
activities of independent political parties and activists. There were
several instances of violence against prominent members of the
political opposition during the year. Some opposition parties lacked
legal status, as authorities refused to register them, and the
government routinely interfered with the right to organize, stand for
election, seek votes, and publicize views. Approximately half a dozen
largely inactive political parties loyal to the regime were allowed to
operate freely, even though they appeared to be little more than fig
leaves for a system that had de facto excluded party politics.
Political parties continued to receive formal ``warnings'' for
minor offenses under a law that allows authorities to suspend parties
for six months after one warning and close them after two. The law also
prohibits political parties from receiving support from abroad and
requires all political groups and coalitions to register with the
Ministry of Justice.
Authorities continued to harass the unrecognized Union of Poles and
its members.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--While there were no laws
that prevented women or minorities from voting or participating in
political life on the same basis as men or minorities, statements by
Lukashenka against female political leadership was cited as one of the
obstacles to advancing women's political participation. Of the 24
ministries in the government, one was led by a woman.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, reports indicated that officials continued to engage in
corrupt practices. The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators
reflected that corruption was a serious problem in the country.
According to former prosecutor general Ryhor Vasilevich, the majority
of the corruption cases involved accepting and soliciting bribes,
fraud, and abuse of power, often by government officials.
The absence of an independent judicial system, professional law
enforcement, separation of powers, and an independent press made it
virtually impossible to gauge the scale of corruption.
The deputy prosecutor general reported that during the year
authorities registered 2,416 corruption crimes, down 33.6 percent from
the previous year, mainly because the following offenses were removed
from the corruption category: forgery by an official, smuggling,
receipt of illegal compensation, and financing terrorist activities.
Bribery accounted for 54.7 percent of cases, fraud for 5.8 percent, and
embezzlement through abuse of office for 35.7 percent. The highest
corruption rates were registered in the industrial, agricultural, and
construction sectors. According to a senior official in the Prosecutor
General's Office, an average bribe was $300 and the highest bribe was
$500,000.
During the year officials of agencies responsible for maintaining
state security, including financial intelligence, Defense Ministry,
customs and border agencies, committed 116 corruption-related crimes,
down from 252 crimes in 2010, or 4.8 percent of all corruption crimes.
The Military Prosecutor's Office investigated and filed in court 11
cases of corruption and reimbursed more than 60 million rubles ($7,250)
in damages resulting from corruption during the year.
There were numerous corruption prosecutions during the year;
however, prosecutions remained selective and appeared in some cases
politically motivated. Apparent attempts to tackle corruption ended
with the arrest of a leading prosecutor. For example, on August 2, the
Supreme Court sentenced former senior investigator of the prosecutor
general's office Svyatlana Baykova to two years of partial house arrest
on minor charges of exceeding her authority. Charges of pressuring a
suspect to give a statement, ordering unjustified detention, and
bringing charges against a knowingly innocent person, as well as
extensive abuse of authority were dropped. KGB officers arrested
Baykova in February 2010 and charged her with illegally dropping
criminal charges and abusing her office. The trial started on March 10
and was held behind closed doors because the case reportedly covered
classified information. In June Baykova appealed to Lukashenka, seeking
to ensure her prompt release and committing to further curb corruption
among officials.
Baykova was the chief investigator in a high-profile criminal case
against an alleged smuggling ring that included former senior customs
officials and KGB and state control committee officers. On November 15,
the Belarusian Military Court acquitted 36 suspected members of this
criminal group in closed hearings that commenced in May 2010. Thirty-
six individuals charged with corruption and facilitating evasion of
more than 30 billion rubles ($3.6 million) in custom duties included
Anatol Hramovich, a former director of the financial intelligence
department under the State Control Committee, and Yauhen Selivanau, a
former deputy head of the Brest customs agency. The court ruled that
the statute of limitations had expired in relation to a number of
crimes allegedly committed by them. In addition, most of the suspects
reimbursed damages of more than 450 million rubles ($54,350) in illegal
foreign currency proceeds to the state during pretrial investigations.
Hramovich was arrested in January 2009 on charges of bribery, abuse of
office, and establishing a criminal group.
On December 26, KGB head Vadzim Zaytsau reported that his agency
opened more than 50 cases to investigate corruption in addition to 80
cases initiated by other law enforcement agencies. He claimed that of
44 persons convicted of corruption, 33 were state officials, including
those at the senior level.
The law, government policies, and a presidential decree severely
restricted public access to government information. Citizens had some
access to certain categories of information on government databases and
Web sites; however, much of the information was neither up-to-date nor
complete.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were a number of active domestic human rights NGOs; however,
authorities were often hostile to their efforts, did not cooperate with
them, and were not responsive to their views.
Three prominent human rights NGO--the BHC, Center for Human Rights,
and Center for Legal Transformations--remained registered. The
government refused to register numerous NGOs and continued to harass
them under articles 193 and 193.1 of the criminal code, which
criminalizes organizing or participating in any activity by an
unregistered organization. The law also prohibits persons from acting
on behalf of unregistered NGOs. A variety of unregistered NGOs,
including Vyasna, the ``Solidarity'' Committee for the Protection of
the Repressed, the Human Rights Alliance, Legal Assistance to the
Population, and for Religious Freedom, continued to operate in spite of
systematic harassment from authorities.
Authorities harassed both registered and unregistered NGOs,
subjected them to frequent inspections and threats of deregistration,
and monitored their correspondence and telephone conversations.
Authorities harassed family members of NGO leaders and civil society
activists. The government ignored reports issued by human rights NGOs
and rarely met with them. State-run media did not report on human
rights NGOs and their actions; independent media that reported on human
rights issues were subject to closure and harassment.
Authorities can close an NGO after issuing only one warning that it
violated the law. The most common pretexts prompting a warning or
closure were failure to obtain a legal address and technical
discrepancies in application documents. The law allows authorities to
close an NGO for accepting what is considered illegal forms of foreign
assistance and permits the Ministry of Justice to participate in any
NGO activity and to review all NGO documents. NGOs also must submit
detailed reports annually to the ministry about their activities,
office locations, officers, and total numbers of members.
A presidential order in 2008 increased rent tenfold for most NGOs.
Prior to the order NGOs paid one euro ($1.30) per square foot of office
space, compared with 10 euro ($13) charged to commercial groups. While
some groups, including youth sports groups, charity organizations, and
children's arts centers, continued to pay the one euro rate, other
NGOs, such as the Belarusian Voluntary Society for Historic and
Cultural Heritage Protection, were required to pay the higher rate.
Some NGOs were forced to close or move because of higher rents. In
February 2010 a senior state property committee member stated that to
be eligible for discounted rent rates, an NGO must actively support the
government's policies.
Following the flawed December 2010 presidential election,
authorities raided the offices of some NGOs, seizing computers and
other equipment. On May 4, police disrupted a news conference at
Vyasna's offices organized by human rights defenders, including some
from Russia and Ukraine, to present an interim report about the
continued police crackdown in connection with postelection
demonstrations. Security officers arrived at the offices an hour before
the conference and searched the premises for an alleged bomb.
During the year the BHC continued to experience problems with
authorities and its accounts remained blocked due to two written
warnings based on tax arrears, and a complaint it sent to the U.N.
regarding the regime's repressions of lawyers. In 2008 the Supreme
Court allowed the Ministry of Justice to withdraw a petition to suspend
the BHC's activities. However, the NGO's bank accounts remained
blocked, and alleged tax arrears were unresolved. The case originated
in 2005, when authorities seized BHC office equipment as partial
payment of 191.5 million rubles ($23,130) in alleged tax arrears and
fines for back taxes on international donor funds dating from 2000-02.
In October 2009 the financial intelligence services requested income
statements and other information from BHC members.
The KGB continued to harass NGO and political party members and
activists by planting defamatory articles or information about them in
the media. For example, on November 24, Ales Byalyatski, head of the
Vyasna human rights group, was convicted of politically motivated
charges of large-scale concealment of income and tax evasion and
sentenced to four and one-half years in jail. State media repeatedly
broadcast and printed insulting materials about him and Vyasna,
accusing him of stealing funds from donors and calling him ``a
criminal.''
Authorities were reluctant to engage on human rights problems with
international NGOs, whose representatives often had difficulty gaining
admission to the country. For example, authorities refused entry visas
to a number of foreign human rights activists, including the president
of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, Souhayr
Belhassen, who intended to monitor the trial of Ales Byalyatski in
November. Visas also were denied to Marie Manson of Sweden's Civil
Rights Defenders, Ane Bonde and Daiva Petkeviciute of Norway's Human
Rights House Foundation, and Mariana Rocha of the Brussels-based
International Partnership for Human Rights.
Authorities routinely ignored local and international NGOs'
recommendations on how to improve the human rights situation in the
country and their requests to stop harassing the NGO community.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--In December 2010 a Foreign
Ministry spokesman announced that there were ``no objective reasons''
for extending the mandate of the OSCE office in Minsk, despite the fact
that the mandate of the office had not been fulfilled and
notwithstanding calls by the EU and others to extend the mandate. The
office had operated since 2003 with a mandate to assist the country in
the area of rule of law and with economic and environmental matters. A
previous OSCE office with a broader mandate was terminated by the
regime in 2001. The government claimed that the OSCE mandate ``has been
fulfilled'' and pointed to the earlier closure of OSCE missions in
neighboring countries.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is a standing commission on
human rights in the lower chamber of parliament, but it was
ineffective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status. In practice the government did not always
enforce these prohibitions. Problems included violence against women
and children; trafficking in persons; and discrimination against
persons with disabilities, Roma, ethnic minorities, and members of the
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape in
general but does not include separate provisions on marital rape. Rape
was a problem. However, most women did not report it due to shame or
fear that police would blame the victim. According to the Ministry of
Internal Affairs, there were 119 registered cases of rape during the
year, down 16.8 percent compared with 2010.
Domestic violence, including spousal abuse against women, was a
significant problem. In February the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights raised grave concerns about the
persistence of violence against women, in particular domestic and
sexual violence, its underreporting, the lack of prosecution of
violence within the family, the fact that rape was subject to private
rather than ex officio prosecution, and the lack of shelters for
victims of domestic violence.
The criminal code does not contain a separate article dealing with
domestic violence. According to a study released by the Belarus State
University's Center for Sociological and Political Research in March
2010, four out of five women between ages 18 and 60 claimed that they
were subjected to psychological violence in their families. One in four
women suffered from physical violence, and 13 percent of women reported
that their partners sexually abused them. Women remained reluctant to
report domestic violence due to fear of reprisal and social stigma.
According to the study, only 6 percent of male and 46 percent of female
victims of domestic violence sought professional assistance. NGOs
operated crisis shelters, primarily in Minsk, but they were poorly
funded and received only limited support from the government.
The deputy prosecutor general announced that the number of domestic
crimes decreased by 16.4 percent, with 2,602 cases reported during the
year.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment reportedly was widespread,
but no specific laws, other than those against physical assault,
address the problem.
Sex Tourism.--A senior Internal Affairs Ministry official
acknowledged that the scope of sex tourism expanded and reported that
two Turkish nationals and a citizen of Bahrain were convicted of
facilitating sex tourism during the year. Due to the closed nature of
the government and sparse independent reporting, it was difficult to
estimate the extent of any possible government complicity; however,
credible sources asserted that the KGB and other security agencies
controlled and profited from sex tourism and associated businesses,
including gambling, hotels, and nightclubs.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide the number, spacing, and timing of children and had the
information and means to do so free from discrimination. Access to
information on contraception and skilled attendance at delivery and in
postpartum care were widely available. Women and men had equal access
to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted
infections. According to data published jointly by the World Health
Organization, UNICEF, U.N. Population Fund, and World Bank, the
country's maternal mortality ratio was 15 maternal deaths per 100,000
live births in 2008.
Discrimination.--The law provides for equal treatment of women with
regard to property ownership and inheritance, family law, and the
judicial system, and it was generally respected in practice. The law
also requires equal wages for equal work, although this provision was
not always enforced. In December 2010 Deputy Minister of Labor and
Social Security Ihar Staravoytau said that women's wages were 20
percent less than those of men's despite higher education levels.
The National Statistics Committee reported that as of November 1,
62.8 percent of the unemployed were women compared with 52.8 percent in
November 2010. Staravoytau also noted that it took one month on average
for men to find new employment and more than two months for women.
Women also accounted for two-thirds of all officially unemployed
persons seeking a job for more than a year.
There were very few women in the upper ranks of management or
government, and most women were concentrated in the lower-paid public
sector. Women's groups also voiced concerns about the feminization of
poverty, particularly among women with more than two children, female-
headed households, women taking care of family members with
disabilities or older family members, and rural and older women.
The law grants women the right to three years of maternity leave
with assurance of job availability upon return. However, employers
often circumvented employment protections by using short-term
contracts, then refusing to renew a woman's contract when she became
pregnant. During an inspection of 29 enterprises in the Vitsyebsk
region in 2009, the local prosecutor's office found that employed women
who were taking care of minor children at times were forced to travel
on business and work overnight and overtime without their prior consent
and in violation of laws. A number of women worked in extreme and
hazardous conditions.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived either by
birth within the country's territory or from one's parents. A child of
a citizen is a citizen regardless of place of birth, even if one of the
parents is not a citizen.
Education.--In contrast with previous years, there were few and
isolated reports that Romani children were subject to harassment from
non-Romani children and teachers. The majority of Romani youth did not
finish secondary school and failed to enroll in university programs,
although the situation improved as more Romani children from mixed
families were enrolling and obtaining bachelor degrees, including in
the regions. There were no special school programs for Roma, although
there were such programs for Jews, ethnic Lithuanians, and Poles.
Child Abuse.--Rape or sexual assault of a person known to be a
minor is punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Sexual acts between a
person older than 18 years of age and a person known to be younger than
age 16 carry penalties of up to five years in jail. According to NGOs
that assist child abuse victims, authorities reported approximately 165
criminal cases during the year where children were victims of various
forms of sexual abuse and molestation. Twenty-eight children, including
five girls aged nine and 10, were raped. The majority of the
perpetrators were family members.
The Education Ministry reported on emotional and physical abuse
against children that did not require forensic investigations.
According to the most recent statistics available, in 2006
approximately 10 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 17 were
victims of psychological abuse in their families, and 4.5 percent were
victims of physical abuse.
Child Marriage.--There were reports of child marriage during the
year where girls as young as age 14 and boys as young as age 16 were
married with parental consent. The government registered 904 marriages,
up from 856 in 2010. In the majority of these cases, children were
married with parental consent.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides penalties of up
to 13 years in jail for production or distribution of pornographic
materials depicting a minor. Child prostitution was a problem.
According to data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 22 minors
became victims of trafficking-related crimes for sexual exploitation.
The ministry reportedly registered 36 criminal cases in connection with
the production and distribution of child pornography, including 27
cases of distribution in the Internet during the year. Children, along
with men and women, were forced into forced labor (see section 7 c.).
There were also reports of child trafficking.
Institutionalized Children.--There was no system of monitoring of
child abuse in orphanages or other specialized institutions.
Authorities did not report on any child abuse incidents. In 2007-08 the
Education Ministry and UNICEF conducted a national survey to assess the
child abuse situation in the country.
According to the ministry, 20 percent of institutionalized children
10-17 years of age reported psychological abuse by family members, and
22 percent reported they were victims of psychical abuse. Independent
observers suggested that numbers were likely to be higher, since
approximately 30 percent of children refused to answer this question.
International Child Abductions.--The country was not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Jewish groups estimated that between 30,000 and
40,000 persons identified themselves as Jews. Most were not active
religiously.
During the year anti-Semitic incidents continued but were on the
decline, and authorities sporadically investigated reports of such
acts. Religious sites were vandalized. For example, in mid-November
members of the Jewish community in Babruisk reported several incidents
of vandalism of the city's synagogue. On November 11, vandals painted a
swastika and the words ``death to Jews'' on the fence surrounding the
synagogue. In the early morning hours of November 18, vandals smashed
four of the synagogue's windows. No suspects were apprehended. The
government did not promote antibias and tolerance education.
Jewish community and civil society activists continued to express
concern over the concept of a ``greater Slavic union'' that was popular
among nationalist organizations, including the neo-Nazi group Russian
National Unity, which remained active despite its official dissolution
in 2000. Neo-Nazis were widely believed to be behind these and numerous
other incidents across the country. Anti-Semitic and Russian
ultranationalist newspapers, literature, DVDs, and videotapes imported
from Russia continued to be sold.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not specifically prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or
mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health care,
and other government services, and discrimination was common in
practice.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is the main government
agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities which accounted for more than half a million persons. The
law mandates that transport, residences, and businesses be accessible
to persons with disabilities. However, in practice few public areas
were wheelchair accessible. The National Association of Disabled
Wheelchair Users estimated that more than 90 percent of persons with
physical disabilities were unable to leave their places of residence
without assistance and their places of residence were not accommodated
for wheelchair users. While authorities claimed that 30 percent of the
country's total infrastructure was accessible, disability rights
organizations disputed this figure.
A government prohibition against workdays longer than seven hours
for persons with disabilities reportedly made companies reluctant to
hire them. Local NGOs reported that 80 percent of persons with
disabilities were unemployed. Authorities provided minimal welfare
benefits for persons with disabilities, and calculations of pensions
did not take disability status into account. Members of the country's
Paralympics teams received half the salaries and prize money of
athletes without disabilities.
The country's lack of independent living opportunities left many
persons with disabilities no choice but to live in state-run
institutions. Approximately 70 such institutions existed across the
country. Disability rights organizations reported that the quality of
care in these facilities was low, and instances of mistreatment and
abuse were reported. Persons with physical disabilities and persons
with mental disabilities frequently were mixed within facilities and
not provided specialized care. Public transportation was free to
persons with disabilities, but neither the subway in Minsk nor the bus
system was wheelchair accessible. According to government statistics,
two percent of the country's public transportation network was
accessible.
Disability rights organizations reported difficulty organizing
advocacy activities, given impediments to freedom of assembly,
censorship of materials, and the government's unwillingness to register
assistance projects. For example, an independent group advocating for
rights of persons with disabilities reported that the Belarus State
University rejected an application from a visually impaired woman to
enroll into a legal program despite high test scores. They cited a lack
of specialized equipment to accommodate her disability. She was
subsequently accepted after intervention by human rights advocates.
In November a wheelchair user was unable to file a complaint to a
Minsk district court because the court was located in an old building
without ramps. Advocates also noted that persons with disabilities,
especially visually and hearing impaired, lacked the ability to address
violations of their rights easily and completely as courts often failed
to provide special equipment and sign language translation.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Governmental and societal
discrimination against the ethnic Polish population and Roma persisted.
There were also expressions of societal hostility toward proponents of
Belarusian national culture, which the government often identified with
actors of the democratic opposition.
During the year authorities continued to harass the independent and
unregistered Union of Poles of Belarus (UPB). However, in contrast with
previous years, authorities did not openly persecute UPB members.
Official and societal discrimination continued against the
country's 10,000 to 20,000 Roma. The Romani community continued to
experience high unemployment and low levels of education. Authorities
estimated the unemployment rate among Roma to be as high as 80 percent,
according to the latest available information. Roma often were denied
access to higher education in state-run universities. In 2009, however,
the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative for Religious and
Nationality Affairs stated that the country's Romani community had no
problems that required the government's attention.
While the Russian and Belarusian languages have equal legal status,
in practice Russian was the primary language used by the government.
According to independent polling, the overwhelming majority of the
population spoke Russian as its mother tongue. Because the government
viewed proponents of the Belarusian language as political opponents of
the regime, authorities continued to harass and intimidate academic and
cultural groups that sought to promote use of the Belarusian language.
Proposals to widen use of the language were rejected routinely.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is not illegal,
but discrimination against members of the LGBT community was
widespread, and harassment occurred.
Authorities routinely denied LGBT groups permission to hold public
events, including a pride parade. In early May authorities denied the
LGBT community 100 applications to hold scores of events to mark the
International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. In spite of the
denial, members of the local LGBT rights NGO Gay Belarus planned to
pass out leaflets in downtown Minsk on May 17. However, authorities
preemptively detained approximately 15 group members, held them for
three hours, and subsequently released them without charge.
In December authorities denied a registration application to a gay
rights group, Alternative Plus Human Rights Center, citing minor errors
in information on its founders, such as a misspelled name and a wrong
birth date. Societal discrimination against LGBT activists persisted.
For example, the gay pride parade in October was marred by homophobic
attacks, including painting homophobic graffiti and throwing eggs on
walls of an openly gay bar in Minsk.
On July 18, Natallya Pradzed, an LGBT activist, held a picket in
Minsk to protest violations of human rights and arbitrary government
policies. She was arrested and sentenced to 10 days in jail.
On October 7, Lukashenka apologized for having told German Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle, who is gay, ``that he had to lead a normal
life,'' presumably at a closed meeting in November 2010. Lukashenka
noted that he regretted his statement but condemned homosexual
relations. Earlier, he stated that he did not understand how two men
could live together and would exile gay men to collective farms ``with
great pleasure.''
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS remained a problem, and the illness
carried a heavy stigma. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS
office reported that there were numerous reports of HIV-infected
individuals who faced discrimination, especially at workplaces and
during job interviews.
According to a U.N. Fund for Population Activities study released
in February, 30.8 percent of surveyed doctors indicated their
reluctance to work with HIV-positive persons and, if they treated them,
their discomfort with such patients. Only 8.1 percent expressed a
positive attitude towards HIV-infected patients. More than 16 percent
of doctors said that they lacked knowledge for treating such patients
efficiently, and 74.5 percent heavily stigmatized HIV-positive persons,
describing them as irresponsible and promiscuous.
During the year a number of NGOs representing HIV-infected persons
expressed serious concerns about a discriminatory bill aimed at
preventing the spread of the virus and other dangerous and primarily
communicable diseases. The bill was adopted by the government at year's
end despite numerous NGO appeals and petitions to recall or amend it.
According to a United Nations Development Program expert, the
legislation would stigmatize HIV-infected persons and ``force the HIV
infection into underground.'' The law extends the list of grounds for
mandatory HIV testing and requires HIV-positive persons to inform all
their former partners of their status. According to rights advocates,
the law will further stigmatize not only HIV-infected persons but also
their families, breach their privacy and medical secrecy, and turn them
away from state-run medical and social institutions.
Although the government adopted a national program for preventing
HIV in 2011-15, which for the first time prescribes funds to procure
imported antiretroviral treatment for HIV-infected persons, a near
three-fold devaluation of the Belarusian currency raised serious doubts
about committed resources. However, the government continued to
broadcast and post public service advertisements raising awareness
about HIV/AIDS and calling for greater tolerance towards persons
infected with the virus.
There were also frequent reports of family discrimination against
HIV-positive members of households. This included preventing HIV-
positive parents from seeing their children, or requiring HIV-positive
family members to use separate dishware.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, except state security and military personnel,
to form and join independent unions and to strike. The law provides for
the right to organize and bargain collectively but does not protect
against antiunion discrimination.
In practice independent unions were barely tolerated. The
government-controlled and docile Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus
was the largest union, claiming an estimated four million members;
however, that number was likely inflated, since the country's total
workforce was approximately four million. The Belarusian Congress of
Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU), with four constituent unions and
approximately 10,000 members of independent trade unions, was the
largest independent union umbrella organization.
Tight government control over registration requirements and public
demonstrations made it difficult for unions to organize and strike.
Such control reportedly increased as a result of the economic crisis
during the year. Management and local authorities blocked worker
attempts to organize strikes on many occasions by declaring them
illegal. Government authorities and managers of state-owned enterprises
routinely interfered with union activities and hindered workers'
efforts to bargain collectively, in some instances arbitrarily
suspending collective bargaining agreements.
During the year the government continued efforts to suppress
independent unions, stop union activities, and bring all union activity
fully under its control. Its efforts included frequent refusals to
extend employment contracts for members of independent unions and
refusals to register independent unions. According to BCDTU leader
Alyaksandr Yarashuk, no independent unions have been established since
a 1999 decree requiring trade unions to register with the government.
Workers who were deemed ``natural leaders'' or who involved themselves
in NGOs or opposition political activities were fired routinely for
these activities.
Local authorities continued to deny multiple registration
applications to the Vitsyebsk, Mahilyou, and Homyel chapters of the
Belarusian Union of Electronic Industry Workers (REP). According to the
REP, authorities refused to reregister the chapter in Mahilyou because
the REP office proprietor had not agreed to register the office as its
legal address due to harassment from officials. In 2009 a court in
Mahilyou upheld the registration denial. Further attempts to reregister
in Mahilyou also were denied. REP did not file registration
applications for their chapters in Vitsyebsk, Mahilyou, and Homyel
during the year but intended to do so in 2012.
On January 14, KGB officers conducted a raid of the Minsk-based REP
offices for four hours, seizing equipment and printed materials. A
search warrant alleged that presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau's
campaign team stored materials at REP premises, which were used in
postelection demonstrations.
In July state-run housing services in Smalyavichy unexpectedly
refused a local REP chapter's request to extend a lease of offices that
they had been renting for three years. The refusal came after the
premises were burglarized a number of times and office equipment was
stolen. The REP chapter requested the assistance of local authorities
in finding a new office; however, authorities responded that there were
no members of REP in Smalyavichy and the chapter should be shut down.
In Baranavichy the management of a local factory dismissed engineer
Viktar Tsyapin in December. Tsyapin linked his dismissal with his
efforts to organize ``the people's assemblies,'' protests by the
democratic opposition against poor economic conditions that were deemed
unsanctioned by the government and for which Tsyapin was fined in
October 875,000 rubles ($106). In a similar case, a private company in
Baranavichy dismissed Anzhela Kambalava, who was also fined 350,000
rubles ($42) for distributing leaflets about ``the people's
assemblies'' in October.
On November 14, Dzmitry Karashkou, an operator of a diesel
locomotive at the railroad car repair plant in Homyel, was dismissed
for participating in ``the people's assemblies'' and collecting his
colleagues' signatures to petition for a twofold salary increase in
October.
On October 24-25, workers of the municipal service in charge of
collecting garbage in Barysau walked out in protest of salaries as low
as 600,000 rubles ($72). After negotiations with the management workers
agreed to a monthly 20 percent increase of salaries in addition to a
lump sum of 500,000 rubles ($60).
In November workers at a farm in the Malaryta district went on a
brief strike demanding wage increases. The farm management manipulated
the situation and claimed to have raised their pay by 28 percent, which
in fact was a nationwide raise for public sector workers as of October
1.
During the year authorities and state-run enterprises continued to
pressure independent trade unions and deny their right to sign
collective bargaining agreements. For example, after a year of three-
party negotiations, state-run oil refinery Naftan signed on January 28
an agreement with the state-controlled trade union of chemical industry
workers, leaving out the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BITU), a
member of the BCDTU. The management of Naftan refused to sign a
separate agreement with the chapter of the BITU. On November 30, local
authorities in Navapolatsk denied a fourth application from the BITU to
stage an authorized picket in protest of the refusal.
Since 2000 the government has required state employees, who
constitute approximately 80 percent of the workforce, to sign short-
term work contracts. Although such contracts may have terms of up to
five years, most expired after one year, which gave the government the
ability to fire employees by declining to renew their contracts. Many
members of independent unions, political parties, and civil society
groups lost their jobs because of this practice. In March 2010 the
president signed an edict providing the possibility for employers to
sign open-ended work contracts after five years of good conduct. The
edict limited the rights of employers to approve open-ended contracts
earlier than five years after the service computation date and made no
major changes to the contracting system. The provision did not apply to
state employees and other categories of workers who remained subject to
mandatory contracts.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that women,
men, and children were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
and forced labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
During the year the government approved ``subbotniks,'' which
required employees of the government, state enterprises, and many
private businesses to work on Saturday and donate their earnings to
finance government social projects. Employers and authorities subjected
workers who refused to take part to fines and intimidation. Minsk city
authorities claimed that more than three million persons worked at a
``subbotnik'' in April.
There were reports that authorities forced men serving mandatory
military service to undertake work that was unrelated to their military
service. Credible sources also reported labor violations commensurate
to forced labor in prisons. Former inmates stated that their monthly
wages were as low as 5,000 rubles ($0.60)
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law forbids the exploitation of children in the workplace, including a
prohibition on forced and compulsory labor, and specifies policies for
acceptable working conditions. The government generally implemented
these laws in practice. However, there were reports that some children
were compelled into forced labor.
The minimum age for employment is 16; however, a child as young as
age 14 may conclude a labor contract with the written consent of one
parent or a legal guardian. The Prosecutor General's Office reportedly
enforced the law effectively. Minors under age 18 were allowed to work
in nonhazardous jobs but were not allowed to work overtime, on
weekends, or on government holidays. Work was not to be harmful to the
minors' health or hinder their education.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--As of December 1, the national
minimum monthly wage was 925,520 rubles ($112). As of December 31, the
average monthly wage was 2,877,658 rubles ($348). As of November 1, the
government set the poverty line at 574,790 rubles ($69) a month per
capita. The first deputy minister of labor and social security reported
on December 28 that 59 organizations paid their workers wages below the
established national minimum monthly compensation.
The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours and provides
for at least one 24-hour rest period per week. Because of the country's
difficult economic situation, many workers worked considerably less
than 40 hours per week, and factories often required workers to take
unpaid furloughs due to lack of demand for the factories' products. In
May amid deepening financial crisis and lack of foreign currency
proceeds, the head of the National Statistics Committee stated that
approximately 600,000 workers in industries were on furloughs due to
their companies' failure to import raw materials. Given higher wages in
Russia, labor migration to Russia, where Belarusians have the legal
right to work, increased noticeably. The law provides for mandatory
overtime and holiday pay and restricts overtime to four hours every two
days, with a maximum of 120 hours of overtime each year.
The law establishes minimum conditions for workplace safety and
worker health; however, employers often ignored these standards.
Workers at many heavy machinery plants did not wear minimal safety
gear. There is a state labor inspectorate, but it lacked authority to
enforce employer compliance and often ignored violations.
As of November 1, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection
reported 173 workplace fatalities, down from 202 in the same period in
2010. The ministry reported that the majority of workplace accidents
were registered in the construction industry and were caused by
carelessness, poor conditions, malfunctioning equipment, and poor
training and instruction. The law does not provide workers the right to
remove themselves from dangerous and unhealthy work environments
without risking loss of employment.
__________
BELGIUM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of Belgium is a parliamentary democracy and a limited
constitutional monarchy. The country is a federal state with several
levels of government: national, regional (Flanders, Wallonia, and
Brussels), language community (Flemish, French, and German),
provincial, and local. The Federal Council of Ministers, headed by the
prime minister, remains in office as long as it retains the confidence
of the lower house (Chamber of Representatives) of the bicameral
parliament. Federal parliamentary elections held in 2010 were
considered free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
The main human rights problems in Belgium were significant
overcrowding of the prisons and discrimination against racial and
religious minorities in the labor market. In July the ban against the
wearing of full-face veils in public places (commonly referred to as
the ``burqa ban'') went into effect nationwide.
Other human rights problems included violence against women, child
abuse, and trafficking in persons.
Belgium actively prosecuted and punished officials who committed
abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government, and no cases of impunity were reported.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
or punishment, and there were no reports that government officials
employed these during the year.
In its 2011 report on Belgium, Amnesty International cited
allegations by protesters of excessive use of force by police following
two demonstrations in Brussels in September and October 2010. The
Permanent Oversight Committee on the Police Services opened
investigations that were ongoing at year's end regarding the
allegations.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions met most international standards, and the government
permitted visits by members of parliament and independent human rights
observers.
Prison overcrowding remained a problem. In 2010 the total prison
population reached a record high of 11,044, more than 20 percent above
prison capacity of 9,179. To ease overcrowding, 500 inmates served part
of their sentences in prisons in the Netherlands, and the Netherlands
added 150 additional places in its prisons in December 2010. In 2010,
43 inmates died in Belgian prisons. As of August 9, there were 443
female inmates, constituting approximately 4 percent of the prison
population. There were no specific reports of abuses or that women were
treated worse than men in the seven prisons housing women. As of
August, there were 87 juvenile inmates in special closed centers.
Prisoners have access to potable water and recourse to a federal
ombudsman. During 2010 there was an increase in the use of alternative
sentences, especially for nonviolent offenders.
Prisoners and detainees have reasonable access to visitors and are
allowed religious observance. The authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints and allegations of inhumane conditions
to judicial authorities without censorship. Authorities investigated
credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented these
results in a publically accessible manner. The government investigated
and monitored prison and detention center conditions. A credible 2010
internal evaluation issued by the penitentiary administration stated
that prisons conditions were acceptable in 30 of 36 prisons.
The government permitted visits to prisons and detention centers by
members of parliament and independent human rights groups during the
year. The federal mediator acts as an ombudsman allowing any citizen to
address issues with the administration. In 2009 responding to a request
from inmates from the Merksplas Prison, the federal mediator
recommended the closure of one of the prison buildings because the
cells were small, overcrowded, and lacked running water. Following the
release of the mediator's report, the Ministry of Justice made the
necessary improvements to reopen the building. During the year the
ministry continued implementing the 2008-12 master plan to build seven
new penitentiaries and upgrade existing infrastructure. Four new
prisons were under construction and scheduled for completion by 2013,
providing places for an additional 1,000 prisoners.
Belgium generally complies with minimum U.N. standards for prisons.
As of September, 89 articles of the ``Dupont'' law, clarifying the
rights and obligations of inmates, became applicable. Accordingly,
inmates received a handbook of internal regulations, which detail the
standards for their living conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal police are
responsible for internal security and nationwide law and order. In 2010
the General Inspection Service examined 1,174 complaints against the
police, primarily for violence and arbitrary detention, and
subsequently forwarded two-thirds of these to the prosecutor's office.
Of the complaints, six were for corruption and three for abuse of
power. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the
federal and local police and the armed forces, and the government had
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the
constitution an individual may be arrested only while committing a
crime or by a judge's order carried out within 24 hours. The law
provides a person in detention with the right to prompt judicial
determination of the legality of the detention, and the authorities
generally respected this right. Authorities promptly informed detainees
of charges against them and provided access to an attorney (at public
expense if necessary). Alternatives to incarceration included
conditional release, community service, probation, and electronic
monitoring. There is a functioning bail system. According to 2010
figures, pretrial detainees made up approximately 35 percent of the
total prison population. The average length of pretrial detention was
90 days.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
All defendants are presumed innocent and have the right to be present,
to be represented by counsel, to confront witnesses, to present
evidence, and to appeal.
The law gives domestic courts jurisdiction over war crimes and
crimes against humanity that occurred outside the country when the
victim or perpetrator was a citizen or legal resident of the country.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Belgium is a party to the
European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction of
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The government treated all
ECHR decisions as binding.
On January 21, the ECHR released its judgment in a case concerning
an asylum seeker who fled Afghanistan in 2008 to apply for asylum in
Europe. He entered the EU via Greece and proceeded to Belgium, which in
2009 returned him to Greece, his point of entry into the EU. The ECHR
ruled that returning asylum seekers to Greece violated the European
Convention on Human Rights and the seeker's right to an effective
appeal. The ECHR asked Belgium to implement an effective appeals
procedure and ordered it to pay 24,900 euros ($32,370) in compensation.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals and
organizations could seek civil remedies for human rights violations
through the courts and appeal national-level court decisions to the
ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and legal code prohibit such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech
including for members of the press, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective
judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combined to
ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Holocaust denial is a criminal offense, and in a high-profile case,
Roeland Raes, a prominent member of the right wing Vlaams-Belang party,
was found guilty of Holocaust denial; his appeal was rejected during
the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice. However, in
October a police officer kicked a protestor in the face after he was
arrested and handcuffed. The incident was recorded on video and posted
to YouTube, prompting a review of police disciplinary procedures.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees, including specific subsidiary protection that goes beyond
asylum criteria established by the Geneva conventions.
Laws remained in place that facilitated residency permits for
aliens who had become victims of an unduly long asylum application
process. The law also covered undocumented aliens who lived in a
precarious humanitarian situation or who could prove that they were
integrated into local society, by having lived in the country for at
least five years or by being gainfully employed for at least one year.
Regularization of legal status on the grounds of an unduly long
application period, for urgent humanitarian reasons, or on medical
grounds was granted to 24,199 applicants in 2010, compared with 14,830
the previous year. During 2010 the Federal Agency for the Reception of
Asylum Seekers (FEDASIL) provided shelter to 1,081 unaccompanied
foreign minors who requested asylum.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Belgium signed and implemented the
Dublin II Agreement, and following a court ruling, ceased transferring
asylum seekers to Greece if it was the first EU country the asylum
seeker entered.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. In the high-profile case of Saber Mohammed, Amnesty
International deemed his return to Iraq was not voluntary, but rather
occurred under pressure from the authorities.
Refugee Abuse.--In 2010 authorities assigned 6,553 persons to
closed centers, facilities that asylum seekers were not permitted to
leave. The average stay in closed centers was 25 days. A new closed
center intended to replace two older ones was under construction during
the year. Public health and legal assistance are available on only a
limited basis due to staffing shortages.
Temporary Protection.--The law allows authorities to grant
``subsidiary protection'' to individuals who might not qualify as
refugees but who could establish that upon return to their home
country, they would face the death penalty, torture, or other inhuman
treatment.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully. Citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Voting in all elections is compulsory; failure to vote is punishable by
a nominal fine.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Federal
elections held in June 2010 were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution requires
the presence of men and women in federal, regional, and local
governments, and the law requires an equal number of male and female
candidates on party tickets in European, federal, regional, provincial,
and local elections. Failure to meet the requirement would nullify the
elections and render any government thereby created illegal.
Following the 2010 federal elections, there were 59 women in the
150-seat federal Chamber of Representatives and 25 women in the 71-seat
Senate (of the 40 directly elected senators, 17 were women). Five of
the 23 federal cabinet ministers and state secretaries were women.
There are seven members of Moroccan and Turkish origin in the
Chamber of Representatives and five in the Senate.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year, including a
former minister-president of the Walloon region who admitted to
pressuring a city to accept new invoices from a contractor.
Following up on 2009 recommendations, in August the Council of
Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) published its Third
Round Evaluation Report on Belgium. The GRECO report noted that Belgium
only partially implemented four recommendations on corruption and
implemented only one of 11 recommendations on transparency of political
party funding. Specifically, the report highlighted the lack of an
independent institution to control funding of the parties.
With some exceptions, such as material involving national security,
the law provides public access to government information. The
government respected this law in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. The
government-sponsored Center for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to
Racism (CEOOR) is responsible for promoting equal opportunity and
combating all forms of discrimination, exclusion, or preferential
treatment based on legally stipulated criteria. It also monitors
respect for the fundamental rights of foreign nationals, observes the
nature and scope of migration flows, and assists in antitrafficking
efforts.
The center enjoys a high level of public trust, is independent in
its functioning, and is well-financed by the government.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Federal and regional government
ombudsmen monitor and publish reports on the workings of agencies under
their respective jurisdictions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced these
prohibitions. The law identifies 18 grounds of possible discrimination
subject to legal penalty: age, sexual orientation, civil status, birth,
financial situation, religious belief, philosophical orientation,
physical condition, disability, physical characteristics, genetic
characteristics, social status, nationality, race, color of skin,
descent, national origin, and ethnic origin. A separate law governs
gender discrimination in the workplace. Under a directive issued by the
Board of Prosecutors General, police and prosecutors must cite racial
motivation if present when reporting or recording offenses. In such
instances the prosecutor must escalate the case (e.g., in a racially
motivated crime, the charge would additionally include a hate crime
offense).
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal, and the government prosecuted such cases. In 2010 the
federal police registered 2,911 rapes, a slight increase from the
previous year, and 3,432 indecent assaults. A convicted rapist may be
imprisoned for a minimum of 10 years to a maximum of 30 years depending
on such factors as the age of the victim, the difference in age between
offender and victim, the relationship between the pair, and the use or
absence of violence during the crime. In a July report relying on 2008
figures, U.N. Women highlighted the low sentencing rate in Belgium for
rape and related crimes.
The law prohibits domestic violence and provides for fines and
incarceration. In the first half of 2011, federal police registered the
following complaints related to domestic violence: 10,655 complaints of
physical violence between partners (21,891 in 2010), 75 for sexual
violence (123 in 2010), 10,483 of psychological violence (20,812 in
2010), and 919 for economic violence between partners (1,778 in 2010).
The Federal Institute for Equality of Men and Women coordinates a
national action plan to combat violence between domestic partners. The
2010-14 national action plan focuses on forced marriages, violence
linked to honor, and genital mutilation.
A number of government-supported shelters and telephone help lines
were available across the country for victims of domestic abuse. In
addition to providing shelter, many shelters assisted in legal matters,
job placement, and psychological counseling to both partners. Reliable
statistics on sexual harassment were not easily accessible since formal
complaints could be filed with various entities. The law aims to
prevent violence and harassment at work, obliging companies to set up
internal procedures to handle employee complaints; the government
generally enforced the antiharassment legislation.
Reproductive Rights.--The constitution provides for complete
freedom in the way that persons organize their private lives, including
the basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children. Health
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating
information on family planning. There are no restrictions on the right
to access contraceptives. Men and women received equal access to
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. According
to estimates compiled by international organizations, in 2011 there
were approximately five maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the
country.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men, including
rights under family law, property law, in the judicial system, in labor
relations, and in social welfare protection. The law also prohibits
discrimination on the grounds of gender, pregnancy, or motherhood as
well as sexual intimidation in labor relations and in access to goods,
services, social welfare, and health care.
The Federal Institute for the Equality of Men and Women,
responsible for promoting gender equality, may initiate lawsuits if it
finds that equality laws have been violated. Most complaints received
during the year were work-related and most concerned the termination of
employment contracts due to pregnancy.
During the year the government continued implementation of the
Gender Mainstreaming Act of 2007, which obliges authorities to address
gender aspects in planning policy, collecting data, drafting budgets,
awarding contracts, and drafting reports.
Economic discrimination against women continued. During the year
the Federal Institute for the Equality of Men and Women released a
survey (based on 2007 data) showing an average gap of 11 percent in the
gross wages paid to men and women. The gap was 27 percent for white-
collar and 16 percent for blue-collar workers. Taking into account
part-time work, the overall wage gap was 25 percent. Data from the
European Professional Women's Network indicated that women filled 11.1
percent of the positions on boards of directors of leading private
companies compared with 7 percent in 2008. In June parliament approved
a law requiring a one-third quota of women on all boards of public and
publicly traded companies, but not private companies. The law was
published in the national gazette on September 14, and subsequently
went into effect.
Children.--Birth Registration.--The government registered all live
births immediately, and citizenship is conferred on a child through the
parents' nationality.
Child Abuse.--In the first half of 2011, the federal police
registered 78 complaints of child abandonment (167 in 2010), 119 of
neglect (256 in 2010), 90 of food deprivation (113 in 2010), and 2,065
involving physical, sexual, psychological, or economic child abuse
within the family (3,686 in 2010). The NGO Child Focus reported
handling 2,203 missing children and child abuse cases in 2010, a slight
increase over 2009.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides for the
protection of youth against sexual exploitation, abduction, and
trafficking and includes severe penalties for child pornography and
possession of pedophilic materials. The penalties for producing and
disseminating child pornography range from five to 15 years'
imprisonment, and from one month to one year for possession of such
material. The law permits the prosecution of residents who commit such
crimes abroad and provides that criminals convicted of the sexual abuse
of children must receive specialized treatment before they can be
paroled and must continue counseling and treatment after their release
from prison. Child Focus handled 331 sexual abuse cases and continued
its Internet-based public awareness campaigns during the year. In 2010
the group received 1,320 reports of child pornography on the Internet,
a significant decline from the previous year, and forwarded such cases
to specialized units of the federal police.
According to official figures, in the first half 2011, the federal
police investigated 210 child pornography cases (387 in 2010). The
trial of a lawyer who previously worked on the case of the child killer
Marc Dutroux also ended in 2011. The lawyer was accused of illegal
possession of child pornography. He received a 10-month suspended
prison sentence.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. Statutory rape carries
penalties of imprisonment from 15 to 20 years. If the victim is under
the age of 10, imprisonment increases to 20 to 30 years.
In 2010 the federal prosecutor launched investigations into
allegations of child abuse carried out over many years by Roman
Catholic priests. Although the statute of limitations no longer allows
criminal charges to be filed against the alleged perpetrators, the
church in May agreed in principle to compensate some of those claiming
to be victims.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The size of the Jewish community was estimated at
40,000 to 50,000. During the year there were 32 reports of anti-Semitic
acts, including physical attacks and verbal harassment of Jews and
vandalism of Jewish property. The law prohibits public statements that
incite national, racial, or religious hatred, including denial of the
Holocaust.
In May Senator Jacques Brotchi, a neurosurgeon and federal senator,
resigned from his position on the fundraising committee of the Free
University of Brussels, citing anti-Semitism within the university
including anti-Semitic comments in a student magazine. In September
Brotchi stated that after meeting with the rector of the university, he
believed the executive board was taking necessary measures to counter
these incidents.
Anti-Semitic statements were observed in some private media
outlets: In June an article published in a local circular in the beach
town of Knokke included disparaging statements about the Jewish people
as well as Israel. The anonymous author wrote, ``It is no wonder that
we do not love Jews, they consider themselves supermen like the
Nazis.'' The city council of Knokke decided to remove the newsletter in
question from publication after Belgian Jews and the Mayor of Knokke
condemned the incident.
On November 18, in Brussels, a 13-year-old Jewish girl was
assaulted physically and reportedly subjected to anti-Semitic epithets
by five Belgian girls of Moroccan origin. The Belgian authorities
immediately launched an investigation of the case.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the protection of
persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities
from discrimination in employment, education, and access to health care
and other state services. In 2010 the CEOOR noted an increase of
complaints for alleged discrimination based on disability or health
condition. The CEOOR received 319 complaints in 2010, compared with 255
in 2009. Most were employment-related and concerned access to private
and public buildings and services, including public transport and
access to banks, bars, and restaurants. While the government mandated
that public buildings erected after 1970 must be accessible to such
persons, many older buildings were still inaccessible because of
preservation orders.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The CEOOR and other NGOs
reported that skin color and dress associated with Islam were the most
important factors contributing to intolerance and discrimination,
especially in the areas of housing, education, and employment. Muslim
women who wore headscarves faced particular discrimination in
professional-level employment. On July 23, a national ban on wearing
the full-face veil in public places came into effect, and there have
been three known instances of the ban being enforced. In the first, the
husband of a woman wearing a full-face veil became upset and hit a
police officer when police demanded she remove her veil to identify
herself; in the second, the police issued a fine to two women wearing
full-face veils in a courtroom. The women were there in conjunction
with a lawsuit they had filed challenging the constitutionality of the
ban; and in the third, on December 27 a woman wearing a niqab while
shopping was stopped by the police, causing a physical altercation with
the husband. Offenders may be fined 137.50 euros ($178) and face up to
seven days in jail.
In 2010 most complaints received by the CEOOR concerned nationality
and ethnic descent (42 percent), physical disabilities (18 percent),
and discrimination on the grounds of religious and philosophical
orientation (12 percent). Discriminatory acts primarily took place at
work or over the Internet. The CEOOR deemed 22 percent of the
complaints it received to be justified.
Data released by the Ministry of Justice indicated that in 2010 the
courts dismissed 60 percent of cases of alleged discrimination based on
ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--According to the CEOOR, 6
percent of all complaints it received in 2010 concerned discrimination
based on sexual orientation (85 cases), most of which were work-
related.
The CEOOR investigated violence and discrimination based on sexual
orientation in 2010 and concluded that victims consistently filed only
a limited number of formal complaints on these grounds. During 2010
only four complaints regarding sexual orientation were filed with the
public prosecutor's offices. According to the CEOOR, the underreporting
of violence and discrimination was due to feelings of shame on the part
of the victim, fear of ``victimization,'' a willingness to forget and
be ``above it,'' or the strong belief that filing a complaint would not
change anything. As a result, in June the CEOOR launched a campaign to
encourage LGBT victims of violence and discrimination to file
complaints.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The CEOOR also received
complaints of discrimination based on physical characteristics,
political orientation, social origin, or status. Each of these
categories accounted for approximately 1 percent of the total number.
There were four cases of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS
in 2010.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers the right to form and join independent unions
of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively. Workers
exercised these rights in practice, with Belgian and non-Belgian
workers enjoying the same rights. The law allows unions to conduct
their activities without interference, and the government protected
this right in practice. Work council elections are mandatory in
enterprises employing more than 100 employees, and safety and health
committee elections are mandatory in companies employing more than 50
employees.
The law provides for the right to strike for all private and all
public workers, except for the military. The law prohibits antiunion
discrimination and employer interference in union functions, and the
government protected this right in practice. However, the International
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) noted in its 2011 survey of violations
of trade union rights that it was concerned about repetitive attempts
by employers in Belgium to restrict the right to strike through legal
emergency actions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such
practices occurred. Women, men, and children from Eastern Europe, sub-
Saharan Africa, and Asia were subjected to commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor. Female victims, including children, were
engaged in prostitution in massage parlors, as escorts, and by means of
the Internet. Male victims were forced to work in restaurants, bars,
sweatshops, horticulture, and construction sites. Police and courts
used appropriate legislation to combat economic exploitation.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government generally enforced these laws. The
minimum age of employment is 15. Persons between the ages of 15 and 18
may participate in part-time work and study programs and work full time
during school vacations. The Ministry of Employment regulates
industries that employ juvenile workers to ensure that labor laws are
followed and occasionally grants waivers for children temporarily
employed by modeling agencies and in the entertainment business. In May
2010 a Belgian appeals court ruled that a mother should be allowed to
beg with her own children since they were neither forced nor hired,
despite the U.N. Committee for Children's request that Belgium forbid
child beggars, with or without their parents.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly national minimum
wage was 1,443.54 euro (approximately $1,877) for workers 21 years of
age, 1,481.86 euro ($1,927) for workers 21 1/2 years of age with six
months of service, and 1,498.87 euro ($1,949) for workers 22 years of
age with one year of service. The poverty income level in 2011 was 899
euros ($1,169) per month for a single adult.
The standard workweek is 38 hours, and workers are entitled to four
weeks of annual leave. Departure from these norms can occur under a
collective bargaining agreement, but work may not exceed 11 hours per
day and 50 hours per week. An 11-hour rest period is required between
two work periods. Overtime is paid at a time-and-a-half premium Monday
through Saturday and at double time on Sundays. The Ministry of Labor
and the labor courts effectively enforced these laws and regulations.
The law forbids or limits excessive overtime. Without specific
authorization, no employee can accumulate more than 65 hours of
overtime during one quarter.
The Employment and Labor Relations Federal Public Service generally
enforced regulations effectively. Inspectors from both the Ministry of
Labor and the Ministry of Social Security enforced regulations on the
labor market. These ministries jointly ensure that standards are
effectively enforced in all sectors, including the informal sector, and
that wages and working conditions are consistent with collective
bargaining agreements. In addition to fines, poor working conditions
may be reported as ``trafficking in persons'' cases. During the year
there were 142 labor inspectors for 268,078 private companies
responsible for the well-being of 3,739,760 workers. The average of one
inspector per 26,188 workers is below the recommendation of one
inspector per 10,000 workers from the Senior Labour Inspectors
Committee (SLIC) of the European Agency for Safety and Health. In 2010
there were 178,499 work-related accidents, including 27,555 accidents
on the way to and from work. There were 138 work-related deaths,
including 56 on the way to and from work.
__________
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two entities within the state,
the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the
Republika Srpska (RS). The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace
(the Dayton Accords) provides for a democratic republic with a
bicameral parliament but assigns many governmental functions to the two
entities. The Dayton Accords also provide for a high representative who
has the authority to impose legislation and remove officials. In
October 2010 the country held general elections that international
observers deemed free and fair. As of year's end the country had not
formed a government, although leaders reached an agreement to do so
early in 2012. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Deep-seated ethnic divisions continued to foster widespread
discrimination in most aspects of daily life, undermined the rule of
law, distorted public discourse in the media, and obstructed the return
of persons who were displaced during the 1992-95 conflict. Other
significant problems affecting the country included poor conditions and
overcrowding in prisons, and harassment and intimidation of journalists
and civil society.
Other human rights problems in the country included deaths from
landmines; mistreatment of prisoners; police failure to inform
detainees of their rights or allow effective access to legal counsel
prior to questioning; government corruption; discrimination and
violence against women and sexual and religious minorities;
discrimination against persons with disabilities; trafficking in
persons; and limits on employment rights.
Both entities and the Brcko District maintained units that
investigated allegations of police abuses, meted out administrative
penalties, and referred cases of criminal misconduct to prosecutors.
These units generally operated effectively and there were no reports of
impunity during the year.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Domestic courts and the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) continued to adjudicate cases
arising from killings during the 1992-95 conflict. The BiH Court War
Crimes Chamber and entity courts continued conducting war-crimes trials
during the year. By December, there were 17 convictions against 22
individuals at the BiH Court, with prison sentences totaling 182 years.
There were also 12 appellate verdicts against 20 individuals with
prison sentences totaling 252.5 years. Other courts in BiH completed 15
war crimes cases involving 20 individuals. During the year Ratko Mladic
and Goran Hadzic, the last two major Bosnian Serb war crimes indictees
wanted by the ICTY, were captured in Serbia and transferred to The
Hague for trial.
In October a state-level court sentenced wartime RS Army Battalion
Commander Momir Pelemis and Assistant Battalion Commander Slavko Peric
to 16 years and 19 years in prison, respectively, for genocide for
their roles in the massacre of an estimated 1,500 prisoners in
Srebrenica in 1995.
Despite local and international efforts to prosecute war crimes,
many lower-level perpetrators remained unpunished, including those
responsible for the approximately 8,000 persons killed in the
Srebrenica genocide and those responsible for approximately 10,000
other persons who are missing and presumed to have been killed during
the 1992-95 war. Implementation of the National Strategy for Processing
War Crimes cases was slow, given the complexity of cases and the dearth
of budget and personnel support extended to the state, entity, district
and cantonal courts, and prosecutor's offices.
During the year 14 landmine accidents killed nine persons and
injured 13. Two of the nine persons killed were deminers. For a second
consecutive year, state-level lawmakers failed to allocate any money
for demining as required under the country's 2009-19 Demining Strategy
and 2010 Revised Annex VII (internally displaced persons [IDP] and
refugee) strategy. According to the country's Mine Action Center, by
year's end there were still some 11,000 active mine fields (an
estimated 220,000 devices) endangering more than 900,000 residents
throughout the country. In many cases the presence of landmines slowed
return of IDPs and exhumation of mass graves.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) as well as other
institutions reported that police physically mistreated individuals at
the time of their arrest and during detention, and that detention
facility staff at times physically abused prisoners.
In March the CPT published a report of its 2009 ad hoc visit to
several prisons that it identified in 2007 as having problems. While
the CPT identified some improvements since 2007, it found that
fundamental measures required to improve the situation in prisons and
other detention facilities had not been taken and repeated many of the
criticisms in the report on its 2007 visit.
The CPT delegation documented a significant number of credible
allegations of serious physical mistreatment of prisoners by the police
and other law-enforcement officials, including kicking, punching, and
blows with batons and baseball bats. The majority of reported incidents
allegedly occurred during police questioning, sometimes for prolonged
periods, prior to placement in holding cells or transfer to the
prosecutor's offices. According to the CPT, there were several
allegations that mistreatment aimed at forcing confessions is a
frequent practice by crime inspectors at the Banja Luka Central Police
Station. One person detained at that station claimed to have been
handcuffed to a radiator for several hours and subjected to several
charges from a hand-held electro-shock device. Many persons interviewed
by the CPT delegation alleged that the right of notification of custody
had been granted to them, and that they were permitted to contact
relatives only after police questioning rather than immediately
following arrest.
The Council of Ministers maintained an independent commission to
monitor conditions at prisons and other facilities for incarcerating
persons, including psychiatric centers. During the year the commission
visited the psychiatric facility in Sokolac. It determined that
conditions were extremely poor and the clinic was understaffed,
especially lacking medical doctors. Among other problems, commission
members observed a patient bound to his bed because he was being
``aggressive.'' Other patients alleged that he was drugged, as he
wanted to speak with commission members about mistreatment he had
experienced at the facility.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The CPT and other credible
authorities reported that unsanitary and unhygienic conditions in the
country's prison and detention centers posed significant threats to the
health of detainees. There were also significant problems with
prisoner-on-prisoner violence or intimidation at Zenica and Foca
prisons, and medical care was inadequate. For example, prisoners at the
Sarajevo prison sometimes lacked on-call health services because prison
administrators failed to replace the retired general practitioner
during the previous year. During the year there were no reported deaths
in the country's prisons and detention centers. Poor hygiene and
antiquated facilities remained serious problems. Prisoners had access
to adequate potable water.
During the year the Council of Ministers' commission monitoring
conditions in prisons visited prisons in Zenica, Doboj, Tuzla, and
Bihac. In its report, the commission documented substandard conditions
and overcrowding in Zenica prison. The commission also received
numerous complaints regarding poor health care in Zenica prison and
recommended that the Federation Ministry of Justice allocate additional
funding to improve the hygienic conditions in the prison's kitchen and
ensure greater work opportunities for the prisoners. During prison
visits from September through December, the country's human rights
ombudsman witnessed several instances of unsanitary food preparation,
including the presence of cockroaches in food served to prisoners at
the Zenica prison.
Reporting on its 2009 visit, the CPT noted some progress at Zenica
Prison since its 2007 visit. For example, there were no reports of
mistreatment of prisoners by prison staff. However, in the Banja Luka
Prison, prisoners alleged frequent mistreatment by prison officers. The
CPT also noted improvement with regard to intimidation among prisoners
and violence in Zenica Prison. During the year several ethnic Serb-
minority prisoners were offered separate accommodations by the Zenica
prison administration after several reported incidents of verbal abuse
by other prisoners, but reportedly declined because they would lose
work opportunities. There were also a number of allegations of
intimidation among prisoners in Foca Prison. The ombudsman reported
that verbal abuse of prisoners and visiting family members had
generally become more of a problem than physical abuse in both
entities' prisons.
As of December 31, there were 2,873 persons incarcerated in the
country (1,819 in the Federation and 1,054 in the RS). The government
estimated the total capacity of Federation and RS prisons at 2,942
persons. During the year construction of the first state-level prison
for some 350 inmates began in East Ilidza. Meanwhile, prisoners
convicted of state-level crimes remained incarcerated in entity
prisons.
The ombudsman noted that both entities had decreased overall
overcrowding during the year by expanding facilities in Tuzla and Foca
to add capacity for some 200 inmates. However, the ombudsman observed
that overcrowding remained a serious problem at the Sarajevo prison,
where the ombudsman noted up to 26 prisoners held in two small rooms.
By year's end prison authorities did not act on the ombudsman's
recommendation to transfer all prisoners from the Sarajevo prison to
the Igman correctional facility and to use the Sarajevo facility only
as a short-term detention center. The CPT reported that in some cases
juveniles were held separately in the same facility as adult offenders.
There were no reports that women were incarcerated under conditions
that were less favorable that for men.
The Council of Ministers' commission criticized conditions in the
correctional facility for minors in Tuzla, particularly for failing to
meet minimum education standards. The commission reported that children
spent most of their time in locked rooms that were previously used as
prison cells. The commission urged the government to relocate this
facility as soon as possible.
In the women's prison the commission described the attitude of the
prison management toward the prisoners as ``totally unacceptable'' and
called on competent authorities to hold the prison director
responsible. The commission observed that prison authorities did not
adequately monitor the well-being of female inmates, permit them
opportunities to discuss conditions with prison administrators, or
provide them with opportunities to work.
Prisoners and detainees generally had access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. However, the Council of Ministers
commission noted cases during the year where female inmates were not
permitted family visitation, including a mother who was not permitted
to visit with her two-year-old daughter. In a few instances prison
administrators in the RS reported not having enough guards to escort
Muslim prisoners to prayer rooms five times per day, as is customary
under Islamic tradition.
During the year there were reports of delays by law enforcement
agencies in keeping records of arrests prior to transfer of an arrested
person to a prosecutor's office. There were also reports that medical
staff in the prisons neither documented the injuries of prisoners in
detail nor stated whether the injuries observed were consistent with
any allegations of mistreatment made by the prisoner.
The law also allows detainees and prisoners to send their requests
or complaints to the country's ombudsman, who has authority to advocate
for the rights of prisoners, including juveniles, regarding status and
circumstances of confinement, bail, overcrowding, and other conditions.
In contrast to previous years, there were no reports that prison
authorities failed to forward requests from inmates to the ombudsman.
The law provides for the right of prisoners to communicate, file
complaints, and expect expeditious resolution of violations. The
ombudsman can also advocate on behalf of prisoners to improve pretrial
conditions and recordkeeping to ensure that prisoners do not serve
beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense. The ombudsman
lacked authority to advocate for alternatives to incarceration for
nonviolent offenders to alleviate overcrowding.
During prison visits in the RS in 2009, the CPT found that inmates
could lodge complaints with prison staff, including the director, and
also address the Ombudsman's Office. However, the CPT observed that
there was no policy providing for the confidentiality of such
correspondence. For example, in Banja Luka prison, the prisoners on
remand had to hand over all correspondence to prison staff unsealed.
The CPT noted that, as of 2009, there appeared to be no
comprehensive strategic approach for reforming the country's prison
system to cope with the expected increase in the number of inmates and
the more challenging profile of prisoners. The CPT also noted that each
entity operates its prisons autonomously, while the State Ministry of
Justice is responsible for the pretrial detention unit of the State
Court.
The government permitted independent human rights observers to
visit and gave international community representatives widespread and
unhindered access to detention facilities and prisoners. On April 15, a
CPT delegation traveled to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the fifth time,
visiting all major police stations, immigration detention centers,
prison facilities, prosecutor's offices, psychiatric institutions, and
social care homes; a report on the visit had not been released by
year's end. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
continued to have access to detention facilities under the jurisdiction
of the ministries of justice at both the state and entity levels.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The law extends
significant overlapping law enforcement competencies to the state-level
government, to each entity, and to the Brcko District, each of which
has its own police force. An EU military force continued to support the
country's government in maintaining a safe and secure environment for
the country's population. NATO offices in Sarajevo continued to assist
the country's authorities in the implementation of defense reform,
counterterrorism, and cooperation with the ICTY. The EU Police Mission
remained in the country to monitor the local police.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security
forces, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. While there were no reports of impunity
during the year, there were continued reports of corruption within the
entity- and state-level security services. Professional standards units
are the internal affairs investigative units in each entity's interior
ministry and in the Brcko District.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally arrested persons openly with warrants based on sufficient
evidence. The law provides that authorities inform detainees of the
charges against them immediately upon first questioning.
The law requires police to bring suspects before a prosecutor
within 24 hours of detention. During this period, police may detain
individuals for up to six hours at the scene of a crime for
investigative purposes. The prosecutor has an additional 24 hours to
release the person or to bring the person before a judge who decides
whether the detainee should remain in pretrial custody. There is a
functioning bail system. The law allows detainees to request a lawyer
of their own choosing; however, during the year, there were reports
that the government did not always respect detained persons' right to
prompt access to an attorney.
The RS government and five cantons in the Federation pay for an
attorney if the defendant is indigent. Lacking laws on free legal
assistance, indigent defendants in state-level courts and in six
Federation cantons had to seek representation from nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) providing free legal services. The RS and five
Federation cantons provided attorneys employed by their justice
ministries, which also employed the prosecutors trying the cases. Civil
liberties groups criticized this conflict of interest. There were no
reports that suspects were detained incommunicado, or held under house
arrest. The law provides for the right to a speedy trial. The law
generally limits pretrial detention to one year.
No cases of arbitrary arrest or detention were reported during the
year.
The law provides for strict limitations on the duration of custody
during both the pre-indictment phase and after confirmation of the
indictment. In order for custody to be continued, the court must review
the case at regularly prescribed intervals. The defendant has the right
to appeal custody. These rights were respected in practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The state constitution does not
explicitly provide for an independent judiciary, but the laws of both
entities do. Political parties and organized crime figures sometimes
influenced the judiciary at both the state and entity levels in
politically sensitive cases.
The court system suffered from large backlogs of cases and a lack
of an effective mechanism to enforce court orders. Inefficiency in the
courts undermined the rule of law by making recourse to civil judgments
less effective. There was a backlog of nearly two million unresolved
civil cases, more than one-half involving utility bills. Authorities
estimated that 10 percent of the cases involved criminal matters.
According to the 2008 report of the Center for Human Rights of Sarajevo
University, more than 20 percent of decisions of the State
Constitutional Court had not been implemented; the majority of the
cases pertained to so-called ``systematic failures'' of government,
such as problems concerning missing persons, old currency savings, and
compensation for war damages.
Trial Procedures.--The laws of the Federation and the RS provide
that defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, but the law does not
provide for trial by jury. The law provides for the right to counsel at
public expense, if charged with a serious crime. However, courts did
not always appoint defense attorneys where the maximum sentence was
less than five years. The law provides defendants the right to confront
witnesses, to present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, to
access government-held evidence relevant to their case, and to appeal
verdicts, and these rights were generally respected in practice.
The BiH Prosecutor's Office continued to use plea agreements in
some cases. The country has a national strategy for the prosecution of
war crimes that foresees the prosecution of the most complex war crimes
cases by 2016 and all other war crimes cases by 2024.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The country complied with
ECHR judgments requiring individual measures either through actual
remedies or by submitting action plans for compliance to ECHR. However,
it remained noncompliant with the ECHR's 2009 Sejdic-Finci judgment
that the country's constitutional provisions on ethnic minorities
running for certain elected offices violated the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for
individuals and organizations to seek civil remedies for human rights
violations, and provided the right to appeal decisions to the ECHR. The
government generally complied with domestic and regional court
decisions pertaining to human rights.
Property Restitution.--The country's four traditional religious
communities had extensive claims for restitution of property that was
nationalized after World War II. In the absence of state legislation
specifically governing restitution of nationalized properties, return
of former religious properties continued on a case-by-case basis at the
discretion of municipal officials; these officials rarely completed
such restitution and usually did so in favor of the majority group in
their particular municipality.
Many officials used property restitution cases to provide political
patronage. In a few cases government officials refused to return
properties legally recognized as belonging to religious institutions.
During the year the governments did not undertake any activities to
fulfill the June 2010 agreement to return the building that housed the
University of Sarajevo's economic faculty to the Serb Orthodox Church,
whose ownership of the building had been legally recognized before the
1992-95 conflict.
Roma displaced during the 1992-95 conflict had difficulty
repossessing their property as a result of discrimination and because
they lacked documents proving ownership or had never registered their
property with local authorities.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press; however, the
government did not always respect press freedom in practice. Laws
delegated safeguarding freedom of the press to the cantons in the
Federation and to the entity-level authorities in the RS. Government
respect for freedom of speech and the press did not improve during the
year.
Freedom of Speech.--At times, the RS government used fines to
dissuade political expression. In October, Banja Luka city authorities
fined the NGO ``Ostra nula'' 1,400 convertible marks ($926) because the
organization placed a banner stating ``I Just Do Not Want to Leave This
Place'' at Banja Luka's central square. ``Ostra nula'' placed the
banner to protest the fact that BiH did not have a new state-level
government a year after general elections.
The Federation's criminal code prohibits hate speech. The RS
criminal code does not specifically proscribe hate speech, although the
law prohibits causing ethnic, racial, or religious hatred. In practice
many media outlets used with impunity incendiary language, often
nationalistic, on matters related to ethnicity, religion, and political
affiliation. Independent analysts noted a tendency by politicians and
other leaders to label unwanted criticism as hate speech. By year's
end, the country's Communications Regulatory Agency (CRA) had not
registered any cases of hate speech for the year.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views but were subject to undue influence from
government, political parties, and private interest groups. Media
reporting continued to be divided along ethnic lines.
The CRA is charged with regulating all aspects of the country's
electronic media (television and radio). Political pressures on the CRA
continued, with politicians often alleging that the CRA lacked
impartiality. The CRA's independence and effectiveness were further
undermined by the failure of the Council of Ministers to confirm the
appointment of a new CRA general manager and other legal hurdles. While
the state-level public broadcaster, Bosnia and Herzegovina Radio and
Television (BHRT), continued to have limited viewership, it ostensibly
maintained an objective, nonpartisan editorial policy. In contrast, the
two entities' public broadcasters, the most viewed television
broadcasters in the country, continued to reflect views of the ruling
parties in the respective entities. The steering boards of all three
public broadcasters failed to establish a single steering board to
oversee a unified public broadcasting system, as required by the law.
Pressures against the BHRT continued. On December 14, the president
of the RS said it should be abolished, claiming that a state-level
broadcaster was not in the interest of RS citizens and they should not
be required to finance the BHRT.
On April 26, the Steering Board of the BHRT, whose members are
approved by parliament, amended its charter to extend its supervisory
function to include full editorial and managerial control over the
BHRT. The Vienna-based representative of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on media freedom sent a letter to the
BiH parliament warning that the changes undermined the broadcaster's
editorial independence. Free Media Help Line noted in its end of year
report that the new statute was being implemented since November.
In October the Steering Board replaced the BHRT's general manager
for the third time despite numerous court rulings that this action was
unlawful. The general manager pressed charges against the BHRT before
the state-level court, asking for a temporary decision ordering his
return to work. On December 15, the court rejected the general
manager's demands for reinstatement. The case was under appeal at
year's end.
Many privately owned newspapers were available and expressed a wide
variety of views. A number of independent print media outlets continued
to encounter financial problems that endangered their operation. The
Press Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the organization responsible
for self-regulation of online and print media content, registered eight
cases of hate speech in print media and on-line media from May to
October.
For the third consecutive year, the RS government provided direct
budgetary support to a select group of media outlets by funding special
projects without public tenders or defined criteria. While the RS
government claimed that the money was available to all, those outlets
that received financial support were far more likely to take a
progovernment line and report less on and even ignore opposition
activities.
Violence and Harassment.--During the year there were credible
reports of intimidation of and politically motivated litigation against
journalists for unfavorable reporting on government leaders. The Free
Media Help Line (a part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Journalists
Association) registered 52 cases involving violations of journalists'
rights and freedoms or pressure from government and law enforcement
officials, and there were 16 cases of pressure on and threats against
journalists , including one death threat and four physical attacks.
Other cases involved denial of access to information and violation of
employees' rights. Several incidents reported during the year involved
violence against journalists or possible attempts to intimidate the
media. In some cases, these pressures resulted in self-censorship by
media.
As of year's end, FTV's former news director, Duska Jurisic, who
was fired in January 2010, reached a settlement with the public
broadcaster that had not complied with several court orders to
reinstate her. Many media analysts asserted her firing was a response
to her independent reporting on a variety of political and social
topics in recent years. Jurisic moved to a different media outlet, and
FTV agreed to pay her back pay in accordance with earlier court
rulings.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Some political parties,
through public companies they control, used advertising and other
mechanisms to pressure media outlets that published items counter to
their interests, indirectly censoring the media and influencing the
editorial polices of some media outlets. As a result, some media
outlets practiced self-censorship.
In some instances media sources reported officials threatened media
outlets with loss of advertising or limited their access to official
information. Politicians and government officials also accused media
outlets of opposing a given ethnic group or betraying their own ethnic
group.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Defamation laws exist at the entity-
level. However, the government, including the courts, did not fully
implement these laws in practice.
During the year, the Press Council considered 96 complaints related
to print and online media, accepting 29 as valid and rejecting 28 as
unfounded. In 32 cases, media outlets published a refutation or a
retraction, in accordance with the council's policy of self-regulation
and mediation. In five cases, the Press Council gave instructions for
further complaint procedures, and two cases were still ongoing. Most of
the complaints accepted by the council involved allegations that print
media outlets denied persons the right to respond to reports and
articles that they considered false or defamatory. One lawsuit for
defamation was dismissed through the Press Council's mediation.
According to local media analysts, the level of pressure against the
Press Council remained unchanged during the year.
In August RS President Milorad Dodik won defamation court cases
against three FTV employees in the Banja Luka Basic Court. The court
ordered the employees to pay Dodik compensation of 5,000 convertible
marks ($3,310) for mental anguish and damage to his reputation from a
story broadcast on FTV's show 60 Minutes in 2008.
In May the Association of BiH Journalists, the Free Media Help
Line, and the BHRT's editorial board strongly condemned alleged efforts
by BHRT Steering Board Chairman Ahmed Zilic to pressure Benjamin
Butkovic, acting editor of BHRT News Programs, to influence Butkovic's
story on changes to the BHRT's Charter demanding that only his
statements and position on the issue be presented in the story. Zilic
denied the claims.
In October the Sarajevo Cantonal Minister of the Interior ordered a
criminal investigation against the Sarajevo-based magazine Slobodna
Bosna following the magazine's reporting on the minister's alleged
involvement in questionable businesses. In his written instructions to
the police, the minister justified the investigation by citing ``the
need to protect the reputation of the ministry and the legality of its
work.'' After the Association of BiH Journalists publicly protested the
investigation as a misuse of the criminal code, the minister claimed
that he had initiated the criminal investigation against himself and
not the magazine.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events; however, ethnic
favoritism and politicization of faculty appointments constrained
academic freedom. In Sarajevo, Serbs and Croats complained that
Bosniaks received preferential treatment in appointments and promotions
at the University of Sarajevo. The University of Banja Luka and the
University of East Sarajevo continued to limit faculty appointments
almost exclusively to Serbs. The University of Mostar remained divided
into two separate universities, reflecting the continued ethnic divide
in the city. Parochial interests influenced the remaining five public
universities in Bosniak-majority areas.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice, although some NGOs reported difficulty in registering. While
the law allows NGOs to register freely, some NGOs and NGO associations
experienced long delays and inconsistent application of the law. Some
NGOs, frustrated by delays at the state level, chose instead to
register their organizations at the entity level.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights;
however, some limits remained in practice. The government cooperated
with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, an
estimated 113,365 registered displaced persons were in the country at
the end of 2010. Most sought return to their prewar places of residence
from which they were displaced by the 1991-95 wars in the former
Yugoslavia. According to the UNHCR, during the first six months of the
year, 323 displaced persons returned to places of origin in which their
ethnic group constitutes a minority. Government officials and some
NGOs, however, believed that the total number of persons who returned
to their prewar communities after the war was significantly lower,
since the UNHCR determined returns based on property restitution rather
than physical presence.
The high unemployment rate, lack of access to social benefits, lack
of available housing, and high municipal administration taxes on
documents that were necessary for accessing reconstruction assistance
for return continued to inhibit returns. Minority returnees often faced
discrimination in all areas of daily life including access to health
care, pensions, public sector employment, and other forms of social
protection.
The RS, the Ministry for Refugees and Displaced Persons, and the
Federation Ministry for Refugees provided support to returnees, such as
limited reconstruction assistance. These ministries also committed part
of their budgets towards joint projects determined by the State
Commission for Refugees. In some cases the entity ministries cooperated
closely with each other and contributed matching funds for improving
living conditions of ethnic minority returnees, such as a joint
agricultural-assistance project for Bosniak returnees in the RS city of
Visegrad and ethnic Serbs in the Federation city of Mostar.
Minority returnees often faced intimidation and complained of
discrimination in hiring, and obstructions in their access to
education, health care, and pension benefits, as well as poor
infrastructure.
A trend of attacks directed against religious sites and objects of
minority groups continued to affect returns. Many returnees cited the
authorities' failure to apprehend war criminals as a disincentive to
return. Many displaced persons created permanent lives away from their
prewar homes, and only individuals with few other options (including a
large number of elderly pensioners) tended to return.
There were no legal restrictions for IDPs to access humanitarian
organizations and assistance, but the procedures to apply were
complicated, and some IDPs often could not afford to pay for all the
costs associated with an application for assistance. There were also
widespread corruption and clearly established divisions along ethnic
lines in the criteria for selection of beneficiaries.
The country's constitution and laws guarantee the voluntary return
or resettlement of IDPs, consistent with the U.N. Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement. Throughout the year the entity governments
together spent an estimated 27 million convertible marks ($17.9
million) to facilitate the return or local integration of IDPs and
refugees from the 1991-95 war in former Yugoslavia. Both entity
ministries for refugees and IDPs provided matching money to and
cooperated closely with the international community in constructing
social housing and providing small agricultural assistance to support
the sustainable return or local integration of approximately 100 IDP
families during the year. However, by year's end the state-level
government had failed to allocate any funds, mainly due to the failure
to form a state-level government more than a year after the country's
2010 general elections.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. Asylum seekers with pending claims, regardless of national
origin, may remain in asylum centers until the Ministry of Security
adjudicates their claims, a process which normally took three months,
although in some cases longer. In urgent cases concerning manifestly
unfounded claims, the process took 15 days. Asylum seekers have the
right to appeal a negative decision within 60 days in regular procedure
and within eight days in urgent procedure. In cases handled by urgent
procedure, the court is required to render a decision within 30 days.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The Law
on Movement and Stay of Aliens and Asylum provides for the application
of the concept of ``safe country of origin,'' and claims of asylum
seekers coming from a ``safe country of origin'' are considered to be
unfounded. Under the law, an asylum applicant must prove that the
country is not safe for him/her. However, the Council of Ministers has
not issued a decision on the ``safe countries of origin.''
During the year, 13 Afghans and two Sudanese who illegally crossed
into the country from Serbia were detained in the country's immigration
center and then returned to Serbia. According to government sources,
none of them sought asylum, though it is unclear if they were informed
of their rights under the country's asylum procedures. There were
reports that asylum seekers from Kosovo were routinely denied, exposing
persons who were entitled to international protection to a risk of
refoulement.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Asylum seekers do not have the
right to employment unless the government grants them asylum.
Durable Solutions.--On November 7, the country signed a UNHCR-
facilitated Regional Refugee Agreement (along with Serbia, Croatia, and
Montenegro) in which the government agreed to find durable solutions
for up to 6,000 refugees from other former Yugoslav countries. By
year's end the country's law still lacked conditions for facilitated
naturalization of refugees and stateless persons. All refugees had
health insurance, and all those staying outside the Reception Center
received social welfare assistance. However, a systematic local
integration program had yet to be developed.
Temporary Protection.--During the year the government did not grant
temporary protection to any individuals not considered to qualify as
refugees. The government extended subsidiary protection to three
individuals from Kosovo for another year.
Stateless Persons.--The law provides that a child born to one or
two parents who are citizens of the country is also a citizen,
regardless of the place of birth. A child born on the territory of the
country to parents who are not Bosnian citizens does not gain
citizenship unless both parents are stateless persons.
According to the UNHCR, 3,000 to 5,000 persons, the large majority
of them Roma, were at risk of statelessness at the end of the year.
This figure included persons lacking birth registration as well as
persons at risk of denaturalization (largely those who were naturalized
during the country's 1992-95 conflict). According to the country's
Ministry of Civil Affairs, during the year 170 individual
naturalization decisions were reviewed; 40 of them resulted in de-
naturalization. There were no reported instances of statelessness among
this group during the year.
While the law provides no special provisions to expedite
naturalization for stateless persons, it provides stateless persons
opportunities to gain nationality on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Stateless persons apply for naturalization through the same procedures
as other foreigners.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic multiparty elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Observers from the OSCE concluded that the October 2010 general
election largely was conducted in line with international standards but
noted problems, including deficiencies in the registration process,
group voting, and irregularities in the counting process. The OSCE
observation mission noted that private media, particularly print,
tended to favor certain candidates. Smaller parties complained about
systematic underexposure in the media. On December 28, political
leaders reached a deal to form a new Council of Ministers, but work on
implementing that decision would continue into 2012. At year's end,
political leaders failed to form a new government in one canton,
leaving officials whose party had lost representation in office on a
``technical mandate.''
Nationalist rhetoric from leaders of all ethnic groups dominated
political exchanges. In particular Serb politicians regularly called
into question the validity and existence of the state of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and threatened to call a referendum in the RS to secede
from the state.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The law requires that at
least 30 percent of political party candidates be women. Eight of 42
members of the state-level House of Representatives were women. There
were no women in the nine-member Council of Ministers, although there
were two female deputy ministers. At the entity level, women held three
of 23 leadership positions in the Federation, including one ministerial
position, one speaker position, and one deputy speaker position in
parliament. Following the 2010 elections, 19 women were elected to the
Federation House of Representatives and 14 to the Federation House of
Peoples. In the RS two of 16 ministers and one deputy speaker in
parliament were women. As of August women comprised 31 percent of the
delegates in the RS National Assembly, 30 percent of RS government
ministers, and 5 percent of RS mayors.
The law provides that Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, and ``others'' must
be adequately represented in entity, cantonal, and municipal government
institutions, based on the 1991 census, until the returns process
detailed by the Dayton Accords is completed. However, the government
did not respect this law in practice. In addition to the three
constituent peoples, there were 16 recognized national minority groups.
Minorities not regarded as ``constituent peoples'' under the country's
constitution remained severely underrepresented in government. There
were no members of a minority group in the parliament and only one
member in the Council of Ministers.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt actions with impunity.
Candidates for certain public offices, including seats in
parliament at the state and entity levels and members of the Council of
Ministers and entity governments, are subject to financial disclosure
laws. The Central Election Commission is responsible for ensuring
compliance with these laws.
On June 27, the Cantonal Court in Mostar acquitted a former member
of the country's tripartite presidency, Dragan Covic, and six others of
corruption charges in connection with the privatization in 2005 of
Eronet, the cellular-service subsidiary of the country's third-largest
telecommunications company (HT Mostar). Covic, then-Federation minister
of finance and chairman of the HT Mostar Steering Board, and six board
members had been charged with illegally transferring Eronet shares. In
a separate case dating to 2000, Covic was indicted on June 29 for using
his position as then Federation minister of finance to remove customs
duties on the import of raw meat to boost profits of the Lijanovici
food company.
Although the law provides for citizen access to government records,
many government agencies did not comply. Under the law, the government
must provide an explanation for any denial of access, and citizens may
appeal denials in the court system or to the ombudsman's offices. In
practice the government sometimes failed to provide the required
explanation for denial of access unless citizens appealed to the
ombudsman, the courts, or legal aid. Public awareness of the law
remained low.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of human rights groups and NGOs generally operated
without restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. However, government officials were often
inefficient and slow to respond to their views.
During the year NGO advocacy activities became more diverse, using
methods such as policy papers, public announcements, and street
actions. NGO participation in decision-making processes was case by
case. Both the government and the NGO sector lack sufficient knowledge
about the existing mechanisms for NGO participation. The Council of
Ministers has the right to return any legislative draft which did not
go through the NGO consultation process, but to date has not used this
mechanism. NGOs largely were excluded from decisions of greater
political importance or sensitivity. NGOs continued to establish
greater cooperation with the government at lower levels. In addition to
the existing Agreement on Cooperation signed by the Council of
Ministers, more than 80 municipalities and three cantons drafted and
signed agreements with local NGOs by year's end.
According to a survey supported by the EU Commission, 13,000 NGOs
were registered in the country. Financial viability remained the most
challenging obstacle to civil society overall, as the more nonpolitical
organizations not seen as threats to governing parties received support
from local governments. Registration and the procedure to change an
organizational statute took significantly longer than prescribed by
legislation due to official inefficiency.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government generally
cooperated with the ICTY, complying with investigations and handing
over indicted suspects. The two remaining ICTY fugitives, Ratko Mladic
and Goran Hadzic, were both captured during the year in Serbia, and
their ICTY proceedings began.
The state-level government cooperated fully with international
organizations, such as the Office of the High Representative, which has
special powers over the government, as well as other international
organizations, such as the ICRC, the International Commission on
Missing Persons, and the OSCE. However, the RS government was less
responsive and cooperative than were the state-level and Federation
governments.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The state-level ombudsman is a
functional institution with authority to investigate violations of the
country's human rights laws on behalf of individual citizens and to
submit recommendations to the government for remedy. The ombudsman's
recommendations are not legally binding.
The state parliament has a Joint Commission for Human Rights,
Rights of Children, Youth, Immigration, Refugees, Asylum, and Ethics,
consisting of members of both houses of parliament. The 11-member
commission participated in human-rights-related activities with
governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
Public support mechanisms and regulations were underdeveloped.
Instead of following set guidelines and criteria, government
commissions that allocated public-benefit funds seemed to base many of
their decisions on political interest and allocated large percentages
of funds to predetermined beneficiaries such as religious communities,
sports organizations, and veterans associations. The methods of
allocation remain nontransparent and subject to corruption.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status; however, the government did not enforce
these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape and spousal rape are
illegal; the maximum penalty for either crime is 15 years'
imprisonment. A sense of shame reportedly prevented some rape victims
from complaining to authorities. While police generally responded to
reports of sexual assault, they tended not to treat reports of spousal
rape with the same seriousness.
Violence against women, including domestic violence and sexual
assault, remained widespread and underreported. According to NGO
estimates, one third of the women in the country were victims of
domestic violence. Both entities have laws that require police to
remove an offender from the family home. However, NGOs reported that
authorities, especially in the RS, where domestic violence is a
misdemeanor, often returned offenders to their family homes less than
24 hours later. In the Federation authorities have discretion to
prosecute domestic violence as either a felony or misdemeanor. Experts
estimated that only 10 percent of victims of domestic violence reported
the crime. Although police received specialized training in handling
cases of domestic violence, NGOs reported a widespread attitude among
police in both entities against ``breaking up families'' by arresting
offenders. Two hotlines operating throughout the country provided
assistance to victims. There were several shelters throughout the
country for victims of domestic violence, many of who received
financial and other material support from the government during the
year. Many of these shelters doubled as shelters for trafficking
victims.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it was
a serious problem. Many NGOs reported that women experienced sexual
harassment, but victims almost never filed complaints because they did
not recognize their experiences as harassment and were not aware of
their legal rights.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals had the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and had the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was easy access to
contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth. Most women had
access to prenatal and postpartum care through employer or government
insurance. However, insurance costs for self-employed women were often
prohibitive, and the actual amount of benefits provided to unemployed
mothers often varied according to canton or municipality.
Discrimination.--Women have equal legal status to men, and
authorities treated women equally in practice. The government's Agency
for Gender Equality worked to inform women of their rights. Women and
men generally received equal pay for equal work at government-owned
enterprises, but there were reports that the same was not true at
private businesses. Women in all parts of the country had problems with
nonpayment of maternity leave allowances and the unwarranted dismissal
of pregnant women and new mothers. Many job announcements openly
advertised discriminatory criteria, such as age and physical
appearance, for female applicants. Women remained underrepresented in
law-enforcement agencies, although there was continued progress. The
state- and entity-level parliaments had committees for gender equality.
Children.--Birth Registration.--By law a child born to one or two
parents who are citizens of the country is also a citizen, regardless
of the place of birth. A child born on the territory of the country to
parents who are not citizens of the country does not gain citizenship
unless both parents are stateless persons.
During the year the UNHCR, through a local legal-aid NGO,
registered the birth of children, mainly Roma, whose parents failed to
register them as required by law. The NGO Vasa Prava estimated there
were approximately 2,000 unregistered children in the country.
Unregistered children experienced significant obstacles in accessing
social, educational, and health benefits.
Education.--While education is free and compulsory through the age
of 15, schools required parents to pay for books, lunches, and
transportation, causing some children to drop out. A lack of reliable
monitoring hindered efforts to ensure that children receive an
education. The law requires children with special needs to attend
regular classes, but schools were often unable to accommodate them.
During the year students in areas where they were in the minority
frequently faced a hostile environment, and in some areas local
officials and parents sought to establish complete physical segregation
based on ethnicity. Obstruction by nationalist politicians and
government officials slowed efforts to abolish school segregation and
enact other reforms. The country's Romani council estimated that less
than 30 percent of Romani children attended school regularly.
Child Abuse.--Family violence against children was a problem.
Police investigated and prosecuted individual cases of child abuse.
Some NGOs estimated that one family in four experienced domestic
violence. Municipal centers for social work protected children's
rights, but lacked resources and housing for children fleeing abuse or
those whom they needed to remove from abusive homes.
Child Marriage.--In certain Romani communities, girls married
between the ages of 12 and 14. The government did not have any programs
aimed specifically at reducing the incidence of child marriage.
According to UNICEF statistics, 6 percent of women were married or in
union before they were 18 years of age.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Entity-level laws against
``enticement to prostitution'' permit police to treat minors 14 years
and older as ``juvenile prostitutes'' instead of victims of rape or
trafficking in persons. Women's and children's rights NGOs complained
that the law allows police to subject children who are 14 to 17 years
old to interrogation and criminal proceedings, although no such
prosecutions were documented during the year. Under entity criminal
codes, abuse of a child or juvenile for pornography is a crime that
carries a sentence of one to five years' imprisonment.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic violence
against members of the Jewish community, which is estimated to be less
than 1,000 persons. The Jewish community reported that some anti-
Semitic language critical of Israel has been occasionally posted on
various Internet forums. The community described those comments as more
anti-Israeli rather than anti-Jewish. During the year the government
lacked a framework for stopping such comments.
During the year many public and private schools continued using
religious-education textbooks containing insensitive language that
reinforced anti-Semitic attitudes. For example, the standard Serb
Orthodox textbook (Pravoslavna Vjeronauka, Banja Luka, 2010) authorized
by the RS Ministry of Education for sixth graders asserted that Jews
``cursed themselves'' by condemning Jesus and persecuting early
Christians and that Jews were later persecuted as God's punishment. In
the study questions, students are asked to explain why was ``God's
wrath leveled at the Jews?'' Independent observers also criticized this
textbook and those used by other communities in the Federation for
inadequate treatment of Jewish history and the Holocaust and for
missing other opportunities to combat anti-Semitism and ethnoreligious
stereotypes.
The country's Jewish community and Inter-Religious Council
registered no desecrations of Jewish sites.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law in both entities prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. However, there was
discrimination against persons with disabilities in all these areas.
There was clear discrimination between different categories of
persons with disabilities, although the vast majority of such persons
were unemployed. Persons with disabilities resulting from service
during the 1992-95 conflict were given a privileged status above
civilian war victims and persons who were born with disabilities.
The Federation's law mandates that all public buildings must be
retrofitted to provide access to persons with disabilities and new
buildings must also be accessible by mid-2011. However, buildings were
rarely accessible to persons with disabilities in practice. Several
government buildings, including the Federation government and
parliament buildings, were not in compliance with the law. The RS had
comparable laws for public access, but few older public buildings were
accessible.
At year's end an estimated 1,900 persons with varying degrees of
intellectual disabilities were institutionalized, although a growing
number of programs for children with disabilities were available in
schools. During the year an estimated 30 percent of persons with
disabilities residing in institutions were capable of independent
living if housing and resources were available. The Federation
government also continued a pilot program during the year for assisted
living in Tuzla, which included 20 persons with intellectual
disabilities. As of year's end no such programs existed in the RS.
During the year there was little progress in improving conditions
for persons with disabilities. Experts noted that throughout the
country entitlement to benefits for disabled persons is not based on
needs. Consequently, certain categories of persons with disabilities
did not receive adequate financial benefits. Federation authorities
adopted the Strategy for Persons, while the RS, implemented its own
strategy.
In the Federation the Institute for Medical Disability Status
Classification, staffed by medical professionals and overseen by five
relevant Federation ministries in cooperation with an advisory NGO,
determined the severity of each person's specific disability and level
of assistance needed. In the RS, the government social workers in the
Center for Social Welfare under the entity Ministry of Health and
Social Welfare evaluated persons for disabilities and assistance.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic differences remained a
powerful destructive force in society, although mixed communities
existed peacefully in some areas.
Harassment and discrimination against minorities, often related to
property disputes, continued throughout the country. These problems
most often included desecration of graves, graffiti, arson, vandalism
of houses of worship and other religious sites, verbal harassment,
dismissal from work, threats, and physical assaults.
By November the country's Inter-Religious Council documented 56
acts of vandalism against religious sites over the previous year, 30 in
the RS, and 26 in the Federation. Most attacks occurred in places where
the targeted community was in the minority. There were 28 attacks
against Islamic sites, the overwhelming number of which occurred in the
RS. There were 17 recorded attacks against Serb Orthodox sites in the
Federation, and nine reported attacks against Catholic sites, which
were more frequent in the Federation. The Council's report noted that
police apprehended perpetrators in 30 of the 56 cases. The Council
documented one religiously motivated physical assault against an imam
in Gacko in the Federation, and verbal harassment of an Orthodox priest
in Gracanica in the Federation and an imam in Dubica in the RS.
During the year some RS politicians expressed support for indicted
war criminal Ratko Mladic following Mladic's arrest in May. Kalinovik
mayor Mileva Komlenovic publicly criticized ``burdening'' Mladic, whom
she lauded for his ``moral, human, and professional qualities.'' Vinko
Radovanovic, the mayor of East Sarajevo, told reporters that Mladic was
no more guilty than any other wartime general from any army. Democratic
People's Alliance president Marko Pavic decried the arrest of his
former commander. Mladen Bosic, president of the Serb Democratic Party,
attended a rally in Banja Luka on May 31 in protest of Mladic's arrest.
Ethnic discrimination in employment and education remained key
problems. In most cases employers did not reverse the widespread firing
of members of ethnic minorities during and after the 1992-95 conflict,
and employers often hired members of the local ethnic majority over
minorities. Human rights activists noted many textbooks that reinforced
stereotypes about the country's ethnic groups and others that missed
opportunities to dispel stereotypes by excluding any mention of some
ethnic groups, particularly Jews and Roma. State- and entity-level
officials generally did not act to prevent such discrimination.
An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Roma were in the country. Some
Romani leaders reported an increase in Romani emigration from the
country and asylum-seeking abroad during the year due to discrimination
in access to social benefits. Roma experienced serious difficulties in
enjoying the full range of fundamental human rights provided to them
under the law. The Roma Information Council estimated that only 1
percent of the working-age Romani population were employed and
indicated that employers usually downsized Roma first during a
reduction in force. Many Roma lacked birth certificates, identification
cards, or a registered residence, preventing them from accessing health
care and public education services or registering to vote. Many human-
rights NGOs criticized law enforcement authorities for widespread
indifference toward victims of domestic violence and human trafficking
in the Romani community.
In April, ``Kali Sari,'' a Roma Decade watchdog NGO, released a
report that noted substantial progress in improving the status of the
country's Roma population. The report noted the government's programs
for improving Romani employment, housing, and health care, as well as
for completing a census of Roma, creating a database documenting the
needs of Roma, and adopting a new Romani education action plan.
However, the report criticized the government for excluding Roma from
the decision-making process for allocating assistance to the Romani
population. Romani human-rights leaders complained about the lack of
transparency in awarding government contracts and allegations of
corruption in implementing Roma Decade programs. By year's end the
government failed to appoint a national coordinator for Roma Decade
implementation.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While the law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it was not fully
enforced in practice, and there was frequent societal discrimination
against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons.
Gays and lesbians faced frequent harassment and discrimination,
including termination from employment. In some cases dismissal letters
explicitly stating that sexual orientation was the cause of termination
made finding another job extremely difficult. The EU Commission
Progress Report during the year found that physical attacks and
harassment of LGBT persons continued and that no government official
condemned such acts.
During the year LGBT activists faced threats, harassment, and other
hate speech by media and politicians. On November 17, a talk show on
Sarajevo-based PINK BIH TV ran a segment called ``Change of Gender--
Body as a Trap'' on a talk show that highlighted text messages from
viewers calling for discrimination and violence against transgender and
transsexual persons. PINK BIH TV did not distance itself from the
messages' content, causing several human rights NGOs to file a
complaint to CRA for violation of the broadcasting code. By year's end,
the CRA took no action in response.
On November 22, daily Fokus based in Banja Luka published a
commentary by RS Vice President Emil Vlajki titled ``Film `Parade':
Prostituted Ideological Manipulation,'' in which Vlajki criticized a
movie on gay rights and characterized the LGBT community as ``garbage''
and LGBT culture as ``vulgarization of one's own private life.''
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was significant
social stigma and employment discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS, and a general lack of awareness of HIV/AIDS. The government
lacked properly trained counselors and a systematic method of referring
those with HIV/AIDS to outside counseling and often relied on periodic,
informal requests from the NGO Apoha to relay the contact information
to those who had been recently diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. During the year
the Inter-Religious Council, composed of all four of the country's
major religious communities, carried out a public campaign against
prejudice against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--On February 8, the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance published its report on
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report also noted several areas for
improvement in the country including a continued fostering of and
manipulation of ethnic divisions in the country by political actors and
parties in the country. Police are often reluctant to investigate
crimes against minorities. The report noted several improvements in the
country, including education reforms making democracy and human rights
compulsory subjects in the country's schools and tougher laws regarding
hate crimes. The report also noted a significant effort by authorities
to register Roma and foster inclusion.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers in both entities (including migrant workers, but
excluding members of the military) to form and join independent unions
without previous authorization or excessive requirements. In both
entities and the Brcko District, the law provides for the right to
strike; however, in the Federation, the law has burdensome requirements
for workers who wish to conduct a strike. In the Federation trade
unions cannot officially announce a strike without first reaching an
agreement with the employer on which ``essential'' personnel would
remain at work. If no agreement is reached, then the strike can be
declared illegal. This effectively allows employers to prevent
legitimate strikes. The law provides for the right to bargain
collectively and to conduct union activities without interference.
Antiunion discrimination is prohibited.
In practice, workers exercised their right to join a union and
bargain collectively. Unions were generally independent from the
government.
In both entities general collective agreements, wherein the minimum
wage and other conditions of work are fixed, were negotiated by the
respective governments and representative organizations of employers
and workers. A number of private employers refused to recognize these
agreements. Workers' and employers' organizations were not skilled in
collective bargaining. Labor authorities in the Federation noted that
employers and workers often did not fully analyze whether such
agreements were financially sustainable when they were signed.
The country's laws against discrimination gave legal protections to
ethnic minorities. In practice, minorities, particularly Roma , faced
discrimination in hiring and employment benefits.
Antiunion discrimination was widespread in both entities and the
Brcko District. The labor inspectorates and courts did not deal
effectively with complaints of antiunion discrimination by employers
although Federation and RS courts have often ruled in favor of workers
in union-related disputes. The government did not impose fines on
employers who prevented workers from unionizing, a practice that was
becoming more prevalent as private sector businesses replaced former
state-owned enterprises that had a traditional union culture. While
there are no legal or technical barriers preventing an employee from
bringing a complaint against an employer, high unemployment coupled
with fear of losing one's job, a backlogged court system, and the lack
of legal protection for the approximately 20 percent of the labor force
working in the unregistered gray economy were disincentives to filing
complaints.
The International Labor Organization criticized the government for
not allowing the Trade Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, representing
approximately 260,000 workers primarily from Federation government-
owned enterprises, to register as a union at the state level since
2002. Lack of formal recognition blocked the union from engaging in
social dialogue on problems pertaining to state-level competencies with
partners. Moreover, authorities did not impose sanctions against
employers who obstructed workers from organizing. Worker rights
violations continued to be a lower priority for ministry inspectors, as
state officials instead focused on bolstering state revenues by
cracking down on unregistered employees and employers that did not pay
taxes. Some unions reported that employers threatened employees with
dismissal if they joined a union and have in some cases fired union
leaders for their activities.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, the government at times did not enforce these laws
effectively. There were reports that individuals and organized crime
syndicates sometimes trafficked women and children for begging and
forced labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Trafficking in children for labor and begging was sometimes a problem.
Organized begging rings exploited Romani children in particular, of
whom more than half of the entire community were under the age of 14
and did not attend school. Children also sometimes assisted their
families with farm work and odd jobs or worked in small family-owned
shops.
The minimum age for employment of children in the Federation and
the RS is 15; minors between the ages of 15 and 18 must provide a valid
health certificate to work. The law prohibits children from performing
hazardous labor. In the Federation, the law prohibits minors from night
work except in exceptional circumstances.
Entity governments are responsible for enforcing child labor laws.
Both entities and the Brcko District enforced child labor laws in
practice. During the year the government neither received nor
investigated any reports of child labor. Neither entity had inspectors
dedicated to child labor inspections, and authorities investigated
violations of child labor laws as part of a general labor inspection.
Both entities' labor inspectorates reported that they had not found
significant violations of child labor laws, although they did not
conduct reviews of children working on family farms. The government did
not collect data on child labor.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage in the
Federation was 343 convertible marks ($227). In the RS, the monthly
minimum wage was 370 convertible marks ($245) except in the textiles
and footwear sectors where it was 320 convertible marks ($212). The
Brcko District did not have a separate minimum wage or an independent
pension fund, and employers typically used the minimum wage rate of
whichever entity to which its workers decided to direct their pension
funds.
The legal workweek in both entities and the Brcko District is 40
hours; however, seasonal workers may work up to 60 hours per week. The
law limits overtime to 10 hours per week in both entities; the
Federation has no provision for premium pay, while the RS requires a 30
percent premium. A 2010 study found that employers routinely denied
workers overtime and sick leave in the private commercial sector in
both entities and the Brcko District, particularly those employed in
large shopping malls. An employee in the RS may volunteer for an
additional 10 hours in exceptional circumstances. Federation and RS
laws require a minimum rest period of 30 minutes during the workday.
The entities and the Brcko District did little to enforce regulations
on working hours, daily and weekly rest, or annual leave, and these
protections were generally believed to be lacking. Entity labor laws
prescribe a maximum overtime of 10 hours per week and prohibit
excessive compulsory overtime. The law also sets mandatory occupational
health and safety standards, especially for those industry sectors
where there are hazardous working conditions for workers. Employers in
each entity and the Brcko District must provide a minimum of nine paid
annual holidays. People can choose which holidays to observe depending
on ethnic or religious affiliation.
The Federation Market Inspectorate, RS Inspectorate, and the Brcko
District Inspectorate are in charge of enforcement related to work
conditions. There were 79 market inspectors in the Federation, 41 in
the RS is 41, and 11 in Brcko. Authorities in both entities and the
Brcko District did not adequately enforce regulations related to
acceptable work conditions. While labor inspectorates made some effort
to enforce registration of employees, they limited most inspections to
conditions affecting the officially registered workforce. RS law holds
employers responsible for improving working conditions. Workers' rights
extended to all official, that is, registered, workers including
migrant and temporary workers. According to informal estimates,
approximately 40 percent of the total work force was unregistered.
Workers in certain industries often worked in hazardous conditions,
particularly those in metal- and steel-processing plants and coalmines.
The entity labor ministries do not maintain official statistics on
workplace fatalities and injuries. During the year one major industrial
accident occurred. On September 29, multiple explosions at the
``Igman'' ammunition factory in Konjic killed one person and injured
several others. Built over 50 years ago, ``Igman'' is a privately owned
munitions factory that produces ammunition for high-caliber small arms
and where much of the production is still done by hand.
__________
BULGARIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy. The
constitution vests legislative authority in the unicameral National
Assembly (Narodno Sabranie). A minority government headed by a prime
minister led the country. Observers characterized the 2011 presidential
elections as reflecting ``a respect for fundamental rights and
freedoms,'' but they also noted reports of vote buying and
organizational weaknesses. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
The marginalization of the Romani minority remained Bulgaria's most
pressing human rights problem. Also of note was right-wing extremist
violence against Roma, Muslims, and other religious minorities.
Corruption continued to be a drag on the government's capabilities and
public confidence in the judiciary and other state institutions.
Other human rights problems included harsh conditions in prisons
and detention facilities, including overcrowding. Mistreatment of
prisoners and detainees, especially members of minorities, was also
alleged. There were also long delays in the judicial system; apparent
abuse of wiretapping; violence and discrimination against women;
violence against children; discrimination against members of the Romani
and Turkish ethnic minorities; anti-Semitic vandalism; trafficking in
persons; and discrimination against persons with disabilities, against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, and persons with HIV/
AIDS.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses both in the security services and elsewhere in the
government. However, their actions were often ineffective, and impunity
was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Human rights advocates continued to insist that the
law provides police with excessive authority for use of force and
lethal use of firearms. The prosecution service reported that the
number of cases against security personnel was increasing. During the
10 months through October, there were 39 prosecutions and 13
convictions of Interior Ministry personnel.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
observers noted increased use of force in connection with the
government's stepped-up efforts to address organized crime. According
to an Open Society Institute (OSI) survey, police were more likely to
use excessive force on persons of Romani origin. In the first six
months of the year, the government investigated 36 cases of police
violence. During the seven months through July, the courts acquitted 12
police officers. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) claimed that
authorities frequently did not properly investigate allegations of
police brutality.
Police can detain persons for 24 hours without charging them. There
were some reports that police sometimes arrested suspects for minor
offenses and physically abused them to force confessions, especially in
cases involving Romani suspects. In November 2010 four police officers
beat 23-year-old student Stefan Bofirov from Plovdiv to make him
confess to a robbery. The Ministry of Interior fired one officer and
disciplined the other three for exceeding their authority; the criminal
prosecution of the four officers began in June and was continuing as of
October.
Human rights groups continued to claim that medical examinations
following cases of police abuse were not performed and that officials
rarely punished offending officers.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in most prisons
were harsh with inadequate toilet facilities, heating, and ventilation.
During the year there were 53 deaths in prisons and four deaths in
pretrial detention centers. Prisoners had access to potable water.
There were no reports of inadequate record keeping. There were no
reports that conditions for women prisoners were worse than those for
men. Most of the prison facilities dated from the early 1900s; the
government built the newest facility in 1983.
Overcrowding remained a serious problem, especially in pretrial
detention centers. As of October there were 9,714 prisoners, including
89 juveniles and 301 women, in the country's 13 prisons, which had a
designed capacity of 8,763 inmates. In Burgas Prison some of the
inmates were forced to sleep on the floor for lack of sufficient bed
space. The daily food allowance was approximately 3.20 levs ($2.14).
NGOs received complaints about both the quality and quantity of food.
The prison administration received complaints from prisoners about
sanctions imposed on them, the poor quality of medical services, living
conditions, and mistreatment by prison guards. The Bulgarian Helsinki
Committee (BHC) stated that performance reports throughout the year
showed the administration's training for prison guards was ineffective.
Unfilled guard positions resulted in inadequate staffing and
contributed to the poor execution of guard duties. Foreign prisoners
serving longer terms were held in a separate prison in Sofia to provide
them with easier access to consular services.
The prison administration estimated that 1,300 prisoners, or more
than 13 percent of the prison population, were drug-dependent. Prison
authorities experienced difficulties in limiting prisoner access to
narcotics and diagnosing and treating the increasing number of drug-
dependent inmates.
All prisoners have the right to work, and two days of work reduced
the prison term by three days. In practice the prison administration
offered work to only a limited number of prisoners; work was generally
less available due to the economic crisis. Prisoners alleged that the
system for determining the type of work regime a prisoner received was
corrupt and lacked oversight. Nonviolent offenders could be sentenced
to probation, allowing them to stay out of prison as long as they met
the conditions of their probation sentence.
Only one of the country's 42 detention facilities met
internationally established human rights standards. The government
partially renovated a few other detention centers. As of October, 1,326
persons were in detention, including 33 juveniles and 48 women. The
total designed capacity of the centers was 1,786 persons.
While prisoners in principle have the right to receive visitors, in
most cases a lack of space to accommodate visitors in the facility made
visits impossible. Prisoners of any faith could hold religious
observances.
Prisoners reported substandard conditions to the prison
administration, the national ombudsman, and the court system. During
the year prisoners filed 854 complaints with the prison administration
claiming improper sanctions, improper transfers to other facilities,
substandard medical services, poor conditions, and abuse by prison
guards. The prison administration found 717 of those complaints
unfounded and dismissed 41 as outside the scope of its authority; it
investigated the rest of the complaints and imposed sanctions.
In 2010 the National Assembly allocated 20 million levs ($13
million) during the three-year period to 2013 to improve living
conditions and reduce overcrowding. During the year the prison
administration spent 892,000 levs ($596,000) for various upgrades to
existing facilities such as kitchen refurbishment, roof repair, and
cell refurbishment.
During the year the government generally permitted monitoring of
prisons by independent observers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were reports
that police at times abused their arrest authority.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Interior is responsible for law enforcement. The State Agency for
National Security (DANS), which reports to the prime minister's office,
is responsible for counterintelligence, domestic intelligence analysis,
and investigation of corruption. The National Intelligence Service is
responsible for foreign intelligence, and the National Protective
Service is responsible for VIP security; both answer to the president.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police and
security services, and the government had effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--While not
required, police normally obtained a warrant from a prosecutor prior to
apprehending an individual. Authorities generally informed detainees
promptly of the charges against them. Police may hold a detainee for 24
hours without charge; detention can be extended an additional 72 hours
when authorized by a prosecutor. A court must approve detention longer
than 72 hours; such detention can last up to two years. Prosecutors may
not arrest military personnel without the defense minister's approval.
Authorities generally observed these laws, although police sometimes
exceeded the 24-hour detention period.
The law provides for bail, and it was widely used.
The law provides for the right to counsel from the time of
detention, but there were isolated cases in which police failed to
inform detainees of this right. In some cases police officers made the
detainees sign a declaration spelling out their rights to legal
assistance without any oral explanation, even if the detainees were
illiterate. The law provides state-funded legal aid for low-income
defendants. In April the prosecutor general issued an instruction that
substantially defined and simplified the process by instructing
authorities to ensure a detainee has access to legal counsel no later
than two hours after detention and that a lawyer has access to the
detainee within 30 minutes of his or her arrival at the police station.
However, an OSI report indicated detainees often had to make an
arbitrary choice of a public defender based on recommendations from the
police, a practice that made the process insufficiently transparent.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Some Muslim leaders complained of harassment
during which security service members would regularly question them
about religious radicalism and fundamentalism. In February a former
mufti was arrested at night in his home for failure to respond to a
court summons which had never been served.
Pretrial Detention.--Long delays awaiting trial were common, and
there was a large backlog of outstanding investigations. Statutory time
limits for investigations often resulted in hasty indictments that
judges returned for additional investigation, during which time persons
accused of serious crimes were released on bail.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and the law
provide for an independent judiciary; however, corruption,
inefficiency, and lack of accountability were pervasive problems.
Public perception that the judicial system rendered unequal justice
contributed to a series of demonstrations, some violent and racist,
across the country in late September. The demonstrations were sparked
by a local protest against alleged police protection of a Romani crime
boss involved in a deliberate killing in the village of Katunitsa (see
Section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
The Supreme Judicial Council appoints, promotes, disciplines, and
dismisses judges, investigators, and prosecutors. It investigates
complaints of judicial misconduct and recommends disciplinary action.
Managing magistrates can also impose minor punishments. Observers noted
that the council was slow to implement internal discipline. Of the 105
disciplinary cases sent to the council during the year, four resulted
in dismissal, two in demotion, four in reduced remuneration, and 46 in
other disciplinary sanctions.
Judicial and investigative backlogs remained a problem in larger
jurisdictions, and long delays for criminal trials were common.
NGOs reported the juvenile justice system lacked empathy and
coordination. Crime reports were not matched with social reports for
proper case assessment, which resulted in inefficient and heavy-handed
application of corrective action. As of October, there were 89
juveniles in corrective schools and 33 in pretrial detention.
Trial Procedures.--The law presumes defendants innocent until
proven guilty and allows them ample time to prepare a defense. All
court hearings are public except for cases involving national security,
endangerment of public morals, and the privacy of juvenile defendants.
Juries are not used. In cases involving serious crimes, two lay
judges join a professional judge. If a crime carries a sentence of more
than 15 years' imprisonment, two professional judges and three lay
judges hear the case. In such circumstances, a majority vote determines
verdicts. A defense attorney is mandatory if the alleged crime carries
a punishment of 10 or more years in prison; if the defendant is a
juvenile, foreigner, or person with mental or physical disabilities; or
if the accused is absent. Defendants have the right to be present at
their trial and can demand a retrial if they were convicted in
absentia, unless they were evading justice at the time of the first
trial. Defendants have the right to confront witnesses, examine
evidence, and present their own witnesses and evidence. The law
provides for the right of appeal, which was widely used. Trial
procedures apply equally to all defendants.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--As of September the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued 98 judgments during the
year that found 55 violations by the country of the European Convention
on Human Rights. The government usually complied with the judgments. In
January the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe cited
Bulgaria for ``extremely worrying delays'' in implementing judgments of
the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; however, the same
long delays as for criminal cases affected court action on civil cases.
Individuals may file allegations of human rights abuses with courts and
with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPD), which
could impose fines on violators. Individuals could appeal decisions
involving alleged human rights abuses by the state to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these provisions in practice.
In February the permanent parliamentary subcommittee overseeing the
use of specialized investigative techniques reported numerous cases of
wiretapping malpractice, including insufficient cause and lack of
safeguards to protect collected information.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
government generally respected these rights. However, there were
numerous concerns about the domination of the media market by business
interests seeking political influence. NGOs reported that journalists
practiced self-censorship or took money from political and business
leaders and from organized crime groups to plant either positive
stories about the leaders and criminal groups or negative stories about
their rivals. In addition, media owners reportedly forced journalists
to change their reporting. Journalists complained some media companies
kept unofficial lists of political parties, persons, and topics that
should receive only positive coverage. Media ownership remained only
partially transparent, and there was no civil monitoring of the
government-subsidized media, which were the most popular outside the
capital.
Freedom of Speech.--The law defines hate speech as speech that
instigates hatred, discrimination, or violence based on race,
ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital or social
status, or disability. In April the National Assembly adopted
amendments to the penal code providing for one to four years'
imprisonment for hate speech. The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) expressed concerns that the amendments
could be abused to restrict freedom of expression and bar legitimate
criticism by journalists.
Freedom of Press.--Media organizations and in a few cases political
parties freely published a variety of newspapers. Private television
and radio stations provided a variety of news and public interest
programming. Both print and electronic media were susceptible to
economic and political influence, and there were reports that
individuals with political and economic power intimidated journalists.
Although the state-owned electronic media presented opposition views,
observers believed that the law was inadequate to protect their
programming independence and left these media vulnerable to government
pressure.
Individuals criticized the government without official reprisal.
However, in rural areas offering fewer employment opportunities,
individuals were more hesitant to criticize local governments. Local
journalists reported that the regional press was underdeveloped, and
especially local online news outlets were under the full control of
business interests and groups linked to local governments.
Violence and Harassment.--In May the newspaper Monitor fired its
Kardjali correspondent, Vildan Bairyamova, for criticizing political
leaders connected with major media moguls, and refusing to practice
self-censorship. Prior to her firing, Bairyamova received threats to
herself and her family.
In October the car of Sasho Dikov, director of the cable television
channel Kanal 3, was destroyed by a bomb. The investigation into the
attack was ongoing.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel is legally punishable. Usually
the courts interpreted the law in a manner favoring journalistic
expression. Many defamation cases were prompted by journalists'
reporting about corruption or mismanagement; the most frequent
plaintiffs were government officials and other persons in public
positions.
Nongovernmental Impact.--There were some instances of public
pressure aimed at journalists. During the protests in Katunitsa (see
section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities), protesters accused
journalists of false reporting and twisting the facts. Facebook groups
and other online fora launched a campaign of intimidation, threats, and
anti-Semitic invective against bTV reporter Mirolyuba Benatova. Those
groups reported to the system's administrators that Benatova's Facebook
page was offensive; she was banned from the social network.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
The security services could access electronic data with judicial
permission when investigating cyber and serious crimes. However, NGOs
criticized gaps in the law that allow the prosecution service to
request such data directly from the service providers without court
authorization. There were no reports that the government attempted to
collect personally identifiable information in connection with a
person's peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological
opinions or beliefs.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government generally respected this right in practice. The law
requires groups requesting a permit for gatherings to give 48 hours'
notice. The law prohibits public gatherings within a security zone (16
to 66 feet) around the National Assembly, the Council of Ministers, and
Presidency buildings. Mayors can prohibit, dismiss, or suggest an
alternative site for a gathering they believe poses a threat to public
order, security, or traffic.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice. The law prohibits groups, including political
parties, that endanger national unity; promote racial, national, or
religious hatred; violate the rights of citizens; or seek to achieve
their objectives through violent means. The government generally
respected the rights of individuals and groups to establish political
parties or other political organizations. However, NGOs may not engage
in political activity.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
granting asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a
system for protecting refugees.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedoms would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. The UNHCR stated the risk of genuine refugees receiving a
rejection was limited.
The law requires that persons seeking refugee status file an
application within ``a reasonable time'' after entering the country.
However, border police are required to detain in a temporary center all
persons, including asylum seekers, who enter the country illegally.
Asylum seekers were commonly treated as illegal immigrants and
potentially subject to deportation. Observers remained concerned about
the institutional capacity of the government to process requests and
transfer applicants to shelters.
The opening of a second temporary detention center near the border
with Turkey without a local office of the State Agency for Refugees to
review applications and grant asylum resulted in the frequent transfer
of asylum seekers from that center to the one near Sofia and created
more inefficiency and delay.
Refugee Abuse.--There were numerous reports of guards mistreating
detained immigrants and asylum seekers.
Although the law sets a maximum six-month period of detention for
illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, there were numerous reports of
detentions exceeding six months.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens generally exercised this
right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on
universal suffrage. Watchdog organizations and opposition parties alike
reported government-affiliated local businesses resorted to
intimidation and pressure to insure electoral support for the ruling
party, GERB, in the October local and presidential elections.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Despite
a new electoral code, concerns about the effectiveness of law
enforcement and the judiciary, and allegations of vote-buying which
negatively affected the election environment, observers widely regarded
the results of the 2011 local and presidential elections free and fair.
The final report of the Limited Election Observation Mission of OSCE's
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) found the
election generally was conducted in accordance with OSCE commitments
and Council of Europe standards.
The law prohibits campaigning in languages other than Bulgarian. In
its report on the 2009 elections, ODIHR noted that this requirement, as
well as the absence of official voter information in minority
languages, limited the ability of some members of the Romani and
Turkish minority groups to understand the election rules and to
participate effectively in the election process.
In November and December prosecutors filed 102 cases and the courts
convicted 18 persons for election-related violations in the local and
presidential elections in October. Investigation of 42 further cases of
election fraud were pending.
Political Parties.--The law requires a political party to have
2,500 members to register officially. Voters of Romani or Turkish
origin were legally limited in that the constitution does not allow for
the establishment of political parties along ethnic lines. In practice
this prohibition did not appear to weaken the role of some ethnic
minorities in the political process, and a number of parties
represented various ethnic minority groups.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 57 women in the
240-seat National Assembly. There were three female ministers out of 16
ministers in total. Women held key positions in the National Assembly,
including those of speaker of the assembly, one deputy speaker, and
chairmen of seven of the 20 standing committees.
There were 28 members of minority groups (27 ethnic Turks and one
Rom) in the National Assembly. There was one ethnic Turkish minister in
the cabinet. While the ethnic Turkish minority was well represented,
Roma were underrepresented, particularly in appointed leadership
positions. Pomaks (ethnic Bulgarians who are Muslims) held elected
positions at the local level.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials in all branches of government often engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity. World Bank governance indices indicated that
corruption was a problem. Corrupt practices included bribery, conflict
of interest, elaborate embezzlement schemes, procurement violations,
and influence trading.
In July the European Commission's Cooperation and Verification
Mechanism (CVM) report stated that the fight against high-level
corruption had not yet yielded convincing results. There were very few
final and enforced verdicts in this area, and there were few instances
of active targeting of high-level corruption. The report further stated
that a number of acquittals in cases involving high-level corruption,
fraud, and organized crime exposed serious deficiencies in judicial
practice. The leadership of the judiciary, the Supreme Judicial
Council, the general prosecutor and the president of the Supreme Court
of Cassation did not properly analyze or follow up these deficiencies.
There were reports that random case-assignment software was manipulated
to steer certain cases to specific judges. In both the executive and
judiciary, NGOs reported that corrupt officials were pressured to quit
or retire, or most often were reassigned, rather than prosecuted on
corruption-related charges. The overly formal judicial system made it
difficult to prosecute high-profile organized crime and corruption
cases effectively. Legal and procedural limitations on the use of sting
operations, plea bargaining, and cooperating witnesses made it
difficult to pursue corruption cases.
In September the minister of interior prohibited the acceptance of
donations to the ministry by individuals and corporations after the CVM
report heavily criticized the practice.
The prosecution dropped charges in three of the five corruption
cases against former ministers begun in 2010; two cases continued. The
trend continued during the year of high profile cases ending in
acquittal, but there were some successes.
On June 22, the appellate court overturned the acquittals of former
deputy minister of interior Raif Mustafa and his associate, Rosen
Marinov, on the charge of attempting to bribe the former head of the
Fisheries Agency. The court gave them suspended sentences of two and
three years, respectively.
In July, Dimitar Avramov and Stoyan Gyuzelev, members of parliament
from the ruling party, GERB, were required to pay 5,000 levs ($3,342)
each, after the Supreme Cassation Court found them guilty of conflict
of interest. This was the first time parliamentarians were convicted of
conflict of interest.
The law mandates that government officials declare any
circumstances in which they could be accused of using their position
for personal profit. High-level public officials who fail to submit a
financial disclosure declaration can be fined as much as 1,500 levs
($1,000). According to the National Audit Office, during the year 34 of
6,533 officials covered by the law did not submit their annual
declarations by the statutory deadline, compared with 71 of 6,546
officials in 2010. The July CVM report noted authorities did not
effectively sanction false declarations or follow up on discrepancies.
The law provides the right of public access to government
information; however, NGOs continued to complain the government did not
implement the law effectively. While the courts allowed greater access
to government information, the government rarely complied with these
decisions.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Human rights observers
reported uneven levels of cooperation from various national and local
government officials.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman reviews complaints
of individuals against the government for violations of rights or
freedoms. The ombudsman can request information from authorities, act
as an intermediary in resolving disputes, make proposals for
terminating existing practices, refer information to the prosecution
service, and request the Constitutional Court to abolish legal
provisions as unconstitutional. During the year the ombudsman received
5,530 complaints of violations of citizens' rights and freedoms
compared with 3,687 in 2010. The majority of complaints concerned
quality of public services, social assistance programs, and property
problems. The authorities sometimes acted in response to
recommendations from the ombudsman.
A permanent parliamentary committee oversees human rights,
religious denominations, and citizens' complaints and petitions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, gender,
disability, social status, and sexual orientation; however, the law
does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of language. Societal
discrimination continued, particularly against persons with
disabilities; ethnic minorities; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons. Trafficking in persons continued to be a
problem.
The government investigated complaints of discrimination, issued
rulings, and imposed sanctions against violators. The law allows
individuals to pursue a discrimination case through the court system or
through the CPD. The CPD's mandate expired in 2009, but authorities did
not select new members. Many legal experts were concerned that the law
is not precise whether the old CPD members retained their authority.
Notwithstanding, in the 10 months through October, the CPD received 685
complaints, up from 663 in 2010. The majority of the complaints
concerned personal status, age, and disability discrimination. The
commission found 177 cases of discriminatory practices and imposed 53
fines totaling 49,100 levs ($32,800) on violators.
In April the National Assembly amended the penal code to toughen
sentences when racist and xenophobic acts lead to homicide and bodily
injuries.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal but
underreported due to the stigma attached to it. Authorities generally
enforced laws against rape when violations came to their attention.
Spousal rape can be prosecuted under the general rape statute; however,
authorities rarely prosecuted it in practice. Sentences for rape range
from two to eight years in prison (from three to 10 years if the victim
is a blood relative). When rape results in serious injury or suicide,
sentences range between three and 15 years' imprisonment and, when the
victim is a minor, between 10 and 20 years. According to NGOs the
social taboo experienced by rape victims discouraged them from
reporting the crime and was a far more serious obstacle to prosecution
than police reluctance to investigate. As of October the prosecution
service filed 203 rape cases and pursued 67 prosecutions, and the court
sentenced 83 persons.
The law defines domestic violence as any act of, or attempted act
of, sexual violence; or physical, psychological, emotional, or economic
pressure against members of one's family or between cohabiting persons.
It empowers the court to impose fines, issue restraining or eviction
orders, or require special counseling. The law requires the government
to adopt an annual action plan to prevent and protect against domestic
violence and requires the state to fund it.
Observers noted the law was generally enforced in cases of physical
violence, but that authorities did not pay much attention to other
types of domestic abuse. Although there were no precise statistics,
NGOs estimated that one in four women was a victim of domestic
violence, an increase over previous years.
On March 30, the government adopted a national program for
prevention of and protection against domestic violence that provides a
framework for partnership between the government and NGOs and allocates
funding. The program sets out standard procedures for assistance and
support to domestic violence victims and provides for the creation of a
coordination mechanism.
A local NGO operated a free 24-hour hotline for women in crisis,
and other NGOs provided short-term protection and counseling to victims
in 17 crisis centers and shelters throughout the country. Police and
social workers referred victims of domestic violence to NGO-run
shelters, but NGOs complained that local authorities rarely provided
financial assistance for operational costs. Women's rights
organizations continued to insist that the government lacked an active
policy to enforce gender equality and provide protection against
domestic violence. In August the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women criticized Bulgaria for failing to fulfill
its obligations under the international convention by failing to
provide effective protection against domestic violence to a mother and
her two underage children. The committee recommended the government pay
compensation to the woman.
Sexual Harassment.--The law identifies sexual harassment as a
specific form of discrimination punishable as coercion by up to six
years in prison. During the year the CPD received fewer sexual
harassment complaints than in the previous year, less than 1 percent of
all complaints. However, sexual harassment remained an underreported
problem.
Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism existed in some tourist resorts. Media
reports stated some hotels solicited business by advertising code-named
sex services.
Reproductive Rights.--The government generally respected the right
of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children, and to have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women
generally had good access to contraception and skilled attendance
during childbirth, and to prenatal care, including essential obstetric
and postpartum care. Women in poor rural areas had less access to
contraception due to poverty and lack of education; skilled attendance
at childbirth was sometimes less available due to lack of health
insurance.
Discrimination.--The law provides women with the same rights as
men; however, women faced some discrimination in hiring and pay.
According to a report by the European Parliament during the year,
women's salaries were 13.6 percent lower than men's, and they occupied
only 11 percent of business executive positions. Women were also
disproportionally underrepresented in government; only 11.3 percent of
mayors were women. The National Council on Equality between Women and
Men, headed by the minister of labor and social policy under the
Council of Ministers, is responsible for safeguarding the rights of
women. Primarily a consultative body, the council is charged with
promoting cooperation and coordination among NGOs and government
agencies.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Children are immediately registered upon birth in the country.
Education.--Public education is compulsory to the age of 16 and
free through the 12th grade, but authorities did not effectively
enforce attendance requirements.
Approximately 20,000 children drop out of school every year. This
trend affected the ethnic minorities disproportionately: While 55
percent of the Turkish and 46.2 percent of the Romani population
completed primary education, only 24 percent of Turkish and 7.8 percent
of Roma completed secondary education.
Child Abuse.--Violence against children was a problem. According to
the State Agency for Child Protection, 2,155 children were victims of
violence in 2010, of whom 77 percent were victims of violence in the
home. Nationwide one in three children was a victim of physical
violence, and one in eight of sexual violence. Nearly 19 percent of the
cases involved emotional abuse. UNICEF reported that 23 percent of
students between the ages of 10 and 14 were victims of cyber-bullying,
while 13 percent of students admitted to cyber-bullying. According to
the National Statistical Institute, 2,090 children were victims of
serious crimes in 2010, a slight increase from 2,009 juvenile victims
in 2009. Experts commented that the cruelty of the acts had increased,
with the number of killings increasing from seven to 12.
The government funded an NGO-operated 24-hour free hotline for
children to report abuse; during the first nine months of the year, the
hotline received 13,106 verified complaints. Nearly 13 percent of the
calls concerned family problems and violence. These calls prompted
investigations that sometimes resulted in the removal of children from
abusive homes and the prosecution of abusive parents. Hotline
administrators referred 235 reports to child protection authorities for
handling.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 16. Although no
official statistics were available, NGOs reported that child marriage
was common in Romani communities. According to the Romani NGO Amalipe,
20 percent of 16-year-old Roma and 50 percent of 18-year-old Roma were
either married or cohabited, which resulted in school dropouts, early
childbirths, poor parenting, and spreading poverty. The earliest
reported age for cohabitation among the Roma was 12. The legal minimum
age for consensual sex is 14.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penal code provides for two
to eight years' imprisonment and a fine of 5,000-15,000 levs ($3,342-
$10,026) for forcing children into prostitution, as well as three to 10
years' imprisonment and a fine of 10,000-20,000 levs ($6,684-$13,369)
for child sex trafficking. The law prohibits child pornography and
provides for up to six years in prison and a fine of up to 8,000 levs
($5,347).
Institutionalized Children.--As of June the prosecution service
charged four persons with crimes and continued to investigate 238
deaths and other problems involving malnutrition, serious infections,
sexual abuse, physical violence, and injury uncovered during its
September 2010 inspections of specialized institutions for children. As
of July, 5,328 children lived in 127 specialized institutions. In June
a report by the European Roma Rights Center and the BHC stated that
Romani children accounted for 63 percent of all institutionalized
children, while Roma accounted for 10 percent of the total population.
Most children in state institutions were not orphans; courts
institutionalized children when they determined that their families
were unable to provide them adequate care.
During the year the government began a deinstitutionalization
program with the aim of integrating institutionalized children up to
the age of three into the homes of their biological families or foster
families or other family-type settings.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The 2011 census identified only 1,130 Jews in the
country. Local Jewish organizations counted 5,000-7,000. Neo-Nazi
graffiti could be seen in many cities. Defacement of Jewish buildings,
both public and private, occurred in Pleven, Ruse, Shumen, Burgas,
Sofia, Blagoevgrad, and Pazardjik. Internet social networks have become
increasingly popular with anti-Semitic groups, especially after the
Katunitsa events (see the section on National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
below). Jewish organizations remained concerned over the government's
passivity in addressing all hate crimes. Public reaction to this
passivity was muted.
The prosecution service refused to start a case against extreme
right-wing ATAKA party leader Volen Siderov for the reprinting of his
two anti-Semitic books, Boomerang of Evil and Mammon's Power. In
September the Sofia City Court convicted Emil Antonov for spreading
fascism and religious hatred in his book Foundations of National
Socialism and ordered him to pay a 500-lev ($334) fine.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the
provision of other state services; however, the government did not
effectively enforce these provisions in practice. Societal
discrimination against persons with disabilities persisted.
The law requires improved access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, and some new public works projects took this requirement
into account. However, enforcement of this law lagged in existing,
unrenovated buildings. The law promotes the employment of persons with
disabilities; however, enforcement was poor, and 90 percent of persons
with disabilities were unemployed, primarily due to lack of access to
adequate education, lack of skills, and lack of accessible
transportation. For the most part employers did not equip workplaces to
accommodate persons with disabilities.
The constitution provides the right of all citizens to vote, and
the law provides specific provisions to ensure that persons with
disabilities have access to the polls. However, authorities sometimes
did not enforce these provisions.
The country's generally poor infrastructure for disabled people
provided them with inadequate access to education, healthcare, and
social services. Persons with mental and physical disabilities,
including very young children, were often in institutions separated
from the rest of society. The remote locations of most institutions
prevented the hiring of qualified staff and hampered access to timely
medical assistance. Despite some incremental improvements, conditions
in institutions for persons with disabilities remained poor.
The government continued to lack a policy for children with
disabilities, who had inadequate access to education, healthcare, and
social services. NGOs criticized the government for not moving toward
an inclusive, community-oriented model of education, socialization, and
health care for persons with disabilities. Critics maintained the
government continued budgeting funds (more than 242 million levs
[$161.7 million] in 2010) to support organizations and nontransparent
programs for persons with disabilities instead of adopting more cost
effective measures.
The government operated 24 institutions for children and youth with
disabilities. Children with varying types and degrees of disability
were placed in the same institution. As of June there were 820 children
with disabilities in public institutions, compared with 941 in 2010.
According to the National Network for Children, 9,000 children with
disabilities (approximately 54 percent of all such children) were
integrated in the mainstream public schools.
The Interagency Council for Integration of Persons with
Disabilities was responsible for developing the policy supporting
persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy,
through its executive agency for persons with disabilities, was
responsible for protecting the rights of disabled persons and worked
with government-supported national representative organizations to that
end. However, human rights groups remained concerned about the lack of
vision and transparency regarding financial and other support to the
national representative organizations as well as the poor capacity of
the agency to implement any reforms.
In June the government approved a long-term strategy to bring
cohesiveness and to coordinate the various programs which address the
employment of persons with disabilities. The strategy also aimed to
create more job-related opportunities and to improve social
integration.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the 2011 census,
there were 325,345 Roma in the country, i.e., less than 5 percent of
the population. Ethnic Turks numbered 588,318, or less than 9 percent
of the population. Observers asserted that these figures were
inaccurate, because more than 600,000 persons did not answer the census
question about their ethnic origin, and officials did not conduct a
proper count in most Romani communities but rather either made
assumptions or failed to include them altogether.
Societal discrimination and popular prejudice against Roma and
other minority groups remained a problem, and there were incidents of
violence between members of different ethnic groups. On September 19, a
van driven by relatives of alleged Romani crime boss Kiril Rashkov
killed a pedestrian in Katunitsa, a small village in central Bulgaria.
This allegedly intentional act sparked a series of sometimes violent
demonstrations throughout the country which lasted for over a week and
led to the arrest of hundreds of protesters. The protests resulted in
property damage, but the media reported few injuries. On September 24,
a mob of angry local residents, indignant with authorities who for
years had allegedly allowed Rashkov and his family to escape justice,
joined in protest by soccer hooligans, set fire to Rashkov's home.
Police arrested Rashkov on September 28.
Internet fora and social networks helped incite the September
unrest by changing the tenor of the protest to be more generally anti-
Romani and anti-Turkish. While the demonstrations included anti-Romani
and anti-Turkish elements, most protesters voiced dissatisfaction with
an inequitable system of justice. The prosecution service opened 14
cases of xenophobia; one person was convicted for creating a Web site
calling for the extermination of the Roma.
Many Roma continued to live in appalling conditions. According to
NGOs the historical landlessness of Roma was among the main factors for
their poor housing situation. NGOs estimated that 50 to 70 percent of
Romani housing was illegally constructed and were concerned that more
municipalities would initiate legal proceedings to demolish illegally
built houses. In August the municipal government in Petrich demolished
11 shacks following a yearlong discussion in which the national
ombudsman participated. The Sofia municipality initiated an EU-funded
project for the construction of apartment buildings for Roma living in
the city's biggest ghetto. The project envisioned future Romani
inhabitants' participating in the construction in order to inculcate a
sense of ownership. Burgas, Vidin, Devnya, and Dupnitsa also received
funding for similar housing projects.
Workplace discrimination against minorities continued to be a
problem. General public mistrust, coupled with their low level of
education, made locating work more difficult for Roma. According to a
2010 NGO survey, 12.8 percent of the Roma had a permanent job and 13
percent of the Roma had seasonal or occasional occupation.
Romani children often attended de facto segregated schools where
they received inferior education which, in addition to social and
family reasons, was among the main factors for Romani students'
dropping out of school. The government did not have effective programs
for the reintegration of students who dropped out. However, there were
isolated examples of success, such as an Open Society Institute program
funded by the Roma Education Fund, which supported young Roma studying
in medical schools and the National Assembly internship program that
graduated 10 young Romani professionals each year since 2007.
The access of Roma to health services continued to be a problem,
and in some cases there was discrimination. According to a health
survey released in October by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 56
percent of Roma over the age of 15 suffered from hypertension and 47.5
percent of Romani children and 23.9 percent of adults suffered from
diabetes and asthma. Bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, peptic ulcers,
arthritis, rheumatism, prostate, and menopause problems were chronic in
many Romani communities. One successful model in addressing Romani
access to health services was the collaboration between the National
Network of Health Mediators and central and local government. Since its
inception this partnership trained more than 100 health mediators
appointed to full time positions in 55 municipalities to work with
high-risk and vulnerable groups.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but the government
did not effectively enforce this prohibition. While reports of violence
against LGBT persons were rare, societal discrimination, particularly
discrimination in employment, remained a problem. NGOs stated that
individuals were reluctant to seek redress in the courts due to fear of
being openly identified as belonging to the LGBT community.
On July 4, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the
Antidiscrimination Commission's ruling that a Pazardjik city regulation
prohibiting public expression of sexual orientation violated the
country's antidiscrimination laws.
On June 18, the fourth annual gay pride parade took place in
downtown Sofia. In the days before the parade, hate groups used social
networks to call for a large-scale counterdemonstration to occur
earlier on the same day. The police took the threat seriously, but only
a few counterdemonstrators showed up. The parade attracted an estimated
450 participants and went on without incident. However, following the
march, unknown persons attacked five volunteers outside the parade's
secure zone. Three of the volunteers suffered minor injuries.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to the NGO
Hope against AIDS Foundation, HIV/AIDS patients faced discrimination
and inadequate medical care due to doctors' refusing to provide
treatment because of a fear of contracting the disease. Patients
typically did not contest these situations in court because of the
social stigma attached to having HIV/AIDS. Patients reported hiding the
fact that they were HIV-positive in order to receive medical care. The
NGO stated that at least four patients with HIV/AIDS died due to denial
of treatment.
Society stigmatized women who were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted diseases.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide for the right of all workers to form
or join independent trade unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements. The law also provides for the
right to strike; however, key public sector employees (primarily
military and law enforcement personnel) were subject to a blanket
prohibition against striking. These employees were able to take the
government to court as a means of ensuring due process in protecting
their rights. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference.
The law provides a national legal structure for collective
bargaining. When employers and trade unions reach a collective
agreement at the sectoral level, they can jointly request the Minister
of Labor extend it to cover all enterprises in the sector. The law
denies public servants the right to collective bargaining. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination and includes a provision for a six-
month salary payment as compensation for illegal dismissal. Complaints
of discrimination based on union affiliation can be filed with the
Commission for Protection against Discrimination, but there were no
reports of such complaints during the year.
In general the government effectively enforced the laws. However,
union leaders complained that court proceedings for reinstatement of
unfairly dismissed workers often took years to resolve and were not a
strong deterrent of antiunion discrimination.
Workers exercised the right to organize and join unions as well as
the right to strike. In general the government allowed unions to
conduct their activities without interference. However, unions reported
some cases of employers' relocating, firing, and demoting union leaders
and members. Labor unions also alleged that some employers failed to
bargain in good faith or to adhere to agreements. Union leaders stated
that some employers asked new employees to sign declarations that they
would not establish or join unions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. According to the
government's General Labor Inspectorate, the government effectively
enforced those prohibitions. However, there were some reports of
children being forced to work for their families or criminal
organizations. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets the minimum age for employment at 16 and the minimum age for
dangerous work at 18. To employ children under the age of 18, employers
must obtain a work permit from the General Labor Inspectorate of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. Employers can hire children under
the age of 16 with special permits for light work that is not risky or
harmful to the child's development and that does not interfere with the
child's education or training. The General Labor Inspectorate inspected
the working conditions at all companies seeking and holding child work
permits.
Employment of children without a work permit is a criminal offense
and entails a punishment of up to six months in prison. Child labor
laws generally were enforced well in the formal sector, but NGOs
reported that children were exploited in certain industries
(particularly small family-owned shops, textile production,
restaurants, construction businesses, and periodical sales) and by
organized crime (notably for prostitution, pickpocketing, and the
distribution of narcotics). Besides child sex trafficking, the worst
forms of child labor included heavy physical labor and labor on family
tobacco farms, a significant health hazard.
The government continued programs to eliminate the worst forms of
child labor, mounted educational campaigns about their effects, and
intervened to protect, withdraw, rehabilitate, and reintegrate children
engaged in the worst forms of child labor. The General Labor
Inspectorate continued to report a decline in child employment during
the year, which was primarily due to the overall unemployment rise
resulting from the financial crisis. As of October the inspectorate
granted 1,684 requests for employment of children between the ages of
16 and 18 years. The inspectorate granted 60 requests for work permits
for children under the age of 16. In 2010 the inspectorate uncovered
2,786 violations related to child employment, imposed 2,707 sanctions,
and filed 245 administrative proceedings. In addition to failure to
recognize the different provisions for paid leave and working hours
that apply to minors, the violations involved primarily hiring a child
without a work permit, contract, or required medical certificate.
According to the inspectorate, once corrected, employers did not repeat
the violations.
The government continued to report a declining trend in the number
of children detained by police for vagrancy and begging, which as of
October was 246 compared with 397 during the same period in 2010. Many
believed adults exploited these children, who were primarily engaged in
begging, prostitution, or washing car windows. When such children were
apprehended, police generally placed them in protective custody for up
to 24 hours or in crisis centers for longer periods, unless remanded to
protective custody by a prosecutor. Subsequently, authorities sent many
children to state-run institutions.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was
270 levs ($180) per month. The poverty income level as of October,
according to the trade unions, was 198.48 levs ($132.67), up 7.2
percent compared with June 2010. In November the government set the
poverty line at 236 levs ($158).
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours with at least
one 24-hour rest period per week; the law prohibits excessive
compulsory overtime. The law prohibits overtime work for children under
age 18, pregnant women, and women with children up to age six. The law
stipulates that the pay premium for overtime cannot be less than 150
percent during workdays, 175 percent during weekends, and 200 percent
during 12 official holidays. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is
responsible for enforcing both the minimum wage and the standard
workweek. Enforcement was generally effective in the government sector
but weaker in the private sector. During the year the General Labor
Inspectorate found 490 violations of overtime pay rules.
A national labor safety program, with standards established by law,
gives employees the right to healthy and nonhazardous working
conditions. The General Labor Inspectorate is responsible for
monitoring and enforcement. However, with a significant grey market
economy, many informal workers are not covered by legal protections or
government inspections. In September the government expanded the
General Labor Inspectorate, adding 110 new positions in an effort to
reduce extensive grey market employment. There were 423 labor
inspectors. In the first nine months of the year, there were 2,047
work-related accidents compared with 2,233 in the period in 2010.
Conditions in some sectors, particularly construction, mining,
chemicals, and transportation, continued to pose risks for workers. As
of October there were 58 work-related deaths, mainly in the
transportation sector, compared with 60 for the same period in 2010.
__________
CROATIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Croatia is a constitutional parliamentary
democracy. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral parliament
(Sabor). The president serves as head of state and nominates the prime
minister, who leads the government. Domestic and international
observers stated that parliamentary elections held in December were in
accordance with international standards. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
During the year the most important problems in the country were
societal discrimination and some instances of violence directed against
members of ethnic minorities, particularly ethnic Serbs and Roma, which
discouraged the return of displaced persons to their homes, slowed
property restitution, and delayed recovery from the conflict in the
early 1990s. Hostility and violence directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) persons increased during the year. Official
corruption remained a deep-seated problem despite the ongoing
prosecution of a former prime minister and other senior Croatian
officials.
Other important human rights problems included prison conditions,
such as overcrowding, and delays in the judicial system. Property
restitution claims stemming from World War II, the Communist era, and
the wars of 1991-95 remain unresolved. Instances of restrictions on
freedom of association, child abuse, limitations on the right to
strike, restrictions on collective bargaining, and child labor problems
were also reported.
The government took significant steps to prosecute and punish
officials who committed abuses of human rights. It has not, however,
succeeded in establishing a certainty of punishment for abusers, and
lingering ethnic prejudices from the wars of 1991-95 remain.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were no reports of new
politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that the government employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The ombudsman for human
rights regularly visited prisons throughout the country to assess
conditions. According to the ombudsman, the treatment of prisoners was
generally humane. Prisoners had potable water. However, the ombudsman
specifically cited poor ventilation, insufficient outdoor time, lack of
fresh air, and few work opportunities as problems. While prisoners
generally had access to medical care, medical personnel did not staff
all prisons continuously, thereby creating deficiencies in healthcare.
Access to sufficient psychiatric services and specialists was a
problem. The Central Office of the Prison System Department that
monitors prison conditions responded to complaints about prison
conditions from the ombudsman's office, and rectified some problems.
Conditions for women are often better than those of men; women who give
birth in prison can keep their children with them for up to three
years.
The prison system had a capacity of 5,200 to 5,300 persons. There
were an estimated 5,230 inmates in prisons, penitentiaries, and
juvenile detention institutions at the end of 2010, according to the
most recent ombudsman's report. Of the inmate population, 249 were
women and 76 were juveniles. A total of 13 deaths (11 natural deaths
and two suicides) occurred.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observances. Authorities did not permit prisoners
and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
monitoring. Authorities allowed prisoners to request investigation of
credible allegations of inhumane conditions; however, the ombudsman
reported that prison staff verbally harassed some prisoners who
complained.
The ombudsman has no authority over such matters as alternatives to
incarceration for nonviolent offenders or to alleviate overcrowding. He
also cannot address the confinement of juvenile offenders; or improve
pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure that
prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged
offense. The ombudsman can only intervene in relation to prison
conditions. His opinion is not binding.
On May 25, the government opened a new prison in Glina to comply
with a 2009 decree by the Constitutional Court to ease overcrowding in
the penal system within five years. While the facility was designed for
420 prisoners, the ombudsman noted that due to increased incarceration
rates, the new facility would not ease overcrowding in the country's
prisons.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and
the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, in
accordance with their standard modalities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
have primary responsibility for domestic national security. However, in
times of disorder, the prime minister and the president may call upon
the military to provide security. The intelligence service is under the
authority of the prime minister and the president. An independent
oversight board monitors the intelligence service's activity.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the new
law on criminal procedure, which came into force for all types of
prosecutors on September 1, state prosecutors may hold suspects for up
to 48 hours. In all cases an investigative judge must decide within 12
hours whether to extend the detention for further investigation.
Investigative detention generally lasts up to 30 days; however, the law
allows for a six-month pretrial detention. A court may extend that
period to 12 months in certain cases, primarily for war crimes,
corruption, and organized crime, upon the state prosecutor's request.
The courts may release detainees on their own recognizance. Detention
centers allowed visits by family members. The state prosecutors in the
Office for Suppression of Corruption and Organized Crime (USKOK) have
implemented this law since 2009.
The law designates investigative judges as responsible for the
oversight of investigations, detentions, the protection of human rights
issues, and the supervision of relations between prosecutors and
defendants. Investigative judges also rule on appeals to detention
orders and on the use of special investigative techniques such as
surveillance, wiretapping, and raids. The law also provides for a
``supervisor for detention,'' who is responsible for ensuring that the
constitutional rights of detainees are not violated.
Amnesty.--The law permits amnesty except in cases of war crimes. At
the end of 2008, the State Attorney's Office launched an action plan
that, inter alia, provided for the review of all war crimes indictments
or continuing investigations. Since it went into effect in 2009,
prosecutors either downgraded charges from war crimes to armed
rebellion, for which amnesty would apply, or cancelled proceedings for
other reasons, such as insufficient evidence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence. The judiciary continued to suffer from a heavy
backlog of cases. The Ministry of Justice reported that 810,736
unresolved civil and criminal cases remained before the courts as of
September 30.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants enjoy the presumption of innocence. To hear cases,
the legal system uses panels of judges that in some cases include lay
judges, rather than juries. Defendants have the right to counsel, to be
present at trial, to confront or question witnesses against them, and
to present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Defendants have
access to evidence relevant to their cases and have the right to
appeal.
On April 6, the Constitutional Court annulled five articles of the
law on free legal aid due to restrictive and vague provisions that
hindered vulnerable individuals from accessing free legal aid. On July
14, the amended law addressing the Constitutional Court's requirements
took effect. However, a group of 30 NGOs, including the umbrella NGO
Human Rights House, the ombudsman, and legal experts from the Zagreb
Law School, doubted that the new legislation would significantly
improve the referral system or make legal aid more accessible.
On May 6, parliament adopted amendments to the law on the
application of the International Criminal Court Statute that, among
other provisions, assigned exclusive jurisdiction over all new war
crimes cases to four county courts at Osijek, Rijeka, Split, and
Zagreb. Ongoing cases in 15 county courts may continue in those
jurisdictions. The amendments enable national courts to utilize
evidence collected by the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in domestic war crimes trials, superseding a
2010 Supreme Court decision that held that ICTY witness statements
could not serve as an evidentiary basis for convictions.
The law on criminal procedure provides for the re-opening of war
crimes cases tried in absentia upon the presentation of new evidence by
either the defendant or prosecutor, regardless of whether or not the
defendant is present in the country. Since the adoption of the chief
state prosecutor's action plan in 2008, the prosecutor's office has
requested trials be reopened for 94 individual defendants, while an
additional 22 individual defendants have also requested that their own
in absentia convictions be reopened, and two requests came from courts.
The courts of original jurisdiction have granted the requests.
Therefore, of 464 in absentia convictions, the courts have agreed to
reopen cases of a total of 118 defendants.
On June 8, the Zagreb County State Attorney indicted former
interior ministry official Tomislav Mercep on war crimes charges for
allegedly ordering his subordinates to kill, detain, and inhumanly
treat more than 50 civilians and failing to prevent these actions
during the 1991-95 war.
On June 20, police arrested Djuro Brodarac, the wartime chief of
the Sisak police; his deputy Vlado Milankovic; and reserve police
officer Drago Bosnjak in connection with war crimes committed in Sisak
against ethnic Serbs in 1991 and 1992. Both Brodarac and Milankovic
were investigated for their command responsibility while Bosnjak is
alleged to have had a direct role in war crimes. Brodarac died on July
13. The Osijek county prosecutor issued an indictment against
Milankovic and Bosnjak on December 16.
In January, the government opened three witness and victim support
units in the County Courts of Rijeka, Sisak, and Split, with support
from the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) following a pilot program in
the county courts in Osijek, Vukovar, Zadar, and Zagreb. The government
also created a seven-office nationwide network and a national committee
to coordinate the expansion of witness and victim support; it also
installed video-link equipment to conduct distance hearings.
Nevertheless, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) reported that judges were slow to take up the use of this new
technology.
The director of the Dalmatian Committee of Human Rights, Tonci
Majic, was ordered by the Zagreb County Court to be taken by police on
December 12 for a psychiatric evaluation due to the fact that he tore
up several Croatian flags and sent them to the offices of President
Josipovic and chief state prosecutor Mladen Bajic. Majic admitted to
the act but was not charged with any crime. Majic is known for
advocating for ethnic Serbs who were victims of torture at the Lora
prison camp in Split. Media reported that Majic sent torn flags to
these top officials in protest over what Majic perceives as inaction on
the part of the state prosecutor's office in war crimes cases. Some
human rights activists, such as Vesna Terselic, director of Dokumenta,
an NGO that encourages reconciliation through dealing with the past,
opposed legal action against Majic. Terselic said the ripped flag ``was
a symbol of civil protest against an inefficient judiciary and as such
cannot be treated as a criminal act.'' A court official stated that
Majic was ``ordered to be brought for a psychiatric evaluation due to
suspicions about his mental accountability.'' Majic refused to comply
with this evaluation request and was immediately released. Destruction
of the Croatian flag is punishable by up to three years in prison.
The government took additional steps to prevent witness
intimidation in war crimes cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--From January to December,
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found the government in
violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in 29 cases. In
the case of Jularic v. Croatia, the ECHR directed the government to pay
the applicant 30,000 euros ($38,845) for failing to investigate
properly the death of her husband at the hands of paramilitaries in
1991. By the end of the year there were 126 ECHR judgments against the
government, the implementation of which was being monitored by the
Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. During the year
Croatia complied with a 2010 ECHR ruling to compensate the families of
15 Romani children who were segregated in school and undertook measures
to prevent similar violations from occurring again. (See section 5,
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights.) During the year
Croatia also compensated three Christian communities that the ECHR
ruled in 2010 were entitled to government support.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals may seek
damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation, and they could
appeal decisions to the ECHR. However, continuing case backlogs raised
concerns about judicial effectiveness and efficiency. Administrative
remedies are available as well for alleged wrongs.
Property Restitution.--During the year the government endeavored to
return private properties to their rightful owners. However, the law
permitting the donation of state-owned housing to refugees gives
precedence to the rights of temporary occupants, primarily ethnic
Croats who were displaced or became refugees during the wars of the
1990s, over those of the original owners, who were predominantly ethnic
Serbs that fled their homes. The law provides for replacement property
compensation, through administrative procedures for owners who cannot
recover their former property. During the year the government resolved
nine property restitution cases. In five cases, owners could not
repossess their homes and were waiting for completion of administrative
procedures.
Repossession by ethnic Serbs of housing that once belonged to them
continued. On May 13, parliament adopted changes to the act on areas of
special state concern (war-affected areas), under which the government
would assume the punitive mandate of the owner to pay illegal
occupants-- predominantly ethnic Croats -- who seek to recover their
so-called ``unsolicited'' investment (e.g. property improvements made
by the occupants). The measure aimed to speed up resolution of these
cases and thus to avoid the auction and sale of these properties to
compensate the illegal occupants. Auctions were frequent in the past
because many owners were unable to pay for the ``unsolicited''
investment. The law also allows for state-owned properties to be
donated to these illegal occupants of privately owned property.
Recipients of these donations have largely been Croat settlers from
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. According to UNHCR, thus far no
property has ever been donated to an ethnic Serb. Of the 19,280 private
properties registered as occupied, 19,267 have been repossessed by
their lawful owners. Private property has not been returned in 13
``unsolicited investment cases'' still pending before the courts.
In September the government for the first time acted under the new
law when it decided to assume the owner's role in the case of an ethnic
Serb property owner, Milica Miladinovic. However, this owner rejected
the settlement, finding it unfair. In this case, which has been in the
public eye for years, the municipal court in Zlatar ordered an auction
to be held in August. However, in September the government requested
that the court become a party in the procedure and assume the
obligation to repay the temporary occupant. The court's decision was
still pending at the end of the year.
Cases involving the restitution of property seized during World War
II and the Communist era also remained a problem. The law on
restitution of and compensation for property taken during the Communist
era permits the restitution of property only to individuals who were
citizens in 1996 when parliament passed the law. As a result, the law
does not apply to persons whose property was expropriated, but who left
the country and became citizens of other countries.
Restitution of communal property remained a problem for the Serbian
Orthodox Church and the Coordination of Jewish Communities in Croatia,
the umbrella organization representing the Jewish Community of Zagreb
and smaller communities throughout the country. In August the Ministry
of Justice transferred title of a property in the town of Pirovac to
the Jewish Community of Zagreb. A number of Jewish communal claims,
including the much-publicized ``Amruseva 8'' in Zagreb, remain
unresolved. Yugoslav authorities nationalized the building after World
War II and it is still registered to an agricultural organization. In
2004 the then minister of justice pledged to return this property.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law generally provide for freedom of
speech and the press; however, growing economic pressures led
journalists to practice self-censorship. Specifically, a number of
journalists reported that publishers and media owners feared they would
lose advertisers if they published negative reports about them.
Journalists frequently practiced self-censorship in reporting on
advertisers or those linked politically to them. Direct government
efforts to influence the media were occasionally reported at the local
level.
Freedom of Speech.--The law provides for no less than six months'
and no more than five years' imprisonment for hate speech. Hate speech
committed over the Internet is punishable by six months' to three
years' imprisonment. While freedom of speech is guaranteed by the
constitution, the criminal code sanctions individuals who act ``with
the goal of spreading racial, religious, sex, national, ethnic hatred
or hatred based on the color of skin or sexual orientation or other
characteristics.''
Freedom of Press.--Many private newspapers and magazines were
published without government interference. However, as media ownership
was not fully transparent, some business and political interests
concealed their influence on media outlets. There were reports that
advertisers sought to prevent the publication of negative articles.
These reports also noted that some media threatened to publish negative
stories to extort money from the private sector.
The South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), an affiliate of
the International Press Institute (IPI), visited the country in January
with IPI as part of a press freedom mission. The delegation noted
several areas of concern including pressure from political and business
groups, a lack of transparent media ownership, and threats and attacks
against journalists covering organized crime and corruption.
The law regulates the national television and radio networks
separately from other electronic media. Independent television and
radio stations operated in the country, and two of the four national
television channels were private and independent. There were no reports
of the government influencing these outlets via advertising revenue.
Local governments partly or fully owned approximately 70 percent of
the local broadcast media, making them particularly vulnerable to
political pressure. Approximately 46 percent of local radio stations
depended on local authorities for financial support.
One of the country's best-known journalists, Zoran Sprajc, was
suspended on December 20 from hosting and editing state-owned Croatian
Television's (HTV) primetime broadcast for speaking out against alleged
censorship by the national broadcast programming council. The row was
spurred by reporting that HTV aired around the 20th anniversary of the
fall of Vukovar that intimated Vukovar may have been sacrificed
militarily by the newly independent government in Zagreb. The Croatian
Journalists Association condemned the ``unlawful and non-transparent''
suspension of Sprajc and another editor, Stipe Alfier.
On December 11, the Croatian Journalists Association (CJA)
expressed grave concern over a ``media persecution campaign'' conducted
by Osijek-based local media against Jutarnji list journalist Drago
Hedl. Hedl was decorated by President Ivo Josipovic on December 7 on
the occasion of International Human Rights Day. The following day, the
Croatian Bishops Conference Justitia et Pax Commission expressed
``dissatisfaction and deep dismay'' and requested Josipovic withdraw
the decoration due to Hedl's alleged anti-clerical reporting 30 years
ago. These CJA concerns were prompted by the numerous death threats
Hedl received over several years from reporting on war crimes. Hedl was
the first reporter to bring to light evidence of war crimes committed
by Branimir Glavas, the honorary president of the Croatian Democratic
Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja party, who is currently in prison in
Bosnia and Herzegovina for war crimes. On July 19, the CJA, IPI, and
SEEMO demanded that police and state prosecutors investigate death
threats allegedly made by top military officials against Hedl.
On September 11, Vecernji list carried a story on ``illegal
financing'' of electoral campaigns by the Croatian Democratic Union
(HDZ). On September 15, USKOK summoned Josip Bohutinski, one of the
authors of the article, to testify. The police requested the journalist
reveal his sources, but he apparently was not pressured to do so.
Citing the freedom of the press law, Bohutinski did not cooperate.
Croatia's former prime minister Jadranka Kosor, head of the then
governing HDZ party, announced that whistleblowers in this case had to
be questioned and that a thorough investigation would be carried out.
On September 16, Oliver Vujovic, SEEMO's Secretary General ``strongly
condemn[ed] this political and police pressure on journalists [who
revealed alleged illegal party financing]'' and proclaimed that
``journalists do not have to reveal their sources and such campaigns
are designed to spread fear.'' The HDZ party was indicted for alleged
illegal party financing on December 9.
The media reported on November 8 that Nova TV journalist Danka
Derifaj received death threats from the Gravel Association (Udruga
sljuncara) on Facebook due to her reporting on the gravel industry.
Derifaj informed the police about the threats. The same group
previously brought a libel lawsuit against Derifaj for reporting on
this issue.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Libel is a criminal offense. The
ruling HDZ party claimed that certain media reports alleging wide-scale
corruption were libelous; however, during the year there were no
reports of politically motivated libel cases being filed. A large
number of libel cases from previous years remained unresolved due to
judicial backlogs. Courts may fine, but not imprison, persons convicted
of slander and libel.
Nongovernmental Impact.--On June 11, Split police announced that
following disturbances during the Split Gay Pride parade, a cameraman
from the independent network RTL suffered a concussion when he was hit
with a brick and that journalists from independent media RTL and HINA
were also injured. The CJA expressed shock at the violence, blamed the
``unprepared'' police, and requested that police and investigative
bodies punish the perpetrators. The police arrested 100 perpetrators;
so far, one perpetrator received a one year suspended sentence on
November 30 for violent behavior and hate speech. Charges have been
filed against 14 others for similar criminal acts, and 25 adults and
four minors are still under investigation. (see section 6, Societal
Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity).
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice; however, the law gives the Ministry of Justice
authority over the establishment and internal governance of NGOs. While
authorities applied the law equally to all organizations, some
observers saw the law as restrictive and controlling. For example, the
law provides that organizations may not register if their statutory
goals are deemed trivial or if their property is not deemed sufficient
to carry out their statutory activities. The law also permits the
government to influence the appointment of an organization's management
body.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Emigration and Repatriation.--The Croatian foreign minister signed
a joint declaration on November 7 in Belgrade along with the foreign
ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia to end
displacement and ensure durable solutions for vulnerable refugees and
internally displaced persons. The government agreed to participate in a
joint regional multi-year project to be presented at a donor's
conference in April 2012.
Refugees returning to the country as citizens of other former
Yugoslav republics, rather than as Croatian citizens, encountered
obstacles in obtaining permanent residency status. The law permits
these former habitual residents to apply immediately for temporary
residence without meeting the requirements that apply to other
foreigners. However, the government did not consistently apply this
provision, resulting in uncertainty and delay in the integration of
returnees. Permanent residency eases the resolution of other status
issues including applying for the purchase of flats, thus promoting
sustainable return of refugees. A new law on foreigners passed in
October eased this adjustment of status process.
In September the UNHCR criticized the government for charging
former habitual residents 400 kunas ($68) to extend their monthly
health insurance benefits, a precondition to extending their residency
permits. The UNHCR asserted that this condition was legally baseless
and that the fees were prohibitively expensive for many refugees.
During the year the UNHCR also noted that in 62 cases minority
returnees - former habitual residents of Croatia (non-Croatian citizens
who held pre-war domicile in Croatia) who returned post-war to Croatia
several years ago - were listed as being a threat to national security
by the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA). This status made it
impossible to naturalize and they faced expulsion. SOA acknowledged
this problem and adjusted their system to exclude only known
collaborators of terrorist organizations or groups that have worked
against the interest of Croatia (such as direct counter intelligence
against Croatia).
The UNHCR noted that many of these cases were resolved following
the intervention of the SNV.
The government took steps to recognize legal and administrative
documents issued by entities not under the country's control during the
1991-95 war. In July the government reported it received an estimated
24,330 applications for recognition and issued decisions in
approximately 95 percent of the cases. During the year the government
approved documents in approximately 55 percent of the cases it decided.
International observers noted wide discrepancies between regional
offices with average approval rates varying by as much as 50 percent;
the variances brought into question the equity of the approval system.
The government responded that the discrepancy was due to the lack of
documentation available in some regions and took steps during the year
to help claimants obtain this documentation, with limited success.
During the year Croatia and Serbia met several times within a working
group tasked to find adequate legal solutions for problems related to
recognition of documents and pension issues. The countries agreed to
accept an EU funded expert to help resolve this matter.
As of December, the Croatian government registered the return of
398,427 refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) since 1995,
132,921 of whom were minority Serbs. The UNHCR reported that 54 percent
of these returns were permanent, while the remainder were either one-
time or ``commuter'' returns. International organizations cited the
poor state of the regional economy, including the lack of employment,
and delays in receiving permanent housing for the former tenants of
socially owned apartments (a dwelling where an individual had the right
to reside but did not own) as the main obstacles to return.
The international community, including the UNHCR, expressed concern
that changes to the law permitting the donation of state-owned housing
to refugees had been implemented in a discriminatory manner, with the
vast majority of beneficiaries being either Bosnian-Croats or local
Croats with few, if any, ethnic Serbs or other minorities. At year's
end the government had not addressed this concern.
During the year the government's program to resolve the claims of
persons, mainly ethnic Serbs, who held tenancy rights in socially owned
apartments prior to the war, but who lost these rights during or just
after the war, continued slowly. According to the UNHCR, from 1995
through the end of November, the total number of requests for housing
care stood at 14,688. Of the 8,715 approved requests, housing units
have been allocated in 7,979 cases with allocation pending in the
remaining 736 cases. Of the total number of requests, 4,804 were made
for return to urban areas, among which 1,602 were approved. During the
year the Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry, and Water
Management completed its 2009 target of 2,070 housing units. The
government added an additional 169 cases to this benchmark during the
year, as certified by the UNHCR. In September Serb NGOs complained that
the government lagged behind in setting any benchmarks during the years
of 2010 and 2011, which the NGOs interpreted as a lack of commitment;
however, the government portrayed its efforts as significant,
particularly during dire financial times. The government projects its
housing care benchmark for 2012 to 2014 will include the allocation of
2,150 additional housing units.
On March 3, the government adopted a decision on housing care for
returnees who are former tenancy rights holders in urban areas (i.e.,
outside of war-affected areas). The government in November extended the
deadline for applications for housing care in urban areas to April 30,
2012 as the number of applicants was lower than anticipated (i.e.,
approximately 500 families encompassing 1,500 individuals). The
government conducted an information campaign that consisted of
television broadcasts in Serbia and the distribution of 8,000 leaflets
through NGO networks in the region. Serb NGOs, including the SNV,
complained that these campaigns were insufficient and partly
responsible for the relatively small number of applications. The
government responded by making presentations, along with the UNHCR, to
ethnic Serb refugee organizations in Banja Luka, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and Belgrade, Serbia.
To promote further the return of refugees, and to assist refugees
who have already returned, at the end of 2010 the government initiated
a program to permit returnees to urban areas to purchase state-owned
flats below their market value. This same right was already provided to
refugees who returned to less-developed, war-affected areas. However,
no transactions were finalized as of December. The SNV welcomed this
measure but was unsatisfied that by December clear criteria to measure
the years spent as a refugee, which determines purchase price, were
still not implemented and that costs were prohibitively high. The
Ministry of Regional Development, Forestry, and Water Management in
September forwarded to its 10 regional offices instructions on how to
calculate these years. The government accepted an obligation to
recognize refugee years beginning from the date refugees fled their
apartments, signaling a willingness to accept indirect evidence of
flight.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As of September 2, there were
2,084 IDPs registered with the government; of these, 1,636 were ethnic
Serbs. Since this number has not changed since 2008, the UNHCR
questioned the accuracy of government figures. These ethnic Serbs were
either awaiting recognition as being integrated into their current
place of displacement or were waiting for reconstruction assistance
from the state. The UNHCR reported in December that there were
approximately 1,700 outstanding approved reconstruction assistance
requests, most of which were filed by minority Serbs. The UNHCR expects
this assistance will begin when the next regularly scheduled cycle of
construction commences in 2012. There are 20 ongoing appeals for this
assistance.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum and refugee status, and the
government has a system to provide protection for refugees. The
government reported 579 persons applied for asylum through September of
the year; of these, seven persons were granted refugee status, and five
received subsidiary protection (protection granted to an applicant
whose situation is not covered by the 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees).
Croatia has a well developed asylum system and refugee status
determination is conducted for all applicants. Croatia is still
perceived as a transit country; with the majority of asylum seekers
continuing their journey onward to the EU.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The country did not reject asylum
applications on the basis of the safe country of origin as the
government has not developed a list of safe countries and continues to
examine all applications on a case by case basis. According to the
UNHCR office in Croatia, a number of third country nationals attempted
to enter Croatia illegally, many former asylum seekers in Serbia.
Unless these illegal migrants expressly request asylum in Croatia,
Croatia returns the majority to Serbia on the basis of a bilateral re-
admission agreement. According to the UNHCR, Serbia's asylum system
functions poorly as it struggles to accommodate large numbers of
applicants and continues to be the nexus for mixed migration flows from
Greece and Turkey.
Nonrefoulement.--Instances of refoulement were not recorded in
2011. In law and practice the country usually provided effective
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived by birth in the
country's territory or via one parent. The stateless population cannot
be precisely assessed due to lack of comprehensive mechanisms for
identifying statelessness. According to the UNHCR and Romani NGO
estimates, there were 500 stateless Roma in the country and an
additional 1,000 at risk of statelessness. Most stateless Roma were
from other republics of the former Yugoslavia and had difficulty
providing documents needed to register as Croatian citizens. Stateless
Roma had problems accessing state services. The UNHCR estimated in
September that there were 172 other persons at risk of statelessness in
the country, mostly as a result of displacement during the wars in the
region following the break-up of Yugoslavia.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliamentary elections held on December 4 took place in a pluralistic
environment and were administered in a professional and transparent
manner, according to the limited election observation mission of the
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The group
noted, however, that further steps should be taken to improve the legal
framework, particularly in reference to the voter list and relative
constituency size.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 33 women in the
151-seat parliament and four women in the 22-seat cabinet, including a
deputy prime minister and the foreign minister. There were five women
among the 13 Constitutional Court justices, including the president of
the court and 20 women among the 40 Supreme Court justices, including
the vice president.
The law governing gender equality requires that political parties
balance the representation of genders on their candidate lists for
local and national elections as well as in elections for seats in the
European Parliament. By the next round of local elections due in May
2013, the share of either gender on candidate lists should be no lower
than 40 percent. The law stipulates fines for the violation of this
provision. Local NGOs criticized the law on the grounds that the fines
were too small to be a deterrent and that the government rarely
enforced previous laws for quotas. Female candidates made up 30 percent
of the ``Kukuriku'' coalition candidate list that won parliamentary
elections in December, while female candidates made up 22 percent of
the HDZ list.
The law reserves three parliamentary seats for ethnic Serb
representatives; five additional seats are set aside for the 21 other
recognized national minority groups. All national minority voters may
choose between voting in the general parliamentary elections and voting
for candidates on their declared national minority list. Ethnic Serbs
and other ethnic minorities in principle can win additional seats under
this system if candidates of their minority group obtain sufficient
votes in one or more of the regular voting districts. Mainstream,
nonethnically-based political parties placed ethnic Serbs in some
leading positions on their candidate lists. As a result, the new
government has a number of ethnic Serb ministers including deputy prime
ministers. According to records published by political parties at
year's end, the parties remained within campaign spending limits; i.e.
15 million kunas ($2.6 million) total per party or coalition across
Croatia's 10 districts.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the prosecutors and police generally implemented these laws
effectively. World Bank governance indices indicate that corruption was
a problem in the country.
Prosecutors from USKOK and the police Offices for Suppression of
Corruption and Organized Crime were the country's main bodies
responsible for fighting corruption. Specialized departments at the
four largest county courts in the country heard organized crime and
corruption cases. The Ministry of Justice's anticorruption sector
continued to monitor the implementation of anticorruption measures
throughout the government.
On July 18, former prime minister Ivo Sanader was extradited from
Austria based on an investigative warrant against him. Sanader is
accused of abuse of office and war profiteering when he served as
deputy foreign minister in 1994 and 1995. Specifically, the state
prosecutor has charged Sanader for accepting 7 million Austrian
schillings in kickbacks ($658,000 at today's exchange rate) in exchange
for facilitating a loan by Austria's Hypo Bank to Croatia for 140
million schillings ($13 million). Sanader's Hypo Bank trial opened on
November 3. In a separate case, the prosecutor also charged Sanader
with receiving 10 million euro ($13 million) in kickbacks from the
Hungarian oil company MOL chairman in return for management rights over
the Croatian oil company Industria Nafte (INA). The Zagreb County Court
approved the INA-MOL indictment on November 7. On November 8, the court
merged these indictments (Hypo Bank and INA-MOL), based on a
prosecution request. The combined trial started on November 10.
While pursuing corruption allegations against Sanader in another
investigation called the ``Fimi Media'' case, prosecutors uncovered
evidence that the HDZ party allegedly used ``illegally obtained funds''
to finance party activities. The prosecutor's office initiated a
criminal investigation against the HDZ party and brought an indictment
on December 9 against the party as well as Sanader, former government
spokesperson Ratko Macek, former HDZ chief accountant Branka Pavosevic,
former HDZ treasurer Mladen Barisic, and several other defendants.
Prosecutors alleged the group conspired to secure at least 31.6 million
kunas ($5.4 million) in illegal funding for the HDZ and that Sanader
received at least an additional 15 million kunas ($2.5 million).
In 2010, the last year in which figures were available, 1,101
individuals were reported to USKOK, and of the 1,101 reports, 925 were
for corruption. Investigations against 249 of these individuals were
initiated, 126 for corruption. A total of 302 individuals were indicted
in 2010, 195 for corruption (this figure includes individuals whose
investigations were opened in earlier years and 2010). In 2010 the
courts pronounced verdicts for 514 individuals; 478 were convicted, or
approximately 93 percent. In 2010, of 155 individuals tried for
corruption, 140 (more than 90 percent) were convicted.
The law requires public officials to declare their assets. Most
government officials complied, although there were questions as to the
thoroughness and effectiveness of the system as well as imprecision in
the types of assets covered.
The law provides the right of public access to government
information; however, NGOs complained that the government did not
implement the law efficiently or effectively.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were often cooperative and responsive to their views.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--On June 6, Prosecutor Serge
Brammertz, from the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) for the ICTY
reported before the U.N. Security Council that, in general, timely and
adequate responses were received from the government in ICTY's requests
for witnesses and evidence. Brammertz noted, however, that ``limited
progress was made in locating missing military documents from Operation
Storm,'' a large-scale military operation by the armed forces in 1995
against occupying ethnic Serb forces. Brammertz noted that, missing
documents notwithstanding, the ICTY was on April 15 able to convict
retired Croatian generals Gotovina and Markac of war crimes, including
involvement in a ``joint criminal enterprise'' to expel ethnic Serbs,
based on evidence submitted at trial. On December 7, Brammertz stated
that ``with no ongoing trials involving accused persons my office is
making far fewer requests for assistance to the Croatian authorities.''
He noted that ``the limited requests we have made were adequately dealt
with by the department for cooperation with international courts.'' The
OTP did express concern over statements from high-level Croatian
authorities that ``continue to glorify illegal wartime conduct and
question the impartiality of ICTY judgments.''
Government Human Rights Bodies.--In his annual report for 2010,
issued in April, the ombudsman for human rights noted that there were
1,823 complaints, 168 more than in 2009. Most of the complaints
concerned the length of court proceedings. The ombudsman also noted
that administrative bodies, including state ministries, often stymied
his work by failing to respond to his letters concerning citizen
complaints. During 2010, in 275 unique cases, the ombudsman received an
answer only after several months and repeated letters, while in another
62 cases he received no answer at all.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, race,
disability, language, or social status; and the government generally
enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a crime punishable by one to 10 years' imprisonment. In cases of
rape under aggravated circumstances resulting in death or pregnancy, or
if the victim is a minor, sentences may be between three and 15 years.
By December total of 52 rape cases were registered by the police,
of which about 96 percent were resolved. There were 14 attempted rape
cases, of which about 85 percent were resolved. NGO officials estimated
that for every reported rape, there were 15 unreported cases. On
average, 100 to 140 cases of sexual violence and rape were reported
annually. The NGO Women's Room stated that women frequently did not
report rape, particularly spousal rape, because they lacked information
about available legal protections, felt ashamed, wished to avoid social
pressure and stigmatization, feared reprisal, or, in cases of spousal
rape, were concerned about economic consequences. Victims also were
reluctant to report rape, particularly spousal rape, because it was
difficult to prove in court and because medical staff, police, and
judicial officials were not trained to treat victims. Women's NGOs
asserted that sentences for spousal rape tended to be lenient.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
problem. In 2010, 16 women and two minor girls were killed as a result
of domestic violence. The killings received widespread media attention
and immediate calls for government action.
The law provides that persons other than the victim, including
police, may initiate a complaint of domestic violence, which is treated
as a misdemeanor, but could be deemed a felony depending on the
severity of the act. Penalties range from fines of 1,000 to 50,000
kunas ($170 to $8,565) or up to 90 days in prison for misdemeanor
offenses. Under the law perpetrators may face up to five years in
prison for the same act if convicted of a felony. The new law on
criminal procedure, which came in to full effect on September 1,
improved the protection of rape victims. For example, the accused
perpetrator's defense counsel is not allowed to question victims about
their sexual past, and a prior relationship with the alleged
perpetrator can no longer be considered. In addition, victims may
choose to be interrogated by a woman or a man and may testify via
video-link to avoid meeting the perpetrator. Police tended to classify
domestic violence against women as misdemeanors, resulting in minimal
sentences, particularly in cases of spousal rape. Police officers in
most urban areas were trained to handle family violence and provide
quick intervention, secure victims' safety, and remove alleged
perpetrators from families. In rural areas police officers were
generally less well trained to handle such cases.
According to a survey published in 2010 by Women's Room and the
Office for Gender Equality, the majority of female victims of domestic
violence criticized police, courts, and centers for social care as
insufficiently helpful. These groups cited a heavy workload as well as
a lack of training and space as the main obstacles to assisting
victims.
Support for victims of domestic violence was limited. In general
private donations financed most services. NGOs and local governments
operated 17 shelters. In March seven NGOs led by the Autonomous Women's
House running shelters for female victims of domestic violence launched
an informal initiative to introduce a law that would secure consistent
and permanent financing of these shelters. The government in
conjunction with county, city, and civic organizations financed
shelters and counseling centers for victims of domestic violence. The
ombudsman for human rights reported that just over 2 million kunas
($343,000) was paid during the year to NGOs running shelters for
victims of domestic violence. Hotlines, counseling, and legal
assistance were available to domestic violence victims.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in the
workplace; however, it remained a problem. According to trade unions,
the problem was most pronounced in the textile, leather, trade, and
catering industries. The ombudsman for gender equality and unions
reported that her office worked on many sexual harassment cases,
although many women were reluctant to take action due to fear of
reprisal. In 2010 a court handed down the country's first conviction
for sexual harassment in the workplace, sentencing one defendant to six
months in prison for making repeated sexually harassing comments over a
three-year period. A second defendant was given a four-month suspended
sentence for harassing a female employee. Local union representatives
believed the verdicts would set an important precedent.
Reproductive Rights.--The government generally respected the right
of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly on the
number, spacing, and timing of their children. Citizens generally had
the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion,
or violence.
According to the UNDP, the number of women reported to have HIV
infections was significantly lower than that of men, but women and men
were diagnosed and treated equally. However, women living in rural
areas and working from home were believed to be less aware of the need
for and location of testing than their male counterparts. Men and women
were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women generally held lower paying positions in the
work force. In April the Croatian Statistics Bureau's annual report
Women and Men in Croatia noted that women earned on average 12 percent
less than men in most sectors, both private and public. Women were also
more likely to be unemployed. Between October and December of 2010, the
ombudsman for gender equality conducted a survey of three large
Croatian companies which found a lack of women in upper management
positions, even though women generally achieved a higher level of
education than men.
The Office for Gender Equality was responsible for implementing the
law on gender equality and formulating the government's gender policy;
the ombudsman for gender equality monitored implementation of the law,
including the submission of mandatory action plans for state
institutions and public companies. In her annual report issued in
April, the ombudsman noted that most individual discrimination
complaints were related to labor and social rights, while complaints
were primarily directed against state institutions and other legal
persons rather than individuals.
On July 15, parliament adopted the National Policy for Gender
Equality for 2011-2015. The policy introduced several new features,
including a chapter on women in sports that requires equal
representation in management structures and better protection against
violence in sports.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth in
the country's territory or from one of the parents. Authorities
register all births at the time of birth within the country or upon
registration for births abroad. There were few reports that failure to
register births resulted in denial of public services, including
education and health care for children.
Romani children who are not Croatian citizens encountered
difficulties in accessing rights derived from citizenship. Many Romani
parents, particularly in settlements close to the borders with Serbia
and with Bosnia and Herzegovina, including in Beli Manastir and
Slavonski Brod, were citizens of another former Yugoslav republic and
were often only able to acquire Croatian citizenship following a
laborious, multi-year process. These parents, and their foreign-born
children, had no rights to free health care or social assistance,
although they generally did not face problems in enrolling in schools.
While statistics were unavailable, the problem was believed to be
widespread.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse, including sexual abuse, was a problem.
In the first nine months of the year, the ombudsman for children
reported 1,043 new complaints of individual violations of children's
rights. In December 2010 the country joined the Council of Europe's 18-
month campaign to curb the sexual abuse of children. The campaign used
billboards, leaflets, and media to raise awareness, and included
capacity building for police officers, teachers, medical, and social
welfare workers to assist victims. The government continued its
campaign launched in 2008 in cooperation with the Council of Europe to
prevent corporal punishment.
Child Marriage.--While statistics were unavailable, child marriage
was believed to be a problem in the Romani community. Common law
marriages between persons 16 years of age and older were customary,
often prompted by pregnancies. In some cases these marriages were made
official when partners reached adulthood.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Statutory rape is included in the
penal code, with the minimum age for consensual sex set at 14 years.
Penalties for statutory rape range between one and eight years, but in
aggravated circumstances, such as rape resulting in pregnancy or
repeated sexual acts, the penalties range from five to 40 years.
Filming or photographing children for pornographic material can be
punished by a sentence of one to five years in prison, while exposing
children to pornography may result in fines or a sentence of up to one
year in prison.
In 2010, the last year for which data was available, the Office of
Chief State Prosecutor received 27 reports of sexual intercourse with
minors and children and convicted 19 persons for the crime. Prosecutors
also had 86 reports and 79 convictions for lewd behavior involving a
child or a minor, six reports and six convictions of abusing children
for pornography, and 21 reported cases of child pornography on the
Internet.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish community numbered
approximately 2,300. Anti-Semitic vandalism and acts with anti-Semitic
overtones were reported during the year.
On December 28, there were memorial masses in Zagreb and Split that
many believe honored Ante Pavelic, the fascist head of the so-called
``Independent State of Croatia,'' a quisling, fascist regime set-up by
Nazi and Italian fascist occupiers during World War II. According to
the United States Holocaust and Memorial Museum, Pavelic's Ustasha
regime and Nazi occupiers were responsible for the deaths of between
330,000 to 390,000 Serbs, 32,000 Jews, and 26,000 Roma, as well as
thousands of other civilians. An official with the Croatian Bishop's
Conference stated that the masses were ``privately organized.'' In
response to the masses President Josipovic said, ``we are aware of all
crimes committed in the name of Ustasha ideology and have always
condemned such phenomena. The entire state leadership, regardless of
party affiliation, pays honor to the victims of Pavelic's ideology.''
Simon Wiesenthal Center Director Efraim Zuroff in Jerusalem condemned
the ceremonies, and described them as ``a shame for Croatia and the
European Union.''
On May 29, unknown persons sprayed anti-Semitic graffiti on the
door, walls, and display window of the Jewish Community Center in
Split. The graffiti also included the fascist slogan ``Juden raus''
(``Jews out'' in German) and offensive references to current and former
Croatian presidents Josipovic and Stjepan Mesic, both vocal opponents
of fascism. The graffiti were signed with the name of the Split soccer
team fan club Torcida and the ultra rightist Croatian Pure Party of
Rights. Police investigated but reported no results by the end of the
year.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and in
the provision of other state services; however, discrimination
occurred. The law provides for grants of 2,200 kunas ($377) in monthly
compensation to the unemployed parents of children with disabilities.
The law also provides compensation to foster care families.
During the year 862 persons with disabilities found employment,
while 5,903 remained unemployed. Almost 68 percent of unemployed
persons with disabilities were unemployed for more than a year.
The ombudsman for persons with disabilities reported the majority
of complaints received by her office in 2010 involved welfare and
pension payments (22 percent), accessibility (12 percent), followed by
work and unemployment, legal matters, and health care (9 percent each).
The ombudsman viewed the lack of community-based services and
underdeveloped disability compensation as the main obstacles to
implementing the National Plan for Deinstitutionalization and
Transformation of Social Welfare Homes adopted in March. The office
actively cooperated with NGOs dealing with persons with disabilities.
In a letter to former prime minister Kosor on January 20, Human
Rights Watch and the Mental Disability Advocacy Center criticized the
government for doing little to deinstitutionalize persons with
intellectual or mental disabilities. According to the letter, 9,000
persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities remained
institutionalized; this number is expected to increase.
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities;
however, the government did not always enforce this provision, and the
law did not mandate that existing facilities be retrofitted. While
there were improvements in larger cities, access to public facilities
for persons with disabilities remained limited.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--While constitutional
protections against discrimination applied to all minorities, open
discrimination and harassment continued against ethnic Serbs and Roma,
particularly in the area of employment.
Ethnic Serbs are the largest minority ethnic group in the country,
accounting for approximately 4.5 percent of the population according to
the latest disaggregated census figures available from 2001. During the
year ethnic Serb organizations received only isolated reports of
physical assaults and vandalism directed against Serbs. Discrimination
continued against ethnic Serbs in several areas, including the
administration of justice, employment, and housing.
Ethnic Serbs in war-affected regions were particularly subject to
societal harassment and discrimination. In July police pressed criminal
charges against six ethnic Serbs in the village of Podgorje in the
Gvozd municipality near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina for
violent behavior and threats to an ethnic Croat family. The alleged
incident occurred during a birthday party at the local community center
attended by Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks. A Bosnian Croat couple called
police to complain that some partygoers were singing Serb nationalist
songs and had threatened ethnic Croat guests. Police initially found
nothing wrong, but a week later interrogated and charged six ethnic
Serbs. Serb minority media reported that the belated police actions
were a result of pressure by local associations of Croatian war
veterans.
Minority NGOs noted that hate speech against ethnic Serbs continued
not only at sporting events, but also in print and electronic media
including the mainstream press. Serb representatives also criticized a
speech by then prime minister Kosor on August 5 at the ceremony marking
Croatian Veterans Day as ``dangerous hate speech.'' In the speech,
Kosor expressed solidarity with Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and
Mladen Markac, whom ICTY found guilty of crimes against humanity and
war crimes in a first instance verdict.
Then minister of interior Tomislav Karamarko banned a monument
prior to its October 2 unveiling in the village of Golubic, near Knin.
The monument was planned by the Belgrade-based Association of Croatian
Serb Refugees to commemorate ethnic Serbs killed or gone missing during
the 1991-95 war. The minister cited fears that the monument would
provoke ethnic disturbances in the area. A local Croatian veterans'
branch claimed that the monument included the names of the ethnic Serb
militia members, in addition to civilian victims.
According to Serb NGOs, local authorities sometimes refused to hire
qualified ethnic Serbs even when no ethnic Croats applied for a
position. Serb minority representatives said that affected persons
seldom took such decisions to administrative courts, because
proceedings can take years and a court decision in their favor would
still not obligate the authorities in question to hire the applicant.
The law provides for proportional minority employment in the public
sector in areas where a minority constitutes at least 15 percent of the
population; however, the government for the most part did not observe
the law in practice. In September Serb representatives noted that
ethnic Serbs continued to be underemployed in government agencies,
seldom reaching one percent, except in the Ministry of Justice (1.53
percent) and Ministry of Culture (1.23 percent). In 2010 the SNV issued
a survey showing that the number of ethnic Serbs employed in state
administration and the justice sector has been in decline since 2008.
While ethnic minorities have the right to establish schools, seven
ethnic Serb elementary schools applied for but did not receive official
recognition as of September due to administrative obstacles that ethnic
Serb NGOs considered a sign of a lack of political will on the part of
the government. This lack of official recognition made normal
scholastic operation difficult.
Ethnic Serb representatives noted that amendments to the law on
free legal aid did not make legal assistance readily available to
concerned citizens, especially ethnic Serbs living in war-affected
rural areas in central Croatia. Similarly, some ethnic Serb owners of
damaged homes reconstructed by the government awaited years to be
connected to electricity or water supplies, even though such services
were available in nearby neighborhoods inhabited by Bosnian-Croat
settlers who relocated to Croatia during or after the war.
Societal violence, harassment, and discrimination against Roma
continued to be a problem. While only 9,463 persons declared themselves
to be Roma in the most recent, i.e., 2001 census, officials and NGOs
estimated that the Romani population was between 30,000 and 40,000.
In 2010 three off-duty police officers severely beat a 20-year-old
Roma at a gas station in Karlovac. In June the Karlovac Municipal Court
convicted one of the officers and gave him a one-year suspended
sentence.
Roma faced widespread discriminatory obstacles, including in
citizenship, documentation, education, employment, and language.
According to the Council of Europe, only 6.5 percent of Roma held
permanent jobs in the country, while the government estimated 20,000 to
30,000 Roma received some form of social assistance; roughly more than
90 percent of Roma were believed to reside in Croatia. According to the
government office for national minorities, Roma social development
indicators differ significantly throughout Croatia with approximately
98 percent unemployment in the Medjimurje region, compared with 15
percent in Rijeka.
While education is free and compulsory through the eighth grade,
Romani children faced serious obstacles in their education, including
discrimination in schools and a lack of family support. According to
the Ministry of Science, Education, and Sports, the number of Romani
elementary students increased to 4,723 in 2010-2011 up from 4,435
reported in 2009-10. There are 4,915 Romani children registered for the
2011-2012 school year. The number of Romani children enrolled in
preschool education for the 2010-11 school year was 799, a 36-percent
increase over the 588 enrolled during the previous year. The number of
Romani high school students enrolled in the 2011-12 was 425, a 33
percent increase over the 327 enrolled during the previous year. The
government co-funded approximately 776,000 kunas ($133,000) for
kindergarten and preschool fees during the 2010-11 academic year for
400 children across 49 kindergartens. The government distributed 363
scholarships to Romani students in high school, while the number of
Romani students receiving scholarships for university-level studies
slightly increased to 29 from 26 in the previous school year.
In March 2010 the ECHR ruled that the state had discriminated
against 15 Romani students from Medjimurje who were placed in separate
Roma-only classes. In response to the decision, in September 2010 the
government for the first time introduced and fully funded an extended
10-month preschool program for some 200 children in Medjimurje. This
program continued during the year. Nationally, the government promoted
the employment of Roma by reimbursing two-year's salary to employers
who hired Romani workers. The government joined the EU in building
infrastructure in Romani settlements in the Medjimurje region where
there is a significant Romani population. By September the government
had contributed 5.2 million kunas ($891,000) to EU projects in five
settlements in the area. In August the government signed a contract to
renew infrastructure in two remaining Romani settlements in Medjimurje,
in which it provided $675,000, or 25 percent of the total funding.
The National Minority Council received approximately 42 million
kunas ($7.2 million) for minority associations' cultural programming,
including printing communications materials, during the year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was an increase in
societal violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) persons.
On June 11, the first LGBT Pride march in Split took place. Media
reported that up to 10,000 anti-gay counter-protesters vastly
outnumbered the marchers. Pride organizers warned local and government
police that anti-gay groups were plotting violence and spreading hate
speech via graffiti, leaflets, and the Internet, including on Facebook,
where thousands voiced their discontent with the event. The organizers
claimed that officials ignored these warnings and that police were
sympathetic to the protesters. Organizers further claimed that police
initially prevented them from gathering for the march. According to the
marchers and video from the event, police allowed the protesters to pen
in the marchers, who numbered in the hundreds. The organizers claimed
police permitted protesters to collect projectiles in plain view along
the entire route of the parade. The marchers were pelted with
incendiary devices, bricks, large rocks, eggs, tomatoes, and ashtrays.
Marchers received taunts of ``death to faggots,'' ``gypsies,'' and
``we'll kill you,'' and some anti-gay protesters gave fascist salutes.
Police arrested more than 100 anti-gay protesters. President Josipovic
and then prime minister Jadranka Kosor condemned the violence, but
Split Mayor Zeljko Kerum said afterwards that marchers should have
expected the reaction they received. The government's Office for Gender
Equality, which financed gay Pride events in Split and Zagreb, also
condemned the violence.
Following the Split event, the 10th annual gay Pride parade was
staged in Zagreb. Approximately 4,000 marchers, including prominent
politicians, participated in the rally. There were 17 reported arrests
for disorderly conduct, and media reported that it was the best-
attended and best-protected Pride event in the country's history.
Societal discrimination against LGBT persons frequently was
manifested by insults, stereotypical jokes, and societal prejudices.
According to LGBT NGOs, the International Football Federation (FIFA)
fined Vlatko Markovic, president of the Croatian Football Association,
for stating that, while he is president, gay men will not play soccer
for the country's team.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal discrimination
against persons with HIV/AIDS remained a problem. The NGO Croatian
Association for HIV (HUHIV) reported dentists and general practitioners
at times refused to treat HIV-positive patients, and some hospitals
postponed surgery because doctors were reluctant to operate on them.
HIV-positive patients who did not go through the infectious disease
hospital were often made to wait for treatment, and doctors sometimes
delayed surgery indefinitely. There were allegations that transplant
centers refused to place HIV-positive patients on their lists of
potential organ recipients. Additionally, HUHIV stated that many HIV-
positive patients' right to privacy had been violated while other
patients feared their HIV status would be shared without their consent.
While HUHIV does provide an anonymous hotline, they stated that the
lack of public assistance for hotlines for HIV-positive patients was a
problem. According to the U.N. theme group on HIV/AIDS and HUHIV, some
of the country's laws contain discriminatory provisions against HIV-
positive individuals. There are legal provisions that proscribe testing
under medical supervision for certain professions and, in certain
cases, restrict employment for prisoners and HIV-positive persons.
Although the number of cases is low, HUHIV indicated that cases of
discrimination are due to insufficient enforcement of privacy laws,
lack of consistent, adequate medical care, and discrimination in school
or the workplace. HUHIV specifically criticized regulations forbidding
HIV-positive persons from working as police officers. It asserted that
the lack of appropriate sex education in schools led to discrimination
and stigmatization of persons with HIV/AIDS, and children often had
incorrect perceptions about the risk of contracting HIV.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Most workers, including police but excluding active military personnel,
are entitled by law to form or join unions of their choice without
previous authorization or excessive requirements. However, the
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) noted that the
overwhelming majority of recently employed workers are employed on a
short-term basis and fear their contracts will not be renewed if they
attempt to unionize. Moreover, the ITUC claims the government used the
pretext of EU requirements to introduce labor market liberalization to
the detriment of worker rights. The law provides for the right to
strike and to bargain collectively but with some limitations. Workers
may strike only at the end of a contract or in specific circumstances
cited in the contract after they have gone through mediation. When
negotiating a new contract, workers are also required to go through
mediation before striking. Labor and management must jointly agree on a
mediator if a dispute goes to mediation. If a strike is found to be
illegal, any participant may be dismissed and the union held liable for
damages. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and expressly
allows unions to challenge firings in court.
In general workers formed and joined unions freely in practice.
However, approximately 11 percent of the country's workers were on
fixed-term contracts with employers. Manual labor and retail employees
were primarily affected, and many employers hired new workers for a
trial period of typically three months but no more than three years.
Employees with temporary contracts did not enjoy the same benefits as
other employees. For example, temporary employees could not easily
access bank loans or open lines of credit. Workers on temporary
contracts generally did not form or join labor unions.
Unions generally were independent of the government and political
parties, although the Labor party, which in December won six seats in
parliament, is headed by former Independent Croatian Union leader
Dragutin Lesar. In practice workers exercised their right to strike
during the year. However, incidents of union-related harassment and
firing of employees occurred, and the inefficiency of the court system
seriously delayed and discouraged citizens' attempts to seek redress
through the legal system. According to ITUC's Annual Survey of
Violations this right is abridged, with small enterprises not upholding
the right to collective bargaining.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there were
incidents in which adults and children were subjected to forced begging
and labor, including migrant men in the agricultural sector.
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for the employment of children is 15 years. Minors under
the age of 15 may work if they receive prior approval from the state
labor inspectorate and if it is determined that the child is not
expected to suffer physically or mentally from the work. Approval is
usually requested for filming movie scenes or for theatrical rehearsals
and performances. The law prohibits workers under the age of 18 from
working overtime, at night, or under dangerous conditions. Labor law
amendments that went into effect on January 1 further impose strict
regulations on the employment of minors, forbidding their employment in
work environments that could pose health threats. The Ministry of
Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship, in conjunction with the ombudsman
for children and the State Labor Inspectorate, is responsible for
enforcing this regulation.
In 2011 the State Labor Inspectorate recorded 51 violations of
labor-related laws involving children under the age of 17. Of these
violations, one involved children under the age of 15. Violations
occurred mainly in the hospitality, tourism, retail, food, industrial,
services, and construction sectors and were related to working overtime
or past curfew and wage miscalculations.
The law proscribes the worst forms of child labor, including
trafficking in children. The national ombudsman for children
coordinated the country's efforts to prevent the exploitation of
children and assist in removing children from exploitative situations.
The labor inspectorate has 111 inspectors whose duties include
inspection for illegal employment of minors. The inspectorate forwarded
all cases of violations involving minors to the Office of the Ombudsman
for Children. Criminal cases were prosecuted by the State Prosecutor's
Office and often resulted in convictions. Children, particularly from
the Romani community, continued to be exploited in the worst forms of
child labor, including agriculture and forced begging.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage as determined
by the government is 2,814 kunas ($482) per month; the net minimum
monthly wage is between 2,000 and 2,200 kunas ($342 and $377),
depending on exemptions. The government's official monthly income
poverty line is 2,100 kunas ($360) for single households and 4,410
kunas ($755) for a four-person household. The government enforced the
minimum wage.
Nonpayment and wage arrears as well as nonpayment for overtime and
holiday work continued to be a problem. According to the labor
inspectorate, the law no longer requires that records be kept of the
number of persons who did not receive payment of their salaries.
However, workers have the right to bring court proceedings against
employers who did not issue pay slips to their employees. Since 2009
numerous companies were not able to make payment to their workers. The
Ministry of Finance estimated that 18,000 to 25,000 people did not
receive their salaries at some point in 2010. However, a prominent
union representative stated that this trend is declining.
The inspectorate reported that it shut down 650 firms for periods
of at least 30 days during 2010 for labor law violations regarding
illegal work. Violations included employing local and foreign workers
without work permits, employing workers not registered with the pension
fund, and employing workers not registered with a health insurance
agency. The labor inspectorate noted that, although its officers
continued to increase their inspections and reporting of violations,
the courts did not hand down punishments commensurate with the
seriousness of the violations, and therefore the inspectorate's actions
were ineffective. The inspectorate intensified cooperation with the
Ministry of Interior, which led to increased inspections and resulted
in greater numbers of violations identified in 2010.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours. Workers are
entitled to a 30-minute break daily, one day off out of seven, and a
minimum of four weeks of paid vacation annually. The law entitles
workers to time-and-a-half pay for overtime and limits overtime to
eight hours per week. The labor inspectorate must be notified if
overtime work by an employee continues for more than four consecutive
weeks or for more than 12 weeks during a calendar year or if the
combined overtime of employees of an employer exceeds 10 percent of the
total working hours in a particular month. Pregnant women, mothers with
children less than three years of age, and single parents of children
under six years of age may work overtime only if they freely give
written consent to perform such work. An amendment to the labor law
that went into effect on January 1 further requires pregnant women to
obtain a note from a doctor indicating their fitness to work overtime
and that such work would not adversely affect their health or that of
the fetus.
In 2010 the inspectorate processed 15,776 violations of the labor
law. After processing, the inspectorate sent 6,736 violations to
misdemeanor courts for proceedings. Infractions included violations
related to labor contracts, payment for work, annual leave, and unpaid
and unreported overtime. In 2010 authorities sent 19 criminal
proceedings against employers to municipal prosecutors.
The government set health and safety standards, which the Health
Ministry enforced; its inspectorate has jurisdiction over enforcement
of health and safety laws in the workplace. In practice many industries
often did not meet worker protection standards. In 2010 the
inspectorate initiated 3,428 requests for misdemeanor proceedings
covering 6,736 violations of safety standards. During 2010 courts
handed down 4,944 decisions for misdemeanor acts involving workplace
safety, primarily involving 2007-2008 cases. The inspectorate expressed
concern that of the 11,932 misdemeanor cases relating to worker safety
reported over the past few years, 4,351 have been thrown out of court
due to surpassing the statute of limitations.
__________
CYPRUS
Since 1974 the southern part of Cyprus has been under the
control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, while the
northern part, administered by Turkish Cypriots, proclaimed
itself the ``Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'' (``TRNC'')
in 1983. The United States does not recognize the ``TRNC,'' nor
does any country other than Turkey. A substantial number of
Turkish troops remained on the island. A buffer zone, or
``green line,'' patrolled by the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in
Cyprus (UNFICYP), separates the two parts.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Cyprus is a constitutional republic and multiparty
presidential democracy. On May 22, 56 representatives were elected to
the 80-seat Vouli Antiprosopon (House of Representatives) in free and
fair elections, and in 2008 President Demetris Christofias was elected
in free and fair elections. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
The most significant problems during the year were reports of
police abuse and degrading treatment of persons in custody and asylum
seekers; violence against women, including spousal abuse; and instances
of discrimination and violence against members of minority ethnic and
national groups.
Other problems during the year included prison overcrowding; a few
reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious
affiliation, belief, or practice; and several incidents of violence
against children. Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation
continued to be a problem, and trafficking for labor was also reported.
The government generally investigated and prosecuted corruption and
abuse cases against officials but cases usually moved at a slow pace.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; there
were reports, however, that police abused detainees. There continued to
be reports that police engaged in heavy-handed tactics and degrading
treatment of suspects. The Independent Authority, an independent
committee appointed by the Council of Ministers, had the authority to
investigate complaints of police bribery, corruption, unlawful
financial gain, violation of human rights, abuse of power, preferential
treatment, and conduct unbecoming of police officers.
There were several allegations of police abuse during the year. For
example, on April 26, Politis newspaper reported that police, acting on
a narcotics tip, intercepted and searched a car with three 19-year-old
men inside. According to the press report, police did not find any
narcotics but beat two of the passengers. The men received treatment at
Famagusta Hospital, but the medical staff allegedly refused to give
them a medical report without police instructions. The newspaper's
sources were reportedly other police officers who participated in the
operation but disagreed with the mistreatment of the men. The officers
claimed the officer in charge threatened to transfer them to a less
favorable position if they reported the abuse. The police reported that
although no official complaint was submitted, the deputy attorney
general appointed a criminal investigator to the case and the
investigation was pending at year's end. The police were simultaneously
investigating a case of traffic violations and violation of the
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law against the three
passengers.
On February 19, the Nicosia Criminal Court sentenced eight police
officers involved in the 2005 beating of two students to prison for two
months to one year, but it suspended those sentences for three years,
stating that if the defendants commit any crimes within that three-year
period, they will be required to serve the sentence. The officers had
been acquitted by a court in 2009, but the attorney general appealed
the decision, and the Appellate Court ordered a retrial. In a separate
process in April, the police disciplinary committee fined 10 officers
involved in the incident, including the eight sentenced by the court,
suspending their pay for periods of one to eight days, based on the
severity of the charges. The assistant chief of police appealed the
disciplinary committee decision. The appeal was pending before the
Appeals Board at year's end.
During the year the ombudsman and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) received complaints that police subjected inmates to physical
abuse and discriminatory treatment. The ombudsman reported that during
the year her office received one complaint from a prisoner concerning
physical violence allegedly committed by prison officials and one
complaint of physical violence and degrading treatment allegedly
committed by police officers in detention centers. The first complaint
was investigated and the ombudsman found there was insufficient
evidence to conclude that the prisoner was abused. The ombudsman halted
the investigation of the second complaint when the complainant signed a
statement denying police mistreatment. However, the ombudsman prepared
a report noting that the prison management had asked the prisoner to
sign the statement and urged the prison management not to repeat such a
practice. The ombudsman prepared a report on systemic violence against
prisoners by prison officials, to be included in her 2011 annual report
on the National Preventive Mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the
U.N. Convention against Torture (OPCAT). In 2010 the ombudsman's office
investigated 13 complaints of physical violence against prisoners. Of
those, one complaint resulted in a report to the Independent Authority,
which brought the case before the attorney general; one complaint was
transferred to the OPCAT unit and was still under investigation; one
complaint was still under investigation by the ombudsman; eight were
found to be unsubstantiated; and two investigations were terminated for
reasons that were not specified.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--During the year
overcrowding remained the Nicosia Central Prison's greatest problem.
Prison authorities acknowledged that many of the prison buildings were
constructed prior to 1960 and in need of renovation. In a September
report the ombudsman stated that overcrowding had become a permanent
problem and had a negative impact on prisoners' living conditions. The
prison's capacity was 520, but at times it housed up to 710 inmates.
Extension and renovation works completed in 2011 added 89 new cells to
the prison. Approximately 62 percent of the prisoners were non-Cypriots
imprisoned for illegal entry, stay, and employment, as well as theft,
burglary, and other offenses. Community service is an option for
nonviolent offenders.
On September 28, a 40-year-old detainee, held on suspicion of
robbing a church, hanged himself in his cell in a detention center in
Limassol. The Independent Authority was investigating the conditions of
his death at year's end. On October 16, a Georgian national, held on a
detention and deportation order for living in the country illegally,
was found unconscious in his cell in Nicosia's Lakatamia Detention
Center. He was transferred to the hospital where he was pronounced
dead. A police spokesman stated there was no suspicion that a crime had
been committed. A forensic post mortem examination did not reveal the
cause of death. The results of a histological examination expected to
determine the exact cause of death were pending at year's end. The
deceased had spent two months in the center. The chairman of the House
of Representatives Committee on Legal Affairs, Ionas Nicolaou,
criticized police for holding foreign prisoners in detention centers
for extended periods of time. Nicolaou stated that cells in detention
centers were too small, lacked natural light, and were likely to cause
serious health problems for detainees held there for more than a few
days.
Inmates in the Central Prison during the year included 447 females,
one of whom was a juvenile, and seven male juveniles. Juveniles were
held separately from adults, women separately from men, and pretrial
detainees separately from convicted prisoners. The ombudsman
investigated two complaints by Turkish Cypriot prisoners made in 2009
that they were subjected to discriminatory treatment at the Central
Prison, and found them unsubstantiated at the conclusion of the
investigation in 2011. In 2010 the ombudsman examined a complaint that
female inmates were treated unequally because they were not given the
option to serve their prison sentences or portions of them in the Open
Prison or the Out of Prison Employment Center as was the case with male
inmates. Restoration work completed in 2011 allowed women inmates to
serve part of their sentence in the Open Prison. Turkish Cypriots who
lived in the area under Turkish Cypriot administration were admitted to
the Open Prison but were granted exit permits only with an escort.
An NGO reported in August that it received multiple complaints of
police brutality against foreign detainees held in detention centers in
Larnaca, Nicosia, and Paphos and complaints of discrimination in the
Central Prison. The NGO reported that police officers also verbally
abused foreign detainees using derogatory language about their
ethnicity and religion. Foreign detainees were reportedly tasked with
heavier work than local prisoners, were not informed about the full
extent of their visitation rights, and in some cases, unable to receive
visits from their families.
The ombudsman reported that overcrowding posed great challenges to
maintaining the absolute separation of convicted criminals from
pretrial detainees and that long- and short-term prisoners were held
together. According to the ombudsman, overcrowding had serious
repercussions on the health of both prisoners and staff due to the lack
of sufficient hygiene facilities and a health center. Also, prisoners
with mental health problems did not receive specialized treatment.
During the year prison management implemented the ombudsman's
recommendation to operate a special rehabilitation program for drug
addicts within the prison. Prison authorities confirmed that
overcrowding prevented separation of prisoners by health condition.
Community service is an alternative to prison confinement for
nonviolent criminals.
Prisoners in the Central Prison had access to a church and a
mosque, and prison management stated that it made every effort to
facilitate religious observance. Detention centers did not have
facilities for religious observance. Prisoners and detainees could
submit complaints to the ombudsman without censorship. The ombudsman
reported one case of a prisoner who was asked by prison management to
revoke the complaint.
The ombudsman reported in October that an investigation deemed
conditions in Famagusta detention center incompatible with
international standards and conducive to inhumane and degrading
treatment of detainees. The detention center lacked basic hygiene
components, and toilet paper, soap, and shampoo were available only on
demand. There was no exercise area, and detainees were confined 24
hours a day in their cells. Due to the lack of a proper visitors' room,
detainees were handcuffed when they received visitors. The ombudsman
recommended the immediate closing of the detention center.
Construction work was underway during the year to increase capacity
and improve sanitary conditions at the Central Prison.
The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, and such visits, unrestricted and unannounced, occurred
during the year. The ombudsman and the prison board visited Central
Prison on a regular basis. The Human Rights Committee of the House of
Representatives also visited the prison and examined the living
conditions of the detainees. After a visit on March 2, the Human Rights
Committee underlined that the problems its members observed in previous
years, such as overcrowding, lack of staff (especially medical staff),
and inadequate training of existing staff remained unresolved.
In 2008 the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) conducted one of its periodic spot checks. CPT
representatives visited several sites, including the Central Prison,
the psychiatric unit in Athalassa, and several police stations, and
privately interviewed detainees and prisoners. The CPT's report on the
visit had not been released by the end of 2011.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police enforced the
law and combated criminal activity. The Greek Cypriot National Guard
(GCNG), backed by a contingent of Greek military forces, the Hellenic
Force in Cyprus, protected national security. The GCNG reports to the
Ministry of Defense, which reports to the president. The police report
to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. The president appoints the
chief of police. The police force is composed of a headquarters with
six functional departments, six geographic district divisions,
including one inactive district for the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots, and seven police units that provide specialized services. One
case alleging serious police corruption was before the court.
The Independent Authority appoints independent investigators from a
list submitted by the attorney general to look into complaints. On
January 25, the chairman of the Independent Authority stated that
police refused to hand over complete case files, hampering the
authority's ability to conduct objective investigations.
According to its June report, 137 complaints were submitted to the
Independent Authority in 2010, a 22 percent increase over 2009. One
complaint concerned alleged police corruption and complicity, 63
complaints alleged violation of human rights; and 63 complaints claimed
favoritism or behavior on the part of police that undermined police
standing in society. Ten complaints were deemed outside the scope of
the authority and not investigated. The Independent Authority appointed
criminal investigators in 60 cases: In four cases investigators
recommended criminal prosecution of the police officers involved to the
attorney general, and the attorney general concurred with three of the
recommendations; in 30 cases there was no evidence of criminal or
disciplinary offenses; in two cases investigators recommended that the
chief of police initiate a disciplinary process; in three cases the
investigation was suspended because the complainants did not give a
statement; one complaint was withdrawn; and 20 cases were under
investigation at year's end. In the remaining cases received in 2010,
the Independent Authority conducted 25 preliminary investigations,
referred 17 cases to the chief of police for handling, and had
requested and was awaiting additional information in 22 cases. Three of
the cases were withdrawn by complainants. In the first 10 months of the
year, the Independent Authority received 117 complaints.
During the year the Independent Authority recommended to the
attorney general the prosecution of police officers allegedly involved
in three criminal cases. The attorney general ordered the prosecution
of the police officers involved in one of those cases. An examination
as to whether the prosecution of the police officers involved in the
other two cases was warranted was pending at year's end. During the
year police investigated 26 criminal cases against members of the
force. At the end of the year, 18 of those cases were still under
investigation, six were pending trial, one case was completed and the
defendant fined, and one case was withdrawn at the instruction of the
attorney general. Of the 11 cases pending investigation at the end of
2010, two resulted in the resignation of the police officers involved,
two were pending trial, four were still under investigation, and one
was dropped by the court. In the two remaining cases, prosecution of
one was suspended on the instruction of the attorney general while, in
the second, it was concluded that no crime was committed.
On March 15, police arrested the deputy chief of the Police Aliens
and Immigration Service as a prime suspect in a case of trafficking for
sexual and labor exploitation of Chinese women at an illegal Nicosia
brothel. The suspect was released on bail but rearrested in October for
attempting to influence witnesses in the case. The trial was under way
at year's end.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires judicially issued arrest warrants, and authorities respected
this requirement in practice. Persons may not be detained for more than
one day without referral of the case to a court for extension of
detention. Most periods of investigative detention did not exceed 10
days before formal charges were filed. The attorney general generally
made efforts to minimize pretrial detention, especially in cases of
serious crimes. Attorneys generally had access to detainees. Bail was
permitted. The government claimed the right to deport foreign nationals
for reasons of public interest, regardless of whether they had been
charged with, or convicted of, a crime. While lengthy pretrial
detention was not a problem, trial delays were common and partially
caused by lengthy legal procedures, which resulted in an accumulated
workload for the court system.
While authorities detained aliens without identity documents when
they did not know where to deport them, the government's policy was not
to hold such persons long term in detention centers. Instead, if
deportations could not be executed in a reasonable amount of time--
generally six months--the government's policy was to release
undocumented migrants and rejected asylum seekers and give them
residence permits for a limited period, provided they had not been
found guilty of a crime. Residence and employment permits were
renewable provided the released detainees signed a contract of
employment approved by the Department of Labor. On October 24, the
press reported that a group of 52 foreign detainees in Central Prison's
Block 10 staged a hunger strike protesting the length of their
detention. An NGO reported that a number of undocumented foreigners
arrested for illegal stays in the country remained in long-term
detention. One foreigner who had been previously detained for over
three years was released in 2010, only to be rearrested four months
later. According to the NGO, the detainee attempted to commit suicide.
At least one additional long-term detainee reportedly attempted
suicide. The same NGO reported that undocumented aliens were only
released if they signed a document consenting to the issuance of travel
documents by their home country. The NGO also reported that released
detainees did not have access to health care or social benefits and
were not entitled to permanent residency permits unless they had a job.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law and constitution provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
this provision in practice.
Most criminal and civil cases begin in district courts, from which
appeals may be made to the Supreme Court. There are no special courts
for security or political offenses. There are military tribunals that
have jurisdiction over members of the GCNG.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The
constitution provides for public trials, and defendants have the right
to be present and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Jury
trials are not used. An attorney is provided for those who cannot
afford one, and defendants have the right to question witnesses against
them and present evidence or witnesses on their behalf. The law also
provides that defendants and their attorneys have access to government-
held evidence related to their cases. Defendants enjoy a presumption of
innocence and have a right of appeal. The government generally
respected these rights in practice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued one judgment that found
the country in violation of a provision of the European Convention on
Human Rights. There were no reports that the government failed to
comply with ECHR decisions.
In January 2010 the ECHR ruled in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia that
Cyprus failed to protect 20-year-old Russian cabaret artist Oxana
Rantseva from human trafficking and failed to conduct an effective
investigation into the circumstances of her death in 2001. The
government made a unilateral declaration before the court acknowledging
that it had violated the convention and offered to pay pecuniary and
nonpecuniary damages to the applicant. The attorney general opened a
new investigation into the case in 2009, which continued at year's end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, permitting claimants to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of human rights violations,
and citizens successfully availed themselves of it. Individuals could
appeal cases involving alleged human rights violations by the state to
the ECHR once all avenues of appeal in the domestic court system had
been exhausted.
Property Restitution.--According to a law enacted in 1991 and
amended in 2010, the minister of interior is the guardian of the
properties of all Turkish Cypriots who do not have their permanent
residence in the government-controlled part since 1974. Ownership
remains with the original owner, but the sale or transfer of Turkish
Cypriot property under the guardianship of the minister of interior
requires the approval of the government. The minister of interior has
the authority to return properties to Turkish Cypriot applicants after
examining the circumstances of each case. Owners can appeal decisions
of the minister of interior at the Supreme Court.
Turkish Cypriots have filed a total of 104 court cases, 20 of them
during the year, to reclaim property located in the Republic of Cyprus.
The Supreme Court issued judgments in five cases concerning Turkish
Cypriot properties that were under the guardianship of the Ministry of
Interior, and one decision was issued by a civil court. The Supreme
Court found it did not have jurisdiction in three of the cases; in the
two remaining cases, the court ruling upheld the right of guardianship.
The Civil Court rejected the owner's claim that the guardian's
interference with his property constituted trespass.
In September 2010 the ombudsman, in her capacity as the authority
with oversight in matters involving racism and discrimination, reported
that the examination of two complaints submitted by Turkish Cypriots
revealed that the state was discriminating against Turkish Cypriot
property owners and restricting their property rights. Both Turkish
Cypriots had applied to the Land Registry Department to secure title
deeds for their properties in the government-controlled area and were
told that they needed the prior approval of the Ministry of Interior.
The ombudsman recommended abolition of the 1963 law that restricts the
property rights of Turkish Cypriots for reasons of public safety. The
attorney general studied the recommendation and decided against the
abolition of the law.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were generally no
government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events, but
certain oversight efforts threatened academic independence and
activities. The government continued to exert political pressure on
universities to refrain from any contact with universities in the
Turkish Cypriot community because the government considered them
illegal.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law and
constitution provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within government-controlled areas, foreign travel,
emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected
these rights in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
The government did not restrict Greek Cypriots from traveling to
the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, but it generally advised
them against spending the night at Greek Cypriot properties, gambling
in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, or buying or developing
property there.
The government allowed EU citizens and citizens of other countries
not subject to a visa requirement, who entered from ports of entry in
the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, to cross the green line into
the government-controlled area; the government maintained, however,
that all ports of entry in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots
are illegal.
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were required to show
identification cards when crossing the green line. Members of each
community were required to obtain insurance coverage in the community
where they planned to drive their vehicles. Turkish Cypriots flew in
and out of Larnaca and Paphos airports without obstruction. The
government issued 7,650 passports to Turkish Cypriots during the year.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The government considered
Greek Cypriots displaced as a result of the 1974 division of the island
refugees, although they fell under the U.N. definition of IDPs. At
year's end, these individuals and their descendants numbered 202,334.
Depending on their income, they are eligible for financial assistance
from the government. They have been resettled, have access to
humanitarian organizations, and were not subject to attack, targeting,
or mandatory return under dangerous conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. During the
year 53 persons were recognized as refugees.
In contrast to previous years, refugees and NGOs did not report
that any asylum cases were closed without consideration or receipt of a
government response. NGOs and asylum seekers alleged that the Nicosia
District Welfare Office continued to be inconsistent in the delivery of
benefits to eligible asylum seekers. The ombudsman continued to receive
such complaints and reported that in many cases the allegations were
well-founded. To remedy the situation, the ombudsman proposed modifying
the Public Subsidies Law. An NGO and the ombudsman reported that the
2011 decision of the House of Representatives to review, monthly,
benefits granted to non-Cypriot beneficiaries before releasing the
funds, caused two- to three-month delays in the delivery of such
benefits.
The NGO Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism (KISA) claimed
that authorities detained and deported asylum seekers whose
applications had been rejected and who were appealing the decision,
before the Supreme Court undertook a final adjudication of their
applications. KISA and the ombudsman also reported complaints from
asylum seekers concerning difficulties in accessing the asylum
application procedure and delays in the examination of their
applications.
Employment.--The government granted individuals determined to be
refugees permission to stay and gave them temporary work permits, but
it did not grant permanent resettlement rights. The law allows asylum
seekers to be employed in fisheries, the production of animal feed,
waste management, gas stations and car washes, freight handling in the
wholesale trade, building and outdoor cleaning, distribution of
advertising and informational materials, and food delivery. However,
KISA claimed the Labor Office refused to approve and renew labor
contracts for asylum seekers outside the farming and agriculture
sector.
Asylum seekers whose cases were awaiting adjudication were allowed
to work after residing six months in the country, but they were limited
to the areas permitted by law. During the six-month period, asylum
seekers had access to a subsistence allowance and could live in one of
three reception centers for refugees located in Kofinou, Larnaca, and
Paphos. There were complaints regarding the remoteness and lack of
facilities at Kofinou, but improvements were made in the areas of
psychological support, activities for children, and transport. The
government operated the center under a private-public partnership with
a university. For the other two reception centers, Onissilos reception
center in Larnaca and Agapinor reception hotel in Paphos, the
government contracted services from a private company.
Access to Basic Services.--Asylum seekers who refused an available
job could be cut off from state benefits. To obtain welfare benefits,
asylum seekers had to have a valid address, which was impossible for
many who were homeless. KISA reported delays in the delivery of checks
to asylum seekers who were eligible for benefits. According to NGOs,
asylum seekers reported discrimination in the provision of state
medical care. On February 10, a group of Palestinians with recognized
refugee status stormed the district welfare office in Larnaca,
complaining about delays in the delivery of their monthly allowances.
The protesters beat an on-duty police officer. Eleven Palestinians were
arrested and formally charged. The minister of interior announced that
four would be deported and the rest subjected to local law.
Following a government inquiry into the 2010 death of a diabetic
Congolese asylum seeker whose social welfare benefits were discontinued
three months after he refused to take a job offer, the Ministry of
Labor changed the procedure for handling similar cases. Asylum seekers
with a medical condition rendering them unable to work or able to
perform only light work are referred to a medical board for assessment
and are entitled to public assistance while awaiting a decision. Two
cases resulting from the death of an asylum seeker who allegedly did
not receive timely medical treatment in 2009 were still pending.
Durable Solutions.--The government provided funding to a local
university and an NGO for educational services aimed at helping
recognized refugees and asylum seekers integrate into society and also
to a local NGO to help victims of torture.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
to 16 individuals whose refugee status was under determination during
the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law and constitution provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
In national elections only those Turkish Cypriots who reside
permanently in the government-controlled area are permitted to vote and
run for office. In elections for the European Parliament, all Cypriot
citizens and resident EU citizens have a right to vote and run for
office, including Turkish Cypriots who live in the area administered by
the Turkish Cypriots. All resident EU citizens are eligible to vote and
run for office in municipal elections.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On May
22, free and fair elections were held for the 56 seats assigned to
Greek Cypriots in the 80-seat House of Representatives.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women held six of the 56
seats filled in the House of Representatives and three of 11
ministerial posts. They also held senior positions in the judicial
branch.
There were no members of minorities in the House of
Representatives. The small Armenian Orthodox, Maronite Christian, and
Roman Catholic communities elected special nonvoting observer
representatives from their respective communities to the House of
Representatives. Twenty-four seats assigned to Turkish Cypriots were
unfilled.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, which
vary depending on the charges, and the government generally implemented
these laws effectively. There were isolated reports of government
corruption.
While the government generally investigated and prosecuted cases of
corruption, these usually moved at a slow pace, and the evidence law,
which prohibits wiretapping and electronic surveillance, made obtaining
convictions difficult.
On June 22, the head of the Cyprus EU Presidency office resigned
following accusations that he had rigged the hiring process to employ a
family friend. The auditor general confirmed that the hiring process
was flawed but stated that she did not have the authority to pursue a
criminal investigation. The government did not seek a police
investigation into the case. Two similar cases in which government
employees were charged with misusing their position for personal gain
or exerting influence in hiring procedures were pending at year's end.
On April 5, three police officers received suspended sentences
ranging from four to six months in connection with the high-profile
2008 escape of double murderer and rapist Antonis Procopiou Kitas from
a Nicosia private hospital, where he had stayed while serving a life
sentence. In addition, the three officers received disciplinary
sanctions following the completion of a disciplinary investigation
ordered by the chief of the police. The minister of justice and public
order resigned over the escape, and the government appointed
independent criminal investigators to determine possible police and
government officials' involvement. In January 2010 the attorney general
filed two criminal cases against six police officers and the director
of the central prison. A hearing of the case against the former
director of the Central Prison began in 2009 and was still in progress
at year's end.
In May the Supreme Court upheld its 2009 ruling that a law, first
passed and challenged in 2004, that requires state and public officials
to declare their assets was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the
said law violated the constitutionally protected right to respect for
private and family life.
The constitution provides citizens the right of access to
government information, but there were no specific laws to ensure
public access. Civil servants were not allowed to provide access to
government documents without first obtaining permission from the
relevant minister. An Access Info Europe report issued in November
stated that, according to a survey conducted by the organization in
2010, 72 percent of the 220 requests for information which it sent to
20 public agencies were not answered, and 8 percent were denied in
writing or orally.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. There is a government
ombudsman, whose portfolio includes human rights, and a legislative
committee on human rights.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--During the year the ombudsman
received complaints from citizens and foreigners living on the island
who believed their rights had been violated by the government. During
her fully independent investigations, the ombudsman generally enjoyed
good cooperation with other government bodies. The ombudsman's annual
reports focused on police misconduct, treatment of patients at state
hospitals, treatment of asylum seekers and foreign workers, and gender
equality in the workplace. The Office of the Ombudsman was well
respected and considered effective.
The legislative Committee on Human Rights, which most local NGOs
considered effective, consists of 10 members of the House of
Representatives who serve five-year terms. The committee discussed
wide-ranging human rights problems, including trafficking in persons,
prison conditions, and the rights of foreign workers. The executive
branch did not exercise control over the committee.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced
these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Abuse.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, with a maximum sentence of life in prison. Most
convicted offenders received considerably less than the maximum
sentence. Police indicated that 26 cases of sexual assault were
reported during the year.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was reported, and
there has been a sharp increase in recent years in the number of
reported cases. The law establishes clear mechanisms for reporting and
prosecuting family violence and provides that the testimony of minors
and experts, such as psychologists, may be used as evidence to
prosecute abusers. The law provides for the imprisonment of persons
found guilty of abusing family members. Doctors, hospital workers, and
education professionals are required to report all suspected cases of
domestic violence to police. Many victims refused to testify in court,
however, and by law spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each
other. Courts were obliged to drop cases of domestic violence if the
spousal victim was the only witness and refused to testify.
During the year police received 600 cases of domestic violence.
They initiated criminal investigations in 307 of these and filed 129
criminal cases in court. In 75 percent of the cases, the victims were
female.
An NGO working with domestic abuse victims reported an increase in
the number of telephone calls to its hotline from 2010. The NGO
reported that 1,323 callers, of whom 75 percent were women, 17 percent
children, and 8 percent men, claimed to be victims of domestic
violence. The NGO also operated a shelter for women and children in
Nicosia that served 78 victims of domestic violence during the year.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in the
workplace, but it was reportedly a widespread problem, with most
incidents unreported to authorities. In 2009 a Cyprus University of
Technology (TEPAK) report showed that 6 percent of employees in the
country had experienced sexual harassment in their workplace. During
the year the Labor Office received nine complaints regarding sexual
harassment, eight by non-Cypriots. The office's investigation found one
complaint to be valid, and the complainant received 2,000 euros
($2,600) in compensation.
In one of the two sexual harassment complaints filed and deemed
valid in 2010, the victim received free legal aid to present her case
before the Labor Disputes Court for compensation in 2011. In the second
case, the complainant, a foreign housekeeper, was granted permission to
seek a new employer in 2011. Permission is required for such a change
because one's presence and work permit are tied to a particular
employer. In April the ombudsman criticized the decision of the
Department of Labor not to examine a 2009 complaint of sexual
harassment because the case was under police investigation. The
complaint was submitted by a foreign housekeeper, who claimed that she
had been sexually harassed by her employer. The police investigation
did not result in a criminal prosecution, and the complainant was
eventually arrested because her residence permit had expired. The
ombudsman recommended the examination of the complaint by the
Department of Labor and the revocation of the detention and deportation
order until the completion of the investigation. The government
complied with the recommendation; as a result, the complainant's work
permit was renewed.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals were generally able
to freely decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception, skilled
attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally with men.
Discrimination.--Women generally have the same legal status as men
under family and property law and in the judicial system. The National
Mechanism for Women' Rights under the Ministry of Justice and Public
Order was tasked with the promotion, protection, and coordination of
women's rights. Laws requiring equal pay for men and women performing
the same work were enforced effectively at the white-collar level.
Despite a strong legal framework, the Ministry of Labor and Social
Insurance's enforcement was ineffective at the blue-collar level.
Research by one NGO suggested that remuneration for female blue-collar
workers was 25 to 30 percent less than for their male counterparts. The
ombudsman reported serious cases of gender discrimination in the
workplace particularly against pregnant women who were either not
promoted or dismissed from employment. The ombudsman's 2010 report,
released in 2011, expressed concern over the increasing phenomenon of
dismissal of working women on the grounds of pregnancy. The ombudsman
reported that 30 percent of the complaints submitted with regard to
discrimination against women concerned discrimination on the grounds of
maternity, pregnancy, or childbirth.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents, and there is universal birth registration at the time of
birth.
Education.--The ombudsman's investigation into a 2008 complaint
that Romani children in public schools were not taught their local
language, history and culture, concluded that the complaints were
valid. The ombudsman found that the Romani children, as members of the
Turkish Cypriot community, were taught Turkish language and culture but
that their curriculum did not take into consideration their distinctive
language and culture as members of the Romani community. The ombudsman
recommended that the Ministry of Education engage members of the Romani
community in a dialogue aimed at developing teaching methods and
educational programs more appropriate for Romani children. The
ombudsman also urged the immediate implementation of the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) recommendation to
offer free transportation to Romani children living in the Polemidia
housing settlement. The ECRI report released in June stated that the
Polemidia housing settlement for Roma constituted de facto segregation
from the majority population, while the children there were denied
their right to education due to lack of free transportation to and from
school.
In September the ombudsman reported that the Ministry of Education
had yet to officially withdraw a 2004 circular requiring schools to
report to immigration authorities the contact information of parents of
foreign children enrolled at schools in order to help authorities
determine if they reside in the country legally. The Ministry of
Education subsequently issued instructions to school principals to
enroll all students without exception. However, according to the
ombudsman and the ECRI's June report, the new policy was not always
implemented, and in practice the contact information of foreign
students was regularly sent to police.
Child Abuse.--The Welfare Department reported that it received 251
cases of child abuse in 2010 compared with 281 in 2009 and that 92
percent of cases of abuse were linked to domestic violence. During the
year police conducted 152 criminal investigations of child abuse
compared with 155 the previous year. An NGO working with domestic abuse
victims reported that cases of child sexual abuse doubled in 2011
reaching a total of 16 from eight in 2010.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual
sex is 17, and sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17 is
a criminal offense. The penalty for sexual intercourse with a person
between the ages of 13 and 17 is a maximum of three years'
imprisonment. The criminal penalty for sexual intercourse with a person
under 13 is up to life in prison. Possession of child pornography is a
criminal offense punishable by a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were approximately 2,150 persons in the
Jewish community, which consisted of a very small number of native
Jewish Cypriots and a greater number of expatriate Israeli, British,
and other European Jews.
There were continued reports of verbal harassment of members of the
Jewish community.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the
provision of other state services, and in practice the government
generally enforced these provisions. While the law mandates that public
buildings and tourist facilities built after 1999 be accessible to all,
government enforcement was ineffective. Older buildings frequently
lacked access for persons with disabilities. There were no appropriate
institutions for adults with mental disabilities who were in need of
long-term care.
The amended People with Disabilities Law, which extended the
ombudsman's authority to cover discrimination based on disabilities in
both the private and public sectors, had not been fully implemented by
year's end. Problems facing persons with disabilities included narrow
or nonexistent sidewalks and lack of transport, parking spaces,
accessible toilets, and elevators. During the year the ombudsman
examined two complaints of discrimination against persons with
disabilities. The ombudsman investigated a complaint by the Association
of Parents of Persons with Mental Disabilities that persons with mental
disabilities were discriminated against in relation to persons with
other disabilities in the area of subsidized transport. The
investigation did not establish discriminatory treatment but
recommended to the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance the immediate
amendment of government programs to allow subsidies for the general
transport of persons with disabilities, including mental disabilities,
and a special subsidy for their transport to schools, care centers, and
related places.
There are no long-term care facilities specifically for persons
with mental disabilities, but many such persons were housed at the
Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital. In February parents of children with
special needs complained to the House of Representatives Committee on
Human Rights about a lack of services and opportunities for children
with severe forms of mental disability after they graduated from
special school at the age of 21. According to a study presented at a
meeting of the committee in May 2010, one in three patients discharged
from the Athalassa facility lived in a retirement home and experienced
difficulty integrating into society. Ten percent of these former
patients were under the age of 30. Members of the committee noted there
was no infrastructure to support mental health patients with the result
that, when they left the psychiatric hospital, their medication was
stopped. There were no programs for their social integration or
aftercare in general, a situation that could lead to serious problems.
In November the House Committee on Human Rights discussed the lack
of reintegration plans for psychiatric patients discharged from the
Athalassa Psychiatric Hospital. According the information presented to
the committee by the Social Welfare Services, 300 former patients of
the hospital were at the time living in homes for the elderly due to
lack of half-way houses. Members of the committee pointed out that
there has been no progress in developing any reintegration plans and
improving benefits to persons with psychiatric conditions. One
committee member stressed that existing legislation discriminates
against psychiatric patients, entitling them to lower benefits than
persons with other disabilities.
On December 13, the ombudsman, in her capacity as the head of the
National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, visited Athalassa
Psychiatric Hospital and collected material for a report with
recommendations for the improvement of patients' living conditions and
the protection of their rights.
In August 2010 the Paraplegics Association complained that new
public buses, introduced in June of that year as part of the overhaul
of the public transport system, did not meet the needs of wheelchair
users in that they only had space for one wheelchair instead of two.
After a meeting with the minister of communications and works in
September 2010, the Paraplegics Association stated that the government
had agreed that all future orders for buses would provide for two
wheelchair spaces. The government also agreed to modify buses then in
use if demand showed a need for two wheelchair spaces.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance's Service for the Care
and Rehabilitation of the Disabled was responsible for protecting the
rights of persons with disabilities. The minister of labor and social
insurance chaired the Pancyprian Council for Persons with Disabilities,
which included representatives of government services, organizations
representing persons with disabilities, and employer and employee
organizations. The council monitored actions that affected the
protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and served as a
forum for such persons to contribute to public policy.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Several incidents of government
and societal discrimination against members of minority national and
ethnic groups occurred during the year.
On February 16, approximately150 Greek Cypriot and 25 Palestinian
students clashed at a high school in Larnaca. Three students, a Greek
Cypriot and two Palestinians, suffered light injuries and received
first aid. The incident was attributed to increased tensions between
Greek Cypriot residents of Larnaca and Palestinian refugees who had
settled in the city. The government, the school parents association,
and the student council condemned the incident.
On March 23, police charged 14 persons for rioting and, in some
cases, causing bodily harm in connection with the November 2010 clashes
in Larnaca between participants in an antiracism NGO event, the Rainbow
Festival, and demonstrators marching against the presence of
undocumented migrants. One Turkish Cypriot, a member of a music group
participating in the NGO event, was stabbed and several police officers
and demonstrators injured. The mosque in Larnaca was vandalized
following the riot. Nine of the persons charged participated in the
Rainbow Festival, and the other five participated in a demonstration
against undocumented migrants. Doros Polycarpou, the executive director
of KISA, one of the organizers of the antiracism event, was among those
charged with rioting. The hearing of Polycarpou's case was scheduled
for February 2012 after two postponements in July and December.
International human rights groups following the case protested the
delays in the hearing. In a joint statement on December 13, a
delegation of eight international organizations protested the
cancellation of its meetings with government officials to discuss the
case. Two of the other persons charged were accused of publicly
insulting Doros Polycarpou.
In March the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
(ECRI) issued a report assessing the situation in Cyprus. Among several
areas that needed improvement, the report noted that legislation
against racism was rarely implemented and no records were kept on
discrimination cases that reached the courts. It noted a
disproportionately high concentration of Turkish Cypriot and Romani
children in certain schools and a lack of educational access for the
Romani children living in the Polemidia area outside of Limassol, a
situation described as de facto segregation from the general
population. The report also noted a marked increase in racism in
schools and a rise in prominence of extremist and anti-immigration
groups.
In November the ombudsman issued a report expressing serious
concern over the increase of racist attacks in Cyprus and calling on
the authorities to take immediate measures to locate and punish the
perpetrators of such incidents. After examining a series of attacks
against foreigners in Nicosia in August for which no suspects had been
arrested and convicted, the ombudsman made a series of recommendations
to improve the situation.
During the year there was one report of violence against a Turkish
Cypriot in the government-controlled area. In January a Turkish Cypriot
man was reportedly attacked after an Apoel-Omonia soccer game, in the
presence of his wife and child. The victim stated he did not file a
complaint with the Greek Cypriot police because of a lack of action in
other similar cases.
Some Turkish Cypriots living in the government-controlled area
reportedly faced difficulties obtaining identification cards and other
government documents, particularly if they were born after 1974.
Turkish Cypriots made few formal complaints to the UNFICYP about their
living conditions in the south.
The ombudsman received complaints that the government denied
automatic citizenship to children of Turkish Cypriots married to
Turkish citizens who resided in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots. Instead of granting citizenship automatically to such
children, the Ministry of Interior routinely sought approval from the
Council of Ministers before confirming their citizenship. In 2011 the
Council of Ministers approved 119 cases. The ombudsman's office had no
authority to examine the complaints because the Council of Ministers
decision to apply different criteria for granting citizenship to
children born to one Turkish parent was a political one. Children of
Turkish Cypriots married to Turkish citizens and living outside of
Cyprus were automatically granted citizenship. However, the ombudsman's
office issued a report in August following the receipt of a large
number of complaints from children of Turkish Cypriots married to non-
Cypriots for long delays in receiving a response to their applications
for citizenship. The majority of the cases were pending for three years
and in some cases for four to five years. The ombudsman recommended
that the Ministry of Interior expedite the examination of the
applications, inform the applicants before the end of the year, and
inform those deemed ineligible in writing about the reasons for
rejection. The ombudsman also urged the ministry to examine such
applications in the future within a reasonable period of time.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Despite legal protections, gay
men and lesbians faced significant societal discrimination, and few
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons were open about
their sexual orientation. In May 2010 the first LGBT organization,
Accept LGBT Cyprus, announced its operation and organized a series of
events. The events were covered by the media and there was no negative
public reaction. On October 19, Interior Minister Sylikiotis stated
that the application of Accept-Cyprus to register as an association was
accepted and the relevant certificate of registration was issued.
In November the press reported that a Foreign Ministry attache
complained to the ombudsman that the ministry excluded him from a
specific overseas assignment because of his sexual orientation. The
permanent secretary of the Foreign Ministry rejected the allegation on
the grounds that the attache lacked the necessary experience for the
specific appointment he had requested.
A report published in May by ILGA Europe (Equality for Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, Trans- and Intersex People in Europe) listed Cyprus
among the countries that were not advancing towards greater recognition
of rights for LGBT persons. The report noted that Cyprus lacked
specific LGBT antidiscrimination legislation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--An NGO reported
complaints of discrimination toward persons with HIV/AIDS and asserted
that HIV-positive individuals faced social exclusion and termination
from employment. The director of a clinic treating HIV-positive persons
stated in December that due to prevailing prejudice, the majority of
patients did not reveal their condition to their colleagues and some,
not even to their families.
An NGO working on human rights issues reported receiving two death
threats during the year. NGO personnel reported both to the police, who
took note of the information and made some recommendations regarding
personal safety.
Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--Government-approved textbooks
used at the primary and secondary school levels included language that
was biased against Turkish Cypriots and Turks or refrained from
mentioning the Turkish Cypriot community altogether. In addition, there
were anecdotal reports of teachers using handouts or leading classroom
discussions that included inflammatory language.
In March 2010 the minister of education announced that a special
government committee established in 2008 to examine the question of
education reform had completed work on a set of curricula on all
subjects, including history. Implementation of the history curriculum
was scheduled to begin in September 2011, but controversy over new
language led to a postponement that had not been resolved at year's
end. Although teachers were instructed to use a variety of sources to
promote critical thinking and avoid indoctrination by encouraging class
discussion and asking students to consult alternative sources, an NGO
involved with the training commented that, without evaluation, it could
not be determined whether teachers acted as instructed in the
classroom. The Ministry of Education ran seminars for teachers on
promoting diversity in religion. However, a new textbook with a more
diverse viewpoint was withdrawn prior to its introduction. According to
one Ministry of Education official, the lack of education on LGBT
issues in the education system contributed to the stigmatization of
LGBT persons in schools.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
All workers, except members of the police and military forces, have the
legal right to form and join independent unions of their own choosing
without prior authorization. Police officers could form associations
that had the right to bargain collectively. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference. With the exception of
members of the armed forces, police, and gendarmerie, all workers,
including migrant and foreign workers, have the right to strike. The
law provides for collective bargaining. Antiunion discrimination is
illegal.
Workers exercised the right to form and join independent unions and
to bargain collectively in practice. More than 70 percent of the
workforce belonged to independent unions. The government generally
protected the right of unions to conduct their activities without
interference. Authorities have the power to curtail strikes in
``essential services,'' but this power was used rarely in practice. An
agreement between the government and essential services personnel
provides for dispute resolution and protects workers in the sector.
Although collective bargaining agreements are not legally binding,
their terms were effectively observed by employers and employees.
Collective bargaining agreements covered approximately 60 percent of
workers, both citizens and foreigners. Workers covered by such
agreements were predominantly in the larger sectors of the economy,
including construction, tourism, the health industry, and
manufacturing.
Union leaders contended that private sector employers were able to
discourage union activity because the enforcement of labor regulations
prohibiting antiunion discrimination was sporadic and penalties for
antiunion practices were minimal.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The government
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However,
NGOs reported isolated cases of asylum seekers subjected to forced
labor in agriculture.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance continued to receive
complaints of labor exploitation. Foreign workers, primarily from
Eastern Europe and East and South Asia, were reportedly forced to work
up to 13 hours a day, seven days a week, for very low wages. NGOs
confirmed that employers often retained a portion of foreign workers'
salaries as payment for accommodations. The ombudsman reported that her
office received a number of complaints during the year, and their
investigation was pending.
Many domestic workers were reluctant to report contract violations
by their employers out of fear of losing their jobs and consequently
their work and residency permits. An NGO reported that there were cases
of domestic workers whose travel documents were withheld by their
employers. Two cases involving mistreatment of foreign domestic workers
by their employers were pending trial at year's end. In one of the
cases pending before the court, the employer, who was a member of the
fire service, was ordered by the service, following a disciplinary
investigation, to pay a 170- euro ($220) fine for misconduct. He
appealed the decision, and a final decision on the appeal was pending
at year's end. The domestic worker was identified as a victim of
trafficking for labor exploitation.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children, defined as persons under 15,
except in specified circumstances, such as combined work-training
programs for children who have attained the age of 14 or employment in
cultural, artistic, sports, or advertising activities, subject to
certain rules limiting work hours. Nighttime work and engagement of
children in street trading is prohibited. The law also permits the
employment of adolescents, defined as persons between the ages of 15
and 18, provided it is not harmful, damaging, or dangerous, and also
subject to rules limiting hours of employment. Employment of
adolescents between midnight and 4:00 a.m. is not permitted. The
minimum age for employment in an ``industrial undertaking'' is 16.
The government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace. Ministry of Labor and
Social Insurance inspectors are responsible for enforcing the child
labor laws and did so effectively. There were isolated examples of
children under 16 working for family businesses.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Although there is no national
minimum wage, there is a minimum wage for certain groups that are
deemed vulnerable to exploitation. The official poverty line is set at
2,062 euros ($2,680) a month for a family of four; the rate was
established in 2009. The minimum wage for shop assistants, nurses'
assistants, clerks, hairdressers, and nursery assistants was 855 euros
($1,110) per month for the first six months and 909 euros ($1,180) per
month thereafter. For asylum seekers working in the agricultural
sector, the minimum monthly wage was either 425 euros ($553) with
accommodation and food provided or 767 euros ($997) without
accommodation and food.
The minimum starting salary for foreign nationals working as live-
in housekeepers was 456 euros ($593) per month. Medical insurance, visa
fees, travel, and repatriation expenses were covered by the employers.
Cabaret performers' contracts typically stipulated that they receive at
least 205 euros ($267) per week for 36 hours of work. Workers in almost
all other occupations, including unskilled labor, were covered under
collective bargaining agreements. The wages set in these agreements
were significantly higher than the minimum wage.
Foreign workers were allowed to claim pensions, and in some cases
bilateral agreements existed that allowed workers to claim credit in
their home countries. Unions and labor confederations were generally
effective in enforcing negotiated wage rates (collectively bargained
rates), which were generally much higher than the minimum wage. The
Migration Service was responsible for enforcing the minimum wage for
foreign workers but did not actively do so.
The legal maximum workweek was 48 hours, including overtime. Unions
and employers within the same economic sector collectively determined
the actual working hours. In the private sector, white-collar employees
typically worked 39 hours a week, and blue-collar employees worked 38
hours a week. In the public sector, the workweek was 38 hours in the
winter and 35 hours in the summer. The law does not require premium pay
for overtime or mandatory rest periods; however, these benefits were
sometimes stipulated in contracts and collective agreements. The law
provides that foreign and local workers receive equal treatment. Labor
ministry inspectors are responsible for enforcing these laws. Labor
unions, however, reported enforcement problems in sectors not covered
by collective agreements. They also reported that certain employers,
mainly in the building industry, exploited illegal foreign workers by
paying them very low wages.
There were reports that foreign domestic workers, primarily from
East or South Asia, were mistreated by their employers or fired without
cause in violation of their contracts. Some domestic workers,
particularly live-in maids, reported working excess hours for employer
families at all times, night and day, without additional compensation
or time off. Although the law protects domestic workers who file a
complaint with the Ministry of Labor and Social Insurance from being
deported until their cases have been adjudicated, NGOs reported that
many domestic workers did not complain to authorities about
mistreatment due to fear of deportation.
Ministry of Labor inspectors were responsible for enforcing health
and safety laws. The Ministry of Labor and labor unions reported that
health and safety laws were satisfactorily enforced but that more
needed to be done. The minister of labor stated in October that the
majority of accidents involved non-Cypriots who were employed
illegally. All four workers killed in work-related accidents in 2011
were non-Cypriots. Factory inspectors processed complaints and
inspected businesses to ensure that occupational safety laws were
observed. Their inspections were supported by close government
cooperation with employer and employee organizations. However,
inspections did not occur in private households where persons were
employed as domestic servants.
From January to the end of September, four persons were killed in
work-related accidents. In 2010 there were 20 workplace fatalities, 11
of which were migrant workers.
______
The Area Administered by Turkish Cypriots
(Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Since 1974 the northern part of Cyprus has been run by a Turkish
Cypriot administration that proclaimed itself the ``Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus'' (``TRNC'') in 1983. The United States does not
recognize the ``TRNC,'' nor does any country other than Turkey. Dervish
Eroglu was elected ``president'' in 2010 in free and fair elections.
Elections to the ``Assembly of the Republic'' in 2009 were also free
and fair and resulted in the formation of a single-party ``government''
of the UBP (National Unity Party). The ``TRNC constitution'' is the
basis for the ``laws'' that govern the area administered by Turkish
Cypriot ``police'' and security forces were ultimately under the
operational command of the Turkish military, per transitional article
10 of the ``TRNC constitution,'' which cedes responsibility for public
security and defense ``temporarily'' to Turkey.The most significant
problems reported during the year included police abuse of detainees
and infringement on the right of demonstrators to peacefully assemble.
In addition, there were restrictions on the rights of asylum seekers
and no regulatory infrastructure to handle asylum applications or to
protect their rights.Other problems reported during the year included
mistreatment of persons in custody, overcrowding in prisons, lack of
separation of incarcerated adults and juveniles, corruption and
cronyism in the executive and legislative branches, domestic violence
against women, trafficking in persons, and criminalization of same-sex
sexual activity between men.While there were investigations of police
abuse cases, no officials were prosecuted or punished. Officials
sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that authorities or their agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The ``law'' prohibits such practices; however, there were
reports that police abused detainees. The ``law'' does not refer to
``torture,'' which falls under the section of the criminal code that
deals with assault, violence, and battery.
On May 17, police arrested and detained three men, including an
American resident in the north, on burglary charges. The family
reported that the American had been beaten by police, and a consul who
visited him in prison photographed him with deep contusions and
multiple bruises. The accusations were brought to ``parliament'' by
Nicosia ``member of parliament'' and TDP chairman Mehmet Cakici, who
complained that the attending physician who performed a health check on
the suspect was complicit because he found that the suspect's injuries
could have been caused by a fall rather than a beating.
On May 31, a newspaper reported that an acquitted child molestation
suspect alleged police beat him for two hours and sodomized him with a
stick, after which he reportedly required surgery. He filed a complaint
with the ``attorney general's'' office.
In December a ``parliamentary committee'' established to
investigate allegations of police torture reported that torture has
been carried out at police stations. The committee also learned that
police and the ``attorney general's office'' investigated the
complaints and torture allegations and filed a case in ``court'' based
on their findings. The committee studied another 12 petitions from
citizens who claimed they were beaten and consulted with the police and
the ``attorney general's office'' on the cases.
In December Kibrisli newspaper began publishing a series of torture
allegations dating from 2006 to the present, based on first-hand
accounts. One victim alleged that he was covered with a sack, tortured,
beaten, and that electricity was applied to his genitals for seven days
after he refused to sign statements prepared by the police. The
newspaper published a full statement and photos showing the alleged
signs of torture. Another victim alleged that he was beaten so severely
he required medical care; the doctor at the hospital reportedly
described his wounds as ``scratches'' and did not give him a health
report. The victim claimed that police released him when they
understood that he was not guilty. He claimed he filed a complaint with
the ``attorney general's'' office but had never received a response.
Two police abuse cases filed with the ``attorney general'' in 2011
were being prepared for a court hearing at the end of the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In previous years inmates
complained of overcrowding at the prison, but the authorities routinely
claimed they had addressed the problem. NGO representatives stated
that, while a 2009 bunk-bed system that increased the official bed
capacity from 291 to 448 addressed some of the overcrowding problems,
health and other services were sorely lacking. Health services were
provided to inmates once a week; no health checks were given to
prisoners and detainees upon entry into the prison; and inmates lacked
regular access to washing water and hot water. Authorities stated that
inmates requested a sports facility for the prison but there was no
room for such a facility. Of the 293 prisoners held at year's end, 51
percent were foreigners, mostly Turkish citizens. Ten women prisoners
and two juveniles were incarcerated. Approximately 39 percent of the
prisoners were awaiting trial.
During the year there were no deaths within the prison or detention
centers. Prisoners had access to potable water.
According to the authorities, prisoners and detainees were
permitted both to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. Authorities reported they did not receive any
complaints.
Authorities stated that all prisoners were allowed religious
observance. Prisoners with ``stern'' penalties were allowed to receive
visitors every 10 days while prisoners with ``light punishment'' were
allowed to receive visitors every 15 days. Detainees were allowed to
receive visitors every 30 days. Visits were limited to 30 minutes
except during holidays. Convicted inmates were allowed a maximum of 40
minutes of telephone calls four days a week; detainees were given
access to phones three days a week.
The scope of the ombudsman's duties does not include advocating for
reduced or alternative sentences or addressing the status of juvenile
prisoners or improving detention/bail conditions.
During the year authorities permitted a prison visit by a group of
local journalists and hosted an iftar dinner for the group at the
prison, where they were able to meet with inmates and prison employees.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The ``law'' prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and authorities generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are responsible
for law enforcement. The chief of police reports to a Turkish Cypriot
``general,'' who is nominally under the supervision of the ``Prime
Ministry,'' holding the ``security portfolio.'' The police and security
forces are ultimately under the operational command of the Turkish
military, however, per transitional article 10 of the ``TRNC
constitution,'' which ``temporarily'' cedes responsibility for public
security and defense to Turkey. Security forces were generally
cooperative with civilian authorities and effective in matters of law
enforcement. The police are divided into eight functional divisions and
five geographic divisions.
The ``office of the attorney general'' continued to work with the
inspection division (or occasionally the criminal investigative
division) to investigate allegations of police misconduct. Two
complaints were filed with and investigated by the ``attorney general's
office.'' The cases were being prepared for a court hearing at the end
of the year.
In 2011 a Turkish Cypriot nearing completion of his two-year
mandatory military service wrote an article alleging widespread abuse
of soldiers within the military, including physical and psychological
abuses.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Judicially
issued warrants are required for arrests. No person may be detained
longer than 24 hours without referral of the case to the courts for a
longer period of detention. Authorities generally respected this right
in practice. Detainees were usually informed promptly of charges
against them, although individuals believed to have committed a violent
offense were often held for longer periods without being charged.
According to the ``law,'' any detained person must be brought before a
judge within 24 hours. The person can then be detained in police
custody for a period of up to three months, but a judge must review the
detention after the third day and every eight days thereafter. Bail was
permitted and routinely used. Detainees were usually allowed prompt
access to family members and a lawyer of their choice. Authorities only
provided lawyers to the indigent for cases involving violent offenses.
Particularly at the time of arrest, police sometimes did not observe
legal protections. Some suspects were not permitted to have their
lawyers present when giving testimony, in contravention of the ``law.''
Suspects who demanded the presence of a lawyer were sometimes
threatened with stiffer charges or physically intimidated.
During the year one suspect who claimed he did not know Turkish
complained he was forced to sign a confession drafted in Turkish by
police. There were numerous allegations of rough treatment or torture
by police of prisoners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The ``law'' provides for an
independent judiciary, and authorities generally respected judicial
independence in practice.Most criminal and civil cases begin in
district courts, from which appeals are made to the ``Supreme Court.''
There were no special courts for political offenses. Civilian courts
have jurisdiction in cases where civilians are accused of violating
military restrictions, such as filming or photographing military zones.
Trial Procedures.--The ``law'' provides for the right to a fair
trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The
``TRNC constitution'' provides for public trials, the defendant's right
to be present at those trials, and the defendant's right to consult
with an attorney in a timely manner. Authorities provide lawyers to
indigent defendants only in cases involving violent offenses.
Defendants are allowed to question witnesses against them and present
evidence and witnesses on their behalf. The ``law'' also requires that
defendants and their attorneys have access to evidence held by the
``government'' related to their cases. Defendants enjoy a presumption
of innocence and have a right to appeal. Authorities generally
respected these rights in practice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There was generally an
independent and impartial judiciary for civil matters, permitting
claimants to bring lawsuits seeking damages for human rights
violations. There were generally no problems enforcing domestic court
orders.
Property Restitution.--During the year Greek Cypriots continued to
pursue property suits against the Turkish government for the loss since
1974 of property located in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish Cypriots pursued claims against the Republic of Cyprus as well.
Under ECHR rules, as long as adequate local remedies exist, an
appellant does not have standing to bring a case before the ECHR until
that appellant exhausts all local remedies.
In response to the ECHR's 2005 ruling in the Xenides-Arestis case
that Turkey's ``subordinate local authorities'' in Cyprus had not
provided an adequate local remedy, a property commission was
established to handle claims by Greek Cypriots; in 2006 the ECHR ruled
that the commission had satisfied ``in principle'' the ECHR's
requirement for an effective local remedy. In a March 2010 ruling, the
ECHR recognized the property commission as a domestic remedy. The
Immoveable Property Commission (IPC) reportedly received 1,926
applications through the end of the year and completed 205 of them
through friendly settlements and seven through formal hearings. Five
applicants received restitution of their properties outright (plus
compensation), one received restitution pending a future settlement of
the Cyprus problem, one accepted partial restitution, and one received
full restitution. Two property exchange (plus compensation) decisions
were also issued. Two applications were rejected and 92 were revoked.
As of year's end, the commission had paid the equivalent of more than
$106 million in compensation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The ``law'' prohibits such actions. However, there
were reports that police subjected Greek Cypriots and Maronites living
in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots to surveillance. Although
authorities reported otherwise, a Maronite representative asserted that
during the year the Turkish military occupied 18 houses in the village
of Karpasia.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
authorities generally respected this right in practice. Individuals
were generally able to publicly criticize the authorities without
reprisal, with some exceptions.
Freedom of Speech.--Police on occasion interfered with the public
display of materials that raised politically sensitive subjects. On
July 19, police confiscated a banner from the Turkish Cypriot Public
Servants Trade Union building because it was deemed ``disrespectful''
to visiting Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan. On August 9, media reported
that police removed a large sign advertizing a newspaper that included
a photograph depicting police violence in July. Police reinstated the
sign the following day.
Freedom of Press.--While authorities generally respected freedom of
the press in practice, journalists were at times obstructed in their
reporting, fined, and threatened with charges. The independent media
were active and expressed a wide variety of views. International media
were generally allowed to operate freely. Bayrak Radyo Televizyon
Kurumu (BRT) is the only ``government''-owned television and radio
station.Violence and Harassment: Two journalists were attacked during
the year, although the relationship between the attacks and the
journalists' reporting was unclear. On July 3, an assailant shot at
journalist Ali Osman Tabak inside Afrika newspaper's office. The office
had been attacked in February. Police arrested a suspect in connection
with both incidents. After investigation, charges were filed against
the suspect and the trial continued. On April 6 and May 12, a second
journalist, Mutlu Esendemir, was a victim of bomb attacks on his
vehicle, which slightly injured him. After investigation, various
charges were filed against the suspect, who was arrested on June 1, and
the trial continued. The Turkish Cypriot Journalists Association
reported that journalists have been threatened and prevented from
working and that they experienced problems trying to access public or
other information and political pressure.
Internet Freedom.--The authorities did not restrict access to the
Internet, and there were no reports that they monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The authorities did not
restrict academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of assembly. However,
authorities interfered with peaceful public protests on several
occasions in July.
On July 19, groups of regular, undercover, and riot police
intervened against peaceful protesters at three separate locations in
and around Nicosia. Police entered the Turkish Cypriot Public Servants
Union headquarters, confiscated a banner, and arrested two unionists.
The same evening, several dozen regular and undercover police officers
confronted protesters from the Social Existence Platform organization
in front of the Cyprus Turkish Airlines headquarters in Nicosia,
resulting in six injuries and another six arrests. Media photographs
and video footage showed police shoving, punching, and kicking
protesters. The eight demonstrators were released on July 20. They were
later charged with causing damage to police vehicles and fined. The
main opposition parties, civil society organizations, and trade unions
organized protests outside the police headquarters on July 25 to
criticize the police and the ``government'' for their use of excessive
force against peaceful demonstrators.
Freedom of Association.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of
association, and the authorities generally respected this right in
practice. Some organizations faced lengthy registration periods.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The ``law'' provides for freedom of
movement within the area administered by Turkish Cypriots, foreign
travel, emigration, and repatriation, and authorities generally
respected these rights in practice.
Cooperation between the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and the Turkish Cypriot authorities was handled
through an intermediary NGO. Since no law exists regarding the handling
of asylum applications, the UNHCR representative in Cyprus adjudicated
asylum claims.
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were required to show
identification cards when crossing the green line. Greek Cypriots and
foreigners crossing into the area administered by Turkish Cypriots were
also required to fill out a ``visa'' form.
In an effort to improve regulation of undocumented workers,
authorities passed an ``immigration amnesty law'' in December allowing
illegally present workers to request amnesty for 60 days. Applications
continued at year's end. In addition, the new regulation stipulated
that any employer of illegal workers would be fined 6,500 Turkish lira
($3,440) or face business closure for two months. According to the
immigration ``law,'' all employers who wish to import foreign workers
need official permission from the ``Department of Labor'' to register
them. Authorities deported illegal immigrants found without work
permits. All illegal immigrants without work permits were prohibited
from entering the ``TRNC'' at ports of entry. With few exceptions,
asylum seekers were generally treated as illegal immigrants and were
either deported or denied entry.
Turkish Cypriots had difficulty traveling to most countries because
only Turkey recognizes travel documents issued by the ``TRNC.'' Some
Turkish Cypriots used Turkish travel documents, but many obtained
travel documents issued by the Republic of Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots
born after 1974 to parents who were both Republic of Cyprus citizens
before 1974 obtained passports relatively easily, compared with Turkish
Cypriots born after 1974 to only one Cypriot parent.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Turkish Cypriots considered
persons displaced as a result of the division of the island to be
refugees, although they fell under the U.N. definition of IDPs. These
persons and their descendants numbered approximately 90,000 to 100,000
in the north. They were resettled, had access to humanitarian
organizations, and were not subject to attack, targeting, or return
under dangerous conditions.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The 1951 Refugee
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is incorporated into
Turkish Cypriot domestic ``law,'' as were all other laws adopted during
pre-1963 British colonial rule and later ``ratified'' by the Turkish
Cypriot administration. Authorities admitted that they had no ``law''
or system in place for dealing with asylum seekers or the protection of
refugees and stated that asylum applications were systematically
rejected. Potential asylum seekers who attempted to enter the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots illegally were almost always arrested,
taken to court, and deported after serving their sentence. During the
year, however, authorities facilitated the access of 20 asylum seekers
to the UNHCR representatives in the U.N. buffer zone.
Individuals who requested asylum were supposed to be directed to
the UNHCR or its local implementing partner, the Refugee Rights
Association (RRA). However, authorities often refused to grant asylum
seekers access to the RRA, refused their entry, treated them as
undocumented immigrants, and denied them the opportunity to apply for
asylum through the UNHCR. The RRA was affiliated with the Turkish
Cypriot Human Rights Foundation in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots. Only the UNHCR representative could consider applicability of
the 1951 Refugee Convention; the RRA's mission was to monitor and
identify individuals who wanted to apply for asylum, to refer them to
the UNHCR, to advocate to the Turkish Cypriot administration not to
deport such individuals but instead to provide protection for the
prospective applicants, and to facilitate their accommodation and
employment.
Of 39 asylum seekers, 14 were deported during the year before a
determination had been made regarding their status. Twelve deportation
orders were successfully cancelled, with the RRA's assistance. These 12
asylum seekers were able to depart the north of the island to continue
their claims with UNHCR elsewhere. The remaining 13 asylum seekers were
in the north at year's end under status review with UNHCR and receiving
assistance from the RRA.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice authorities did not provide protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened. The RRA stated in 2011 that,
despite its efforts, authorities at ports often denied entry to asylum
seekers, and those trying to enter the ``TRNC'' illegally were usually
detained and subsequently deported. The RRA complained that authorities
usually denied asylum seekers access to the RRA's lawyers and vice
versa. During the year 14 of 39 asylum seekers were deported to their
place of origin, Syria.
Access to Basic Services.--According to the RRA, at year's end, 13
asylum seekers and refugees were residing and working (for below-
minimum wages and sometimes in exchange for food) or attending school
in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. They could not travel
abroad because they would be unable to return due to their lack of
status, which rendered them illegal according to Turkish Cypriot
immigration rules. The UNHCR did not provide financial assistance to
asylum seekers except in exceptional cases. There were no reliable
estimates of the number of asylum seekers crossing into the government-
controlled areas, since irregular crossings went unrecorded.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The ``law'' provides Turkish Cypriots the right to change their
``government'' peacefully, and they exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Turkish
Cypriots choose a leader and a representative body every five years or
less. In 2010 Dervish Eroglu was elected ``president'' in free and fair
elections.
Political Parties.--Greek Cypriots and Maronite residents were
prohibited from participating in Turkish Cypriot ``national
elections;'' they were eligible to vote in Greek Cypriot elections but
had to travel to the government-controlled area to exercise that right.
Greek Cypriot and Maronite enclave communities in the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots directly elected municipal officials. Turkish
Cypriot authorities did not recognize these officials.
While membership or nonmembership in the dominant party did not
confer formal advantages or disadvantages, there were widespread
allegations of societal cronyism and nepotism.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were four women in
the 50-seat ``parliament.'' There were no minorities represented in the
``parliament.''
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The ``law'' provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, authorities did not implement the ``law'' effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Corruption, cronyism, and lack of transparency were generally perceived
to be serious problems in the legislative and executive branches.
Opposition parties continued to claim that the ``government''
primarily hired supporters of the ruling party for public sector jobs
during the year. On September 7, newspapers alleged that the ruling
party hired more than 100 workers to staff various public offices and
planned to hire an additional 200 persons.
The ``constitution'' provides for free access to ``government''
information, and the ``law'' provides for public access. In practice,
however, civil servants were not allowed to provide access to
``government'' documents without first obtaining permission from their
directors or ``minister.'' There were some complaints by NGO
representatives that they were denied access to ``government''
information during the year. Other NGO representatives claimed that
access to ``land registry records'' was denied, specifically for cases
that involved pre-1974 Greek Cypriot owners who wanted to apply to the
Immovable Property Commission. A November 2011 Access Info report
stated that 78 percent of requests for information submitted to public
bodies were not answered; 8 percent were orally refused; 1 percent
refused in writing, and 9 percent responded to with the requested
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic human rights groups operated in the area
administered by Turkish Cypriots. The international NGO Minority Rights
Group International was also active in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots, conducting research, capacity building, and implementing
advocacy campaigns under an EU grant. Authorities' cooperation with
NGOs was inconsistent.
Many local human rights groups were concerned with improving human
rights conditions in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. NGOs
included groups promoting awareness of domestic violence; women's
rights; rights of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants; trafficking
in persons; torture; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
persons' rights. These groups were numerous but had little impact on
specific ``legislation.'' A few international NGOs were active in the
area administered by Turkish Cypriots, but many were hesitant to
operate there due to political sensitivities related to working in an
unrecognized area.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The ``law'' prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. Authorities generally enforced
these prohibitions.
Women--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The ``law'' provides no minimum
sentence for individuals convicted of rape, including spousal rape; the
maximum sentence is life imprisonment. The authorities and police
effectively handled and prosecuted rape cases, including cases of
spousal rape. There were no NGOs whose specific mission was to support
rape victims.Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a
problem. The ``law'' prohibits domestic violence under a general
assault/violence/ battery clause in the criminal code. While
allegations of domestic violence were usually considered a family
matter and settled out of court, two cases of domestic violence were
prosecuted. Both cases resulted in various fines and bail but no prison
sentences. Authorities considered a case more credible if there was at
least one witness in addition to the victim.
According to 2011 statistics, 78 women were subjected to violence
in the north. Of the victims, 34 were beaten by their spouses, 12 were
victims of violence from a parent or other family member, while four
were subjected to violence from boyfriends. Twenty-three women were
given ``court-appointed'' lawyers.
Sexual Harassment.--The ``law'' does not specifically prohibit
sexual harassment, but victims could pursue such cases under other
sections of the ``law.'' Sexual harassment was not discussed widely,
and such incidents largely went unreported.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals were able to freely
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had access
to contraception, skilled attendance during childbirth, and obstetric
and postpartum care.
Discrimination.--Women generally have the same legal status as men
under property ``law,'' family ``law,'' and in the ``judicial system.''
``Laws'' requiring equal pay for men and women performing the same work
were generally enforced at the white-collar level. However, women
working in the agricultural and textile sectors were routinely paid
less than their male counterparts. Several NGOs worked to protect
women's rights, but no specific ``government'' agency had this
responsibility.
Children--Birth Registration.--``Citizenship'' is derived from
one's parents, and there was universal registration at the time of
birth.
Child Abuse.--There were some media reports of child abuse, most
commonly in the form of sexual battery or rape. As with domestic
violence, there were social and cultural disincentives to seek legal
remedies for such problems, which observers believed were
underreported.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The ``criminal code'' penalizes
sexual relations with underage girls. The maximum penalty for sex with
a girl under the age of 13 is life imprisonment. The maximum penalty
for sex with girls older than 13 but younger than 16 is three years'
imprisonment. There are no ``laws'' regarding child pornography. The
age of consent is 16 for girls. No age of consent for boys is specified
under the ``criminal code.''
On August 14, a social services expert asserted to the press that
underage girls were prostituted to soldiers and workers at a mall in
Nicosia, as were underage boys, possibly as young as 12, in Kyrenia.
The expert reportedly gave this information several times to police,
who stated that there were not sufficient grounds to pursue the tips.
Police stated they record and investigate such complaints when they are
received but do not always find sufficient evidence of criminal or
illegal activity to pursue a case.
On April 11 and 12, two underage girls, one of them age 14 who was
registered with the ``Social Services Department,'' were reportedly
forced to work as dancers and hostesses in a bar in Nicosia.
Authorities arrested the owner of the bar for detention of a girl under
age 16; a police investigation found the claims to be unfounded, and
the suspect was released.
Anti-Semitism.--The very small Jewish community was composed
primarily of nonresident businesspersons. A synagogue in Kyrenia held
services regularly. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons with Disabilities.--The ``law'' prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the
provision of other ``state'' services, and in practice the authorities
effectively enforced these provisions. The ``government'' employed 562
persons with disabilities and provided financial aid to the other 3,673
of the 4,049 known persons with disabilities in the area administered
by Turkish Cypriots. The ``law'' does not mandate access to public
buildings and other facilities for persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The ``law'' prohibits
discrimination, and the 1975 Vienna III Agreement remains the legal
source of authority regarding the treatment of the 335 Greek Cypriot
and 111 Maronite residents in the area under the administration of
``TRNC'' authorities.
Under the Vienna III Agreement, the UNFICYP visited Greek Cypriot
residents of the enclave weekly and Maronites twice a month; additional
visits require preapproval by authorities. Although the Vienna III
Agreement provides for medical care by a doctor from the Greek Cypriot
community, authorities only permitted such care by registered Turkish
Cypriot doctors; individuals in enclaves also traveled to the
government-controlled area for medical care.
Greek Cypriots and Maronites were able to take possession of some
of their properties but were unable to leave their properties to heirs
residing in the government-controlled area. A Maronite representative
asserted that Maronites were not allowed to bequeath property to heirs
who do not reside in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots and
possess ``TRNC'' identification cards. The authorities allowed the
enclaved residents to make improvements to their homes and to apply for
permission to build new structures on their properties. Maronites
living in the government-controlled area could use their properties
only if those properties were not under the control of the Turkish
military or allocated to Turkish Cypriots.
A majority of foreign workers in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots were Turkish. Those working in the agricultural and
construction sectors were reportedly sometimes forced to sleep on the
ground, and restaurant workers were seen sleeping after hours on chairs
in the establishments where they worked.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Same-sex sexual activity
between men is criminalized in the area administered by Turkish
Cypriots under a general sodomy statute. The maximum penalty is 14
years' imprisonment. Homosexuality remained highly proscribed socially
and was rarely discussed. Very few lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender (LGBT) persons were publicly open about their sexual
orientation.
During the year there were no reports of either police or
``government'' representatives engaging in or condoning violence
against the LGBT community.
While there were no recorded cases of official or societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, or
access to education or health care, members of the LGBT community noted
that an overwhelming majority of LGBT persons hid their sexual
orientation to avoid such problems. They also complained that there is
no specific antidiscrimination law for LGBT persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
All workers except members of the police and military forces have the
legal right to form and join independent unions of their own choosing
without prior authorization. The ``law'' allows unions to conduct their
activities without interference and provides for the right to strike.
The ``law'' does not permit essential service workers, namely judges
and members of the police and armed forces, to strike. Authorities have
the power to curtail strikes in ``essential services.'' The ``law''
provides for collective bargaining but does not prohibit antiunion
discrimination.Workers formed and joined independent unions in
practice. Fewer than 2 percent of private sector workers and more than
60 percent of semipublic and public sector workers belonged to labor
unions. Authorities generally protected the right of unions to conduct
their activities in practice. While workers may legally strike,
employers have an unrestricted right to hire replacement workers in the
event of a strike, which limited the effectiveness of this right in
practice.
On March 9, the ``government'' prohibited strikes at the ``Title
Deed Office'' and the ``courts,'' invoking its right to protect the
provision of essential services due to a backlog of cases and files at
both institutions. The employees of both institutions began their
strikes on January 11 to protest the ``government's'' proposed
austerity package. On July 19, the ``government'' prohibited a strike
by the Turkish Cypriot Public Servants Union (KTAMS) at the Ercan
Airport flight control tower and postponed it for 60 days.
Some unions complained that certain companies pressured workers to
join unions led or approved by the company. Officials of independent
unions claimed that the authorities created rival public sector unions
to weaken the independent unions.
Workers exercised the right to bargain collectively in practice.
The 27,244 public and semipublic employees who made up approximately 30
percent of the work force benefited from collective bargaining
agreements.Union leaders claimed that private sector employers were
able to discourage union activity because the enforcement of labor
regulations was sporadic and penalties for antiunion practices were
nominal.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The authorities
prohibited forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but there
were reports that such practices occurred. Migrant workers in the
construction and agricultural sectors were subjected to reduced wages
and nonpayment of wages, beatings, and threats of deportation. One NGO
asserted that there were cases of forced labor in the agricultural and
domestic service sectors.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
``laws'' generally provide protection for children from exploitation in
the workplace. In contrast to previous years, NGOs alleged that
authorities did not always effectively enforce these ``laws,'' and
children, mainly from Turkey, were being used for labor, primarily in
the agricultural and manufacturing sectors and at industrial areas
working in the automotive and construction sectors with their families.
According to accounts by the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights
Foundation, child labor in the urban informal economy was also a
problem, albeit to a lesser extent than in the agriculture and in
manufacturing sectors.The minimum age for employment in an industrial
undertaking is 15, the last year for which education is compulsory, and
children may be employed in apprentice positions between the ages of 15
and 18 under a special status. Labor inspectors generally enforced the
``law'' effectively. It was common in family-run shops for children to
work after school, and children as young as 11 worked in orchards
during school holidays.
The ``Ministry of Labor and Social Security'' is responsible for
enforcing child labor ``laws'' and policies and generally enforced them
in practice. The ``ministry'' held monthly inspections and kept
statistics of its findings. During the year inspectors identified 461
workers without work permits. Authorities fined 232 employers and
companies for failures to comply with the ``law,'' but their
enforcement of the rules and requirements was generally perceived to be
inadequate. Total fines amounted to 622,700 lira ($329,500), of which
410,210 lira ($217, 000) were actually collected.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 1,300 lira
($689) per month. The official poverty line, dating from 2008, was set
at 9, 632 lira ($5,100) per year, or 803 lira ($426) per month, for
each household member in a family of four. Migrant workers were often
provided substandard accommodations as part of their compensation or
made to pay for accommodations. The ``Ministry of Labor and Social
Security'' is esponsible for enforcing the minimum wage. However, it
was widely reported that illegal foreign workers were generally paid
below the minimum wage.
Authorities sporadically enforced occupational safety and health
regulations. In 2011, 236 workplace accidents were reported in which
231 persons were injured and five persons killed.Limited information
was available on conditions of work. According to information received
from a civil servants union, working hours for the public sector were
38 hours a week from December through February and 39 hours for the
rest of the year. There was premium pay for overtime in the public
sector. Standard working hours for the private sector were 40 hours a
week. Premium pay for overtime was also required, but frequently not
paid, in the private sector. In the public sector, excessive compulsory
overtime is prohibited in certain sectors, depending on the working
hours.
According to a union representative, enforcement and labor
inspection was almost nonexistent, and standards were not sufficiently
and effectively enforced in all sectors. The representative also stated
that officials did not take any action to prevent violations of wages
and working conditions. For example the minimum wage has not been
increased in more than two years.
__________
CZECH REPUBLIC
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Czech Republic is a multiparty parliamentary democracy.
Legislative authority is vested in the bicameral parliament, consisting
of a Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecka snemovna) and Senate (Senat). The
president, elected every five years by parliament, is head of state and
appoints a prime minister from the majority party or coalition. In 2008
the bicameral parliament elected Vaclav Klaus as president for a second
term. The elections for the Chamber of Deputies in May 2010 were
considered free and fair, as were October 2010 elections for one-third
of the seats in the Senate. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
During the year societal discrimination against the country's
Romani population was a serious problem, and human rights observers
criticized the government's efforts to overcome it as inadequate.
Official corruption remained a problem, despite enforcement efforts, as
was trafficking in persons, particularly labor trafficking and
exploitation.
Other human rights problems included instances of prison
overcrowding, delays in the delivery of justice, violence against
women, sexual and other abuse of children, anti-Semitism, and
discrimination against labor unions and migrant workers.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, both in the security services and elsewhere in the
government, but pockets of impunity existed.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
On April 6, the High Court raised from 3.5 to 10 years the sentence
of a police officer convicted in the 2009 beating death of a Vietnamese
man in Brno. It sent the cases against two other officers convicted in
the attack back to a lower court for reconsideration.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances, kidnappings, or abductions.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports during the year that government officials employed them.
In August the Supreme Court overturned a regional court verdict
that denied compensation for the forced sterilization of a Romani woman
in 1997. The Supreme Court ruled the lower court should reconsider the
case, stating that some individual compensation cases may be recognized
even if the statute of limitations had expired before the case was
filed.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Overcrowding and
insufficient staff were the main problems in the prison system and led
to poor sanitary conditions and security risks. The Czech Helsinki
Committee found continued prison overcrowding to be a problem and
reported an increased number of complaints regarding health care and
sanitation in prisons. Prisoners had access to potable water, but
limited access to hot water was a sanitation issue, as only prisoners
who work were permitted daily hot showers. All other prisoners were
allowed hot showers only once a week.
In the first 11 months of the year, there were three deaths in
prisons and one in a detention facility. The deaths were all due to
natural causes. While no official numbers were available regarding
tuberculosis, unofficial sources reported an increase in cases.
The ombudsman's office reported that problems in Valdice Prison,
including inmate-on-inmate violence, were a consequence of inadequate
funding. Valdice Prison holds prisoners serving life sentences as well
as dangerous or high-security prisoners.
In November the total prison population was 113.5 percent of the
intended capacity of 20,500 inmates. Facilities that held detainees
prior to sentencing were at 109.3 percent of intended capacity.
Facilities for holding prisoners serving their sentences were at 114
percent of intended capacity. Of the 23,269 persons in the country's
detention and prison facilities as of November 1, 488 were women and
211 were juveniles. Pretrial detainees of both sexes, held separately,
constituted 9 percent of the total. Juveniles were not housed with
adults. There were no reports of worse prison conditions for women than
for men. There were no reports of inadequate recordkeeping in the
prison system. Individual prisons did not have ombudsmen, but the
Office of the Ombudsman investigates prisoner complaints throughout the
system.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors (three
hours per week) and were permitted to attend religious services.
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to
the Office of the Ombudsman without censorship, and the ombudsman
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions in addition to
his routine prison visits. In the first six months of the year,
representatives of the ombudsman visited 35 locations, including
prisons and police stations, to monitor cell conditions.
The Ministry of Justice, which oversees the prison system, also
inspected prisons throughout the year. The government permitted
independent monitoring of prison conditions by local and international
human rights groups, such as the Helsinki Commission, and the media.
The law allows house arrest and alternative sentencing as a measure
to alleviate prison overcrowding. During the year house arrest was used
in 180 cases.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police are
responsible for enforcing the law and maintaining public order. The
Ministry of Interior oversees the police and is responsible for
investigating allegations of police misconduct. Corruption remained a
problem among law enforcement bodies during the year.
In January the Ministry of Interior transferred to regional police
offices the responsibilities and some of the personnel of the
Foreigners' Police. The Foreigners' Police is an independent police
force that handled all applications for, and problems with, long-term
residency. The transfer was described as an effort to improve the
quality of immigration and residency procedures. The change responded
to numerous allegations by the government and nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) of corruption and inefficiency within the
Foreigners' Police. Responsibility for granting residency permits was
transferred to the Ministry of Interior.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In most cases,
police use warrants issued by a judge to arrest persons accused of
criminal acts. They may arrest a person without a warrant when they
believe a prosecutable offense has been committed and consider an
arrest necessary to prevent further offenses or destruction of evidence
or to protect a suspect, or when a person refuses to obey police orders
to move.
Police must turn over to a court within 24 hours a person arrested
on a warrant. A judge then has an additional 24 hours to decide whether
to continue to hold the individual. Suspects arrested without a warrant
must be informed promptly of the reason for their arrest, questioned,
and either released within 48 hours or turned over to a court. If
police turn the detainee over to a court, a judge must decide within an
additional 24 hours whether to charge the individual. Only a person who
has been charged with a crime may be held for a longer period.
The law provides for bail except for serious crimes or to prevent
witness tampering. A defendant in a criminal case may request a lawyer
immediately upon arrest. If a defendant cannot afford a lawyer, the
state will provide one. The court determines whether attorneys' fees
will be partially or fully covered by the state. Authorities respected
these rights in practice.
Pretrial Detention.--Under the law, pretrial detention may last no
longer than two years except for ``exceptionally grave'' offenses. A
suspect may petition investigating authorities at any time for release
from detention. According to prison service data for the first nine
months of the year, the average length of pretrial detention was 74
days.
Amnesty.--The president granted amnesty for humanitarian reasons to
46 persons in 2010 and to 17 in the first nine months of 2011.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. Complicated procedural rules at times delayed
judgments for years. Bureaucratic issues, including staffing shortages
and limited specialized judicial training hampered effectiveness. In
the first half of the year, the average length of a criminal
prosecution was 50 days at the district level and 332 days at the
regional level. During the same period, the average length of court
procedures was 199 days at the district level and 716 days at the
regional level.
In most instances authorities respected court orders and carried
out judicial decisions.
Trial Procedures.--The laws provide for the right to a fair trial,
and the independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public.
Juries are not used. In serious cases a panel of three judges rules on
the guilt or innocence of the defendant, while a single judge hears
less serious cases. In trial courts on the district level, the panel of
judges is composed of one professional judge, who is the chair, and two
lay judges identified from the public. Appeals and cases originating in
regional courts have only professional judges. Defendants have the
right to consult an attorney; the government provides an attorney
without charge to defendants who cannot afford one. Defendants have the
right to be present at trial, confront adversarial witnesses, and
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and
their attorneys are entitled to access government-held evidence
relevant to their cases. Convicted persons have a right of appeal. The
law extends these rights to all persons.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In the first nine months of
the year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) entered 13
judgments against the Czech Republic. The ECHR found violations of the
right to liberty, to a fair criminal trial, and of access to a court in
a commercial dispute. Other cases criticized the absence of adversarial
proceedings before the constitutional court and the excessive length of
judicial proceedings. The country generally sought to comply with the
judgments.
In November 2010 the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) filed a
complaint with the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
(COE), which is charged with overseeing implementation of ECHR rulings,
asserting that the government failed to comply with European law by not
integrating Romani children into mainstream schools (see section 6).
The ERRC requested that the Committee of Ministers require concrete
steps towards the integration of Romani students. The COE committee's
review continued at year's end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for a separate, independent judiciary in civil matters, and there is
access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation
of, human rights violations. Available remedies include monetary
damages, equitable relief, and cessation of harmful conduct. Plaintiffs
may appeal unfavorable rulings to the ECHR. Administrative remedies are
also available.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice. An independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and press. The law mandates
prison sentences of six months to three years for persons who deny
Communist-era crimes or the Nazi Holocaust. ``Speech'' in any form that
incites hatred based on race, religion, class, nationality, or other
group affiliation is also illegal and carries a sentence of up to three
years in prison.
On April 4, the regional court in Brno set aside the convictions of
six members of the now-banned Workers' Party for inciting hatred;
defaming a nationality, ethnic group, and race; and supporting a
movement seeking the suppression of human rights and freedoms. The
regional court sent the case back to the lower court for another
hearing.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals were free to criticize the
government publicly or privately or discuss matters of general public
interest without reprisal.
Freedom of Press.--Independent media were active and expressed a
wide variety of views with few restrictions.
On August 1, an amendment to a 2009 ``muzzle law'' entered into
force. The 2009 law makes it a criminal offense to publish information
obtained from wiretaps and other police sources, the names of victims
of serious crimes, and the names of victims of any crime if they were
younger than age 18. The new amendment allows journalists to release
such information if they consider it to be in the ``public interest.''
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms without court orders. Individuals and
groups could engage in the expression of views via the Internet,
including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice.
The government may legally restrict or prohibit gatherings,
including marches, demonstrations, and concerts that promote hatred or
intolerance, advocate suppressing individual rights, or jeopardize the
safety of participants. Protesters are required to have permits for
demonstrations, but police generally did not interfere with
spontaneous, peaceful demonstrations.
On April 9, police disbanded an ecumenical service organized in
response to a planned and approved neo-Nazi march in the town of
Krupka. The media reported that police used force against the attendees
of the service, and the local town hall fined the organizers. Under the
law religious gatherings may assemble without the prior permission of
authorities, although the law does not indicate which gathering would
take precedence in these circumstances. The police stated that the
planned march had precedence. Courts later dismissed the fines.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and while the government generally respected
this right in practice, the law required organizations, associations,
foundations, and political parties to register with local officials or
the Ministry of Interior. Groups that incite hatred based on race,
religion, class, nationality, or other group affiliation or use banned
symbols, can be dissolved or banned by the courts or refused
registration permission by the Ministry of Interior.
On August 17, the Supreme Administrative Court dissolved the right-
wing National Party, which had de facto ceased operations in 2009, for
administrative reasons. The party was known for its anti-Romani and
Euro-skeptic opinions, as well as an ad calling for the ``Final
Solution'' to the Romani ``issue'' by having all Roma deported to
India.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. Temporary
protection is available based on EU laws.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--By law the Ministry of Interior
accepts asylum applications from persons arriving from or through
countries deemed to be safe as defined by law. Such applications are
most often refused, but authorities review all cases individually and
may approve exceptional cases. During the year there were no reports or
complaints regarding the safe country of origin or transit policy.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government generally provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--The law allows the government to detain asylum
applicants who attempt to enter the country via an international
airport for up to 120 days. This provision particularly affected
applicants lacking identity documents.
Durable Solutions.--A resettlement program between the government
and UNHCR continued on an ad hoc basis. The program resettled 25 people
during the year, mainly from Afghanistan, Belarus, and Uzbekistan.
Temporary Protection.--Authorities granted subsidiary protection, a
de facto refugee status for those who do not qualify for asylum, to 178
persons during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic free and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In May
2010 the country held elections for seats in the Chamber of Deputies,
the lower chamber of parliament. In October 2010 elections were held
for one-third of the seats in the Senate and for municipal governments.
Both elections were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 45 women in the
200-seat Chamber of Deputies, including the speaker and two of three
deputy speakers, and 15 women in the 81-seat Senate. There were two
women in the 15-member cabinet. Fifteen percent of judges were women,
including five women on the 15-member Constitutional Court. One of the
country's 13 regional governors was a woman.
One justice of the constitutional court was an ethnic Slovak. Few
of the country's estimated 200,000 Roma were integrated into political
life. No Roma were members of parliament, had cabinet portfolios, or
sat on the Supreme Court. Some Roma were appointed to national and
regional advisory councils dealing with Romani affairs.
Representatives from the 12 national minority groups were included
in the 31-member Government Council for National Minorities, an
advisory group that includes government officials. Each minority group
may nominate up to three representatives to the council.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not always implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
According to World Bank governance indicators, corruption was a problem
in the country.
Corruption in public procurement was a major problem. Factors
contributing to the infrequent prosecution of high-level corruption
included the absence of a system for granting immunity to persons
willing to testify against co-conspirators, the lack of a specialized
prosecutorial body, inadequate legislation requiring disclosure of
source of assets, the use of anonymous bearer bonds, lax regulation of
public procurement, weak rules governing the financing and lobbying
activities of campaigns and parties, ineffective police investigative
tools, a lack of rules to protect whistleblowers and civil servants
from political pressure, political pressure on prosecutors intended to
disrupt investigations, and the limited number of experienced
investigators at regional levels.
During the year the government took several steps to prevent and
combat corruption. An agreement between the parties in the governing
coalition obligates the ruling coalition parties to adopt legislation
to address the shortcomings identified above. In January the cabinet
adopted a 58-point national anticorruption strategy for 2011 and 2012
that identifies necessary legislative and regulatory changes and
provides a timeline for their implementation. The Ministry of Interior
issues regular public reports on fulfillment of the strategy. While the
government has made progress on completing the strategy, it has fallen
behind its own timeline on several points.
Legislation that took effect in September eliminated the
requirement that all defense procurement transactions be conducted
through middlemen and significantly restricted the use of sole-source
procurement, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption. The
parliament enacted legislation introducing corporate criminal liability
beginning on January 1, 2012. Parliament also amended the criminal code
to strengthen guidelines for sentencing persons found guilty of
corruption and expanded the use of investigative tools such as wiretaps
in corruption investigations. The government strengthened rules for
disposal of municipal and regional properties.
A police anticorruption unit investigated corruption allegations
against high-level officials and major regional and local perpetrators,
as well as some private individuals and companies. Regular police units
investigated lower-level cases. According to the Ministry of Interior,
during the first half of the year police pursued 105 bribery cases (30
for offering a bribe, 71 for receiving a bribe, and four for indirect
bribery) and investigated 35 public officials for abuse of authority,
an increase from the previous year. According to the Ministry of
Justice, courts convicted 40 public officials for abuse of power,
including three who were sentenced to prison and 34 released on
probation. Six officials were fined. Of 57 public officials convicted
of bribery-related offenses (18 for receiving a bribe, 38 for offering
a bribe, and one for indirect bribery), nine were sentenced to prison
and 44 were released on probation. Ten officials were fined. From
January through September, the specialized anticorruption police unit,
which has responsibility for high-profile corruption cases,
investigated 66 cases of public corruption. Investigators completed
eight cases and forwarded them for prosecution.
The press continued to report allegations of corruption.
In April two members of the junior governing VV party (a
conservative liberal political party), including the head of the
party's parliamentary caucus, accused Minister of Transport Vit Barta
of bribing them to remain loyal to the party. Barta denied that the
funds he provided to the members were bribes, describing them as loans,
but he admitted that the cash payments might have broken laws against
money laundering. He and party colleagues claimed that the accusations
were an effort to fracture the newly formed party, which had risen to
prominence on an anticorruption platform. Barta resigned his position,
saying he would not return to high office until his name was cleared.
The party expelled the two parliamentarians while a third resigned. In
September the parliament stripped Barta of his immunity so that the
investigation could continue, a move supported by Barta and his party.
In October police charged Barta and a former party member with bribery,
and the investigation continued at year's end.
In November Minister of Justice Jiri Pospisil removed Vlastimil
Rampula, the high state's attorney, who allegedly played a role in
leaking the testimony of an Austrian witness in the investigation of
alleged kickbacks paid to government officials and political parties
during negotiations for the purchase of military vehicles from an
Austrian company. Rampula's alleged interference in other corruption
investigations reportedly was another reason for his dismissal.
In December prosecutors brought charges of attempted fraud and
bribery against two unnamed individuals in a case involving allegations
by a U.S. businessman (and former U.S. ambassador to the Czech
Republic) that in 2008 then deputy defense minister Martin Bartak
solicited a multimillion-dollar bribe in exchange for assistance in
resolving a dispute involving the former ambassador's company and one
of its key suppliers. In December prosecutors brought charges of
attempted fraud and bribery against two unnamed individuals.
Several ministries had anticorruption hotlines for citizens to
report allegations. The Ministry of Interior's anticorruption hotline,
administered by the government watchdog NGO Oziveni, received 1,107
calls in the first nine months of the year. Oziveni identified 574
relevant complaints, including 38 concerning the judiciary, 136
concerning police, 156 concerning property rights and construction
permits, and 74 concerning public procurement.
Credible allegations of corruption in the judiciary persisted,
particularly in connection with bankruptcy and financial criminal
proceedings. In October Justice Minister Pospisil filed a criminal
complaint against Judge Jan Kozak, vice chair of the Brno Regional
Court, accusing him of assigning bankruptcy cases to judges out of
order. Kozak had assigned himself a high-profile bankruptcy case
involving a clothing manufacturer. The complaint was reportedly based
on information contained in an annual report by the Czech Security
Information Service in September. The case was pending at the end of
the year. Pospisil also filed disciplinary complaints against Kozak and
his superior, Judge Jaromir Porizek.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government usually provided such access to citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. NGOs reported an increasing
number of denials during the previous two years, especially at the
local level and on the use of public finances. Applicants whose
requests are denied have 15 days to appeal. They may also appeal if
authorities exceed the time limit for processing a request.
The law obliges legislators, members of the cabinet, and other
selected public officials to make annual asset declarations. However,
asset declarations can only be viewed in person based on written
request and are often general and lacking in information. Only assets
gained since taking up one's public function must be reported.
Several cases involving requests for public access to information
reached the courts during the year, and courts were reportedly
receptive to the plaintiffs. The Supreme Administration Court ruled
against the efforts of the Ministry of Finance to conceal the
identities of past recipients of tax-forgiveness rulings. When the
ministry required the plaintiff, the economic daily newspaper
Hospodarske Noviny, to pay for the reproduction of records, requesting
250,000 korunas (approximately $12,830) for the full record, the
newspaper accessed a smaller number of documents with financial support
from the Open Society Fund.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without governmental restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Representatives from the Office of
the Ombudsman made regular visits to government and private facilities
where residents have limited movement, (i.e., prisons, orphanages, and
senior citizens' homes), examining the treatment of individuals and
monitoring respect for fundamental rights. The office issued quarterly
and annual reports on its activities in addition to reports on topics
of special concern. The office operated without government or party
interference, had adequate resources, and was considered effective. In
the first six months of the year, the ombudsman received 3,716
complaints,181 regarding the prison, police, and military services. Of
the total, 57 percent fell within the office's mandate. In the same
period, the information hotline received 5,307 requesting simple
advice. The ombudsman opened 724 inquiries in 2010.
On February 15, the prime minister named Monika Simunkova to be the
new human rights commissioner, filling a position that had been vacant
since September 2010. NGOs continued to criticize the government's 2010
decision to downgrade the commission from the ministerial level,
claiming that it showed a lack of government concern for human rights
problems.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, age, disability,
race, ethnic origin, nationality, sexual orientation, religious faith,
or personal belief. The government did not effectively enforce these
provisions. Significant societal discrimination against Roma persisted,
and trafficking in persons also remained a problem.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape, and carries a penalty of two to 15 years in
prison. The government effectively enforced these provisions. Although
experts considered rape to be underreported, they noted an upward trend
in the number of rape convictions since 2001. They attributed this
trend to improved police training, public awareness campaigns, and
greater interaction between police and NGOs. In the first six months of
the year, 312 rapes were reported, 169 of which were investigated.
Courts convicted 95 offenders, 53 of whom received prison sentences and
the remainder were given suspended sentences. In 2010, 586 rapes were
reported, of which 377 were investigated, and 172 offenders were
convicted, of whom 100 received prison sentences, while the remainder
were given suspended sentences.
Experts believed that violence against women was more widespread
than suggested by the number of cases reported to authorities due to
the stigma associated with reporting such abuses.
Domestic violence is punishable by up to three years in prison with
longer sentences under aggravated circumstances. Police have the
authority to remove violent abusers from their homes for 10 days. In
the first six months of the year, the NGO Bily Kruh Bezpeci reported
that 719 offenders, including women, were removed from the home.
In the first six months of the year, Interior Ministry statistics
reported 356 cases of domestic violence, and police investigated 262
cases. During the same period, 140 individuals were convicted of
domestic violence, of whom 41 received prison sentences and 98 were
given suspended sentences. Alcohol, drugs, work-related stress, and
gambling played a major role in many domestic violence cases.
Police continued to train personnel selected to handle domestic
violence cases and to work with social service agencies. Several
hotlines and crisis centers offered psychological counseling to victims
of rape and domestic abuse. In the first six months of the year, for
example, the Dona hotline received 1,939 calls related to domestic
violence, compared with 4,035 in 2010.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment; but the
government did not effectively enforce the law, and sexual harassment
remained a problem. The law places the burden of proof on the
defendant. Those convicted can be fined up to 70,000 korunas ($3,880),
dismissed from work, or sentenced to prison. According to a 2009 study
conducted by the Gender and Sociology Section of the Czech Academy of
Sciences, 25 percent of female respondents had experienced sexual
harassment at work.
Offenders convicted of stalking can be sentenced to up to three
years in prison. In the first half of the year, 339 cases of stalking
were reported to police, who transferred 229 to prosecutors for further
investigation. Courts convicted 93 individuals of stalking in the first
half of the year, of whom 10 received prison sentences and 68 were
given suspended sentences. In 2010 courts convicted 83 individuals,
giving prison sentences to 13 and suspended sentences to 61. Six
individuals received other forms of punishment, while three received no
punishment at all.
Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism remained a problem. Due in part to a
crackdown by local governments, sex tourism in border areas and major
urban areas decreased during the year.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals generally had the
right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing
of their children and had the information and means to do so without
discrimination, coercion, or violence. Access to contraception and
skilled obstetrical care was widespread.
Discrimination.--The law grants men and women equal rights,
including in family and property law matters. According to data from
the Czech Statistical Office for the second quarter of the year, 57
percent of women were employed, constituting 43 percent of the
workforce. Women's salaries for similar work lagged behind men's by
just over 26 percent, and women were more likely to work in less well-
paid professions than men. The Council for Equal Opportunities for Men
and Women monitored gender problems and advised the government on
enforcing equal gender rights.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Any child with at least one citizen parent is automatically a
citizen. Births are registered immediately.
Child Abuse.--Although illegal in many forms, child abuse remained
a problem. A minor is defined as any child under the age of 18.
According to an ongoing 15-year study conducted by sexologists at the
medical school of Charles University in Prague, 10 percent of children
in the country have experienced sexual abuse; 7 percent were sexually
abused at least once, while 3 percent experienced such abuse
repeatedly.
Prison sentences for those found guilty of child abuse range up to
12 years, or to 18 years in the case of the death of a child. The
ministries of interior and justice implemented use of special
interviewing rooms for child victims and witnesses. A child victim is
not required to give additional testimony in any future court
proceedings when specially trained police follow the special interview
requirements (including the presence of psychologists and, in some
cases, judges and defense attorneys).
Child Marriage.--The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. Some
members of the Romani community married before reaching the legal age.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Sexual relations with a child
younger than age 15 is punishable by a prison term up to eight years
or, in the case of the death of the child, up to 18 years. The minimum
age of consensual sex is 15. The law prohibits the possession,
manufacturing, and distribution of child pornography, which is
punishable by imprisonment for up to eight years. According to Ministry
of Interior statistics, police investigated 30 cases of commercial
sexual exploitation of children in the first six months of the year,
compared with 46 cases in all of 2010. There were also reports that
some children engaged in prostitution without apparent third-party
involvement.
In the first six months of the year, the Ministry of Justice
reported that courts convicted 32 individuals and gave them suspended
sentences for production or other handling of child pornography. Nine
individuals were convicted for misuse of a child for pornography
production (with one receiving a prison sentence and eight receiving
suspended sentences).
On October 4, police raided more than 30 homes as part of a
nationwide operation against child pornography and took into custody 10
suspects for the production and distribution of child pornography. More
than 60 computers were confiscated as part of the raid. Charges were
pending and police expected the number of suspects to rise.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Although estimates varied, the country's Jewish
population was believed to be approximately 10,000. Public expressions
of anti-Semitism were rare, but small, fairly well-organized right-wing
groups with anti-Semitic views were active around the country. The
Ministry of Interior continued to counter such groups, monitoring their
activities, increasing cooperation with police from neighboring
countries, and shutting down unauthorized rallies. While the number of
rallies and demonstrations by extreme-right groups increased during the
year, few were anti-Semitic in tone.
On August 14, unknown vandals spray-painted an anti-Semitic symbol
on a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust in Ostrava. Police
were investigating the case.
In 2010 the Ministry of Interior recorded 28 criminal offenses with
an anti-Semitic motive. During the same period, the Federation of
Jewish Communities reported 16 anti-Semitic incidents, including damage
to property, spray-painting of anti-Semitic remarks and Nazi symbols,
threats, and intrusions.
Throughout the summer and fall, leading government officials, local
NGOs, and Jewish groups called for the resignation of Ladislav Batora,
head of the Ministry of Education's personnel department. Batora has
links to anti-Semitic, anti-Roma, racist, and far-right organizations.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, mental, and other disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services, and the government generally enforced these
provisions. Nevertheless, persons with disabilities faced a shortage of
public accommodations and were unemployed at disproportionately high
rates.
Of Prague's 57 metro stations, 30 were accessible to persons with
disabilities, including only five of the 15 major stations in the city
center. A majority of buses and new tramcars have low-floor entry doors
to accommodate passengers with disabilities. The metro, bus, and tram
systems provide stop announcements and equipment for visually impaired
riders.
The ombudsman is required to make regular visits to all
governmental and private workplaces of persons with physical
restrictions to examine conditions, ensure that fundamental rights are
respected, and advocate for improved protection against mistreatment.
His office made these visits throughout the year.
The government continued its program to aid persons with
disabilities, Mobility for All, and selected 16 additional projects for
funding. Mobility for All aims to build barrier-free sidewalks,
crossings, crossroads, and handicapped elevators in government
institutions, purchase barrier-free buses, and provide barrier-free
access to government institutions, schools, libraries, galleries, and
museums.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minority groups in the country
included Roma, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Vietnamese, Poles, Russians, and
Germans. Roma, who numbered approximately 200,000 experienced high
levels of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy and faced varying
levels of discrimination in education, employment, and housing.
Societal prejudice against the country's Romani population at times
resulted in violence. Throughout the year extremists targeted Romani
neighborhoods as venues for their protests and occasional violence.
Police investigated several incidents of torches or Molotov cocktails
being thrown at Romani houses. Extremist groups also marched through
Romani areas carrying torches and chanting slogans. Some human rights
organizations criticized the government's response to discrimination
against Roma as inadequate.
Members and sympathizers of neo-Nazi organizations were the most
frequent perpetrators of acts of interethnic violence, particularly
against Roma. Ultranationalists were also active. During the year neo-
Nazi and right-wing extremist groups held rallies or marches in several
cities. In a report released on September 3, the Organized Crime Unit
of the police estimated there were 500-600 active neo-Nazis in the
country and approximately 5,000 persons who openly sympathized with the
movement.
The Workers' Party (DS), which was conspicuous for its hostility to
Roma and other minorities, was banned in February 2010, but it was
replaced by the Workers' Party for Social Justice (DSSS) soon
afterward. DSSS and DS membership and leadership were virtually the
same.
The national media gave disproportionate coverage to crime and acts
of violence committed by Roma compared with similar behavior on the
part of the majority population or other minorities.
Some mainstream politicians have been outspoken in their criticism
of Romani communities. Their statements often vilified the Romani
minority, blaming it for community problems and assigning collective
guilt for crimes. Some politicians called for municipalities to move
Romani residents to the outskirts of town into what is often
substandard housing, ban alcohol in areas with high Romani populations,
and limit residency options for Roma who commit multiple minor crimes.
Beginning on August 26, a series of anti-Roma protests took place
in the North Bohemian region in response to two incidents of Romani
violence towards the ethnic Czech population. Each weekend for several
weeks, local residents, joined by right-wing extremists, marched
through the region, including the towns of Varnsdorf, Rumburk, and Novy
Bor. On several occasions protesters turned violent, and police
intervened to protect Romani residents. The marches differed from
previous marches in that a majority of the protesters were local
residents rather than neo-Nazis or other extremists.
On March 18, an appeals court reduced the sentence of Ivo Mueller,
one of four persons convicted of a 2009 Molotov cocktail attack on a
Romani family that seriously injured a two-year-old girl. The original
22-year sentence was reduced to 20 years. The court upheld the
sentences of the other attackers, as well as monetary compensation to
the family.
Although a 2009 law prohibits employment discrimination based on
ethnicity, Roma continued to face discrimination in employment, access
to housing, and in schools. Some employers refused to hire Roma and
requested that local labor offices not send them Romani applicants.
There were few prosecutions under the law during the year. An estimated
57 percent of Roma were unemployed. In areas with a high percentage of
Romani residents, unemployment among Roma was close to 90 percent
according to the Agency for Social Inclusion in Roma Localities.
Authorities took few measures to counter discrimination against
Roma in access to housing and other accommodations. While housing
discrimination based on ethnicity is prohibited by law, NGOs stated
that some municipalities applied municipal regulations in ways that
discriminated against certain socially disadvantaged groups, primarily
Roma, including basing housing decisions on the reputation of the
applicant and family at previous residences. A newly adopted Strategy
to Combat Social Exclusion, which contains provisions regarding access
to housing, was designed to streamline the process.
According to new estimates, there were more than 400 ``excluded''
localities, or ghettos, in the country, and all were inhabited almost
entirely by Roma. These ghettos were often blighted by substandard
housing and poor health conditions. Beyond housing discrimination,
reasons for the growth in Romani-dominated ghettos included urban
gentrification and unaffordable rents elsewhere.
Restaurants, bars, and other public establishments at times refused
to serve Roma.
A decrease in social benefits during the year had a
disproportionate impact on Romani families already hit by the high rate
of unemployment and the difficulty of finding affordable housing.
Romani children were often subject to discriminatory treatment. In
a November statement, the international human rights NGO Amnesty
International asserted that four years after an ECHR ruling that the
practice was illegal, the authorities had ``failed to address the
problem of systematic segregation of Romani children in the schools.''
Romani children were enrolled at disproportionately high rates in
remedial schools, known as ``practical'' schools, which effectively
segregated them into a substandard educational system. According to the
Ministry of Education, approximately 27 percent of Romani children
attended ``practical'' schools during 2010, compared with 2 percent of
non-Romani children. In regular schools, Romani children were often
segregated from the majority population due to their place of residence
(often in a Romani-majority neighborhood) and because school officials
in regular schools at times separated Romani children for remedial
instruction. The decision to place a child in a practical school is
made by a judge based on a social worker's recommendation.
Although the law permits Romani curricula, no elementary school in
the country used the curricula. The Romani language was taught as a
foreign language at two secondary schools and several universities.
During the first half of the year, more than 50 experts at the
Education Ministry resigned from a working group that was supposed to
design a plan for improving education for disadvantaged children. They
asserted that the minister gave insufficient attention to the issue.
The ministry announced plans to commission further studies on inclusive
education, but NGOs maintained that several similar studies were
already available. Civil society and political leaders criticized the
minister for appointing to a senior position at the Ministry of
Education an official who had previously been a candidate for
parliament on an extremist party ticket. They interpreted the
appointment as a sign of the government's lack of serious interest in
solving the inclusive education issue.
On September 23, the cabinet adopted the Strategy for Combating
Social Exclusion with the aim of improving education, housing,
security, regional development, employment, and family/social/health
services for socially excluded or disadvantaged individuals, many of
whom were members of ethnic and other minorities. The program is the
responsibility of the Agency for Social Inclusion, established in 2008
to coordinate social integration efforts. The agency oversaw continuing
projects in 33 localities during the year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The government did not keep
statistics regarding incidents of violence directed at individuals
based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. A report by a
governmental working group on problems involving sexual minorities
indicated that physical and verbal attacks occurred but were rarely
reported.
There were some reported instances of discrimination against
persons based on sexual orientation or gender identity. For example,
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) couples may not adopt a
child, nor may a gay man or lesbian in a partnership adopt his or her
partner's biological child, although single LGBT individuals may adopt.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join unions of their
choice without authorization or excessive requirements. It permits them
to conduct their activities without interference. Workers in most
occupations have the legal right to strike if mediation efforts fail.
The law provides for collective bargaining, which generally was carried
out by unions and employers on the company level. The law prohibits
antiunion discrimination.
The scope for collective bargaining was more limited for civil
servants, whose wages are regulated by law. By law only trade unions
may legally represent workers, including nonmembers. When planning a
strike, unions are required to inform employers in writing of the
number of strikers and a list of the members of the strike committee or
contact persons for negotiation. While regulations entitle union
members to conduct some union activities during work hours, they do not
specify how much time workers may use for this purpose, leaving room
for diverse interpretations on the part of employers.
Workers, including some foreign and migrant workers, generally
exercised the right to organize and join free labor unions, to strike,
and to bargain collectively. This right covers both citizens and
foreign workers, but the latter generally did not join unions due to
the often short-term nature of their work or the lack of social
interaction with citizen employees. According to the Czech Moravian
Federation of Trade Unions (CMKOS), the number of violations of labor
law and trade union rules increased during the year. CMKOS attributed
the increase to the economic recession. Responses to a questionnaire
CMKOS submitted to its affiliates during the year elicited a number of
instances of violations and discrimination, including administrative
obstacles to the collective bargaining process, unauthorized unilateral
wage changes, and threats of dismissal if they did not terminate their
union activities. Employees, both union and nonunion, were often
unwilling to file formal complaints or to testify against their
employers due to fear of job loss, reduced wages, or worsening labor
conditions. According to CMKOS, employees usually filed complaints only
if their jobs were immediately threatened or after a job loss.
CMKOS reported cases in which employers did not allow union members
sufficient paid time off to fulfill their union responsibilities.
Employees of the Prague State Opera reported bullying and threats of
dismissal in response to their protests against a planned merger of the
opera with the National Theater.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that men and women,
including migrant workers, were subject to conditions of forced labor
in the country.
Since 2009 police investigations have identified more than 2,000
persons who asserted that they had been exploited by labor agencies
under contract to the state-owned forestry concern Lesy CR. According
to several NGO and police sources, more victims in the Lesy CR forestry
worker case came forward during the year. The workers signed contracts
to plant trees but in some cases were not paid by employers, who
claimed that the contracts were for ``training.'' Work conditions were
harsh, and workers reported often going without food. Police
coordinated investigations with officials in surrounding countries to
track cases of exploited workers who had returned home after leaving
their forestry jobs. Licenses of some of the smaller labor agencies in
the country were suspended, but authorities filed no formal charges
during the year.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum legal working age is 15. Employment conditions for children
ages 15 to 18 were subject to strict standards of safety, permitted
hours, and noninterference with education. Infringement of child labor
rules is subject to fines of up to two million korunas ($103,000). The
State Bureau for Labor Inspections (SBLI) effectively enforced these
regulations. During the year the SBLI did not report any cases of child
labor law violations.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs establishes and enforces minimum wage standards. During the
year the national minimum wage was 8,000 korunas ($410) per month. By
comparison, the ``Existence Minimum Cost,'' described as the minimum
amount needed to satisfy the basic needs of a working-age adult for a
month, was 2,200 korunas ($115). Enforcement of the minimum wage was
one of the primary objectives of SBLI inspections.
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, two days of rest per week,
and a break of at least 30 minutes during the standard eight-hour
workday. Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid annual leave.
Employers may require up to eight hours per week of overtime to meet
increased demand, but not more than 150 hours of overtime in a calendar
year. Additional overtime is subject to the consent of the employee.
Premium pay for overtime, equal to at least 125 percent of the average
earnings, is governed by the provisions of the labor code.
During the year SBLI inspectors conducted 5,440 labor code
enforcement checks. The SBLI imposed fines totaling 19.3 million
korunas ($990,000) for substantial violations of the labor code
involving contracts, wages, overtime pay, and rest periods. There are
720 labor inspectors in the country.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the
standard conditions of work were not always observed in situations
involving migrant workers. Relatively unskilled foreign workers from
less developed countries were sometimes dependent upon temporary
employment agencies to find and retain work. According to trade unions
and NGOs, migrants sometimes worked under substandard conditions and
were subject to inhumane treatment by these agencies. Most commonly,
salaries were paid to the agencies, which then garnished wages,
resulting in workers receiving subminimum wages, working overtime
without proper compensation, or working without any compensation at
all. Since migrant workers seldom filed formal complaints of such
abuses, authorities had fewer opportunities to intervene.
The SBLI undertook regular inspections and dealt with accusations
of labor infringements. During the year, it conducted 95 checks of work
agencies employing migrant workers. According to the SBLI, the
inspections revealed inconsistencies in work agreements, denials of
salary bonus payments or on-time salary payments, and inconsistencies
involving working hours and overtime. Although the SBLI did not
establish any cases of systematic discrimination based on citizenship,
gender, age, or health status, labor law violations were most
frequently reported in cases where labor and wages conditions for
permanent staff differed from those of temporary workers hired by
agencies.
The labor code obliges an employer to provide safety and health
protection in the workplace, maintain a safe and healthy work
environment, and prevent health and safety risks. The SBLI effectively
enforced health and safety standards. During the year, 8,805 checks
focused on health and safety standards, primarily in construction and
in the chemical, manufacturing, transport, and heavy machine
industries. The inspections occurred both proactively and reactively
during the year. Fines in excess of 14.6 million koruna ($749,000) were
imposed in cases where infringement of the law was substantial. The
number of registered injuries in the workplace increased by 2.7 percent
from 2010, and fatal accidents increased by 8 percent during the same
period. The vast majority of injuries and deaths occurred in the
construction industry. Employees of small to medium-sized companies
often avoid using protective gear, although the employer provides it.
Injuries often occur due to underestimation of risks by the employee
and a lack of consistent control or supervision by the employer.
__________
DENMARK
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with democratic
parliamentary rule. Queen Margrethe II is head of state. A prime
minister, usually the leader of the majority party or coalition, is
head of government and presides over the cabinet, which is accountable
to a unicameral parliament (Folketing). Elections on September 15,
which observers deemed free and fair, gave a plurality to a left-of-
center coalition led by the Social Democratic Party. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
There were no widespread or systemic human rights abuses during the
year.
There were some continuing human rights problems. Authorities often
held pretrial detainees together with convicted criminals, and there
were instances in which they held youth offenders together with adults.
Authorities prosecuted, and courts convicted, several individuals for
violating laws restricting speech that was judged discriminatory based
on race, religion, or other grounds. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) criticized the government for returning asylum seekers to Iraq.
There continued to be occasional reports of societal religious and
ethnic discrimination against minority groups, domestic violence
against women, wage discrimination against women, and trafficking in
persons.
In cases where officials committed abuses, the government took
steps to prosecute those responsible.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, and the government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers.
According to government statistics, during 2010 the average daily
prison population was 4,091, approximately 99 percent of capacity.
Approximately 4.4 percent of inmates were women and 0.3 percent
juveniles. Authorities often held pretrial detainees together with
convicted criminals, and there were instances in which authorities
detained children together with adults.
Prisoners had access to potable water. The parliamentary ombudsman
functions as a prison ombudsman as required. Alternatives to
incarceration are available to the courts for nonviolent offenders.
There were no reports that conditions for women prisoners were worse
than those for men.
Prisoners generally had access to visitors. They were permitted
religious observance. Prisoners were able to submit complaints without
censorship, directly to the Prison and Probation Service or through the
parliamentary ombudsman. Authorities investigated credible allegations
of inhumane conditions, and their investigations were kept in a public
register.
The government permitted monitoring, in accordance with their
standard modalities, by independent nongovernmental observers (e.g.,
human rights groups, the media, the International Committee of the Red
Cross), as well as by international bodies such as the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police, who are
responsible in law and practice for enforcing the law and maintaining
order under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice, The government
has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows
police to begin investigations and make arrests either on their own
initiative based upon visual evidence, or based on a court order
following an indictment filed by public prosecutors with the courts.
Apprehended persons appear before an independent judiciary.
When authorities take an individual into custody, the law generally
mandates that he or she appear before a judge within 24 hours; however,
a foreigner arrested in connection with immigration proceedings (i.e.,
for deportation) may be held up to 72 hours before appearing before a
judge. The law requires police to make every effort to limit this time
to less than 12 hours; however, statistics describing the average time
between the apprehension of prisoners and their first appearance before
a judge were not available. In most cases authorities may not hold
detainees for more than 72 hours while the judge determines their
status.
Authorities generally respected the right of detainees to a prompt
judicial determination and informed them promptly of charges against
them. There is no bail system; instead, judges decide either to release
detainees on their own recognizance or to keep them in jail until
trial. Pretrial detention is authorized only if the alleged violation
could result in a sentence longer than 18 months, if there is reason to
believe the detainee is a flight risk or may intend to commit a new
offense, or if the release would impede the investigation of the case.
While the period of pretrial custody should not exceed four weeks, a
court order may further extend custody in four-week increments. There
were no known cases of suspects detained incommunicado or held under
house arrest.
A document circulated to police by the Danish Prison and Probation
Service outlines detainees' rights to inform next of kin of their
arrest, to contact a lawyer, and to obtain medical treatment. The
circular specifies that arrested persons always have the right to
unsupervised visits with an attorney from the time they are brought to
a police station. The government provided counsel for those who could
not afford legal representation. Police may deny other forms of
visitation to those in custody, subject to a court appeal. In practice,
however, police generally did not restrict visitor access.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. Authorities generally respected court orders.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Trials are open. Criminal cases in which the maximum penalty is
greater than four years' imprisonment must be heard by juries. The law
gives defendants the right to timely consultation with an attorney, at
public expense if needed. Defendants have the right to question
witnesses against them and to present their own witnesses. Defendants
and their attorneys have access to government evidence relevant to
their cases. The right of appeal is automatic and encompasses both
procedural matters and sentences imposed. The constitution and law
provide for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary
generally enforced this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The European Court for
Human Rights (ECHR) issued one judgment against Denmark during the
year, and authorities complied with it.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access to the court
system to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. Administrative remedies are also available
domestically, and individuals or organizations can appeal decisions to
the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--The law prohibits any public speech or the
dissemination of statements or other pronouncements that threaten,
deride, or degrade a group because of their race, skin color, national
or ethnic background, faith, or sexual orientation; offenders may be
fined or imprisoned for up to two years. The law also prohibits
``blasphemy'' and provides that a person who publicly mocks or insults
a legally existing religious community's tenets of faith or worship may
be fined or imprisoned for up to four months.
On May 3, in a high-profile case, the Eastern High Court convicted
press-freedom activist Lars Hedegaard and fined him 5,000 kroner ($870)
for statements he made in 2009, including that Muslims ``rape their own
children'' and that Islam is not a religion but ``first and foremost a
political ideology in line with communism and Nazism.'' The conviction
followed an acquittal earlier in the year by the Frederiksberg District
Court. In 2010 police charged 24 individuals with racism for violating
one or more of the prohibitions.
Freedom of Press.--The law makes it an offense for a person, group,
or association to promote the affairs of a terrorist organization. On
August 15, the television station Roj-TV went on trial as a result of
government allegations in 2010 that the station had links to the
Kurdish terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
However, authorities continued to employ an Internet filter designed to
block child pornography. There were no known cases in which the filter
affected legitimate sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Nonrefoulement.--In its May submission to the U.N. Human Rights
Council in connection with the Denmark's Universal Periodic Review, the
NGO Amnesty International stated that, since May 2009 at least 66 Iraqi
asylum seekers had been forcibly returned to areas considered unsafe by
the UNHCR, including central and southern Iraq. The government stated
that its adherence to nonrefoulement was ``absolute'' and that no one
had been returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be
endangered.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary
humanitarian protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees
and provided such protection to 67 persons in the first four months of
the year and to 163 persons in 2010.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is based primarily on the
citizenship of one's parents. However, U.N. conventions to which the
country is a signatory require the granting of citizenship to otherwise
stateless persons born in the country and certain persons born in the
country to noncitizens may acquire citizenship on that basis. This is
not an automatic process; generally, individuals must apply for
citizenship before their 21st birthday.
According to UNHCR statistics, there were 3,216 stateless persons
in the country at the end of 2010. Many of the stateless were born in
Denmark to Palestinian permanent-resident parents who could not
transmit citizenship in any state to their children. In February the
Ministry of Refugee, Immigration, and Integration Affairs acknowledged
that between 2004 and 2010, 460 stateless individuals were not notified
of their eligibility for Danish citizenship. The ministry sent out
letters informing the individuals that those who had not applied would
be eligible to do so until March 31, 2011. Additionally, the ministry
admitted that it had inappropriately rejected the citizenship
applications of 36 persons of Palestinian origin; all 36 were
subsequently granted Danish citizenship. Minister for Integration and
Ecclesiastical Affairs Birthe Ronn Hornbech lost her job in the
ministry acknowledged that it had inappropriately rejected the
citizenship applications of 36 persons in March 2011 after it became
clear that she knew about the problems as early as 2008.
There were no reports of discrimination, arbitrary detention,
restrictions on movement, or other human rights abuses against
stateless persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
The territories of Greenland and the Faroe Islands have
democratically elected home rule governments whose powers may encompass
all matters except foreign and national security affairs, police
services, and monetary matters. Greenlanders and Faroese have the same
rights throughout the kingdom as other citizens. Each territory elects
two representatives to the Danish parliament.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--Free and
fair parliamentary elections took place on September 15. They gave a
plurality to a left-of-center coalition led by the Social Democratic
Party.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Following the September 15
elections, there were 70 women in the 179-seat parliament, and nine in
the 23-seat cabinet. Following municipal and regional elections in
November 2009, 32 percent of the members of municipal councils and 35
percent of the members of regional councils were women.
Four citizens of other than Danish, Greenlandic, or Faroese origin
were elected to the parliament in the 2011 elections. There was one
member of an ethnic minority in the 23-seat cabinet. In the November
2009 municipal elections, 65 persons of non-Danish ethnic origin were
elected to municipal councils.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials,
and the government generally implemented the law effectively. There
were no reports of government corruption during the year.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws, but
government officials may not work on specific cases in which they, or
someone they represent or have close relations with, have a personal or
economic interest. Officials must inform their superiors of any
possible conflicts of interest that might disqualify them. The Ministry
of Justice and the State Employer's Authority in the Ministry of
Finance are responsible for combating government corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government granted access to citizens and noncitizens, including
foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government and Human Rights Bodies: A parliamentary ombudsman
investigated complaints regarding national and local public authorities
and any decisions they made regarding the treatment of citizens and
their cases. The ombudsman could independently inspect, at his
initiative, any facility within his authority, such as prisons,
detention centers, and psychiatric hospitals. There was also a European
ombudsman, who ensured compliance with EU basic rights, and a consumers
ombudsman, who investigated complaints related to discriminatory
marketing. These ombudsmen enjoyed the government's cooperation,
operated without government or political interference, had adequate
resources, and were considered effective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced the law effectively. However, there were instances
of violence against women, child abuse, and trafficking in persons.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, as well as domestic violence, female genital
mutilation, and sexual harassment. Penalties include imprisonment for
up to 12 years, depending on the seriousness of the offense. The
government effectively prosecuted persons accused of such crimes. In
2010, authorities received 429 reports of rape. In the same period,
they filed 291 cases and obtained 50 convictions and 17 acquittals.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
problem. The government and NGOs operated 24-hour hotlines, counseling
centers, and shelters for female victims of violence. Requests for
shelter declined by 5 percent during the year, and the number of
available shelters increased by 3 percent.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--The government assisted NGOs
working with immigrant groups to discourage traditional practices
considered harmful to or discriminatory toward women.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and
provides for monetary compensation for victims, paid by the perpetrator
and/or the employer who allowed or failed to prevent the incident. The
government effectively enforced the law. Few cases were reported during
the year.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of
Public Health. There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives,
and the government provided free childbirth services. Women have
unfettered access to maternal health services, including skilled
attendance during childbirth. Women used nurses and midwives for
prenatal and postnatal care unless the mother or child suffered more
serious health complications. Men and women had equal access to
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal status as men, including
under family law, property law, and in the judicial system. The law
requires equal pay for equal work. The Ministry for Employment,
however, found that men earned 17 to 21 percent more than women, partly
due to a gender-fragmented labor market in which traditional female
employment pays less than traditional male employment and where there
are more men than women in executive positions. Even when adjusting for
these factors, men earned approximately 4 percent more than women for
the same work. The difference was higher in the public sector. Women
held positions of authority throughout society; however, they were
notably underrepresented in senior business positions and as university
professors.
Children.--Birth Registration.--A child acquires citizenship
primarily by virtue of having Danish-citizen parents. The law requires
that all persons practicing medicine in the country promptly register
the births of the children they deliver.
Child Abuse.--Police received 200 reports of sexual abuse of
children in 2010, compared with 131 in 2009. In 2010, there were 186
indictments, 51 convictions, and eight acquittals. The national police
and the public prosecutors actively investigated cases of child abuse.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age of consensual
sexual activity is 15. The penalty for the commercial sexual
exploitation of children is up to four years' imprisonment. The law
prohibits child pornography, with penalties of up to two years. The
country was a destination and transit country for trafficked children.
International Child Abduction.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish organization Mosaisk Troessamfund
estimated the Jewish population at 8,000.
There were isolated anti-Semitic incidents. According to victims'
reports, the perpetrators were mainly immigrants, many of them from
Arab and other Muslim countries. Most incidents involved vandalism,
such as graffiti, and nonviolent verbal assaults. In November 2010 the
Security and Intelligence Service released its annual report on hate
crimes, covering incidents in 2009. According to the report,
authorities investigated 21 religiously motivated crimes in 2009,
including the vandalizing of a sculpture outside a synagogue and other
incidents of graffiti, harassment, vandalism, threats, assault, and
propaganda (see section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities). There
was no indication of how many of the incidents were examples of anti-
Semitism versus those directed at other religious groups.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care or other state services, and other
areas, and the government effectively enforced these provisions in
practice. The law mandates access to buildings, education, information,
and communications for persons with disabilities, and the government
generally enforced these provisions in practice.
The parliamentary ombudsman monitored the equal treatment of
persons with disabilities. Each year the ombudsman receives a
significant number of complaints related to discrimination against
persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Security and Intelligence
Service reported 306 recorded hate crimes for 2009. According to the
report, 74 of these were racially motivated, 64 were politically
motivated, 21 were religiously motivated, and 17 were motivated by
sexual orientation. Police assessed the remaining offenses also to be
``motivated by extremism'' (hate crimes) but with some doubt as to the
specific motivation. The report included cases of such hostile actions
as graffiti, vandalism, theft, and racist Internet and written
messages, with 30 instances of violence and one of attempted murder.
The government effectively investigated such crimes and prosecuted the
perpetrators.
In April the Ministry of Refugees, Immigration, and Integration
Affairs reversed its decision in the cases of 14 of 37 Roma it ordered
expelled to Romania in 2010. The reversals apparently resulted from an
appeal by the European Roma Rights Center and came a few weeks after
the Supreme Court ruled that two of the deportations were based on
insufficient grounds for removal of EU residents.
Indigenous People.--The law protects the rights of the indigenous
Inuit inhabitants of Greenland, whose legal system seeks to accommodate
their customs, provides for the use of laypersons as judges, and
sentences most prisoners to holding centers (rather than prisons),
where they are encouraged to work, hunt, or fish during the day. Their
civil, political, and economic rights are protected effectively
throughout the kingdom, including the right to nondiscriminatory
treatment in employment, education, housing, and other services.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
official or societal discrimination. According to a report on
homophobia published in 2009 by the Danish Institute for Human Rights,
surveys showed that societal approval of homosexuality increased
significantly in the preceding three decades. According to data
reported by the Security and Intelligence Service, 19 of the 334 hate
crimes recorded in the country in 2010 were ``sexually oriented.''
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or against
other groups not covered above.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law states that all workers may form or join independent unions of
their choosing without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. The law protects the right to collective bargaining. It
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference and
prohibits antiunion discrimination. Workers fired for union activities
can take the employer to court and receive reinstatement or a cash
settlement on a case-by-case basis.
These laws were enforced effectively and enforcement was not
seriously hampered by lengthy delays and appeals. Freedom of
association and the right to collective bargaining were respected in
practice. Worker organizations were independent of the government and
political parties. Annual collective bargaining agreements covered
members of the workforce associated with unions and indirectly affected
the wages and working conditions of nonunion employees. Authorities and
employers respected the right to conduct union activities without
interference.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the
government effectively enforced this prohibition. The government
released a new National Action Plan on Trafficking in Persons in June,
covering the period from 2011 through 2014. It focuses on women
trafficked for sexual exploitation but also provides for continued
investigation of possible trafficking for forced labor in other
sectors.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the exploitation of children in the workplace, and the
government effectively enforced this prohibition in practice. There
were no reported instances of unlawful child labor.
The minimum legal age for full-time employment is 15 years. The law
sets a minimum age for part-time employment of 13 years and limits
school-age children to less strenuous tasks. The law limits work hours
and sets occupational health and safety restrictions for children, and
the government effectively enforced these laws in practice.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not mandate a
national minimum wage; unions and employer associations negotiate
minimum wages. The average minimum wage for all private and public
sector collective bargaining agreements was 109 kroner (approximately
$19) per hour, exclusive of pension benefits. Migrant workers are
entitled to the same minimum wages and working conditions, and must
adhere to the same employment regulations, as Danes.
Workers generally worked a 37.5-hour week, established by contract
rather than by law. Workers received premium pay for overtime, and
there was no compulsory overtime. Working hours were determined by
collective bargaining agreements that adhered to the EU directive that
an average workweek not exceed 48 hours. These agreements also
guarantee workers at least five weeks' paid vacation per year.
The law prescribes conditions of work, including safety and health
standards; authorities ensured compliance with labor legislation in
practice. The same laws protect legal migrants and foreign workers.
The Danish Working Environment Authority (DWEA) effectively
enforced labor health and safety in all sectors. The DWEA inspected
27,933 workplaces and issued 14,343 improvement notices in the first
seven months of the year, compared to 42,984 such inspections and
42,984 notices in all of 2010. The DWEA has the authority to report
violations to police or the courts if the employer fails to make
required improvements by the deadline. Workers may remove themselves
from hazardous situations without jeopardizing their employment, and
authorities effectively enforced this right in practice. Greenland and
the Faroe Islands have similar work conditions, except that there the
standard workweek was established by collective bargaining at 40 hours.
The DWEA recorded 40,123 workplace accidents from January 1 to November
14, of which 37 were fatalities.
__________
ESTONIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Estonia is a multiparty, constitutional democracy with a unicameral
parliament, a prime minister as head of government, and a president as
head of state. The prime minister and cabinet generally represent the
party or coalition of parties that have a majority of seats in
parliament. Parliamentary elections held on March 6 were generally free
and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
While there were no reports of widespread human rights abuses,
there continued to be reports of trafficking, primarily of women for
sexual exploitation and men and women for forced labor elsewhere in the
EU. Conditions in some detention centers remained poor, and lengthy
pretrial detention continued to be a problem. The country made only
slow progress during the year in naturalizing its large population of
stateless persons.
There were human rights problems in other areas. There were
allegations that police used excessive force during the arrest of
suspects. Societal problems included domestic violence and
discrimination against women in the workplace.
The government took steps to punish officials who committed abuses,
and there were no reports of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but there were reports
that police used excessive physical force and verbal abuse during the
arrest and questioning of some suspects. In 2010 authorities filed 20
criminal cases for excessive use of force against police officers,
three against prison guards, and two against tax and customs officers.
In 2010, three individuals were found guilty in county courts of
excessive use of force.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In the course of
inspection visits to a number of institutions, the legal chancellor
(the country's ombudsman) found a number of deficiencies in prison and
detention center conditions, particularly in detention centers where
detainees are kept for short periods. He observed deficiencies in the
availability of medical care in several institutions. In one prison
facility, he noted that the addition of a unit for elderly male
prisoners resulted in insufficient hygienic facilities for female
detainees. The continuing use of Soviet-era prisons for a large
minority of prisoners remained a problem, although the government was
in the process of phasing out these facilities. In these institutions
recreational facilities were deficient, especially during winter
months, and hygienic facilities were few and in poor condition.
On April 19, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report on its 2007 visit to the country.
The report found that material conditions of detention in the
facilities it visited, particularly the Kohtla-Jarve prison (since
closed) and institutions in Rakvere, Tallinn, and, to a lesser extent,
Narva, were ``appalling.'' Inmates were being held in filthy and
overcrowded cells that had little or no access to natural light, only
dim artificial light, and poor ventilation. The CPT noted that the
situation at the Kohtla-Jarve, Narva, Rakvere, and Tallinn detention
facilities was further exacerbated by an impoverished regime under
which inmates were confined to their cells 24 hours a day without being
offered any out-of-cell activities for weeks or months on end.
At the end of 2010, the country's prisons held 3,393 persons,
including 2,649 convicted prisoners and 744 pretrial detainees. Women
made up 6 percent of prisoners. There were 23 convicted prisoners and
20 pretrial detainees under the age of 18. As of the beginning of 2010,
the number of inmates was slightly smaller than the official capacity
of the system overall, but at least one institution was slightly
overcrowded at the beginning of the year. The government made efforts
to reduce the number of prisoners. In response to the CPT's report, the
authorities stated they had significantly increased the rate of
conditional release of certain prisoners.
On December 14, the Supreme Court acquitted the former acting
director of the Murru Prison of all charges in a 2006 case involving
the death of two inmates at the hands of other prisoners. On May 5, a
district court had found him guilty of the nondisclosure of a criminal
offense. In October 2010, a court had convicted the former warden as an
accessory to murder in the same case and sentenced him to three years
in prison.
Prisoners and detainees had access to potable water. There were no
reports that prisons' recordkeeping was inadequate in 2010. The
individual institutions do not have ombudsmen, but authorities
permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial
authorities without censorship and to request investigation of credible
allegations of inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated all
complaints and documented the results of their investigations in a
publicly accessible manner. Prisoners and detainees had reasonable
access to visitors and were permitted religious observance.
The government generally permitted monitoring in accordance with
its standard modalities by independent nongovernmental observers,
including human rights groups, the media, and relevant international
bodies. Monitoring occurred during the year.
The government continued to improve conditions in prisons and
detention centers. Several new facilities have been opened since the
2007 CPT report, and many of the facilities deemed inadequate have been
closed, including the detention center in Kohtla-Jarve and the Viljandi
Juvenile Prison. The Viru Prison and the Johvi detention center, both
opened in 2008, significantly eased the overcrowding of detention
centers. Since the receipt of the CPT's findings in 2007, the
government has gradually improved the lighting, food preparation, and
hygienic facilities in detention centers. Detained persons have access
to daily newspapers and the right to use telephones at their own
expense. In facilities where the technological resources exist, they
may use the government's electronic legal database and register of
court rulings.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and laws
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police, the border guard
board, the security police board, and the tax and customs board. The
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law
authorities must in most cases possess warrants issued by a court to
make arrests. They must inform detainees promptly of the grounds for
their arrest. There is a functioning bail system. Authorities may hold
individuals for 48 hours without charge; further detention requires a
court order. Police rarely violated these requirements. Detainees are
entitled to immediate access to legal counsel, and the government pays
for legal counsel for indigent persons.
Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. By
law authorities may hold a person in pretrial detention for six months.
In a particularly complex criminal case, the judge responsible for the
preliminary investigation may extend the length of detention at the
request of a chief public prosecutor. Approximately 23 percent of the
incarcerated population was in pretrial detention; the average length
of pretrial detention was seven months. The legal chancellor reported
cases of insufficient access to legal documentation in prisons and
detention centers and an inadequate number of telephones to contact
family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
Trials are public. Juries are not used. Cases may be heard by a single
judge, a judge together with public assessors, or a committee of
judges. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner. In criminal proceedings an attorney is
available to all defendants at public expense, although individuals
often preferred to hire their own attorneys. In civil proceedings an
attorney is provided for indigents. Defendants may confront or question
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases. The law extends these rights to all
residents, whether or not they are citizens. Defendants have the right
of appeal.
The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, and an
independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) delivered three judgments regarding Estonia during the
year and found one instance in each of them in which the country had
violated its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals or
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations, and
could appeal adverse judgments to the ECHR. The government complied
with domestic and regional court decisions pertaining to human rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and
the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet and no reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for this right, and the government
generally respected it in practice.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for this right
for citizens, and the government generally respected it in practice.
The law specifies that only citizens may join political parties, but
noncitizens are free to join other civil groups.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department' of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In its 2010
annual report, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Estonian Human
Rights Center (EHRC) suggested that asylum seekers were poorly informed
about their rights including the right to file for a stay of
deportation while the initial rejections of their applications were
being appealed. Government authorities indicated that all asylum
seekers were provided access to legal aid at every stage of the asylum
procedure.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government has a policy of
denying asylum applicants from a ``safe'' country of origin or transit.
The UNHCR has expressed concern about the government's policy of
refusing entry and immediately sending away persons who have transited
such a country, particularly about their right to appeal their denial
from outside of the country.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and provided it to six
individuals during the first 11 months of the year.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship derives primarily from one's
parents; it is conferred automatically if either parent is Estonian.
Children born in the country after 1992, who are younger than 15, and
whose parents are stateless residents who have lived in the country for
five years, are eligible to acquire citizenship by naturalization at
their parents' request.
As of August 1, according to government statistics, 98,915 persons,
or 7 percent of the population, were of undetermined citizenship--de
facto stateless. The UNHCR had reported that in January the number of
stateless persons was 100,983. Nearly all were ethnic Russians,
Ukrainians, Belarusians, or others who became stateless upon the demise
of the Soviet Union. In 2010, according to the NGO Estonian Cooperation
Assembly, 24 percent of the country's ethnic minorities were of
undetermined citizenship, or stateless, 50 percent were citizens of
Estonia, 23 percent were Russian citizens, and 3 percent declared
themselves citizens of another state.
Nearly all stateless persons were long-term residents; they could
vote in local, but not parliamentary, elections. There are statutory
procedures that offer opportunities for obtaining citizenship, but some
human rights observers regarded them as inadequate. In the case of
newborn children, the legal chancellor recommended reversing the law in
order to grant automatic citizenship to the children of legal residents
but permit children to be stateless at the request of their parents.
Individuals of undetermined citizenship were eligible to apply for
naturalization, but must pass language and civics tests. In 2010, 54
percent of those taking the test at the level required to acquire
citizenship passed. Authorities have adopted policies, such as funding
civics and language courses and simplifying the naturalization process
for persons with disabilities, to facilitate acquisition of citizenship
by those stateless persons who wish it. Although many residents
preferred Russian citizenship or statelessness to Estonian citizenship,
some human rights observers continued to criticize the government's
integration policies as too one sided. In its annual report for 2010,
the EHRC noted that the continuing fall in the rate of naturalization
was unlikely to be reversed unless the citizenship law was liberalized.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On March
6, the country held parliamentary elections that were considered free
and fair and led to the formation of a two-party coalition government,
which took office on April 6.
Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without
restriction or outside interference. Only citizens may be members of
political parties.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 20 women in the
101-seat parliament. The speaker and deputy speaker of the parliament
were women. There was one female minister in the 13-member cabinet. The
24 percent of the country's non-Estonian population that were stateless
could not participate in the election process at the national level.
Noncitizens who are long-term residents may vote in local elections,
but cannot vote in national elections or hold office. Citizens of the
European Union who have established permanent residency may also vote
in local elections, and those who are entered into the country's
population register may vote in elections for Estonian representatives
to the European Parliament. Ten members of ethnic minorities served in
the 101-seat parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials,
and the government generally implemented these laws effectively as
demonstrated in the World Bank's broad-based corruption indicators. The
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were several reports of government corruption during
the year. One example was that of Kaimo Jarvik, the Tallinn Municipal
Police Chief, who was convicted by the Harju County Court in April of
accepting bribes from Bailiff Priit Lantin totalling 9,500 euros
($12,350) from January 2010 to January 2011 in return for being awarded
a contract to collect delinquent fees. Lantin was fined 45,000 euros
($58,000) and Jarvik, as the result of a plea bargain, served two
months of an 18-month sentence and was placed on three years'
probation. Both men were also barred from holding public office for
three years.
In 2010 authorities filed charges against individuals in 20
corruption cases related to ministries and county governments and 36
related to local municipal governments. Of the latter, 14 involved
officials of local government, 10 involved heads of local governments,
five involved members of local councils, and the rest involved private
firms or individuals. Six corruption cases resulted in charges in Narva
and five each in Tallinn and Rakvere.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Justice Ministry is responsible for coordinating anticorruption
activities.
The law provides for public access to government information and
allows for monitoring of the public sector's performance, and the
government provided such access in practice to citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were usually cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The legal chancellor, an
independent official with a staff of over 40 persons, performs the role
of human rights ombudsman. The legal chancellor reviews legislation for
compliance with the constitution; oversees authorities' observance of
fundamental rights and freedoms and the principles of good governance;
and helps resolve accusations of discrimination based on gender, race,
nationality (ethnic origin), color, language, religion, social status,
age, disability, and sexual orientation. The legal chancellor also
makes recommendations to ministries and local governments, requests
responses, and has the authority to appeal to the Supreme Court. The
legal chancellor compiles an annual report for parliament. Public trust
in the office was high, and the government was responsive to the
reports and decisions issued by the office.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally
enforced the prohibitions. Nevertheless, violence against women and
child abuse were problems.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape; and physical abuse, including domestic
violence.
The penalty for rape, including spousal rape, is up to 15 years'
imprisonment. In 2010 police reported 81 rapes, representing 29 percent
of all sexual crimes. Authorities prosecuted rape cases.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a problem.
Physical abuse (the law does not differentiate by gender) is punishable
by a fine or imprisonment of up to three years, up to five in instances
of longstanding and unremitting violence. Police statistics for 2010
recorded 4,320 cases of physical abuse, including domestic violence and
the physical abuse of minors. There were 61 cases of longstanding and
unremitting violence. Domestic violence accounted for 28 percent of all
physical abuse cases. Physical abuse formed 61.9 percent of all violent
crimes in the country. Also in 2010, courts convicted 1,057 individuals
of physical abuse and 40 of longstanding and unremitting violence.
Victims of domestic violence may obtain help, including counseling and
legal assistance, from social workers employed by local governments and
from specialized NGOs.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but some
incidents of sexual harassment in the workplace occurred. According to
the law, disputes over sexual harassment may be resolved in court, by
an administrative hearing before the legal chancellor, or by the gender
equality and equal treatment commissioner. An injured party may demand
termination of the harmful activity and compensation for damages. In
2010 the gender equality and equal treatment commissioner received
three complaints regarding sexual harassment, all from women. In 2009,
4.4 percent of women participating in a government survey stated they
had experienced sexual harassment.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and
means to do so. Health clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in
disseminating information on family planning. There are no restrictions
on access to contraceptives. The incidence of maternal mortality was
low. Access to maternal health services, including skilled attendance
during childbirth, prenatal care, essential obstetric care, and
postpartum care was available free of charge. Women received equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--During the first six months of the year, the
gender equality and equal treatment commissioner received 164
complaints and determined that six of them involved gender
discrimination. In one such case, an employer refused to accept a woman
for a position because she had a small child. Although women have the
same rights as men under the law and are entitled to equal pay for
equal work, these rights were not always observed in practice. While
the average educational level of women was higher than that of men,
women's average pay continued to be generally lower, and there
continued to be female- and male-dominated professions. According to
the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, Estonian
women earned 65 percent of men's wages for the same work.
A gender equality and equal treatment commissioner, an independent
expert, monitored compliance with the law requiring equal treatment.
The Gender Equality Department of the Ministry of Social Affairs is
responsible for coordinating the government's efforts to eliminate
gender inequality, drafting legislation to this end and promoting
gender equality.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship derives from one's
parents. Either citizen parent may pass citizenship to a child
regardless of the other parent's citizenship status. Children born to
members of the country's large population of stateless persons were
automatically stateless unless a long-term resident-parent applied to
obtain citizenship for the child before the child reached the age of
15. Births were registered in a timely manner.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse continued to be a problem. In 2010, of
the 61 cases in which individuals were convicted of sexual assault, 43
involved victims who were minors. The police and the Border Guard Board
worked to combat child abuse, including sexual abuse. In 2010 police
registered 27 cases of forcible rape of minors and 204 cases of sexual
abuse of persons younger than 18, including 53 cases involving victims
younger than 14.
On March 19, the legal chancellor assumed the responsibilities of
children's ombudsman.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual
sex is 14. The law prohibits child pornography, and punishment ranges
from a fine to three years in prison. In 2010 authorities registered 76
cases of child pornography, which represented 41 percent of all sexual
offences against minors.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was estimated at approximately
2,500 persons.
On July 30, a ceremony was held in Sinimae to honor veterans of the
20th Estonian Waffen SS Grenadier Division from World War II. The
annual event has been a source of continuing controversy due to the
connection between non-Baltic Waffen SS units and Nazi war crimes.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic statements or actions associated
with the event. No national government officials participated in the
ceremony, but military chaplains laid wreaths at monuments for the
soldiers from both sides who died in the nearby battles. There were
reports of concern about the increasing number of young people
attending this event.
On July 8, a ceremony was held in a German military cemetery in
Viljandi to mark the 70th anniversary of the June 1941 invasion by
Germany, considered by the organizers as ``liberation'' from Soviet
rule. Fewer than 20 people attended the ceremony, which involved no
local or national government officials. One of the primary organizers
had a long history of personal and professional disputes and had
previously been ejected from the Estonian Defense League, a National
Guard equivalent, and forced to resign from a major political party
because of pro-Nazi sympathies.
During the summer the Estonian History Museum mounted a temporary
exhibit on notable former residents of Tallinn. Nazi politician and
ideologue Alfred Rosenberg was included in the exhibit. The local
Jewish community and a senior member of parliament complained about the
exhibit, stating that it lacked information about Rosenberg's role in
the Holocaust. Further, the information on Rosenberg was placed among
several laudatory exhibits, which provided a misleading context. A
local high school where Rosenberg studied also included him in a
display of notable alumni. Following these complaints, the Ministry of
Culture ordered the museum to remove the part of the exhibit related to
Rosenberg.
The government took a number of steps to associate itself with
commemoration of the Holocaust and to encourage best practices in
teaching about it in schools.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services. The government generally enforced these provisions. The law
does not mandate access to buildings for persons with disabilities; few
older buildings were accessible, although new or renovated buildings
generally were. The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, and local
governments are responsible for the provision of social welfare
services to persons with disabilities. The government focused on
developing rehabilitation services to improve the ability of persons
with disabilities to cope independently and increase their social
inclusion. The state compensates persons with disabilities requiring
prosthetics and orthopedic or other technical aids for 50 to 90 percent
of the cost of such devices.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--While there is no specific law
prohibiting hate crimes, the law prohibits incitement to hatred,
violence, or discrimination on a variety of grounds, including
nationality, race, skin color, language, and social origin.
In August 2010 the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination criticized the country for not prohibiting racist
organizations or making incitement of hatred on racial grounds a
punishable offense (the law only limits the prosecution of hate speech
leading to acts that result in serious consequences).
In May a Cameroonian Ph.D. candidate at the University of Tartu
claimed he had to leave the country without completing his studies
after he was attacked a second time because of his race. Police stated
that their ability to pursue this case was hindered because the
candidate did not report the attack in a timely manner.
The government provides for the protection of the cultures of
certain minority groups, such as Ingrian Finns and Coastal Swedes,
based on the cultural autonomy law. The government also funds programs,
including cultural associations and societies, which focus on the
languages and cultures of a number of other minority groups, including
Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. In districts where more than
half of the population speaks a language other than Estonian, the law
entitles inhabitants to receive official information in that language,
and the law was respected in practice.
Knowledge of Estonian is required to obtain citizenship, and all
public servants and public sector employees, service personnel, medical
professionals, and other workers who have contact with the public must
possess a minimum competence in the language. A Language Inspectorate
enforces language skills among these sectors through referrals to
language classes and small fines. The government encouraged social
integration of the 29 percent of the population that were ethnic
minorities through a policy that promotes naturalization and learning
Estonian.
Largely for historical reasons, Russian speakers worked
disproportionately in blue-collar industries and continued to
experience higher unemployment than ethnic Estonians.
Some noncitizen residents, particularly ethnic Russians, alleged
that the language requirement resulted in job and salary
discrimination. Many Russian speakers believed they would face job
discrimination even if they possessed adequate Estonian. Some employers
reported a preference for employees fluent in both Russian and
Estonian, regardless of ethnicity.
More than 100 schools, 58 of them high schools, employed the
Russian language for their instruction. The government continued to
implement its plan to provide 60 percent of all instruction in
``Russian-speaking'' high schools in the Estonian language by the 2011-
12 school year. Many have implemented this transition more rapidly than
required. Some in the Russian-speaking community challenged the
government's plans for Estonian-language education, and throughout the
year negotiations between civil society groups, students and their
parents, and the government continued.
During a June visit the High Commissioner for National Minorities
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe expressed
concern that the transition to partial Estonian-language instruction
could affect the quality of education. He also criticized the use of
fines and inspections to encourage the use of the Estonian language by
certain categories of employees, to include teachers and government
officials. Government officials rejected these concerns.
Roma, who numbered fewer than 1,000, reportedly faced
discrimination in employment and other areas. The government took steps
to emphasize the importance of education for Romani children, but their
dropout rate remained high. In response to complaints that
approximately 10 Romani children were inappropriately placed in schools
for children with learning disabilities, a social worker contended that
this was the only available mechanism to prepare the children for
school. One leader of the Romani community publically criticized Romani
parents for inadequate preparation of their children for school.
Fifteen students were registered officially as Roma by the school
system, but the Ministry of Education and Research estimated that there
were approximately 90 additional students of Romani ancestry who
identified themselves as Estonian or Russian speakers. A prominent
Romani community activist stated that Romani youth who show potential
to become leaders of their communities typically leave the country to
seek employment opportunities elsewhere, a trend that is present among
the wider population as well.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, or other
personal characteristics, and the government generally respected these
prohibitions. Some activists expressed concern with what they described
as the authorities' unwillingness to prosecute possible misdemeanors
aggressively under the penal code provisions involving incitement to
hatred. Most lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons did
not reveal their sexual orientation or gender identity and avoided
reporting incidents to police. Anti-LGBT messages did not generally
appear in mainstream media reports, but anonymous online commentary on
LGBT themes often included strongly hostile language, in some cases
advocating violence against individuals and the LGBT community. In
addition, in 2010 there were instances of performances in private clubs
with anti-LGBT themes and recordings of music videos posted to social
networking sites with lyrics and actions that encouraged violence
against gays and lesbians. Organizers of the June Baltic Pride
celebration, a joint undertaking of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian
participants, reported receiving some threats via the Internet, but the
event proceeded without incident and with government support.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
NGOs worked with the Ministry of Social Affairs throughout the year on
programs to reduce the social stigma associated with the disease.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of workers to form and join independent
unions of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. It gives most workers, excepting public servants at the
state and municipal levels, the right to strike; there is a procedure
enabling public servants to negotiate directly with their employers.
The law provides for collective bargaining and collective dispute
resolution. It allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference and prohibits antiunion discrimination. Both employees and
employers have the right to request that labor dispute committees or
the courts resolve individual labor disputes. The law prohibits
discrimination against any employee because of union membership, but it
does not address the issue of reinstatement if an employee is dismissed
for this reason.
Some workers found it difficult to exercise their trade union
rights in practice. The Confederation of Estonian Trade Unions reported
frequent violations of trade union rights in the private sector during
the year and stated that antiunion behavior was widespread and labor
inspectorates did not efficiently enforce the laws against such
behavior. Some enterprises advised workers against forming trade
unions, threatened them with dismissal or a reduction in wages if they
did, or promised them benefits if they did not join unions. At times
workers exercised the right to strike. Collective bargaining was freely
practiced.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor and the government effectively enforced
these laws.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets the minimum age for employment at 18, with some exceptions.
Children 15 to 17 years old may work with the consent of a parent or
guardian and minors seven to 12 may do light work in the areas of
culture, art, sports, or advertising with the consent of the Labor
Inspectorate. Children under the age of 18 may not perform hazardous
work. The law limits the hours that children may work and prohibits
overtime or night work. The Labor Inspectorate was responsible for
enforcing these laws. The government effectively enforced laws and
policies to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. There
were no separate inspections regarding the age of child workers.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In 2010 there was a national
monthly minimum wage of 4,350 kroon ($372). It has remained the same
for several years despite the rising cost of utilities, food, and other
basic items.
The standard workweek is 40 hours. The law requires a rest period
of at least 11 hours in sequence for every 24-hour period. Reduced
working time is required for minors and for employees who perform work
that is underground, poses a health hazard, or is of an otherwise
special nature. The law requires overtime pay of not less than 150
percent of the employee's hourly wage. These requirements were
effectively enforced. There is no prohibition of excessive compulsory
overtime.
The government set occupational health and safety standards. The
labor inspectorate, health protection inspectorate, and technical
inspectorate were responsible for enforcing them and made efforts to do
so.
In 2010 there were 3,212 occupational accidents, a ratio of 563
occupational accidents per 100,000 employees.
__________
FINLAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Finland is a constitutional republic with a
directly elected president and a unicameral parliament (Eduskunta). The
prime minister heads a six-party coalition government. Parliamentary
elections on April 17 were free and fair. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
While serious abuses were rare, societal discrimination against
ethnic minority residents was seen as the country's most significant
human rights problem. Domestic abuse and other violence against women
and children were also a chronic problem. Although the system for
administering justice generally worked well, police at times failed to
provide detainees timely access to legal counsel as required by law.
Other human rights problems during the year included instances of
alleged bribery and abuse of trust involving elected officials, and
allegations that local government officials used harsh methods to break
up illegal Romani settlements in the country.
The government took steps to prosecute officials suspected of
corruption, and there were no reports of impunity during the year.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers.
In 2010, the most recent period for which data was available, the
daily average prison population including pretrial detainees and remand
prisoners was 3,291, of whom 0.2 percent were juveniles under 18 years
of age, 2.4 percent were under 21 years of age, and 7.0 percent were
women.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. There were no such complaints during the year.
The annual report of the U.N. Committee against Torture expressed
concern about overcrowding in some prisons and detention centers and
the lack of appropriate sanitary facilities in 222 prison cells, where
prisoners had only buckets for discharging human waste.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the military and the national police
force, which are under the centralized control of the Ministry of
Defense and the Ministry of the Interior, respectively. Police have
responsibility in law and practice for law enforcement and maintenance
of order within the country. The government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires police to have a warrant issued by a prosecutor to make an
arrest. A warrant must be obtained within three days if an individual
is arrested while committing a crime; arrested persons must receive a
court hearing within three days of arrest. Authorities usually
respected these rights in practice. Detainees must be promptly informed
of the charges against them, and lawyers must be provided for the
indigent. In 2009, the last time the matter was investigated, the
Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture found that
detainees' access to legal counsel was often significantly delayed.
There were no reports that suspects were detained incommunicado or held
under house arrest.
There is no system of bail, but most defendants awaiting trial were
eligible for conditional release based on personal recognizance. There
were no reports of preventive detention, which the law allows only in
exceptional circumstances, such as during a declared state of war, or
for narrowly defined offenses including treason, mutiny, and large-
scale arms trafficking.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The law does
not provide for trial by jury. Defendants have a right to consult an
attorney in a timely manner before trial. Attorneys are to be provided
at public expense if defendants face serious criminal charges that can
result in imprisonment or significant fines. Defendants can confront
and question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence
on their own behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have a
right of appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The European Court for
Human Rights (ECHR) issued five judgments against the state during the
year, some of them involving multiple infractions. When a breach of the
European Convention on Human Rights is found, the government's policy
is to take action in the specific case in which the breach occurred and
enact legislative and administrative changes to avoid a repeat of the
infraction. The government paid monetary judgments awarded by the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals or
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations. They
may appeal adverse decisions to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and
press.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The publication of hate
material and public speech intended to incite discrimination or
violence against any national, racial, religious, or ethnic group are
crimes. On December 13, an appeals court in Kouvola reversed a district
court's acquittal of James Hirvisaari, a member of parliament from the
populist Finns Party, and fined him 1,425 euros ($1,853) for
``incitement to hatred'' for posting his negative opinions on Muslim
immigrants to his blog while serving on a municipal council. Hirvisaari
may still appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Courts can fine persons found guilty of inciting racial hatred on
the Internet, and during the year there were reports that courts fined
individuals for publishing and distributing hate material via the
Internet.
On November 11, police in Lieksa detained two young men suspected
of fomenting ethnic hatred and six others for spreading ethnic hatred
on Facebook. The investigation continued at year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Following an ECHR judgment against
Greece, on January 24 the Finnish Immigration Service stopped for the
time being returning asylum seekers to Greece on the basis of the EU's
Dublin II Regulation, which recognizes all EU countries as safe
countries of origin and transit. The Regulation also authorizes the
governments of EU member states to return asylum seekers to the
countries where they first entered the EU. The service had earlier
refused to return unaccompanied minors or applicants in a vulnerable
position, such as families with children, to Greece because of the poor
conditions for asylum seekers in that country.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--The Ministry of Interior has appointed a special
working group to consider detainee status in the country. The working
group will focus especially on asylum seekers who arrive alone. Due to
the lack of facilities, a number of asylum seekers were detained in
unsuitable facilities, including police stations and prisons.
Employment.--The government granted all asylum applicants temporary
residency while they awaited the decision on their applications. To
discourage asylum seekers from destroying their identification
documents, authorities allowed only those applicants who crossed the
border with proper identification documentation to seek employment,
education, healthcare, property ownership, and other services after
three months. Otherwise, the government grants the right to work to
asylum seekers without proper travel documents after they have
submitted an asylum application and resided in the country for six
months.
Access to Basic Services.--Refugees and asylum seekers generally
have access to basic services. Legislation regarding asylum seekers
that entered into force on September 1 adjusted which services the
national government and local municipalities offer and finance.
Durable Solutions.--The parliament annually sets a quota for the
number of refugees that may be admitted into the country. The
government decides on the allocation of the quota. Since 2001 the
annual quota has been 750 refugees.
Temporary Protection.--According to the most recent statistics
available, between January and August 2010 the government provided
temporary protection to 60 individuals who might not qualify as
refugees.
Stateless Persons.--According to UNHCR, 3,125 stateless persons
were living in the country at the end of 2010. A child may obtain
citizenship from either the mother or father regardless of the place of
birth and may also acquire citizenship if the child is born in Finland
and would otherwise be stateless. Involuntarily stateless people and
certain other special groups (such as refugees) have a shorter
residency requirement than typical applicants before gaining
citizenship, four years as opposed to six.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliamentary elections held on April 17 were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--As a result of the April
elections, 86 women entered the 200-seat parliament and nine women took
portfolios in the 19-member Council of State (cabinet). The president
of the republic and the president of the Supreme Court were women. Four
of the eight parties in parliament went into the election campaign
under female leaders. Women were in the majority in two parliamentary
groups: the Social Democratic Party (27 women and 15 men) and the
Swedish People's Party (five women and four men).
There were 10 members of minority groups in parliament and two in
the cabinet. Jani Toivola, a Kenyan-Finn from the Greens Party, became
the first member of a racial minority to win a parliamentary seat as
well as one of the few openly gay members of parliament. The autonomous
region of the Aland Islands elects one representative to the national
parliament and has its own parliament. The indigenous Sami minority
enjoys semiautonomous status and has its own parliament as well as full
representation as citizens in the national parliament; however, no Sami
were members of the national parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively.
The law requires parties, candidates, and candidates' supporters to
report every donation of more than 800 euros ($1,040) in municipal
elections or more than 1,500 euros ($1,950) in other elections. This
reporting requirement also applies to other forms of electoral support,
such as funding seminars or donating goods and services for political
purposes. The National Audit Office, the country's supreme audit
institution, is responsible for collecting the reports and maintaining
a public register on the Internet.
During the year the National Bureau of Investigation continued
investigating suspected instances of bribery and abuse of trust
involving members of parliament from the Center and National Coalition
parties. On September 29, member of parliament and former chairman of
the board of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Youth Foundation (a
Center Party-led housing charity) Antti Kaikkonen, former chairman of
the state-run Slot Machine Association Jukka Vihriala, and six members
of the board of the Youth Foundation were charged with abuse of trust.
On June 14, Ilkka Kanerva, a member of parliament from the National
Coalition Party and former foreign minister, went on trial in the
Helsinki District Court for bribery and malfeasance. He was charged
with accepting more than 50,000 euros ($65,000) in bribes from four
businessmen while serving on the Regional Council of Southwest Finland,
a body whose powers include land use. The businessmen also were charged
in the case.
By law income and asset information from all tax forms of all
citizens, including public officials, must be made public each year.
The Office of the Chancellor of Justice oversees government activities
and prosecutes cases of possible corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, with
the exception of national security information and documents covered by
privacy laws, and the government provided such access in practice.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The parliamentary ombudsman
enjoyed the government's cooperation, operated without government or
party interference, and had adequate resources. The ombudsman
investigates complaints that a public authority or an official has not
observed the law or fulfilled a duty, or that fundamental human rights
protections have not been appropriately implemented. In 2010, the most
recent year for which data was available, 4,492 new matters were
referred to the ombudsman, and the ombudsman issued a decision in 4,903
cases. The main targets of the complaints received were the social
welfare authorities, law enforcement authorities, healthcare, and
penitentiary officials.
The parliamentary Constitutional Law Committee analyzed proposed
legislation for consistency with international human rights
conventions. The parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee dealt with
legislation relating to criminal and procedural law, the courts, and
the prison system.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, and social status, and the government
effectively enforced these prohibitions. However, there were reports of
violence against women and children, trafficking in persons, and
societal discrimination against foreign-born residents and Roma.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, and female genital mutilation, and the
government enforced the law effectively. The maximum prison sentence
for rape is six years but can be as much as 10 years in cases of
aggravated rape. Between January and June, 438 cases of rape were
reported to police. In 2010, 820 cases of rape were reported to police.
The actual number of rapes reported to authorities during the year was
higher and included cases reported to the Finnish Border Guards and
Customs which were not counted in the cases reported to police. In
2010, the most recent period for which government figures were
available, 135 persons were convicted of rape.
On June 1, legislation entered into force that defines coercion
into a sexual act or intercourse, including with a defenseless person
(i.e., intoxicated or disabled), as a crime as severe as rape.
Sentences for such offenses are consistent with those for rape.
Through various public awareness campaigns police and other
government officials actively encouraged victims to report rapes.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
problem. In 2003-2009, 264 women were killed the country. Of those, 16
were under the age of 15, five were between 15 and 17, and 243 were
adults. The annual homicide rate for women averaged 1.4 deaths per
100,000 inhabitants compared with a rate of 3.4 deaths for men. The
majority of female victims were killed at home (57 percent); in 67
percent of the cases the killer was a spouse or boyfriend.
Domestic abuse may be prosecuted under various criminal laws,
including laws prohibiting rape, assault and battery, harassment, and
disturbing the peace. The penalty for physical domestic violence ranges
from a minimum of six months to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The NGO Federation of Mother and Child Homes and Shelters stated
domestic violence was a problem in all age and social groups regardless
of level of education. Violent behavior within a family often remained
unreported to police. A survey by the National Research Institute of
Legal Policy released on March 7 found that 86 percent of victims who
sought help from support services, such as safe houses, were women. The
average age of female victims was 38 compared with 44 for men who
sought help. A large portion of the requests for support services
originated from major cities in southern Finland and in most cases were
due to violence.
Police may refer potential perpetrators or victims of domestic
violence to government social welfare agencies that have programs to
reduce domestic violence. These programs promoted cooperation between
cohabiting partners by providing support to victims and anger
management counseling and other advisory services to perpetrators.
The government encouraged women to report domestic violence and
abuse and provided counseling, shelters, and other support services to
victims of domestic violence and rape. It also funded NGOs that
provided additional services, including a telephone hotline and crisis
center. According to regional and municipal officials who operated
shelters, most women who sought shelter from violence were between the
ages of 25 and 35 and married or in a cohabiting relationship; nearly
one-fourth of those seeking shelter were reported to be immigrants,
although shelter records often omitted victims' origins to protect
them. Foreign-born residents who were not proficient in Finnish,
Swedish, Sami, or English experienced some difficulty accessing
domestic violence services. In September the government adopted a five-
year national action plan for reducing violence against women. Amnesty
International noted, however, that the government had not provided any
additional state funding to implement the plan and expressed concern
that the plan would not be resourced adequately.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is prohibited by law, and the
government generally enforced the law in practice. The prosecutor
general is responsible for investigating sexual harassment cases.
Employers who fail to protect employees from harassment are subject to
fines or a maximum of six months' imprisonment. According to the Office
of the Ombudsman for Minorities, one of the official bodies that track
gender-related problems in the country, inappropriate treatment of
women in the workplace remained a problem.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women have access to
contraception and skilled attendants during childbirth, including
obstetric and postpartum care.
Discrimination.--Women have the same rights as men under family and
property laws and in the judicial system. The government maintained
three entities devoted to gender equality problems: the ombudsman for
equality, the Gender Equality Unit, and the Council for Equality.
The law stipulates that men and women must receive equal pay for
equal work. However, allegations of wage discrimination against women
continued. In 2010 the equality ombudsman's office received 385
complaints (49 percent of all cases) alleging discrimination and
unequal treatment based on gender.
Women earned an average of 19 percent less than men for
substantially similar work. According to Statistics Finland data from
November 2010, the most recent information available, the average
monthly wage for men was 3,343 euros ($4,346), compared to 2,739 euros
($3,561) for women. This disparity was attributed to the tendency of
men to work in more senior or skilled positions than women, with the
exception of the fields of medicine and education. Men tended to
dominate the upper ranks in industry, finance, and some government
ministries, while women remained overrepresented in lower-paying
occupations. The pay gap between women and men narrowed slightly from
2009 to 2010, as women's earnings in the public sector rose faster than
those of men. The law provides that individuals may receive
compensation for lost wages in cases where gender-based discrimination
is proven.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship generally is acquired
at birth through one or both of the child's parents. A child can also
acquire citizenship at birth if the child is born in the country and
meets certain other criteria, such as if the parents have refugee
status in the country or if the child is not eligible for any other
country's citizenship. A local registration office records all births
in the Population Information System.
Child Abuse.--Information on violence against children was not
collected comprehensively. In 2008 a child victim survey by police
indicated that children and young persons experienced violence more
frequently than adults. Approximately 20 percent of boys and 15 percent
of girls indicated they had experienced some form of assault or battery
during the previous year. Adults were responsible for the violence
against children in one in 10 cases. In general girls tended to
experience violence at home, while boys were subjected to violence
outside the home, usually by another boy. The government ombudsman for
children's problems under the Ministry for Social Affairs and Health
continued to work to raise public awareness of child abuse and promote
the government's child, youth, and family policy program.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Between January and November,
1,175 cases of suspected child sexual abuse were reported to police.
Police received 1,102 cases in 2010. On July 15, National Police
Commissioner Mikko Paatero said he hoped the higher figures were at
least partially attributable to better reporting rather than a spike in
the number of crimes themselves. In contrast with the apparent year-on-
year increase in sexual abuse, a study by the Department of Psychology
of Abo Akademi University indicated that the rate of childhood sexual
abuse might be declining. A survey of 18- to 23-year-olds found that
2.5 percent had experienced sexual abuse during childhood, while in
older age groups the rate was between 3.7 percent and 5.1 percent.
As of June 1, the government stiffened the penal code for child
sexual offenses and broadened the scope of punishable acts. For
example, intercourse with a minor is considered an aggravated offense
with penalties ranging from one to 10 years' imprisonment. The purchase
of sexual services from minors now embraces so-called ``grooming''
(enticement of a child) including in a virtual environment or by mobile
phones. The amendment also streamlined the provisions prohibiting the
dissemination and possession of child pornography. All sexual crimes
against children are subject to public prosecution, including if
committed by the country's residents outside the country.
The country has laws against statutory rape; the age of sexual
consent is 16. The minimum legal age for sex work is 18. A person whose
age cannot be determined, but who can reasonably be assumed to be under
the age of 18, is regarded as a child. Sexual abuse of a child carries
a maximum sentence of four years' incarceration while aggravated sexual
abuse of a child carries a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment.
Manufacturing, selling, renting, importing, or exporting sexually
obscene pictures or recordings of children carries a maximum prison
sentence of two years, and aggravated distribution of sexually obscene
pictures of children has a minimum sentence of four months' and a
maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to Statistics Finland, the country's
Jewish community numbered approximately 1,500. The largest Jewish
community (in Helsinki) consisted of 1,150 members. There were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
On May 25, the Finnish National Socialist Workers' Party, the
country's Nazi party, failed to complete the registration process for
associations. The National Board of Patents and Registration halted the
process after asking for revisions of the party's application and
additional information.
The Ministry of Education continued to integrate tolerance and
anti-bias courses and material into the public-school curriculum.
Students begin studying the Holocaust and the phenomenon of anti-
Semitism in the eighth grade.
Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons,
see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, or the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced these provisions.
Laws mandating access to buildings for persons with disabilities
generally were enforced, although many older buildings remained
inaccessible. Most forms of public transportation were accessible, but
problems continued in some geographically isolated areas. The Ministry
for Social Affairs and Health and the Ministry of Employment and the
Economy are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities, and do so effectively.
Some 200,000 persons with disabilities live in the country. On
August 24, the Finnish Broadcasting Company reported persons with
physical disabilities were underrepresented in the labor market, even
though many of them would like to work. A survey by the innovation fund
Sitra and the VATES Foundation published on August 24 found that
companies were interested in hiring persons with disabilities but,
among other things, wanted more information about various financial aid
available to them and prospective employees. According to the survey,
one third of the group was able to work, and many members of the group
sought regular part-time jobs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was some societal tension
between ethnic Finns and minority groups, and there were reports of
racist or xenophobic incidents.
According to the media on August 4, the number of racist crimes
recorded by police fell by approximately 17 percent in the beginning of
the year compared with the same time in 2010. There were occasional
reports of fighting between ethnic Finns and foreign-born youth of
African and Middle Eastern descent as well as fighting between rival
ethnic immigrant groups. The law does not have a specific category for
``race-related crimes'' or ``hate crimes.'' However, racism as a motive
or party to another motive to any other criminal act is a cause for
aggravating the sentence.
On April 1, the Helsinki district court gave one person a 50-day
suspended prison sentence for endangerment and fined three persons in
connection with a mass brawl among youth of Kurdish, Somali, and
Finnish extraction at Helsinki's Linnanmaki amusement park in 2010. The
court ordered the defendants to pay 1,600 euros ($2,080) in
compensation.
In April and May, Teuvo Hakkarainen, a member of parliament from
the Finns Party, made a series of racially derogatory comments about
blacks, Swedes, Somalis, Muslims, gay men, and lesbians. According to
the press, police reported to the state prosecutor that there was no
crime and if there was it was too small a matter to investigate.
Hakkarainen later apologized.
Groups of Roma have lived in the country for centuries. According
to the minority ombudsman, discrimination against the country's
approximately 10,000 to 12,000 Roma extended to all areas of life,
resulting in their effective exclusion from society. Roma are
classified as a ``traditional ethnic minority'' in the ombudsman's
report. The Romani minority was the most frequent target of racially
motivated discrimination, followed by Russian speakers, Somalis, Turks,
Iraqis, Sami, and Thais. Ethnic Finns were also occasionally victims of
racially motivated crimes for associating with members of minority
communities.
A new, significant influx of adult Romani beggars from Romania
started in 2007 after Romania joined the EU, with an increase in Roma
in Helsinki and other large cities. The number of beggars varied
significantly over the year, ranging from approximately 200-300 during
the summer months and only a few dozen during the winter.
A small number of illegal camps used by non-Finnish Roma were a
controversial issue. The Helsinki rescue department stated that the
sites suffered from safety deficiencies and were unfit for habitation.
The city repeatedly offered temporary accommodation to the Roma, but
many Roma either refused the initial offers or returned to the illegal
camps after spending a short time in the shelters.
The Helsinki city council decided to break up non-Finnish Romani
camps in Helsinki and enforced its decision with police. The minority
ombudsman criticized the city council's decision as evidence of a
hardening of attitudes towards foreigners and stated that, although the
city has the right to decide where camps should be situated, breaking
up existing camps did not solve the problem.
At the end of 2010 there were 54,500 Russian-speaking persons
living in the country, principally in Helsinki and areas along the
Russian border. They were by far the largest minority not speaking
Finnish or Swedish, the country's two official languages. In April
2009, the latest date for which data was available, unemployment among
immigrants from the former Soviet Union (excluding Estonia) was 31
percent, compared to 17.6 percent for all immigrants and 8.8 percent in
the country overall. A 2010 report by the minority ombudsman identified
the lack of Finnish-language ability, the lack of education or
recognition of training, personal cultural differences, lack of
employers' confidence in Russian speakers, discrimination, and the lack
of local social networks as causes for this discrepancy. Russian-origin
persons had the highest number of requests for assistance of any
immigrant group and nearly double that of Somalis (the immigrant group
with the second highest number of requests).
The government strongly encouraged tolerance and respect for
minority groups and sought to address racial discrimination. All
government ministries included antiracism provisions in their
educational information, personnel policy, and training programs. The
government also monitored the treatment of national, racial, and ethnic
minorities by police, border guards, and teachers. The government's
minority ombudsman monitored and assisted victims of discrimination.
The ombudsman for minorities supervised compliance with the prohibition
of ethnic discrimination.
In 2010, the latest data available, the ombudsman for minorities
processed 848 client cases of discrimination. The Roma remained the
largest ethnic group contacting the ombudsman for minorities. As in
earlier years, the majority of Romani clients contacted the office
about housing problems. The second-largest group to contact the
ombudsman for minorities were Russian speakers.
Indigenous People.--The constitution provides for the protection of
the Sami language and culture, and the government financially supported
these protections. The Sami, who constitute less than 0.1 percent of
the population, have full political and civil rights as citizens as
well as a measure of autonomy in their civil and administrative
affairs. A 21-member Sami parliament (Samediggi), popularly elected by
the Sami, is responsible for the group's language, culture, and matters
concerning their status as an indigenous people. The Sami parliament is
an independent body but operates under the purview of the Interior
Ministry. It can adopt legally binding resolutions, propose
initiatives, and provide policy guidance. Despite constitutional
protections, members of the Sami community continued to protest the
lack of explicit legislation to safeguard Sami land, resources, and
economic livelihood. The government owns 90 percent of the land in the
Sami home region, much of it in the form of national parks. Sami have
alleged for decades that the government used their land for logging and
other purposes without consulting them.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No person may be discriminated
against on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, or other
personal characteristics. The government generally respected these
rights, and law enforcement authorities investigated and punished
violations of these rights.
On May 10, the Helsinki district court gave suspended four-month
sentences for assault, breach of political freedom, and possession of
weapons to three young men who attacked the 2010 Helsinki Pride parade.
The court included aggravating circumstances in its judgment, as the
attack was targeted on sexual minorities and some of the victims were
bystanders, including minors.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. However,
authorities did not allow gay men to donate blood or organs for use in
the country because of the perceived increased risk of hepatitis or HIV
infection.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for the freedom to form trade unions and join
independent unions, to conduct legal strikes, and to bargain
collectively. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and there
were no reports that such discrimination occurred during the year. Any
restriction or obstruction of these rights is prohibited.
The law exempts from the right to strike public sector employees
who provide essential services. An official dispute board can make
nonbinding recommendations to the cabinet on ending or limiting the
duration of strikes when national security is threatened. Employees
prohibited from striking can use arbitration to provide for due process
in the resolution of their concerns.
A strike is legal when an employment contract is not in effect and
the action is pursuant to new contract negotiations. If a contract
agreed by all parties is in effect, a strike is considered illegal.
Fines may be imposed for illegal strikes.
The statute regulating work agreements extends these rights to both
the employee and the employer.
Employers of nonunionized workers are required to compensate
employees at a wage equal to that stipulated by existing collective
bargaining agreements.
The regulation of the labor market is based on labor legislation
and, primarily, on collective agreements. Any trade union and
employers' association may make collective agreements. Nearly all
collective agreements were branch-specific. The Ministry of Labor and
the Economy decides on the universal validity of the agreement. The
parties to collective agreements are trade unions and the central
organizations of employers' associations. The role of the government
has been, when needed, to support the conclusion of collective
agreements by making the appropriate economic policy decisions, such as
in cases involving taxes.
Extensive tripartite cooperation between the government, employers'
groups, and trade unions characterized the country's labor market
system. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health monitors unorganized employers'
adherence to generally applicable collective agreements. The latest of
these tripartite agreements was concluded in November. It covered
approximately two million workers: 94 percent of wage earners in the
private sector and 100 percent of the public sector.
Most unions have connections to the Social Democratic Party or the
Left Alliance but are independent of them.
The national conciliator assists the negotiating partners in
settling labor disputes if a collective agreement cannot be reached
without outside help. The national conciliator can also assist central
labor market organizations in drawing up comprehensive income policy
agreements.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports
that such incidents occurred. Men and women were subjected to forced
labor in the construction industry, restaurants, and domestic service.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law allows children over the age of 15 to enter a valid employment
contract as long as work does not interrupt compulsory education. Such
employment is restricted to no more than nine hours per day and 48
hours per week with mandatory minimum daily rest of 12 hours. Young
workers may not work at night after 10:00 p.m. or under conditions that
risk health and safety.
Children under the age of 15 may be employed for summer work,
school-related events, modeling, and other similar purposes, but the
approval of both their guardians and OSHA is required, and their
working hours are limited in all cases. Employers are required to
provide work insurance, social payments, and a letter of reference for
all young workers. The law applies to work done by all persons under 18
years of age, whether in the private or public sector. In addition to
employment relationships, the provisions of the act on occupational
safety and health apply to the practical training of under-18-year-old
pupils or practical work done at school.
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy enforces child labor
regulations. There were no reports of children engaged in work outside
the parameters established by law.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage law; however, the law requires all employers, including
nonunionized employers, to pay minimum wages stipulated in collective
bargaining agreements. The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is
responsible for labor policy strategy and implementation, improving the
viability of working life and its quality, and promoting employment.
The standard workweek established by law is eight hours per day
with no more than 40 hours of work per week. According to Statistics
Finland, the full-time workweek averaged 37.8 hours for all workers in
2010, the most recent year for which data was available. Certain
occupations, such as seamen, household workers, road-transport workers,
and workers in bakeries, are subject to separate workweek regulations.
Employees working shifts or during the weekend are entitled to one 24-
hour rest period per week. Workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay
for the first hour of overtime work and double-time pay for time beyond
the first hour. The law limits a worker to 250 hours of overtime per
year and 138 overtime hours in any four-month period.
The government sets occupational health and safety standards, and
the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health enforced them effectively.
The ministry's OSHA monitors compliance with occupational safety and
health legislation, including overseeing the employment terms for young
workers. OSHA has the right to enter workplaces and to carry out health
and safety inspections. It conducted 20,100 workplace field inspections
in 2010, the latest available data. The administration informs
employers of inspections in advance, unless a surprise inspection is
necessary for enforcement purposes. A subsequent inspection report
gives employers written advice on how to remedy minor defects. In the
case of serious violations, the inspector issues an improvement notice
and monitors the employer's compliance. When necessary OSHA may issue a
binding decision and impose a fine. If a hazardous situation involves a
risk to life, an inspector may halt work on the site or issue a
prohibition notice concerning the source of risk.
Labor and occupational safety laws cover all employees in the
country, regardless of their nationality. If an employer's response to
an employee complaint is not satisfactory, unionized employees may
forward the matter to the relevant trade union. Nonunion employees may
contact OSHA for advice and guidance.
Between October 2009 and September 2010, the most recent period for
which data was available, there were 96,146 workplace accidents which
resulted in the loss of three or more days of work, a decrease of 2.3
percent from the previous year. The municipal sector (17,332 accidents)
and construction (13,689 accidents) had the highest numbers of
accidents. Workplace accidents led to 26 deaths.
__________
FRANCE \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Note: The country includes 11 overseas administrative divisions
that are covered in this report. Four overseas territories in French
Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion, have the same political
status as the 22 metropolitan regions and 101 departments on the
mainland. Five divisions are overseas ``collectivities'': French
Polynesia, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon,
and Wallis and Futuna. New Caledonia is a special overseas collectivity
with a unique, semiautonomous status between an independent country and
an overseas department. Mayotte became the 101st department on March
31, 2011. Citizens of these territories periodically elect deputies and
senators to represent them in parliament, like the other overseas
regions and departments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
France is a multiparty constitutional democracy. The president of
the republic is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Nicolas
Sarkozy is the incumbent. The upper house (Senate) of the bicameral
parliament is elected indirectly through an electoral college, while
the lower house (National Assembly) is elected directly. Elections for
seats in the National Assembly and for the presidency in 2007 and for
seats in the Senate in 2011 were considered free and fair. The Union
for a Popular Movement (UMP) is the majority party in parliament.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem during the year involved
government evictions and compulsory repatriations of illegal immigrants
from Romania and Bulgaria, many of whom were Roma. Several attacks
against Roma were also reported. Overcrowded and unhygienic conditions
in prisons were compounded by problems in the judicial system,
including lengthy pretrial detention and protracted investigation and
trials. French Muslims and others of immigrant origin faced some
discrimination, particularly, in the case of Muslims, as a result of a
prohibition against face-covering attire in public institutions.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included
antidefamation laws that limited freedom of speech and press, societal
violence against women, anti-Semitic incidents, and trafficking in
persons.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish security force
and other officials who committed abuses. Impunity was not widespread.
Note: The country includes 11 overseas administrative divisions
that are covered in this report. Four overseas territories in French
Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion, have the same political
status as the 22 metropolitan regions and 101 departments on the
mainland. Five divisions are overseas ``collectivities'': French
Polynesia, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon,
and Wallis and Futuna. New Caledonia is a special overseas collectivity
with a unique, semiautonomous status between an independent country and
an overseas department. Mayotte became the 101st department on March
31, 2011. Citizens of these territories periodically elect deputies and
senators to represent them in parliament, like the other overseas
regions and departments.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
Killings in Corsica were predominantly linked to organized crime
and Corsican nationalism. As of December 5, there were 22 killings
reported for the year, 15 of which were linked to organized crime. In
2010 authorities reported 81 bombings or attempted bombings as well as
16 killings and 14 attempted killings in Corsica.
On November 30, Amnesty International (AI) wrote the minister of
justice regarding the cases of five men--one French citizen of
Senegalese origin and four foreign nationals of Mali, Tunisia, Algeria,
and Morocco--who died in police custody between 2004 and 2009. The
letter expressed the need for a prompt and independent investigation
without further delay and AI's concern that there had been little or no
progress to fully investigate the cases and that the law enforcement
officers involved in the cases had not been subject to investigation or
charge.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices. However,
there were occasional accusations of police discrimination and
degrading treatment.
During the year there were occasional reports that police used
excessive violence during counterdemonstration operations. In May 2010
police fired a flash ball close to a crowd during a violent
demonstration in Neuilly-sur-Marne, causing a protester to feel dizzy
for several days. In May the National Commission on Security Ethics
(CNDS) ruled that the use of the flash ball was disproportionate and
recommended the officer involved be prosecuted.
On February 3, the inspector general of the gendarmerie (IGG)
opened an investigation after a gendarme threw a gas grenade at
peaceful demonstrators in Anduze on January 21. The gendarme involved
was transferred to Marseille in July. The IGG and the Nimes prosecutor
were investigating the incident.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Both credible
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government officials reported
overcrowding and unacceptable hygienic conditions in prisons. In
December the Ministry of Justice and Liberties reported that 65,262
persons, including 2,200 women and 750 juveniles, were incarcerated in
the country's 189 prisons, exceeding prison capacity by 8,007 inmates.
In a report published on December 8, covering the period 2005-11,
the International Observatory for Prisons (OIP) strongly criticized
overcrowding, limited access to health care, and lack of human contact
in the country's prisons. According to the study, there were 60,761
prisoners in December 2011 but enough space for 56,358. The document
also stated that the prevalence of tuberculosis was 10 times higher in
prison than outside and that prisons did not have the capacity to care
for the 20 percent of the prison population that suffered from mental
disorders.
In its 2010 annual report published on May 3, the controller
general for detention facilities criticized the violation of basic
rights in prisons, including failure to provide decent living
conditions to prisoners. According to the report, such violations ``too
often go unreported.'' There were no reports of prisoners lacking
access to potable water.
Although there were no known deaths in prison due to mistreatment
or adverse conditions during the year, prison suicides continued to be
a problem. According to the OIP, 97 inmates committed suicide from
January 1 to October 31, an increase of 8 percent compared with the
same period in 2010. The OIP reported that, from 2003 to 2010, there
was an average of one prison suicide every three days, a number five to
six times larger than suicide rates outside prison. There were no
reports of deaths in prison during the year other than by suicide or
from natural causes.
Authorities maintained administrative holding centers for
foreigners whom they could not immediately deport. There were 24
holding centers on the mainland and three in the overseas territories.
On December 14, a cooperative of five NGOs published a report
titled 2010 Report on Detention Centers. According to the report, in
2010 more than 60,000 persons passed through detention centers in
France or one of its overseas territories, an 80 percent increase from
2005. The number of families and children in these centers also
increased from 57 families with 318 children in 2009 to 178 families
with 356 children in 2010. The group criticized the constant tension
and violence among inmates, which allegedly resulted from the centers'
inability to ensure equal rights.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of
inhumane conditions and documented the results in a publicly accessible
manner. The government investigated and monitored prison and detention
center conditions.
The inspector general for places of detention, an independent
authority, is responsible for ensuring that detainees' fundamental
rights are respected. In addition detainees may address issues about
the prison or justice system to the state mediator or his delegate, who
are part of the office of the defender of rights, the equivalent of an
official ombudsman on civil liberties.
To reduce overcrowding, the government opened four new prisons
since 2007 with a total of 6,000 additional places. It increased the
prison system budget by 10 percent, to 2.1 billion euros ($2.7
billion), in 2010. As of November 1, 7,886 prisoners were under
electronic surveillance, a 31.5 percent increase over 2010. Those under
electronic surveillance were still considered prisoners because they
remained under surveillance in their homes. New prisons had gymnasiums,
outdoor recreation areas, and family spaces, and the Ministry of
Justice and Liberties continued to increase prisoner access to work,
sports, libraries, worship, cultural services, education, and training
programs during the year.
The government permitted prison visits by independent human rights
observers, local and foreign. The U.N. Committee against Torture (CAT)
examines the country's prisons every four years, most recently in April
2010. The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT) also conducted an inspection of prisons in 2010. In July the CPT
gave a report on the visit to the French government, which postponed
its publication until 2012.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions. However, lengthy pretrial detention was a
problem. The government handed down 79 decisions in wrongful
incarceration trials in 2010 and provided 370,000 euros ($481,000) in
financial compensation to those found to have been wrongfully
incarcerated.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Under the direction of
the Ministry of the Interior, Overseas France, Local Authorities, and
Immigration, a civilian national police force of 144,000 and a quasi-
military national gendarmes force of more than 97,000 maintained
internal security. In conjunction with specific gendarmes units used
for military operations, the army is responsible for external security
under the Ministry of Defense. Police and gendarmes were generally
considered effective. During the year approximately 60 ``neighborhood
police'' units worked to curb juvenile delinquency and petty crime in
neighborhoods with high levels of youth crime.
Official impunity was not widespread. The inspector general of
National Police (IGPN), the inspector general of police services for
the Paris region (IGS), and the Office of Judicial Police investigated
and prosecuted allegations of brutality in the police force and the
gendarmes. The CNDS investigated allegations of misconduct by municipal
police, gendarmes, and private security forces and reported its
findings to the prime minister and parliament. According to the 2010
CNDS report, the most recent year for which data was available, 195
complaints were filed in 2010, a 14 percent decrease from the 228
complaints in 2009.
The CNDS investigated allegations of improper conduct by law
enforcement officers and helped ensure that persons responsible for law
enforcement comply with ethical standards. While individuals who allege
police mistreatment do not have direct access to the CNDS, their
complaints may be referred to the CNDS through a member of parliament
or other intermediary. On May 1, the CNDS merged with the office of the
defender of rights.
In its annual global report released on May 13, Amnesty
International criticized new cases of police violence and the slow
speed of police investigations in the country.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires police to obtain warrants based on sufficient evidence prior
to detaining suspects, but police can immediately arrest suspects
caught in the act. Individuals have the right to a judicial ruling on
the legality of their detention during the first hour, and authorities
generally respected this right in practice. Authorities must inform
detainees of charges against them once they are in police custody. A
system of bail exists and was utilized. Detainees generally had access
to a lawyer, and the state provides legal counsel if the detainee is
indigent.
Amnesty International criticized the country's practice of allowing
multiple, successive periods of detention during the investigation of
an alleged crime and accused authorities of not adequately
investigating detainee complaints. The law allows police to detain
persons for up to 24 hours if they are suspected of having committed a
crime that is punishable by a prison sentence. This period of detention
can be extended for an additional 24 hours regardless of the
seriousness of the crime.
On April 12, in response to a 2010 ruling by the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR), parliament passed legislation reforming the
country's police custody procedures. Implemented on April 14, the new
law provides that persons taken into police custody must be informed of
their right to remain silent and their right to have a lawyer present
during questioning. Defense lawyers can ask questions throughout the
interrogation. If a medical exam is required, it must respect
professional confidentiality. Complete strip searches are forbidden
except in cases where the accused is suspected of hiding dangerous
items or drugs.
According to Ministry of Justice official statistics, more than
800,000 persons were taken into custody in 2010. Following the adoption
of reform legislation, this number dropped 26 percent in June-July 2011
compared with the same period in 2010.
On May 6, a Nimes appeals court terminated a police custody order
and released an undocumented Chechen immigrant. The ruling was in
compliance with an April 28 decision by the European Court of Justice,
which held that undocumented migrants could not be detained under the
2008 EU directive on the return of illegal immigrants.
In cases involving terrorism or drug trafficking, the law allows
extended periods of detention before notification to counsel. In such
cases authorities may hold suspects for up to 96 hours without charge
or access to a lawyer and may petition a judge to extend detention by
an additional 48 hours. Suspects must be either charged or released
after a maximum of six days.
Pretrial Detention.--Long delays in bringing cases to trial and
lengthy pretrial detention were problems. Although pretrial detention
was generally allowed only if the suspect could be sentenced to more
than three years in prison, a few suspects spent many years in
detention before trial. According to government statistics for 2007,
the most recent available, the average length of pretrial detention was
5.7 months, an increase of 10 percent since 2001.
In September the Paris Magistrates Court (Tribunal de Grande
Instance) ordered the state to compensate Cedric B. 8,000 euros
($10,400) for being held 11 years in prison before being tried for
armed robbery.
In December 2010 the Paris Criminal Court sentenced two members of
the terrorist organization Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA), Mikel
Antza and Soledad Iparragirre Genetxea, to 20 years in prison after
they had been held over six years.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. However, delays in bringing cases to
trial were a problem.
The Tribunal of the Armies is a military court for acts committed
outside the country. The court tries only military personnel. In July
2010 parliament closed the tribunal, effective January 1, 2011. The
Paris Magistrates Court assumed responsibility for cases formerly
handled by the tribunal.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Except for those
involving minors, trials are public and usually held before a judge or
tribunal of judges. In cases where the potential punishment exceeds 10
years' imprisonment, a panel of professional and lay judges hears the
case. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an
attorney in a timely manner. An attorney is provided at public expense
if needed when defendants face serious criminal charges. Defendants are
able to question the testimony of prosecution witnesses against them
and present witnesses and evidence in their defense. Defendants and
their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. Defendants have a right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) issued 23 judgments that found
at least one violation by the state of the European Convention on Human
Rights. The government generally complied with ECHR decisions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters and access to a court to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations.
Individuals can file complaints with the ECHR for alleged violations of
the European Convention on Human Rights by the state once they have
exhausted avenues for appeal through the domestic courts.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
On October 18, the head of the counterintelligence services was put
under investigation for possession of private correspondence, illicit
collection of data, and possession of confidential documents (see
section 2.a.).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--While individuals could criticize the
government publicly or privately without reprisal, there were some
limitations of freedom of speech. Strict antidefamation laws prohibit
racially or religiously motivated verbal and physical abuse. Written or
oral speech that incites racial or ethnic hatred as well as denial of
the Holocaust and crimes against humanity are illegal. Authorities may
deport a noncitizen for publicly using ``hate speech'' or constituting
a threat of terrorism.
Freedom of Press.--While the independent media were active and
generally expressed a wide variety of views without restriction, the
media were subject to the same antidefamation laws that limited freedom
of speech.
In October 2010 the NGO SOS Racism filed a lawsuit against perfumer
Jean-Paul Guerlain following an October 15 national television
interview during which he used a racial epithet for ethnic Africans.
The trial's verdict was due in March 2012.
In December 2010 the Fort-de-France Criminal Court on Martinique
convicted businessman Alain Huygues-Despointes for praising crimes
against humanity. The conviction stemmed from a 2009 television
interview in which Huygues-Despointes stated there were ``positive
aspects'' of slavery and criticized mixed-race marriages because he
wanted to ``preserve'' his race. The judge ordered him to pay a 7,500
euro ($9,750) fine. The Fort-de-France criminal court subsequently
rejected Huygues-Despointes's appeal and ordered him ordered to pay a
20,000 euro ($26,000) fine as well as pay for the full-page publication
of the judgment against him in the local newspapers. Huygues-Despointes
filed an appeal with the court of cassation; a court date had not been
set by year's end.
In January 2010 parliament passed a law that provides additional
protections to journalists and limits the instances where the
government can compel them to reveal their sources. By law journalists
can be compelled to reveal sources only in cases where serious crimes
have taken place and access to the sources is required to complete the
investigation.
In September 2010 the newspaper Le Monde filed a lawsuit allegedly
targeting the President's Office, alleging that it violated the law
providing for the secrecy of journalistic sources. It accused the
President's Office of ordering the counterintelligence services to find
the source of a leak in the investigation of a government corruption
scandal. The head of the National Police subsequently admitted that the
counterintelligence services investigated this subject to identify a
former member of the former minister of justice's staff who had leaked
the information. On October 18, the head of the counterintelligence
services was put under investigation for possession of private
correspondence, illicit collection of data, and possession of
confidential documents. His trial was not expected to take place for
several years. On October 28, the judge ruled that no charges would be
filed against the head of the National Police.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. There were
no reports that the government attempted to collect the personally
identifiable information of a person in connection with that person's
peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinions or
beliefs.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
The law requires persons engaged in itinerant activities with a
fixed domicile to sign a declaration that must be renewed periodically.
Itinerant persons without a fixed abode must possess travel documents
that must be renewed every three months and must choose a city of
residence for administrative purposes.
During the year the government dismantled unauthorized Roma camps
across the country and compulsorily repatriated those who were living
illegally in the country. The law prohibits the collection of
statistics on the basis of ethnic and religious origin, but the
government tabulates the number of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens (who
comprised the bulk of the Romani migrants) in the country. According to
EU and French regulations, Romanian and Bulgarian citizens may remain
in the country for a maximum of three months unless they are employed
or enrolled in school.
According to a Ministry of Interior study, authorities compulsorily
repatriated 4,714 Romanian and Bulgarian nationals in the first three
months of 2011 and dismantled 70 percent of the illegal camps
identified by the government since July 2010. The NGO European Roma
Rights Center reported that between April and October 2011, it
registered 46 evictions that affected a total of 5,753 persons. In
Marseille several camp evictions affecting hundreds of Roma took place
between June and September, according to Medecins du Monde and media
reports. On September 4, Amnesty International expressed its concern
following the eviction of approximately 150-200 Roma from a camp in
Saint-Denis on September 1, during which Roma were escorted by police
on a RATP tram to Noisy-le-Sec, where they were reportedly forced to
board a suburban commuter train. Politicians, RATP unions, and NGOs
also voiced concern over the incident. On September 29, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) reported that since mid-September, hundreds of Roma were
evicted from illegal settlements in Lyon. HRW reported that ``in one
case, the police told a group of 80 to 100 Roma, including many
children, who had been seeking new shelter for two days and nights
following an eviction, to go to another informal camp.''
According to law, for an eviction of a Roma camp, or any residence,
to occur, a town's mayor must file a request to the administrative
court, which then rules on the legality of the camp. If the camp is
found to be illegal, residents are given between three and 30 days'
advance notice that they must abandon the premises. If they do not do
so, the mayor or prefect may authorize an eviction of the camp.
According to the Minister of Interior, policies to combat illegal
immigration became more effective after the passage of a new
immigration law on June 16. During the year the government compulsorily
repatriated 32,922 migrants who were in the country illegally,
according to Interior Ministry statistics. There were no statistics
available on the total number of Romanian and Bulgarian citizens
compulsorily repatriated in during the year; however, the NGO Hors la
Rue estimated that Roma comprised approximately 30 percent of
compulsory repatriations each year. NGOs also report that some Roma
were compulsorily repatriated multiple times during the same year.
According to official statistics, 9,761 Romanian and Bulgarian citizens
were repatriated in 2010, a 21 percent decrease from 2009.
On September 12, Interior Minister Claude Gueant announced measures
to address illegal Romanian immigration, including forced deportations
of minors to their country of origin, increased surveillance at points
of entry, and laws prohibiting panhandling in heavily trafficked
tourist areas in Paris. The measures also include close cooperation
between French and Romanian police and judicial authorities. During the
year 40 police officers from Romania were sent to Paris to help
dismantle criminal networks. The measure was successful, resulting in
the breakup of a large Romanian-based prostitution network and the
detention of 15 persons in November.
The government also offered foreign Roma living illegally in the
country voluntary repatriation. It provided each person who accepted
voluntary repatriation with an airplane ticket and 300 euros ($420) per
adult and 100 euros ($130) per child. Those who did not accept
voluntary repatriation were processed for deportation. While
immigration judges approved most deportation orders, they refused some.
NGOs reported that many Roma who accepted voluntary repatriation had
returned to France by the end of the year.
On November 9, the Council of Europe issued an experts' report
stating that the 2010 deportation of more than 1,000 Roma of Romanian
and Bulgarian origin was ``based on discriminatory provisions that
directly targeted Roma individuals and their families.'' It stated that
the voluntary returns were ``disguised forms of forced collective
expulsions.'' The report also noted that the demolition of hundreds of
illegal Roma camps was ``discriminatory'' and ``contrary to human
dignity'' constituting an ``aggravated violation of human rights.''
On June 16, parliament passed a law toughening the country's
immigration and nationality regime. The law contains provisions that
allow foreigners seeking medical treatment in France to be eligible for
a residence permit only if the treatment is not available in their
country of origin; provide for punishment of fraudulent marriages for
immigration purposes by up to five years' imprisonment and a 15,000
euro ($19,500) fine; provide for the deportation of EU citizens who
abuse the right to remain in the country for more than three months
without a visa by repeatedly leaving and returning to the country or
who are imposing an undue cost on public services; provide for the
deportation of persons who pose a threat to public order by committing
theft or aggressively begging; implement new administrative measures to
facilitate the deportation process; and require foreigners applying for
citizenship to sign a ``charter of rights and obligations of
citizenship.''
In July HRW sent a letter to the EU Commission voicing concern that
the country's new immigration bill weakens the rights of asylum seekers
and migrants. It also stated that the law does not comply with the
country's obligations under EU freedom of movement rules and
international human rights law. According to HRW, amendments to the law
give the government wider authority to expel EU citizens for ``abuse of
rights,'' such as exploitation of begging or ``abusive'' occupation of
land, and for repeat short-term stays. Contrary to government claims,
HRW asserted that since June Roma had been ordered to leave the country
``for the simple reason that they had been in France before,'' ``even
though their current stay was under three months and permitted under EU
law.''
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The system for granting refugee status was active and
accessible. Although asylum application forms submitted to the Office
for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Refugees (OFPRA) must be
completed in French, application instructions were available in
English, Albanian, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Turkish, Tamil, and Arabic.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government considers 20
countries to be ``safe countries of origin'' for purposes of asylum.
While individuals originating from one of these safe countries of
origin may apply for asylum, they can only receive a different form of
temporary residence status allowing them to remain in the country.
Nonrefoulment.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of persons to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened because of race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Authorities take into account the ability of the state
concerned to offer protection to the person in danger from persecution
by nonstate agents. However, human rights groups regularly criticized
the government's deportation practices, pointing out that the
government was deporting illegal Afghan immigrants back to a war-torn
country.
During the year La Cimade, a French NGO that offers legal advice to
immigrants, criticized the increase in deportations, claiming that they
were taking place without respecting the typical grace period during
which individuals may appeal their deportation.
Refugee Abuse.--On August 21, a local judge ruled that the
detention of a Roma family in Lille was illegal because of ``inhumane
and degrading treatment'' at the center where they were held. The
father, mother (who was four-months pregnant at the time), and their
three children were released from the detention center, but the
deportation order against them remained in place.
Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees but who may
be exposed to certain serious risks if they returned to their country
of origin. The government granted temporary protection to 10,340
persons in 2010, according to OFPRA. Individuals may renew their status
for a period of one year.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived both from one's parents
and from one's place of birth. A child born in the country to foreign
parents may acquire citizenship at birth if stateless.
According to OFPRA and UNHCR statistics, there were 1,131 stateless
persons in the country at the end of 2010. Stateless persons receive
benefits from OFPRA, which is charged with the implementation of
international conventions on refugees and stateless persons. A person
declared ``stateless'' by the government is provided a three- or 10-
year residence permit marked ``private and family life'' and allowed to
work.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside
interference.
Travellers (an itinerant group of individuals) without fixed abodes
were permitted to vote in municipal elections only after a three-year
period of ``attachment'' to a municipality. Traveller groups asserted
that this requirement, which is based on special legislation applying
only to itinerant groups, was discriminatory, since other French and EU
citizens, including homeless persons, were able to vote after a six-
month attachment period.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 2007
national parliamentary and presidential elections were deemed free and
fair. In March 2010 the country held regional elections that
independent observers considered free and fair. Cantonal elections took
place in March 2011 and were free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--As a result of the
September 25 senatorial elections, there were 185 women in the two
chambers of the 925-seat parliament, 108 in the National Assembly and
77 in the Senate. There were nine female ministers in the 34-member
ministerial cabinet. Women made up 48 percent of regional council
members, 13.8 percent of departmental council members, and 34.8 percent
of municipal council members. They held two presidencies of the 22
regional councils, four presidencies of the 101 departmental councils,
and 14 percent of mayoral positions. The law requires political parties
to present candidate lists containing equal numbers of male and female
candidates or face fines.
Because the law prohibits the government from collecting
information on the racial or ethnic background of residents of the
country, no statistics on minority participation in government were
available. With the exception of parliamentary representatives from
some of the overseas territories where the populations were
predominantly of non-European origin, minorities appeared to be
significantly underrepresented in the government. At year's end there
was only one black member of the National Assembly. As of year's end,
President Sarkozy had appointed six female minority officials to his
cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
some reports of government corruption during the year.
In August 2010 the governing UMP party and Paris mayor Bertrand
Delanoe reached a settlement in the Paris Magistrates Court for alleged
corruption that took place from 1977 to 1995 under the mayoral
administration of former president Jacques Chirac. According to media
reports, the UMP paid the city 550,000 euros ($715,000) in exchange for
the city's withdrawing its civil complaint. An anticorruption NGO
(Anticor) continued to pursue the two separate, but related, charges
despite the deal with Paris City Hall. The trial of the former
president, as well as nine other defendants, opened on September 5. Due
to a medical condition, Chirac was not present at the trial. On
September 20, a Paris prosecutor asked that former president Chirac and
nine others be acquitted on all charges. On December 15, the court
ruled that Chirac was guilty of corruption and gave him a two-year
suspended sentence.
On August 4, a judicial panel of the French Court of Justice, which
investigates allegations of misconduct against public officials, opened
an investigation of Christine Lagarde, managing director of the
International Monetary Fund. Charges against Lagarde centered on her
alleged ``abuse of authority'' when, in 2007, she intervened and
ordered a special panel of judges to arbitrate a legal dispute begun in
1993 by Bernard Tapie over the sale of the Adidas company by Credit
Lyonnais. In 2008 the parties came to an out-of-court settlement of 285
million euros ($371 million). The accusations against Lagarde included
``complicity in falsification'' and ``complicity in the
misappropriation of public goods,'' potentially punishable by a 10-year
prison sentence and a fine of 150,000 euros ($195,000). The
investigation continued at year's end.
The IGS, IGPN, and Inspectorate of the National Gendarmerie
actively investigated and prosecuted allegations of police and gendarme
corruption. In 2010 the IGS reported that it conducted 1,200 judicial
and administrative investigations that led to 3,000 proposals for
sanctions. The IGPN conducted 300 investigations in 2010 that led to
250 proposals of sanctions. However, AI accused the government of
failing to punish properly all cases of police misconduct and
corruption.
On May 26, the criminal court of Bobigny sentenced three members of
the state security police to 18 months in jail and a one-year suspended
prison sentence for extorting money from three taxi drivers in 2006.
They were also ordered to compensate the drivers 4,000 ($5,200) to
5,000 ($6,500) euros each.
The president, parliamentarians, members of the European
Parliament, ministers, regional and departmental council heads, mayors
of larger communities, and directors of state-owned companies (post
office, railway, and telephone) are required to declare their personal
assets to the Commission for the Financing Transparency of Political
Life at the beginning and the end of their terms. The commission issues
periodic reports on officials' financial holdings on a discretionary
basis at least once every three years.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights
organizations generally operated, investigated, and published their
findings on human rights cases without government restrictions.
Government officials were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Prior to May, the High Authority
for the Fight against Discrimination and for Equality (HALDE) was the
independent administrative authority that judged all discrimination,
direct or indirect, prohibited by domestic law or an international
agreement to which the country is a party. The National Consultative
Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) served in an advisory role to the
government on human rights and produced an annual report on racism and
xenophobia in the country.
The defender of rights, the equivalent of an official ombudsman for
civil liberties, heads the four merged agencies that deal with human
rights issues: the state mediator, HALDE, the defender of children, and
the National Committee on Security Ethics (CNDS). Dominique Baudis was
appointed the defender of rights on June 22. While it was too early to
draw conclusions on the mission's accomplishments, media observers
regularly questioned the independence of the organization. Opposition
politicians and human rights groups also alleged that the selection of
the ombudsman by the president meant the position has less freedom when
assessing government policies.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, and the government generally enforced the law
effectively. The penalty for rape is 15-years' imprisonment and may be
increased due to the age of the victim or the nature of the
relationship of the rapist to the victim. The government and NGOs
provided shelters, counseling, and hotlines for rape victims.
According to the National Observatory for Delinquency and Criminal
Responses (ONDRP), a total of 10,108 rapes were registered in the
country in 2010. A report published by three NGOs estimated that there
are 75,000 victims of rape each year. The Ministry of Justice and
Liberties reported 1,092 convictions for rape in 2009, the most recent
year for which data was available.
Violence against women was a problem. The law prohibits domestic
violence against women, including spousal abuse, and the government
generally enforced it. The penalty for domestic violence varies
according to the type of crime, ranging from three years in prison and
a fine of 45,000 euros ($58,500) to 20 years in prison. The government
sponsored and funded programs for female victims of violence, including
shelters, counseling, hotlines, free mobile phones, and a media
campaign. The government also supported the work of 25 associations and
NGOs dedicated to fighting domestic violence.
The government budgeted 31.6 million euros ($41.1 million) to fund
its 2011-13 plan to combat violence against women, which represented a
30 percent increase over the previous three-year plan. The program
focused on increasing protection and social assistance for victims,
increasing the number of shelters available to them, raising awareness
about rape and violence against women, and better training health-care
workers and other government employees to identify victims.
The government reported that 146 women were killed by their spouses
in cases of domestic violence in 2010, a 4 percent increase from 2009,
when 140 women were killed. According to estimates by the National
Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), 663,000 women
were victims of domestic violence during 2010.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The law prohibits FGM as
``violence involving mutilation or permanent infirmity.'' It is
punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros
($195,000). The sentence increases to 20 years if the crime involves a
minor under 16 years of age. The statute of limitations for FGM is 20
years after the victim turns 18.
According to the French NGO Women for the Abolition of Sexual
Mutilations, 30,000 female adults and minor women in the country were
circumcised or at risk of FGM in the country. The National Institute
for Demographic Studies estimated that 53,000 women were circumcised or
under threat of FGM during the year.
The majority of FGM victims were recent sub-Saharan African
immigrants or their children. One study concluded that FGM had become
less prevalent due to awareness campaigns, but prevention and
information efforts were needed to cover children at risk during family
visits to their countries of origin. The government provided
reconstructive surgery and counseling for FGM victims.
On October 20, a suburban Paris couple was indicted and taken into
custody for circumcising three of their five daughters. The parents,
who were of Malian origin, refused to name the person responsible for
the mutilations but confirmed the incidents took place in France when
their daughters were two or three years old. A trial date had not been
set by year's end. The three youngest daughters were taken into
temporary court custody.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits gender-based job
discrimination and harassment of subordinates by superiors, but it does
not apply to relationships between peers. Sexual harassment was not
widely considered a problem in the workplace. Both the government and
NGOs widely publicized the laws, and the government enforced them
effectively. According to the Ministry of Justice, 78 abusers were
sentenced for sexual harassment in 2009, the most recent year for which
data was available; the statistics did not specify the gender of the
victims. A July 2010 law to combat violence against women increased the
penalty for sexual harassment to 15,000 euros ($19,500) and one year in
prison. The government's 2011-13 plan to combat violence against women
includes a study on sexual harassment and an awareness campaign.
Reproductive Rights.--There was easy access to contraception,
skilled attendance during childbirth, and women were diagnosed and
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, equally
with men. Couples and individuals were free to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and had
both the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence.
Discrimination.--The law prohibits gender-based job discrimination
and harassment of subordinates by superiors, but it does not apply to
relationships between peers. Under the constitution and law, women have
the same rights as men in family law, property law, and the judicial
system. The secretary of state for solidarity and social cohesion is
responsible for the legal rights of women. The constitution and law
provide for equal access to professional and social positions.
The law requires that women receive equal pay for equal work.
However, governmental organizations and NGOs estimated that there was a
gender-based pay discrepancy of approximately 27 percent in practice.
Although they made up 61 percent of the public sector's workforce,
women were underrepresented in managerial jobs and continued to face
difficulties attaining positions of responsibility. According to a
survey of the top 500 companies in the country released during the
year, 10 percent of executive-board members were women.
Women were generally underrepresented in the legislature and other
levels of government leadership. Statistics released in November 2010
by INSEE indicated that the unemployment rate was 9.4 percent for men
and 9.1 percent for women.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived both from
one's parents and the place of one's birth. Children born within the
country's territory to at least one French citizen parent automatically
acquire citizenship at birth. A child born in the country to foreign
parents may acquire citizenship at birth if stateless or acquire the
right at the age of 18 with five years of residence.
Child Abuse.--There are strict laws against child abuse by parents
or guardians, and the government generally enforced the law effectively
and prosecuted abusers. In 2010 parliament passed a law making incest a
crime. Previously, authorities prosecuted incest under laws that
prohibit rape and sexual assault. On September 16, the Constitutional
Council ruled that the law making incest a crime was illegal because
the definition of those who might be prosecuted was imprecise.
The law provides for a government children's advocate, who is
charged with defending and promoting children's rights as defined by
law. Child abuse was generally not considered a problem. On May 1, the
government merged the position of defender of children into that of the
defender of rights.
The government provided counseling, financial aid, foster homes,
and orphanages for abuse victims. Various NGOs also helped minors in
cases of mistreatment by parents.
Child Marriage.--The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. Child
marriage was a problem, particularly in communities of African or Asian
origin. Although such marriage ceremonies took place primarily outside
the country, authorities took steps to address the problem. Parents may
be prosecuted in these cases. Women and girls could seek refuge at
shelters if their parents or guardians threatened them with forced
marriage. The government offered some educational programs to inform
young women of their rights. The High Council for Integration stated it
was important to distinguish between arranged and forced marriage.
According to human rights observers, 70,000 children between the ages
of 10 and 18 were at risk of being forced into a marriage.
According to a study conducted in 2008 and published on June 23 by
the National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) and INSEE, the
number of forced marriages was declining among immigrants and French
citizens of immigrant descent. According to the report, 9 percent of
women between 51 and 60 were married against their will, with two-
thirds of these marriages taking place in their countries before
immigrating to France. In 13 percent of these cases, the bride's
consent had been severely coerced. Among women between the ages of 26
and 30, the percentage of forced unions was down to 2 percent, and the
percentage of marriages based on coerced consent was down to 3 percent.
The rate of forced marriages of women between the ages of 26 and 40
originating in Turkey and countries in North Africa and the Sahel
remained between 4 and 8 percent. In many cases women of immigrant
descent were forced to marry after becoming pregnant.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes statutory
rape of minors under the age of 16, the minimum age of consensual sex,
and the government generally enforced the law effectively. The penalty
for statutory rape is 15 years' imprisonment and may be increased,
depending on the age of the victim or the nature of the relationship of
the rapist to the victim. The government and NGOs provided shelters,
counseling, and hotlines for statutory rape victims. The law prohibits
child pornography; the maximum penalty for its use and distribution is
five years imprisonment and a 75,000 euro ($97,500) fine.
As a result of a joint French, Spanish, Italian, and Belgian
investigation, French and Italian police arrested Fehim Hamidovic and
approximately 20 other co-conspirators in November and December 2010.
In February 2011 French authorities accused Hamidovic of trafficking
teenage girls, most of them of Romani descent, from Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The girls were forced to beg and steal, most often in the
Paris subway, and were expected to bring back 300-1,000 euros ($390-
$1,300) per day to their traffickers. The girls were threatened with
violence or rape if they did not comply with their traffickers. As of
year's end, a trial date had not been set.
In April Bordeaux' s criminal court sentenced three French
nationals to three to five years in prison, followed by eight years of
probation, for having sex with underage Bulgarian male prostitutes. The
parents of the Bulgarian boys were also scheduled to stand trial, but a
court date had not been set as of year's end.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was estimated at 600,000
persons. A number of anti-Semitic incidents were reported during the
year, including slurs against Jews and attacks on synagogues and
cemeteries. According to the Ministry of Interior, Overseas France,
Local Authorities, and Immigration, there were 466 anti-Semitic
incidents in 2010. On June 30, Interior Minister Claude Gueant
announced that 185 anti-Semitic acts were committed from January 1 to
May 31, compared with 222 over the same period in 2010. In a report
released in October, the Jewish Community Protection Service (SPJC)
announced that 294 anti-Semitic acts were committed in the country
between January 1 and September 30. This number was a decrease from the
384 acts that were reported during the same period in 2010.
During the year several violent anti-Semitic attacks were reported.
The SPJC reported 36 acts of violence from January 1 to September 30.
No killings or attempted killings were reported.
On the evening of June 18, a 21-year-old Jewish man in
Villeurbanne, a suburb of Lyon, was insulted and attacked twice while
walking alone to visit a friend on the Sabbath. In the first attack,
two individuals beat the man with a hammer. In the second, a group of
eight assailants, who had been alerted by the first attackers,
assaulted the man with a scooter, a motorcycle helmet, and a telescopic
police club. Bystanders interrupted the second attack. The victim's
injuries were not life threatening but caused him to miss three days of
work. Police arrested three suspects and identified four other persons
who participated in the second attack. The assailants were released but
were scheduled to be formally charged before an examining judge. A
trial date had not been set by year's end.
During the year a number of attacks against synagogues, cemeteries,
and other Jewish property were reported, including symbolic attacks in
which the perpetrators painted swastikas on the property.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other government services. The government
generally enforced these provisions effectively.
During the year the Fund Management Organisation for the
Professional Integration of People with Disabilities (Agefiph) reported
that 19.3 percent of persons with disabilities were unemployed, twice
the national rate. The law requires that at least 6 percent of the work
force of companies with more than 20 employees be persons with
disabilities. Noncompliant companies could face criminal fines.
Although many companies were unaware of this legal obligation, in
practice persons with disabilities made up on average 6 percent of the
work force of companies that were subject to the law. More than six of
the 14 government ministries did not meet the 6 percent goal.
The law provides for government compensation to persons for the
consequences of a disability and requires that buildings, education,
and employment be accessible to them. The law requires that any new
building with public or community space and any existing public
building be accessible for persons with disabilities. Many buildings as
well as transportation systems did not meet these requirements. The law
also requires the establishment of centers in each administrative
department to assist disabled persons with receiving compensation and
employment assistance.
In September 2010 the president announced that social security
payments to adults with disabilities would continue to increase by 5
percent per year until 2012. During the year the government paid adults
with disabilities 743.62 euros (approximately $967) per month.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Societal violence and
discrimination against immigrants of North African origin, Roma, and
other ethnic minorities remained a problem.
On September 16, a Paris appeals court overturned the June 2010
conviction of the former minister of the interior, overseas France,
local authorities, and immigration, Brice Hortefeux, for racial
slander. The charges were related to remarks Hortefeux allegedly made
to a young party activist of Arab origin during a UMP party event.
Hortefeux was caught on camera saying, ``When there is one, it's OK.
It's when there are a lot of them, that there are problems,'' in
reference to persons of North African origin. The trial court had fined
him 750 euros ($975) and ordered him to pay 2,000 euros ($2,600) to an
antiracism organization. Following the appeals court decision, the NGO
Movement against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples (MRAP)
announced that it would file an appeal before the Court of Cassation.
On April 4, the NGO SOS-Racism filed a complaint against Interior
Minister Claude Gueant after he told journalists during a trip to
Nantes that the growing number of Muslims in the country ``poses a
problem.''
Many observers expressed concern that discriminatory hiring
practices in both the public and the private sectors deprived
minorities from sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb, the Middle East, and
Asia of equal access to employment.
According to an INSEE survey conducted in 2009, the most recent
year for which data was available, the unemployment rate of immigrants
was nearly twice that of nonimmigrants (16 percent versus 8.4 percent).
The survey showed that children of immigrants also had higher
unemployment rates than did the children of two French parents.
According to the report, lower levels of education and experience for
the children of immigrants were only partly responsible for the higher
unemployment rate.
Societal hostility, government evictions, and compulsory
repatriations, many of which were aimed at illegal immigrants from
Romania and Bulgaria, continued to be serious problems. During the year
authorities evicted and compulsorily repatriated thousands of Romanian
and Bulgarian citizens, many of whom were Roma (see section 2.d.).
On October 27, AI reported a suspected arson attack on Roma
squatters in an unused warehouse in Paris and, citing ``the general
climate of intolerance and prejudice towards Roma in France,'' called
on authorities to investigate and consider whether racial motivation
was involved. The Prosecutor's Office ordered the Judicial Police to
investigate. AI also called on authorities to provide emergency
accommodation for the approximately 40 persons left homeless by the
fire.
The NGO Medecins du Monde alleged that some Roma were subjected to
pressure and intimidation by police.
On March 1, unidentified assailants threw two Molotov cocktails
into the camp of Romanian Roma not far from the Moger Castle east of
Montpellier. No injuries were reported, but several caravans and
vehicles were burned.
Medecins du Monde reported two incidents of violence against Roma
during the year. In August a police officer hit a girl on the head
while she was trying to prevent officers from throwing out her
belongings during an eviction. In October employees of Medecins du
Monde encountered a woman in Arenc with two broken ribs. The woman
reported that a group of young people threatened her and hit her with
an iron bar.
During the year several French NGOs reported deteriorating living
conditions for Roma. A study by Doctors without Borders highlighted
declining health within the Romani community, due in part to poor
access to medical care. The study claimed that 2.5 percent of Roma
living in itinerant camps had tuberculosis and only 8 percent were
fully vaccinated. The newborn death rate among Roma was reportedly nine
times higher than the national average.
Travellers' organizations alleged that both itinerant Travellers
and those with fixed abodes faced discrimination in education, housing,
and access to government services. Other discrimination problems were
particularly acute for Travellers, as some mayors denied school
registration to children whose parents lived in illegal campsites.
Travellers benefited from a special status that authorizes their
children discontinuous school attendance without justification. School
registration rates for Travellers were 66.7 percent in kindergarten,
81.8 percent in primary schools, and 78.8 percent in high school, but
absenteeism and breaks within the education system were frequent.
According to a survey conducted by the NGO collective Romeurope that
was released in February 2010, between 5,000 and 7,000 Romani children
living in the country were not enrolled in school.
Travellers were subject to laws that did not apply to residents
with permanent residences. Individuals over the age of 16 not settled
in one place must have a periodically renewed travel permit. Any delay
in renewal entails a maximum fine of 1,500 euros ($2,200). Authorities
did not consider Traveller caravans to be housing; as a result they
were not entitled to housing assistance.
The law requires municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants to
provide a camping site with sanitary facilities and access to water and
electricity. According to a parliamentary report released on March 9,
48 percent of municipal authorities had established 16,000 campsites.
However, there was still a shortage estimated at over 20,000 sites
(according to authorities) or up to 60,000 sites (according to NGOs).
At the end of the year, approximately 5,000 additional campsites were
under construction or slated for construction.
Citizens may report cases of discrimination based on national
origin and ethnicity to HALDE. On May 1, HALDE merged into the office
of the defender of rights. In 2010 HALDE received 12,467 discrimination
claims, half of which concerned employment. HALDE issued opinions on
approximately 300 cases per year and offered mediation for hundreds
more.
The government attempted to combat racism and discrimination
through programs that promoted public awareness and brought together
local officials, police, and citizen's groups. Some public school
systems also managed antidiscrimination educational programs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Authorities pursued
and punished perpetrators of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) persons. The NGO SOS Homophobia reported 1,500
homophobic acts in 2010, a 20 percent increase compared with 2009. It
reported that there were 125 instances of physical assault, a 43
percent increase compared with 2009. After the NGO Inter-LGBT claimed
that homosexual minors were frequently targeted for violence, the
Ministry of National Education, Youth, and Community Life responded by
asking schools to introduce lessons on tolerance and diversity.
In January the Val-de-Marne criminal court convicted four men for
attacking a young boy in 2006 because he was homosexual. The attackers
received sentences of 16 to 20 years in prison.
On May 16, the Ministry of Interior announced that a police or
gendarme officer would be appointed in each station to record the
lawsuits filed by victims of violence based on sexual orientation and
gender.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal
violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and law provide workers, including migrant workers,
the right to form and join unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and workers, except
certain essential service workers such as police and armed forces, have
the right to strike unless the strike threatens public safety. Health-
care and public transport workers are required to provide a minimum
level of service during strikes. Workers must declare their
participation in a strike at least 48 hours before the strike
commences. Laws and regulations prohibit retaliation against strikers,
and these laws were effectively enforced. The law provides for the
right to bargain collectively.
Workers exercised their rights to form and join unions, conduct
union activities, and bargain collectively. Legal strikes were
conducted during the year. Although the law prohibits antiunion
discrimination, union representatives noted occasional reports of
antiunion discrimination, particularly in small companies.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Men, women, and children, mainly
from Eastern Europe, West Africa, and Asia, continued to be trafficked
for the purpose of forced labor, including domestic servitude. There
were no government estimates available on the extent of forced domestic
labor. During 2010 the Committee against Modern Slavery received 239
notifications and provided assistance to 126 victims, the majority of
whom were women working in domestic labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits most forms of child employment, and the government
implementation of laws and policies to protect children in the
workplace was generally effective. The minimum age for employment is
16. There are exceptions for those enrolled in certain apprenticeship
programs or working in the entertainment industry; however, these
industries are subject to further regulation of conditions and work
hours for minors. Persons under the age of 18 generally are prohibited
from performing work considered arduous or working between 10 p.m. and
6 a.m. Inspectors from the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Health
investigated workplaces and generally enforced compliance with child
labor laws.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On November 30, the Council of
Ministers raised the national minimum wage to 9.19 euros ($11.95) per
hour. The Ministry of the Economy, Industry, and Employment enforced
the minimum wage. The poverty-level income rate was 954 euros ($1,240)
a month for an individual, 1,431 euros ($1,860) for a couple, and 2,000
euros ($2,600) for a couple with two children under the age of 14.
Salaries below the minimum wage were permitted for certain categories
of employment, such as persons in subsidized jobs and internships,
which must conform to separate, clearly defined standards. Employers,
except those in the informal economy, generally adhered to the minimum
wage requirement.
The official workweek is 35 hours. Companies may negotiate opt-outs
with employees. The maximum number of working days for white-collar
workers is 235 days per year. Maximum hours of work are fixed at 10
hours per day, 48 hours per week, and an average of 44 hours per week
over a 12-week work period. Employees are entitled to a daily rest of
at least 11 hours and a weekly break of at least 24 hours total, not
including the daily rest period. Employers are required to give workers
a 20-minute break during a six-hour workday. Premium pay of 25 percent
is mandatory for overtime and on weekends and holidays. These standards
were effectively enforced.
The law sets basic occupational health and safety standards. The
Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, and Public Sector is responsible for
enforcing the law and did so effectively. In 2010 there were
approximately 600,000 workplace accidents. As of 2007, there were 488
labor inspectors in the country.
__________
GEORGIA \1\
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\1\ Note: Except where otherwise noted, figures and other data do
not include the separatist, occupied regions of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The constitution of Georgia provides for an executive branch that
reports to the president, a unicameral parliament, and an independent
judiciary. President Mikheil Saakashvili was reelected in January 2008
in an election that international observers found consistent with most
Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) democratic
election commitments. However, the OSCE also highlighted significant
problems, including widespread allegations of intimidation and
pressure, flawed vote-counting and tabulation processes, and
shortcomings in the complaints and appeals process. These and other
problems were also seen in parliamentary elections in May 2008, which
OSCE observers concluded were uneven and incomplete in their adherence
to international standards. Despite a large number of opposition
parties, the executive and parliament were dominated by a single party.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most important human rights problems reported during the year
were: 1) Abuse of prisoners and detainees by government officials as
well as dangerously substandard prison conditions; 2) Shortfalls in the
rule of law, such as concerns about ensuring the judiciary's
independent and even-handed application of due process protections; and
3) Government interference with unions' fundamental freedom of
association in several areas, including interference with strikes,
arbitrary dismissals, interference with collection of dues, and
harassment and intimidation of labor activists.
Other problems reported during the year included security forces'
use of excessive force against demonstrators without criminal
accountability, in particular during the breakup of opposition protests
on May 26; harassment of members of the political opposition; and
continued allegations of politically motivated imprisonment, primarily
of individuals incarcerated prior to 2011. There were reports of
improper government use of eminent domain to seize private property.
Although parliament adopted a law providing for greater transparency of
media ownership, citizens had limited access to diverse and unfettered
media. While independent media were active and expressed a wide variety
of views, the three largest television broadcasters reportedly had
close ties to the government, and direct or indirect government
influence over media outlets remained a concern. Protection of
religious minorities improved, including parliament's adoption of a law
to permit a broad range of religious groups besides the Georgian
Orthodox Church to register as legal entities. Problems continued to be
reported regarding the resettlement of internally displaced persons
(IDPs). Other problems included lack of transparency in business
ownership and the conduct of government bids. There were reports of low
rates of women in elected positions. There were reportedly high rates
of domestic violence. Georgia was primarily a source country, but also
a transit country for trafficking in persons.
Although the government took some steps to prosecute and punish
officials who committed human rights abuses, investigations into such
allegations were frequently terminated or delayed, contributing to an
atmosphere of impunity.
De facto authorities in the separatist regions of Abkhazia and
South Ossetia remained outside the control of the central government.
These authorities continued to be supported by several thousand Russian
troops and border guards occupying the areas since the 2008 armed
conflict between Russia and Georgia. A cease-fire remained in effect in
both Abkhazia and South Ossetia, although incidents of violence
occurred in both areas. Russian border guards restricted the movement
of the local populations. De facto authorities continued to restrict
the rights, primarily of ethnic Georgians, to vote, otherwise
participate in the political process, own property, register
businesses, and travel. The de facto South Ossetian authorities refused
to permit most ethnic Georgians driven out during and after the 2008
conflict to return to South Ossetia. With the exception of the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), international
organizations were not allowed regular access to South Ossetia to
provide humanitarian assistance.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were several
unconfirmed reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings.
In one high profile case, friends of two men found electrocuted on
the rooftop of a building near the location of the May 26 protests
alleged their deaths were the result of police action. However, two
forensic laboratories found the deaths to be consistent with accidental
electrocution. On June 2, a third protest participant died of cardiac
arrest, which his family maintained was related to being hit with a
tear gas canister fired by police during the protest.
In another case, the Free Democrats political party raised concerns
regarding the September 17 death in detention of military officer Sergo
Tetradze. Ministry of Defense officials arrested him on charges of
espionage on September 17, and Ministry of Corrections officials
informed his family of his death in custody one week later. Tetradze's
wife stated she saw signs of torture on Tetradze at his hearing 24
hours after his arrest and on his body after his death. Police records
indicated Tetradze was held by military police for 19 hours, an
unusually long period of time. His medical report at the time of
incarceration noted light bruising and excoriations which, according to
the report, Tetradze indicated were sustained prior to apprehension. An
autopsy reported injuries inflicted with a firm blunt object on at
least three occasions, once six-eight days before death, once five-six
days before death, and again one day before death. Prison records and
the subsequent investigation by the Ministry of Justice indicated
Tetradze died of a heart attack on September 23 while receiving
treatment for cardiovascular insufficiency in the prison hospital. The
cause of death in the autopsy report was inconclusive, although it
indicated that he had heart problems and that the injuries likely did
not cause his death.
On April 26, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that
the authorities failed to conduct an effective investigation into the
high-profile 2006 death of Sandro Girgvliani. The court found that the
government failed to submit a number of requested items of evidence and
noted with particular concern ``how the different branches of state
power--including the Ministry of the Interior, the prosecution
authority, the domestic courts, and the president of Georgia--had all
acted in concert in preventing justice from being done'' in the case.
Gia Alania, chief of the first unit of the ministry's department of
constitutional security, and three of his subordinates, Avtandil
Aptsiauri, Aleksandre Gachava, and Mikheil Bibiluri, were convicted of
murder, but only served three years in prison as a result of a
presidential pardon. The ECHR also ruled that the perpetrators acted in
a personal capacity and therefore the government could not be held
responsible for the killing. The court noted a number of serious flaws
in the investigation conducted by authorities.
Media reported that a landmine accident in South Ossetia resulted
in one fatality and injuries. However, limited information about events
in South Ossetia made it difficult to confirm reports of incidents in
this region. The NGO HALO Trust and the ICRC reported one injury and
one death from unexploded ordnance in uncontested Georgian territory.
HALO Trust completed mine clearance of occupied Abkhazia and declared
it mine-free in November.
b. Disappearance.--No politically motivated disappearances in
unoccupied Georgia or connected to the conflict in Abkhazia or South
Ossetia were reported in 2011. Reliable information from the separatist
regions, which were outside government control, remained difficult to
obtain.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices. However,
there were reports that government officials continued to employ them
with limited accountability. The Public Defender's Office's annual
Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia report for 2010
(released in June) stated that accountability for torture and other
inhuman treatment remained a problem and that the Prosecution Service
dealt with ``almost all cases'' superficially, terminating or delaying
investigations and failing to conduct forensic medical examinations or
postponing examinations until a victim's injuries were untraceable. In
addition, officials who conducted investigations into allegations of
torture often mischaracterized such acts as abuse of official power,
which carried a far lighter sanction. The European Instrument for
Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) September Atlas of Torture noted
that beatings and excessive use of force were more likely to be
administered based on political motivations, such as against
demonstrators criticizing the government.
EIDHR reported noticeable improvements with respect to curbing the
excessive use of force as a routine practice during police
interrogations and police detention, which they attributed to reforms
and increased professionalism. However, they reported police still
frequently used excessive force during arrest, interrogation, and
transfer of detainees. In the 2010 National Preventive Mechanism Report
(released in spring 2011), the Public Defender's Office noted frequent
instances of prison employees mistreating detained and imprisoned
individuals. In 2011 such cases were particularly prevalent in Kutaisi
Prison No.2. The Public Defender's Office stated that investigations
into allegations of mistreatment were inadequate. The public defender
also noted that, unlike in pretrial detention facilities and
penitentiaries, there were almost no cases of mistreatment in temporary
detention cells where detainees were held for up to 72 hours awaiting a
hearing, and individuals convicted of administrative offenses are held
up to 90 days. According to the Public Defender's Office and human
rights monitors, the incidence of abuse in temporary detention cells
remained low due to continued, unannounced, random monitoring of
stations by officials of the Ministry of Justice. However, the office
reported that physical injuries were observed very frequently on
individuals upon admission to police detention facilities.
During the year NGOs and the public defender documented several
cases of police officers mistreating detainees, beating or denying them
water, food, access to sanitation, or permission to contact family or a
lawyer. For example, police allegedly beat Murman Dumbadze while
detaining him at the site of the May 26 protests and again when
interrogating him at the Dighomi police station. Dumbadze reported
that, while one officer was handcuffing him at the protest, a second
officer beat him on the head, arms, and legs. He alleged that once he
was taken to the police station, he was beaten, kicked, and whipped
every two to three hours throughout the night. The police report
confirmed injuries, including cuts, a broken nose, and extensive
bruising. A criminal investigation by the Chief Prosecutor's Office
into the alleged mistreatment continued at year's end.
According to the public defender, mistreatment in penitentiary
facilities where pretrial detainees and convicts are held continued
during the year. EIDHR stated that the main source of mistreatment
shifted from the police to the penitentiary system. The public defender
stated that Kutaisi Prison No. 2, Gldani Prison No. 8, and the Medical
Institution for Convicted and Indicted Persons had the highest rates of
mistreatment in 2011. EIDHR alleged that both the Administration of
Prisons and prison guards were involved in the abuse of detainees and
added that ``special task forces'' at the central penitentiary
department and in individual prisons were called in to ``bring about
results.''
Prisoner Ahmed Aboliv reported to the public defender that prison
guards physically and verbally assaulted him twice on July 25. After
being beaten, he allegedly was handcuffed naked in an isolation cell
for two hours. After returning him to his cell, prison authorities
denied him the medical treatment he requested for pain and nausea.
Aboliv's cellmates and the public defender confirmed injuries
consistent with the beating allegation. The Ministry of Correction and
Legal Assistance initiated an investigation, but an examination on
August 10--16 days after the alleged abuse--found no signs of physical
injuries. An investigation by the Ministry of Justice continued at
year's end.
According to the Ministry of Justice, authorities initiated 20
investigations into allegations of torture, nine into inhuman
treatment, and one into the use of duress to compel evidence during the
year, compared with 19 allegations of torture and 15 of inhuman or
degrading treatment in 2010. During the year the Ministry of Justice
reported that 14 cases were terminated and judgments were rendered
against two persons (one police officer was convicted of torture, and
another individual was convicted of inhuman treatment). In addition
four police officers and two prison staff were convicted during the
year of abuse of power against persons under their custody.
NGOs and the Public Defender's Office reported that victims often
failed to report abuse due to fear of retribution. NGOs also continued
to claim that close ties between the Prosecutor General's Office and
police hindered the ability of NGOs to substantiate police misconduct,
and that the judiciary's lack of professionalism and independence made
it unresponsive to allegations of mistreatment. Experts observed that
judges referred detainee reports of mistreatment back to the
institutions responsible for them. NGOs also cited lack of training for
law enforcement officers, low public awareness of the protections
afforded citizens, and inadequate standards of transparency and
accountability.
Individuals detained in South Ossetia who later returned to
undisputed Georgian territory reported incidents of mistreatment and
abuse in Ossetian detention centers. Mistreatment included cigarette
burns, burns with the hot barrel of a gun, and beatings. Human rights
observers estimated half of those detained by the South Ossetian de
facto authorities experienced some form of abuse. Due to limited access
to occupied South Ossetia, these reports were difficult to confirm.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Public Defender's
Office, EIDHR, and many NGOs continued to report that conditions in
many prison and pretrial detention facilities were poor and sometimes
life threatening. The public defender noted that, while newly
constructed facilities met international standards, old facilities
still in use were inhumane and deteriorating. Such facilities exposed
those incarcerated to overcrowding, inadequate healthcare, insufficient
ventilation, and life-threatening conditions.
Most prison and pretrial detention facilities lacked adequate
sanitary facilities. In its 2010 report Situation of Human Rights and
Freedoms in Georgia, the Public Defender's Office noted that, in some
penitentiaries, sanitary conditions and overcrowding were poor enough
to amount to inhuman and degrading treatment. The public defender named
Zugdidi Prison No. 4, Batumi Prison No. 3, and Tbilisi Prison No.1 as
particular problematic sites. In Zugdidi No. 4 and Batumi No. 3,
obsolete infrastructure made it impossible to eradicate parasites and
rodents. The 2010 National Preventive Mechanism report noted that
inmates in solitary confinement in Ksani Prison No. 15 were not given
soap or toilet paper. The report also noted that prison officials
frequently placed inmates in solitary confinement in Gldani Prison No.8
for several days for punitive reasons and deprived them of beds,
blankets, and mattresses. According to the public defender, 140
prisoners died within the penitentiary system in 2011, compared with
142 in 2010. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of prisoner death.
The public defender's Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in
Georgia report also noted that conditions in temporary detention
isolation cells continued to be an acute problem. These facilities were
intended to hold detainees accused of crimes and awaiting a hearing for
up to 72 hours and not to provide long-term detention. However,
isolation cells also housed all individuals convicted of administrative
offenses for up to 90 days. According to the public defender, 3,225
persons served terms of administrative detention in the temporary
detention isolation cells in 2011. The public defender noted numerous
problems, including inadequate space, ventilation, natural light,
heating, sanitation, and access to medical services. In many instances,
administrative detainees were not provided bedding or access to
showers.
The Asatiani Psychiatric Institute in Tbilisi, cited in 2010 for
``inhumane and degrading conditions,'' was closed in 2011 and its
patients transferred to newer psychiatric facilities.
Many prisons were severely short of medical facilities, equipment,
and medicine. The 2010 Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in
Georgia report by the Public Defender's Office asserted that funding
inequalities between the civilian health care system and health care in
the penitentiary system violated international standards. The report
acknowledged progress in reducing overcrowding but emphasized the
continued high prison population, noting that overcrowding continued to
compound poor conditions and inadequate health care. According to the
public defender, eight facilities were overcrowded. As a result some
inmates in three facilities did not have their own beds. According to
the Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance, the inmate population
at year's end was 24,114, compared with 24,019 in 2010. Of that
population, 6.3 percent were pretrial detainees. The number of
conditional early release prisoners increased from 242 in 2010 to 445
during the year. The ministry attributed the stabilization in the
prisoner population from 2010 to 2011 to the use of alternative methods
of rehabilitation.
International organizations that monitor prison conditions found
that the country's space standards for prisoners were deficient. The
National Preventive Mechanism report recommended that the country's
judicial system employ lighter sentences or alternatives to
incarceration for less dangerous criminals.
During the year the Ministry of Justice focused on developing
alternatives to incarceration for juveniles, implementing a diversion
program for juvenile offenders. A key principle of the program was to
allow young offenders to avoid criminal proceedings if they graduated
from the program and did not commit further crimes. According to the
ministry, 80 juveniles entered the program in 2011, and only four
committed a new offense. At year's end there were 162 juveniles in the
penitentiary system.
As a result of a December 2010 order which provided the right of
religious worship to prisoners and detainees, clergy of minority
confessions reported substantial improvements. However, some Muslim
leaders reported that incarcerated members of their community still
lacked appropriate space to worship. While there were Georgian Orthodox
chapels in most prisons, there were no specific nondenominational areas
for worship.
Authorities permitted prisoners to submit complaints to judicial
authorities as well as to the Public Defender's Office, NGOs,
international organizations, and lawyers without censorship. However,
NGOs reported prison authorities pressured prisoners and their
attorneys to withdraw their applications to the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR). In one case Archil Sakhvadze was allegedly beaten by
prison guards in Prison No. 7 in 2010 and told to withdraw his case
from the ECHR. According to the Justice Ministry, an examination of
Sakhvadze revealed no signs of beating. An investigation continued at
year's end.
Prisoners also requested investigations of inhuman conditions.
Authorities opened investigations into such allegations, but in many
cases never officially completed them, filed charges, or took other
disciplinary action against officials alleged to have committed abuses.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by international organizations and some local and
international human rights groups. The ICRC had full access to prisons
and detention facilities in undisputed Georgian territory and some
access to prison and detention facilities operated by de facto
authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Prison conditions in the two separatist regions were reported to be
chronically substandard, although overcrowding reportedly was not a
problem.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, the government's
observance of these prohibitions was uneven.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs has primary responsibility for law enforcement and
controls the police force. During times of internal disorder, the
government may also call on the armed forces. The Ministry of Finance
has its own investigative service.
While security forces were generally considered effective, there
were some reports that members committed abuses with impunity (see
sections 1.c. and 2.b.). Government investigations into reports of
police abuses of protesters (see section 2.b.) resulted in the firing
of four police officers, one demotion, and 11 reprimands, including of
senior-level officials. Offenses included abuse of special means of
coercion, physical assault of citizens, failure to manage subordinates
properly, and failure to follow instructions. The public defender
described the disciplinary action as an important deterrent, but
insufficient, and called for a criminal investigation of human rights
violations documented by his office.
NGOs and the public defender maintained that the incidence of
police abuse was higher than the number of cases investigated by the
prosecutor general and that failure to conduct systematic
investigations and pursue convictions of all alleged abusers
contributed to a culture of impunity. Human rights NGOs also asserted
that many instances of abuse went unreported by victims due to fear of
reprisal or lack of confidence in the judicial system.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its General
Inspection Service imposed more disciplinary actions on law enforcement
officers in 2011 than in previous years. Forms of punishment included
reprimands, demotions, and dismissals. There were 1,017 such actions
during the year compared with 861 in 2010. The ministry also reported
that during the year 60 officers were arrested for committing various
crimes, compared with 46 in 2010. Crimes during the year included
corruption (seven cases), carrying or using narcotics (four), fraud or
excessive use of authority (17), abuse of authority (four), and
misappropriation of state property (10).
The Prosecutor General's Office manages all criminal investigations
into allegations of torture and mistreatment by government officials.
Prosecutors must investigate the use of force by police when a detainee
sustains injuries during an arrest. The law requires the office to open
an investigation when it receives information about a possible
violation, even if from an anonymous source. If prosecutors conclude
after investigation that charges are not warranted, their decision can
be appealed to a higher level within the office. In some cases, the
Prosecutor General's Office continued investigations indefinitely
without issuing any findings. In most cases that were completed, the
office concluded that the use of force by police was reasonable. The
Human Rights Protection Unit in the Office of the Prosecutor General
issued regular updates on the status of cases, trials, and
investigations of human rights violations.
The police academy provided basic training for 7,000 new police
officers and retrained 2,000 police investigators during the year. The
curriculum included human rights training and covered the legal basis
for the use of force, proper crowd control, hate crime investigation,
use of negotiations for managing critical situations with the goal of
employing lawful force as a last resort, identification of trafficking
cases, and police ethics.
Specialized training on human rights was conducted in cooperation
with international partners, such as the Council of Europe.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Law
enforcement officers must have a warrant to make an arrest except in
exceptional cases where there are no less restrictive alternative
measures available. According to the criminal procedure code, an arrest
warrant can be obtained only where probable cause can be shown that a
person committed a crime punishable by imprisonment, or that he or she
may abscond or fail to appear in court, destroy evidence, or commit a
new crime. The Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) reported that
most arrests were made without a warrant based on ``immediate
necessity,'' and courts later substantiated police action in almost all
cases. The public defender considered unsubstantiated arrest warrants
to be a systemic problem characteristic of most courts. According to
the Ministry of Justice, there were no reports during the year of
officials holding detainees without judicial review for longer than the
72 hours permitted by law.
Upon arrest, a detainee must be advised of all legal rights. Any
statements made after arrest but before a detainee is advised of his or
her rights are inadmissible in court. The arresting officer must
immediately take the detainee to the nearest police station, and the
detainee must be indicted within 48 hours or released. The arresting
officer must make a record of the arrest immediately after the detainee
is brought to the police station. The record should indicate the
detainee's identity, place and time of arrest, circumstances of arrest,
legal basis for the arrest, physical condition of the detainee at the
moment of arrest, and the crime that the detainee is suspected of
committing. The record must be signed by the arresting officer and the
detainee, with a copy given to the detainee and his or her attorney.
The judiciary's use of bail instead of pretrial detention increased
during the year. However, NGOs noted that many defendants were not able
to make bail even when it was granted. Property bonds and other
alternatives to bail are permitted.
While a detainee has the right to request immediate access to a
lawyer and the right to refuse to make a statement in the absence of
counsel, respect for this right in practice was uneven. For example,
GYLA alleged that, immediately following the detention of strikers in
Kutaisi in September (see section 7.a.), police denied holding them,
thus preventing them from meeting with their attorneys, even though
GYLA representatives could see the strikers through a window.
An indigent defendant charged in a criminal case has the right to
counsel appointed at public expense. In practice, all indigent persons
appear to have been represented by legal aid counsel at their detention
and/or bail hearings. However, persons who could not qualify as
indigent and who could not obtain private counsel were often
unrepresented at the bail or detention hearing stage of a criminal
case. Court observers noted that, in Tbilisi City Court, such
nonindigent persons were unrepresented in 23 percent of bail hearings.
This represented a 54 percent decline from 2010, when similarly
situated nonindigent defendants went unrepresented in as many as 50
percent of detention or bail hearings.
Approximately 150 protesters were unaccounted for in the period
immediately after the May 26 protests, and the public defender stated
most detainees were unable to exercise their rights to notify a third
party of their whereabouts, consult legal counsel, or have access to
medical care. All detainees were accounted for within two weeks, but
there was credible evidence that they were moved to regional facilities
without informing family members or the public defender (see section
2.b.).
By law detainees facing possible criminal charges have the right to
notify their families of their location within three hours of their
arrest, and those charged with administrative offenses have the right
to notify family upon request. Detainees frequently reported to the
Public Defender's Office that they were prevented from contacting
family members after detention. GYLA reported police prevented many
detainees from the May 26 protests from contacting family members for
up to several days after their detention.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The public defender reported cases of arbitrary
detention of individuals during the year. NGOs, civil society groups,
and opposition party members alleged that politically motivated
arbitrary arrest occurred during the year. For example, opposition
party members and NGOs alleged that Revaz Khulordava, the deputy head
of the opposition Free Democrats faction in the Senaki City Council,
was arrested on false, politically motivated charges in November.
Khulordava was charged with the September stabbing of a man in Senaki
two months after the incident was alleged to have occurred. Multiple
witnesses confirmed Khulordava's alibi. Khulordava had frequently
criticized the local government for corruption and misuse of funds.
Patterns in allegedly politically motivated arrests noted in GYLA's
Legal Analysis of Cases of Criminal and Administrative Offenses with
Alleged Political Motive, published in June, included arrests for
illegal possession of drugs or arms without subsequent examination of
evidence, defendants charged with offenses more serious than those
actually committed, and small infractions mischaracterized as malicious
disobedience to police orders. The period covered in the analysis was
2007-10.
During the year de facto officials of the separatist territories
and Russian officials continued to detain many individuals in the
separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia on charges related to
their ``illegal'' crossing of the administrative boundary. Russian
border guards typically enforced the boundary-crossing rules imposed by
de facto authorities by handing individuals over to those authorities.
Most individuals were released within five days, but some were held
considerably longer. Georgian authorities also detained a number of
individuals near the administrative boundary on various charges,
including illegal entry into the country. Such individuals often
carried only Russian passports with visas to travel in Georgia.
There were reports of arbitrary arrests of ethnic Georgians,
particularly in Tskhinvali and Gali regions of South Ossetia and
Abkhazia. Detainees reported they were not given a reason for their
arrest nor were they seen by a prosecutor. Human rights groups alleged
de facto authorities arbitrarily detained ethnic Georgians and held
them in order to negotiate prisoner exchanges between de facto
officials and Georgian authorities.
Pretrial Detention.--The law provides safeguards for a speedy trial
through strict time limits for detentions, hearings, and trials, and
observers found that judges strictly enforced these requirements.
However, pretrial detention at times was lengthy. A high number of
judicial vacancies at the trial-court level may have contributed to
some delays in scheduling trials. Criminal cases were delayed or
postponed most commonly based on requests from the parties to further
negotiate a plea bargain, or because a witness had not appeared as
scheduled to give testimony. The Ministry of Corrections reported that
6.3 percent of the penitentiary system population consisted of pretrial
detainees.
Amnesty.--According to the Ministry of Corrections and Legal
Assistance, the president pardoned 787 convicts in 2011, compared with
1,299 in 2010.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution and law
provide for an independent judiciary, outside influence on the
judiciary remained a problem. Transparency International Georgia's
Georgia National Integrity System Assessment for 2011 noted that the
judiciary ``suffers from undue influence exerted by the Prosecutor's
Office and the executive authority during the adjudication of criminal
cases, as well as cases where the political leadership's interests are
at stake'' and that the judiciary's ``inadequate level of
independence'' undermined its ability to exercise oversight of the
executive branch. However, the assessment also found that bribery in
courts has been eradicated and that judges were believed to be
independent in their handling of the majority of civil cases. The
public defender's report for 2010 identified inadequate substantiation
of court decisions at various stages as an endemic problem in the
judiciary across the country.
Court observers noted that judges enforced criminal procedure code
standards, adopted in 2009, for ensuring in-custody appearances for
defendants within 24 hours of arrest, an initial appearance before a
court on an indictment within 48 hours of arrest, and a detention
hearing within 72 hours of arrest. Judges held prosecutors to the
code's standards for disclosing case evidence to the defense, and
complaints of failure by the prosecution to disclose evidence in a
timely or complete manner were limited. However, observers noted that
judges struggled at times with criminal procedure code language that
allows the defense to request assistance from the court in obtaining
court-ordered evidence. Judges also showed some reticence in following
up on complaints from defendants regarding alleged actions by police or
prosecutors that affected the defendant's access to counsel, ability to
call defense witnesses at trial, or ability to fully cross-examine
police or prosecution witnesses at trial. Judges showed marked
improvement in their desire and ability to maintain order in their
courts and in demanding higher professionalism from court participants.
Many NGOs complained that judicial authorities continued to act in
favor of the ruling party if there was a perceived government interest
in the case. Some NGOs and opposition groups alleged that, in cases
involving opposition activists, the courts tended to rule in favor of
the government. GYLA's analysis of 2007-10 cases viewed as politically
motivated found that the judiciary always upheld the position of the
prosecution in such cases. GYLA also identified refusal to grant
defense requests and disproportional punishment among common court
actions.
A report by the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights,
Thomas Hammarberg, released in June pointed to prosecutors' failure to
react to procedural violations committed by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and the ministry's failure to prosecute cases of mistreatment
or excessive use of force by law enforcement officials as reinforcing
the perception that prosecutors acted selectively on behalf of the
government.
The code of administrative offenses reportedly lacks sufficient due
process provisions. For example, although the code provides for prison
sentences of up to 90 days for violations, it reportedly does not
require police to inform individuals of their rights or the reason for
their arrest, nor does it permit defendants to present evidence or
witnesses for their defense in court. Authorities reportedly used the
code to detain opposition protesters during the year and in recent
years.
During the year NGOs and observers continued to criticize the lack
of transparency in the selection, appointment, and disciplining of
judges. Despite the use of objective written examinations to create a
pool of potential qualified appointees and publication of the names of
all potential candidates for public comment, the judicial appointment
process was criticized as not sufficiently transparent, and selection
criteria were not sufficiently based on merit.
During the year the High Council of Justice's Judicial Ethics and
Disciplinary Procedure Department received 880 complaints involving
judges and started disciplinary proceedings in all cases. The majority
of complaints were deemed unsubstantiated or faulty. The High Council
of Justice questioned judges in seven cases and referred two to the
Disciplinary Board of the Common Courts. In previously pending cases,
the board dismissed one judge, reprimanded 11, and put four on notice.
No judges or prosecutors were convicted on corruption charges during
the year.
The Prosecutor's Office and Ministry of Justice are responsible for
disciplinary action for violations of the ethics code by prosecutors.
During the year 37 prosecutors from the Chief Prosecutor's Office were
subject to disciplinary actions ranging from notice to reprimand. Two
prosecutors were charged criminally in a formal court indictment.
Trial Procedures.--The law presumes defendants are innocent.
Defendants have the right to a trial by jury only in cases of
aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder and only in Tbilisi.
During the year the Tbilisi City Court conducted the country's first
two post-Soviet jury trials. Most legal observers considered the trials
fair and well run. In all other criminal cases, defendants have a right
to a public trial (except where national security, privacy, or
protection of a juvenile is involved) and to be present at their trial.
In practice, the right to a public trial was not always respected.
Legal observers noted that some judges closed trials without providing
reasons and at other times prevented observers from attending hearings.
The law allows for trial in absentia in certain cases in which the
defendant has fled the country.
Defense counsel has the right to meet individuals accused of a
crime without hindrance, supervision, or undue restriction. However,
NGOs and lawyer associations complained that, in practice, long lines
and cumbersome entry checks at penitentiary institutions hindered their
access to detainees to prepare cases. The Georgian Bar Association
reported several cases of harassment of defense attorneys, including
physical assault and confiscation of recording material by police, and
physical assault, rape threats, and confiscation of case notes by
penitentiary officials.
During the year, according to statistical data provided by the
Supreme Court, 19 defense lawyers were charged with fraud for
misappropriation of client funds. Sufficient information was not
available to determine whether these lawyers were objects of undue
pressure by the government. However, in March the Georgian mission of
the International Observatory for Lawyers described cases of lawyer
intimidation in which defense lawyers were arrested and sentenced on
fraud charges on the grounds of ``ineffectual legal assistance.'' GYLA
asserted that these lawyers were working on ``sensitive'' cases or were
considered ``opposition'' lawyers and targeted as such. For example,
according to GYLA, on July 27, Ramin Papidze, attorney for an
opposition party branch in Batumi, was fined and sentenced to 10 days'
detention for alleged misbehavior in the courtroom. According to GYLA,
the judge based sentencing exclusively on testimony of court bailiffs
who, witnesses alleged, assaulted Papidze prior to the hearing.
Defendants may question and confront witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf at trial. Defendants
and their attorneys have access to the prosecution's evidence relevant
to their cases at any point during criminal proceedings and may make
copies at their own expense. The prosecution must disclose all evidence
to the defendant no later than five days prior to the pretrial hearing.
Court observers reported that the prosecution complied with these
rules.
A convicted defendant has the right of appeal. However, appeals
under the administrative and criminal codes were difficult in practice.
Under the criminal procedures code, defendants have one month to file
an appeal, and appeals must be completed within three months in cases
where the appellant is imprisoned and within 12 months otherwise.
However, in criminal cases, courts were allowed up to two weeks to
provide court records to defense attorneys, thus reducing the
attorneys' time to prepare an appeal. Administrative sentences which
entail incarceration must be appealed within 48 hours and within 10
days otherwise. In administrative cases courts provided records three
days after the trial, thus forcing attorneys to prepare appeals of
cases involving incarceration without the court's written judgment.
Appeals must be signed by the defendant, and attorneys reported
difficulty in locating and accessing their clients in the penitentiary
system, impairing their ability to submit the appeal on time. Human
rights monitors also reported that court decisions in administrative
trials were often ``perfunctory'' and that in criminal trials appeals
were rejected without an adequate explanation.
Monitoring groups pointed to the country's low acquittal rates in
criminal cases and low rates of successful appeals as possible
indicators of executive branch pressure on the judiciary. Transparency
International/Georgia's 2010 report cited a 1 percent acquittal rate in
criminal cases. The Ministry of Justice, on the other hand, cited a 4.6
percent acquittal rate in 2011, compared with a 6 percent rate in 2010.
The discrepancy between these rates appears to be attributable to
Transparency International's inclusion of all cases, including those
concluded through plea bargaining, whereas the ministry included only
those cases which proceeded to trial.
By law a court must certify that a plea bargain was reached without
violence, intimidation, deception, or illegal promise, and that the
accused had the opportunity to obtain legal assistance. Approximately
65 percent of plea agreements contained a fine as a penalty along with
either a prison term or a suspended prison sentence. Some legal
observers noted that many judges were very attentive to the rights of
the defendant during the entry of a plea agreement, while others failed
to apprise the defendant of important rights and legal protections. The
June report of the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner noted
that, in practice, judges relied almost exclusively on evidence
presented by the prosecutor in plea agreements. The U.N. Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention reported June 24 that 90 percent of cases that
went through court concluded in plea bargain arrangements ``with
minimal intervention from judges.'' The Council of Europe reported that
lawyers, instead of working towards their clients' acquittal, often
advised them to plea-bargain for a reduced sentence.
According to the Supreme Court, the use of plea bargaining
increased from 80 percent of cases in 2010 to 88 percent in 2011.
During the year observers remained concerned about the potential lack
of fairness and transparency in the implementation of plea bargaining.
For example, in an April resolution, the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe noted ``questions raised about the increasing
frequency of plea bargaining.'' The resolution recommended that
officials address such concerns ``as they affect public trust in the
fairness of the justice system.'' Experts agreed that the core problem
was not in the law but in the law's application, as reported by
Transparency International/Georgia in a December 2010 report. While
noting the benefits of plea bargaining, including increased efficiency
and cost savings in the court process, providing relief to overcrowded
prisons, and in fighting organized crime and corruption, Transparency
International/Georgia raised significant concerns about the fairness of
the system, highlighting the imbalance between the powers of the
prosecution and the judiciary and the system's lack of transparency in
the application and collection of fines. There are no explicit criteria
for calculating fines, and during the year NGOs alleged that defendants
facing equal charges frequently received very different sentences
according to their ability to pay.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Several NGOs, opposition
parties not represented in parliament, and family members alleged that
the government continued to hold political prisoners and detainees.
Their estimates of the number varied, with NGO estimates in the dozens.
The government, NGOs, and opposition leaders disagreed on the
definition of a political prisoner. The public defender did not name
any political prisoners or detainees in his 2010 report and received no
requests for assistance regarding political prisoners in 2011. The
parliamentary Human Rights Committee disagreed with assertions that the
government held political prisoners.
The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Thomas
Hammarberg, reported in June that most individuals on lists of persons
considered to have been sentenced on political grounds had participated
in opposition protests held in November 2007 and spring 2009. Raising
concerns about the fairness of their trials, Hammarberg noted that he
received ``a considerable number of credible allegations and other
information indicative of serious deficiencies marring the criminal
investigation and judicial processes in a number of criminal cases
against opposition activists. This casts doubt on the credibility of
the charges retained and on the final convictions.''
The government permitted international and domestic organizations
to visit persons claiming to be political prisoners or detainees, and
some organizations did so during the year.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the ECHR
ruled against the government in three cases involving alleged
violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the
Ministry of Justice, authorities paid compensation in two of the cases
by year's end.
NGOs reported pressure on individuals to withdraw their
applications to the ECHR, a development that the Human Rights Center
described as a new trend during the year.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, but there
were concerns about the professionalism of judges and transparency in
their adjudication. The constitution and law stipulate that a person
who suffers damages resulting from arbitrary detention or other
unlawful or arbitrary acts, including unlawful human rights violations,
is entitled to bring a civil action. Individuals have the right to
appeal court decisions involving the alleged violation of human rights
by the state to the ECHR after domestic avenues of appeal have been
exhausted.
Property Restitution.--GYLA reported several cases in which it
offered legal assistance during the year to groups that claimed the
government improperly used eminent domain to seize property in Tbilisi
at unfairly low prices, particularly associated with the Tbilisi
Railway Bypass Project. In addition there were concerns about the lack
of due process and respect for the rule of law in a number of property
rights cases. NGOs reported the government created artificial barriers
for local residents seeking to register property (historically owned by
their families for generations but not documented) in Svaneti and
selectively allowed government sales or registration of the same land
by developers. Transparency International/Georgia reported that the
government had begun compensating land owners in the region by year's
end, although only a small percentage had received compensation. GYLA
and other NGOs also associated the creation of tourist zones in early
2011 with illegal revocation of historic ownership rights in Svaneti,
Anaklia, Gonio, and Black Sea-adjacent territories.
In Abkhazia the de facto law prohibits property claims by ethnic
Georgians who left Abkhazia before, during, or after the 1992-93 war,
thereby depriving internally displaced persons of their property rights
in Abkhazia.
In a December 2010 decree, South Ossetian de facto authorities
invalidated all real estate documents issued by the Georgian government
between 1991 and 2008 relating to property held in the Akhalgori
region. The decree also declared that all property in Akhalgori belongs
to the de facto authorities until a ``citizen's'' right to that
property is established in accordance with de facto legislation,
effectively denying displaced ethnic Georgians of their property rights
in the region.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions without
court approval or legal necessity and prohibit police from searching a
residence or conducting undercover or monitoring operations without a
warrant. However, these prohibitions were not always respected.
NGOs continued to report that police conducted searches without
first obtaining warrants. NGOs reported that police often obtained
warrants after the fact and many citizens were unaware of their right
to delay a search of their home by one hour to summon two objective
third-party witnesses to the search. Under the law, if authorities
conduct a search or seizure without a warrant because of urgency, they
must apply for the warrant within 24 hours of the search; otherwise,
the evidence collected is considered invalid. According to GYLA, these
warrants are almost always approved.
During the year some opposition figures and NGOs expressed concern
about government surveillance. They alleged that surveillance included
monitoring of e-mails and cellular telephones and surveillance from
private cars by officials they believed to be from the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.
Reports that tax authorities targeted specific companies and
persons for searches for political reasons decreased in 2011 due to
reforms at the Revenue Service (see section 4).
There were several reports that relatives of union or opposition
party members were harassed, demoted, dismissed from employment, or
arbitrarily arrested (see sections 1.d. and 7). Throughout the year
members of NGOs and individuals reported arbitrary harassment, job
loss, and arrest that they alleged were related to the activities of
family members. For example, on September 16, Asmati Kangoshvili, a
teacher, former journalist, and member of the Chechen diaspora
community in the Pankisi Gorge region, was arrested for alleged
possession of drugs. Witnesses claimed that neither she nor her home
was searched before her arrest and believed that the small amount of
drugs allegedly found on her person was planted by police. Local
townspeople, her students, and relatives believed her arrest was
related to suspected criminal activity by her brothers and cousin. On
September 19, she was fined 5,000 lari (approximately $2,980) and
released. No further action was expected in the case.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Separatist conflicts in the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
remained unresolved. While the security situation stabilized to the
point that no military conflict was reported in the areas, other
incidents of violence were reported.
Human Rights Watch reported that more than two years after the 2008
conflict, the Georgian government had not effectively investigated
international human rights and humanitarian law violations committed
during the conflict.
While there was little official information on the human rights and
humanitarian situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia due to limited
access to these regions, many allegations of abuses persisted. The EUMM
facilitated conflict resolution (including conflicts involving human
rights problems) among Georgian, Russian, and de facto authorities in
the occupied regions by regularly patrolling near the conflict areas
and facilitating contacts among the sides in the framework of the
Incident Prevention and Response Mechanisms (IPRMs). However, despite
the 2008 cease-fire agreement's provisions, the EUMM was denied access
to the occupied regions. Patrols could be conducted only on the
undisputed Georgian side of the administrative boundary lines.
The Gali region of Abkhazia, where many ethnic Georgians live,
remained tense because of limitations on freedom of movement, as well
as reports of kidnapping, arbitrary arrests, and deaths in custody.
There were numerous reports of extortion, looting, and robbery by
Russian and Abkhaz de facto forces and criminal gangs, especially
during the harvest season when local farmers regularly faced extortion
of a portion of their income. Russian military forces and de facto
militias limited the ability of international observers to travel in
Abkhazia to investigate claims of such abuses. Russian military forces
and de facto militias did not allow access to South Ossetia.
Killings.--On June 28, the Tbilisi City Court found 15 persons
guilty of terrorism in connection with three explosions in Tbilisi in
2010, killing one woman. An Abkhazia-based Russian military officer,
Yevgeny Borisov, was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison;
ethnic Georgian Mukhran Tskhadaia, based in Gali, was sentenced in
absentia to life imprisonment; and a second Gali-based ethnic Georgian,
Melo Tskhadaia, was sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison.
Abductions.--During the year there continued to be reports of
abductions along the administrative boundaries of both occupied
regions.
Government and Abkhaz commissions on missing persons reported that
nearly 2,000 Georgians and Abkhaz remained missing as a result of the
1992-93 war in Abkhazia; the ICRC began chairing a new coordination
mechanism during the year between Georgian and Abkhaz participants
aiming at clarifying the fate of these individuals. South Ossetian de
facto authorities reported that 116 persons were still missing from
conflicts in 1991 and 2008. The ICRC continued to assist authorities to
inform the families of the whereabouts of missing relatives.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press; however, there were credible reports that the government
restricted freedom of speech and press.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals were generally free to criticize
the government publicly and privately without reprisal, although there
were some notable exceptions. Some individuals told foreign monitors
they were reluctant to discuss, or had stopped discussing, sensitive
topics by telephone due to concern about government telephone tapping.
NGOs reported that a lack of investigation for harassment of human
rights defenders diminished dissenting voices and watchdog groups,
especially outside of Tbilisi. They also claimed that the government
used the legal process to silence critical voices.
Freedom of Press.--Although independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views, direct or indirect government
influence over media outlets remained a concern. According to
Transparency International Georgia's Georgia National Integrity System
Assessment for 2011, while ``the country has mostly progressive and
liberal laws governing the establishment and operation of media
entities, in practice the media remain less transparent, accountable,
and independent.'' While print media frequently criticized senior
government officials during the year, some individuals affiliated with
newspapers reported facing pressure and intimidation for doing so. Few
newspapers were commercially viable. According to Transparency
International's 2011 Georgian Advertising Market report, opposition-
oriented print media struggled to attract advertisements due to limited
circulation and reported government pressure on businesses. Batumelebi,
an independent local newspaper in Batumi, stated that one potential
advertiser cancelled after being told by government officials to do so.
Patrons in politics and business typically subsidized newspapers, which
were subject to their influence. Journalists reported distribution of
print media was further hampered by the establishment of a new kiosk
chain in Tbilisi, replacing old kiosks which primarily distributed
newspapers. Licenses to rent the new kiosks were largely auctioned to
companies selling fast food, cigarettes, and lottery tickets because
smaller newspaper distributors could not match their bids.
Television was the most influential medium and the primary source
of information on current events for more than 80 percent of the
population. The three largest television broadcasters were the state-
owned Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) and the privately owned
Rustavi-2 and Imedi TV, the country's two most popular stations. All
three reportedly had close ties to the government, generally had a
progovernment editorial policy, and were the largest providers of
coverage on a national level. Pro-opposition stations Kavkasia and
Maestro expressed views more critical of the government, but their
audience was concentrated in Tbilisi, which constituted 26 percent of
the country's population.
A December report on the Georgian advertising market by
Transparency International Georgia stated ``the fact that a number of
key companies are controlled by relatives or close friends of current
government officials or former high-level government/ruling party
members raises not only questions about conflicts of interest, but also
about competitiveness and political independence..'' The report also
noted that the head of the Georgia National Communications Commission
(GNCC), charged with regulating electronic communication, owned a major
advertising agency, which represented a direct conflict of interest.
On April 8, parliament amended the law on broadcasting to provide
for transparency of media ownership. The amendments prohibit ownership
of broadcasters by offshore-registered firms; require broadcasters to
submit an annual revenue breakdown to the GNCC; require the GNCC and
broadcasters to make ownership information publicly available on their
respective Web sites; and require the GNCC and broadcasters to align
ownership structures with the new requirements by January 2012, when
the amendments are scheduled to go into effect. The GNCC created a Web
site where media ownership information was published and forms and
databases were available to collect information on media revenues. By
year's end all major television broadcasters had provided the GNCC with
ownership information. Broadcasters were required to provide
information on revenues by February 2012.
Violence and Harassment.--There were reports during the year of the
physical and verbal assault of journalists by police, confiscation of
journalists' cameras by authorities, and intimidation of journalists by
government officials due to their reporting. Journalists affiliated
with pro-opposition media outlets reported unequal access to government
buildings, anonymous telephone threats, and surveillance by unknown
people while covering stories.
GYLA reported that security force members injured 24 journalists
while dispersing the May 26 protest. The public defender noted that
police fired rubber bullets at journalists, verbally and physically
abused them, and impeded their work. In many cases mistreatment
occurred after journalists presented press credentials to police. GYLA
reported nine incidents of illegal seizure of professional equipment
from journalists. Journalists alleged that authorities damaged other
equipment, and destroyed or erased photographic, video, and audio
material. On December 26, the Tbilisi City Court ordered the Ministry
of Internal Affairs to reimburse journalists and media organizations
2,302 lari ($1,370) for lost or damaged camcorders and medical
treatment for injuries sustained during the May 26 protest.
On July 7, authorities arrested four photographers on charges of
spying for Russia but subsequently gave them suspended sentences in a
pretrial plea bargain. Media and advocacy groups questioned the lack of
transparency and overall handling of the case, in particular how
suspects for a crime as serious as espionage could be given suspended
sentences. The government responded that the level of cooperation
provided by the photographers in identifying other persons engaged in
espionage was the basis for the lenient sentence. The lack of
government transparency led more than 40 reporters to claim the
photographers were targeted for either taking or publishing graphic
photographs of police dispersing the May 26 protest. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs asserted that recorded wiretaps and taped confessions
substantiated the espionage charges. The watchdog group Coalition for
Media Advocacy noted that the arrests and lack of transparency in the
case triggered a sense of insecurity among the media.
The Revenue Service released information regarding the tax
amnesties granted to all television stations in 2010. Progovernment
station Rustavi 2, GPB, and independent, Batumi-based station TV25 were
the major beneficiaries of the amnesty because they had the highest
debt levels.
Censorship and Content Restrictions.--Throughout the year NGOs,
independent analysts, and journalists accused high-ranking government
officials and opposition politicians of influencing editorial and
programming decisions through their personal connections with news
directors and media executives and by directing advertising using their
personal connections with business owners. Transparency International
Georgia's National Integrity System Assessment for 2011 noted that the
government ``is generally understood to have established control over
the country's most influential television stations through their
acquisition by government-friendly businessmen, forcing journalists
employed by these stations to practice self-censorship.''
The International Research and Exchanges Board's Media
Sustainability Index 2011, which covered 2010, again reported that
partisanship pervaded the news industry. Mainstream television
broadcast progovernment content, while smaller outlets promoted
opposition viewpoints.
The GNCC issues broadcast licenses as either a ``general license''
for news and political programming or an ``entertainment only'' license
that strictly limits content, thereby giving the commission substantial
control over programming. In 2011 the GNCC began issuing licenses for
the first time since 2008. By law the GNCC must issue licenses
according to public interest surveys. According to a survey by Tbilisi-
based BCG Research published on March 4, Georgian viewers preferred
entertainment shows over news programs. Media analysts noted that these
findings were inconsistent with survey information from the Caucasus
Research Resource Center. The GNCC issued or renewed 25 broadcast
licenses in 2011, including several licenses to outlets considered pro-
opposition.
Journalists said they self-censored reporting that did not reflect
the media owners' views out of fear of losing their jobs. Authorities
also reportedly intimidated journalists into censoring their reports.
Gela Mtivlishvili reported that a former prosecutor threatened him by
e-mail regarding his reporting. The public defender recommended opening
an investigation into the report. Opposition party representatives and
media advocates reported that they believed journalists either did not
cover or lightly covered events that showed the government in a
negative light out of concern that critical pieces would not be aired
or could potentially cost them their jobs.
Nongovernment Impact: In November a conflict between the owners of
opposition Maestro TV and its managing firm temporarily severely
limited Maestro's broadcasting capability and disrupted all news
programs. The channel was one of the country's few independent
broadcasters, and disruption of its regular programming was a source of
concern for civil society.
Media in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia
remained tightly restricted by de facto authorities and Russian
occupying forces.
Mari Otarashvili, a journalist for the independent Rezonansi
newspaper, reported the Georgian governor (in exile) of the Akhalgori
region, Zurab Pitskhelauri, threatened her, attempted to blackmail her,
and advised her to write her articles ``correctly'' on several
occasions during the year. Otarashvili was one of the few Georgian
journalists reporting in occupied South Ossetia with the permission of
de facto authorities, and her reporting was often critical of local
government officials.
Internet Freedom.--Outside of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, there
were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports
that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. However,
amendments to the Law on Operative-Investigative Activity, adopted in
November 2010, oblige communication companies to make private
information available for government investigations, providing law
enforcement officials with access to private e-mails, chat rooms, and
open and closed conversations on the Internet.
Insufficient information was available about Internet freedom in
the occupied territories.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on cultural events. There were reports of academic
appointments and dismissals due to political affiliation. Education
experts questioned the promotion of several school ``mandators,'' hired
directly by the Ministry of Education to maintain school security, to
positions in school resource centers and as principals.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly.
Authorities routinely granted permits for assemblies during the year.
However, the government's respect for this freedom was mixed, and
authorities forcefully dispersed several protests. Human rights
organizations expressed concerns about provisions in the law, including
prohibitions on demonstrations by one person or by noncitizens, and a
requirement that political parties and other organizations give prior
notice and obtain permission from local authorities to assemble on a
public thoroughfare five days in advance, thereby precluding
spontaneous demonstrations.
The law governing administrative offenses prohibits the blocking of
streets ``artificially'' and ``deliberately,'' either by protesters
themselves or with ``various types of constructions and/or objects.''
The maximum prison term for a number of administrative offenses--
including these actions--is 90 days. In contrast, under the criminal
procedures code, pretrial detention for criminal charges is 60 days.
Authorities amended the Law on Public Assembly and Demonstrations on
July 1 to allow courts to prohibit rallies within 65 feet of court
buildings and give state agencies and ministries the power to do the
same.
The law allows police to use nonlethal projectiles for riot
control, and law enforcement officials on occasion used excessive force
against protesters. NGOs noted the excessive use of force by police,
including attacks on journalists and protesters who were not resisting
arrest, and lack of transparent investigations had a dampening effect
on freedom of assembly. For example, on January 3, police dispersed
demonstrators holding a nonviolent hunger strike in Heroes Square, used
excessive force against peaceful onlookers, and detained 11 persons on
improper charges. The 11 detainees were charged with petty hooliganism
and disobeying police orders. The public defender's investigation
concluded that at the time of the arrests, the protesters were in
compliance with the law and that there was no evidence to support the
charges. The investigation corroborated witnesses' version that police
used excessive force to illegally terminate the protest. The report
noted that video footage showed plainclothes police officers detaining
protesters without presenting any form of documentation. In one case
the wife of a protester was punched in the face by a plainclothes
officer. A Ministry of Internal Affairs internal investigation resulted
in the dismissal of one officer, and ministry officials reported the
victim received 8,000 lari ($4,760) in moral damages in a subsequent
lawsuit.
Five days of protests turned violent on May 26, when police
forcefully dispersed approximately 1,000 protesters in front of the
parliament building when their permit expired. The confrontation
occurred after protest leaders declined the government's request to
move to a different venue in order to clear the road for the
Independence Day parade scheduled for May 27 and blocked the main
street with barricades. The protesters, some of whom came armed with
sticks, metal pipes, and Molotov cocktails, ignored warnings from
municipal officials that force would be used to clear the area if they
did not voluntarily disperse. Police beat, arrested, and shot
protesters and journalists in the vicinity with rubber bullets. Some
police also failed to display identification numbers, making
accountability difficult. Two persons--one protester and one police
officer--were killed, reportedly by the vehicles of the protest leaders
as they left the area at high speed, and two other protesters were
found electrocuted on a nearby rooftop. Dozens of protesters were
injured, and GYLA estimated that authorities detained 160 persons.
Observers noted that the government had a legal right to clear the
protest while agreeing that certain police, mainly from special force
units, employed disproportionate force.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association. However, the government's respect for this
right was selective in practice. There were some allegations during the
year that members of trade unions and opposition parties and their
families and associates were selectively targeted for prosecution by
law enforcement agencies and were subjected to stricter penalties than
other citizens upon conviction. There were also allegations of pressure
on opposition figures, NGOs, teachers, and union members, including
surveillance and actual or threatened job loss (see sections 3 and 7).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation for Georgian citizens, but this freedom was limited in
practice in Abkhazia and South Ossetia by de facto authorities and
Russian occupying forces. The government cooperated with the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Georgian law imposes limitations on foreigners moving into and out
of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It also imposes special requirements on
persons conducting economic activities in the occupied regions. There
were no reports that Georgian authorities unduly restricted any
international humanitarian organizations. Russian and Abkhaz de facto
authorities limited international organizations' ability to operate in
Abkhazia. Russian and South Ossetian de facto authorities blocked
virtually all international organizations, including humanitarian
organizations, from regular access to South Ossetia.
De facto authorities and Russian forces in the occupied regions of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia restricted freedom of movement, restricting
the free movement of the local population across the administrative
boundary for medical care, pension services, religious services, and
education. Checkpoints operated by Russian border guards and de facto
militia often obstructed citizens' movement within these regions and
between these regions and areas controlled by the Georgian government.
Although Abkhaz de facto authorities maintained that the administrative
boundary with the rest of Georgia was officially closed, they allowed
limited crossings at the Rukhi Bridge. In July 2010 they introduced a
permit system that formalized a process of granting permission to cross
the boundary for 100 Russian rubles ($3) for a single trip. South
Ossetian de facto authorities allowed limited crossings in and out of
the Akhalgori region, whose remaining inhabitants are primarily ethnic
Georgians. International observers were able to gain limited access to
Abkhazia, but only a small number gained occasional and extremely
restricted access to South Ossetia. South Ossetian de facto authorities
continued to refuse humanitarian access to most international
organizations, including the UNHCR.
In September 2010, according to media reports, South Ossetian de
facto authorities announced that ethnic Georgian residents of the
region would face restrictions, such as a fee to cross the
administrative boundary, unless they obtained South Ossetian
``passports.'' This requirement had not taken effect by year's end.
An Abkhaz ``citizenship'' law allows dual Russian-Abkhaz but not
dual Georgian-Abkhaz ``citizenship.'' Ethnic Georgians living in
Abkhazia were required to acquire Abkhaz ``citizenship'' to open
businesses, establish bank accounts, vote in elections, run for office,
travel freely, or own property.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The UNHCR estimated that
there were a total of 270,528 IDPs from the conflicts in 1992-93 and
2008 in the country during the year. The UNHCR estimated that of the
approximately 127,000 individuals displaced as a result of the 2008
conflict, essentially all those who had applied for assistance received
a durable solution in undisputed Georgian territory by the end of the
year. Additionally, as of December the UNHCR counted 128,864 persons as
being in an ``IDP-like'' situation needing protection and humanitarian
assistance. This number included individuals who returned to Abkhazia,
South Ossetia, and areas adjacent to the administrative boundary with
South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well as those displaced in the 2008
conflict who were subsequently relocated.
By year's end most IDPs displaced in 2008 had received formal IDP
status under national legislation. However, IDP status was not
established for some individuals who claimed to have been displaced in
the 2008 conflict. These individuals, described by officials as ``IDP
status seekers,'' included persons who had never been registered with
Georgian authorities, such as persons who had never been registered at
birth or were displaced from regions that prior to 2008 were not under
Georgian control, persons whose departure from South Ossetia could not
be established as having been caused by the conflict, or persons who
could not prove their former residence in the occupied territories.
These included, in particular, some persons who may own property in the
Akhalgori region of South Ossetia but may have moved for economic,
educational, or other reasons prior to the conflict. As there was some
seasonal movement of persons to and from Akhalgori, it was at times
difficult to establish where an individual was settled at the time of
the conflict. Various agencies, including the government, UNHCR, and
NGOs, employed different methods in estimating the number of IDPs.
During the year IDPs from the 2008 conflict continued to receive
assistance, including a monthly, status-linked cash payment from the
government, as well as some help from the international donor
community. The Ministry for IDPs from the Occupied Territories,
Refugees, and Accommodations continued to provide for IDPs and promote
their socioeconomic integration and create conditions for their return
in safety and dignity. The government took steps during the year to
rehabilitate, purchase, or build new housing or offer cash payments in
lieu of providing housing to IDPs from the conflicts in the early 1990s
and 2008. Such steps resulted in improved housing for 4,734 IDPs. The
government moved from a reactive approach (getting as much housing up
as quickly as possible) to a long-term solution approach (providing
durable solutions to IDPs from both conflicts). More than 6,000 IDP
households, primarily those displaced in conflicts in the 1990s,
nonetheless continued to live in substandard or squalid buildings and
were in areas with insufficient access to services and economic
opportunities.
The government continued to work to provide adequate permanent
housing for all IDPs, although the needs of IDPs far exceeded the
resources available. In December 2010 the government estimated it would
cost approximately 585 million lari ($348 million) to provide adequate
shelter for all IDPs in the country. During the year the government
undertook a broad review of its IDP action plan in consultation with
the UNHCR, donors, and international protection NGOs.
After a series of controversial IDP evictions in June-August 2010,
the Ministry for IDPs from the Occupied Territories, Refugees, and
Accommodation and the UNHCR, in consultation with international
organizations and donors, updated government procedures to provide for
eviction of IDPs from shelters in a manner consistent with humanitarian
standards. For example, the updated procedures require providing IDPs
at least 10 days' notice of their removal and clear information
regarding alternative housing options. In January 535 IDP households
were evicted from 19 ``temporary shelters'' in Tbilisi using the new
procedures. UNHCR protection staff reported that the evictions took
place relatively peacefully with minor scuffles at two sites, one of
which resulted in arrests. International and civil society
organizations criticized government missteps in the execution of the
evictions, in particular some limitations that were placed on access by
international monitors. Few evicted IDPs accepted the government's
offers of housing outside of Tbilisi but rather appeared to have found
accommodations in the capital on their own.
In July and August, authorities evicted an estimated 100 IDP
households from sites in central Tbilisi. These included both illegal
``temporary shelters'' and registered and legal collective centers in
which IDPs had rights of occupancy under the law. The government's
legal basis for evicting IDPs from their registered accommodations was
not clear. According to the law, IDPs shall not be ``expelled from a
legal residence without compensation'' that allows them to secure
housing comparable to the housing from which they were evicted. Some
local advocacy organizations asserted that the compensation offered by
the government was insufficient to meet this standard, and at least one
civil suit by an evicted IDP was pending before the courts at year's
end.
Abkhaz de facto authorities continued to prevent repatriation of
the approximately 235,000 persons displaced by the 1992-93 war, despite
their 1994 agreement with Georgia, Russia, and the UNHCR, which called
for the safe, secure, and voluntary return of IDPs who fled during the
war. Approximately 45,000 of these IDPs, many working as seasonal
laborers, returned to the Gali and Ochamchire regions of lower
Abkhazia, but Abkhaz de facto authorities refused to allow the return
of IDPs to other regions of Abkhazia. IDPs living elsewhere in Georgia
were prevented from reclaiming homes in Abkhazia, based on a 2008
``law'' that expropriated all ``abandoned property'' from 1992-93.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. Two Russian soldiers
who defected to Georgia from South Ossetia in 2009 remained in the
country with protected status as asylum seekers at year's end. In both
cases the government assisted the applicants with temporary protection
while they applied for asylum. Neither asylum case was resolved by
year's end.
Stateless Persons.--The law provides citizenship at birth if one or
both parents are citizens. It also gives citizenship to children of
stateless individuals born on the country's territory. The law provides
that an adult may become a citizen if he or she satisfies the following
requirements: (a) has been permanently residing on the country's
territory during the previous five years; (b) knows the state language;
(c) is familiar with its history and laws; and (d) has a job or owns
real estate on the country's territory, conducts business, or owns
shares in a Georgian company or industry. A person seeking
naturalization is expected first to give up any previous citizenship.
According to December 2010 government statistics, 1,987 de jure
stateless persons were identified and registered by the authorities.
The UNHCR and government's aligned figure for the number of stateless
individuals was 1,781. Due to delays in issuing birth certificates and
other documentation problems (especially among minority communities),
the actual number of stateless persons in the country was believed to
be higher. Some were believed to be Chechens who volunteered for
repatriation to Russia but were rejected because they were never
registered in Russia and did not have documented Georgian citizenship.
This confusion was compounded for persons who lived in the occupied
territories.
Children lacking birth certificates were unable to participate in
social aid or educational programs. Often children were not registered
because their parents had no documentation. The UNHCR identified 9,931
persons living throughout the country as lacking necessary
documentation. At year's end more than 63 percent of these had received
free legal aid, assistance in obtaining documentation to establish
their birth, confirmation of their right to Georgian citizenship, and
identity papers.
The Civil Registry Agency (CRA) had four offices to register IDPs
and issue documents to those lacking them due to the destruction of the
national archives on the South Ossetian side of the administrative
boundary. In 2008 the CRA counted 2,500 IDPs without documentation, of
which approximately 1,700 were assisted through the NGO Legal
Development and Consultations Group and the agency.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully. However, the government's record in the
conduct of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008 was mixed.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
International observers found presidential elections in January 2008
consistent with most Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) democratic election commitments. However, there were significant
problems, including widespread allegations of intimidation and
pressure, flawed vote-counting and tabulation processes, and
shortcomings in the complaints and appeals process. These and other
problems also marred parliamentary elections in May 2008, which OSCE
observers concluded were uneven and incomplete in their adherence to
international standards.
According to the OSCE election observation mission, while the May
2010 municipal elections marked progress towards meeting OSCE and
Council of Europe commitments, there were still significant
shortcomings, including deficiencies in the legal framework and its
implementation, an uneven playing field for candidates, and isolated
cases of election-day fraud. Observers reported a variety of violations
including instances of likely ballot box stuffing, cases of multiple
voting, proxy voting, and series of seemingly identical signatures of
voters on voters' lists. The observers also noted procedural violations
in one-fifth of the vote counts and one-fourth of the vote tabulations
they monitored. The OSCE mission received allegations of violations
from opposition parties and NGOs, including reports of pressure on
opposition candidates to withdraw. NGOs and opposition parties reported
that supervisors pressured government employees to vote for and donate
to the ruling party with the implication that failure to do so might
result in a loss of employment. The OSCE also reported allegations that
businesses were reluctant to donate to some opposition parties due to
fear of reprisals. The OSCE mission noted that election materials were
available in minority languages but not in all areas inhabited by
minorities.
The Ministry of Justice reported five election commission members
were charged and convicted of election fraud or election interference
in various regions of the country for acts committed during the 2010
municipal elections. In most cases election results for the districts
were annulled. The investigation of several cases in Mestia continued.
In preparation for 2012 parliamentary elections, parliament adopted
a new electoral code on December 27 which incorporated many
recommendations from NGOs and the Venice Commission. The new code
provides that any party that receives 5 percent of the total vote would
win at least six seats in parliament and be accorded a parliamentary
faction and corresponding privileges, prohibits the use of
administrative resources for political purposes, improves postelection
complaint procedures, reduces residency requirements for candidates for
parliament, requires media to treat candidates equitably, and provides
financial incentives for parties to increase the number of women on
their parliamentary lists. The code also provides for the establishment
of a commission to address pre-election complaints beginning in July
2012. However, the new code fails to address the Venice Commission's
primary recommendation to strengthen the equality of the vote by
reconstituting single mandate election districts to be comparable in
size.
Political Parties.--There are no legal restrictions on political
party formation beyond registration requirements, and the electoral
code adopted in December allows an individual to run for office without
party affiliation. However, members of some organizations linked to the
political opposition asserted that they were unduly singled out for
harassment and prosecution. Members of some opposition parties reported
threatening calls warning them to refrain from party participation and
surveillance by local police from unmarked cars. An NGO reported being
filmed while entering a hotel conference room to meet with an
opposition party. Opposition party members also alleged teacher
dismissals due to party affiliation.
After billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili announced in October that he
intended to establish an opposition political party to compete in the
2012 parliamentary elections, there were reports that government
officials targeted individuals and businesses associated with him for
politically motivated harassment. In one illustrative example,
materials imported by Ivanishvili for business and political purposes
were repeatedly and inexplicably found to be damaged following their
release from customs. Moreover, representatives from Ivanishvili's
Cartu Group reported the percentage of their imports delayed by
additional inspection increased from 10 percent to 100 percent since
Ivanishvili entered politics. An independent monitoring company
contracted by Cartu Group confirmed that Cartu imports were undamaged
prior to customs entry and damaged after customs released the cargo.
Pursuant to Article 32 of the Law on Citizenship, the government
canceled the Georgian citizenship of Ivanishvili and his wife,
Ekaterine Khvedelidze, on October 11, several days after Ivanishvili
publicly acknowledged possessing French citizenship while declaring his
intention to renounce it. Article 32 provides that a person loses his
or her Georgian citizenship if he or she acquires another citizenship.
Both Ivanishvili and Khvedelidze challenged their loss of citizenship
in court. In a December 27 decision, the Tbilisi City Court found that
the government had overreached in the case of Khvedelidze, since she
had acquired her Georgian citizenship after her French citizenship, and
annulled the government's order revoking her Georgian citizenship. The
court upheld the government's decision in the case of Ivanishvili, who
had acquired his Georgian citizenship before his French citizenship.
Ivanishvili's appeal of the court's decision was pending at year's end.
Opposition-linked individuals and organizations continued to report
pressure on potential donors. On December 28, parliament amended the
Law on Political Unions to regulate campaign and political party
financing. The amended law prohibited corporate donations to political
parties and provision of money, goods, or services to voters by
parties; required all financial contributions to parties be made by
wire transfer to ensure transparency; limited the overall amount a
party can receive from public and private sources in a year to 0.2
percent of the country's GDP; and delegated financial oversight of
party financing to the government's auditing agency, the Chamber of
Control. However, local and international observers raised concerns
about several amendments, including the vagueness of the criteria for
determining political bribery and which individuals and organizations
would be subject to the law.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were nine women in
the 150-seat parliament. One of the seven vice speakers was a woman, as
was the chair of parliament's procedural committee. There were three
women in the 19-member cabinet and six women on the 19-judge Supreme
Court.
According to the final OSCE report on the May 2010 municipal
elections, women were underrepresented in leadership positions in the
election administration as well as among the candidates for and members
of city councils. However, they were well represented in lower-level
election commissions. The OSCE mission found that many parties put
forward candidates belonging to national minorities and that election
materials were made available in minority languages, but not in all
areas inhabited by minorities. The new electoral code provided
financial incentives for parties to increase the number of women on
their parliamentary lists, as recommended by the Venice Commission.
There were three ethnic Armenians and three ethnic Azeris in
parliament, as well as one member of a minority in the cabinet. There
were no members of minorities in the Supreme Court or Constitutional
Court. Higher-level city managers included ethnic minority leaders.
The de facto authorities in Abkhazia continued to restrict the
rights of citizens to vote and to participate in the political process
through a ``citizenship'' law that forced ethnic Georgians to give up
their Georgian citizenship to vote or participate in regional
elections. Even those ethnic Georgians willing to apply for Abkhaz
``passports'' generally did not receive them because of extensive
delays and were, therefore, unable to participate. Ethnic Georgians in
South Ossetia were also required to accept a South Ossetian
``passport'' and ``citizenship'' to participate in political life.
Abkhazia held de facto ``presidential elections'' in August, and
South Ossetia did likewise in November. Neither contest was considered
free and fair due to the large number of internally displaced persons
who were prohibited from voting. In South Ossetia public concerns about
the integrity of the election results, including a seemingly biased
decision by the de facto ``supreme court,'' led to public
demonstrations and a political crisis that was settled through Russian
mediation.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government implemented these laws effectively against low-level
corruption. Several government officials were indicted on corruption
charges during the year. According to survey data, less than 1 percent
of Georgians reported paying a bribe in the previous year to obtain a
public service.
Some officials were indicted on corruption charges during the year.
In February seven officials from the Ministry of Health were arrested
for misuse of office and misappropriation of state funds from a public
healthcare insurance program. In August the mayor of Ozurgeti was
charged with accepting a bribe and embezzling 180,000 lari ($107,000)
from the city budget.
NGOs and independent media raised concerns about the government's
close connection to some businesses and a lack of transparency in
ownership structures and the conduct of bids. Transparency
International/Georgia identified as among the most pressing concerns in
2011 the need to inject more transparency into the procurement system
and privatization processes. For example, Transparency International
and independent media outlets criticized as nontransparent the August
auction of management rights for the Tbilisi television tower to a
company, Golden Com, formed only a week prior to the auction. Golden
Com was the only company participating in an abbreviated 11-day bidding
period. Transparency International also noted insufficient transparency
of internal auditing of municipal institutions and inadequate
accountability for reserve funds linked to high-ranking officials. In
other cases the government was reported to have used heavy-handed
practices or leveled questionable fines against companies.
NGOs and members of the international community raised concerns
regarding the government's handling of the case of two Israeli
businessmen who won a 168 million lari ($100 million) arbitral award
against the government and were subsequently arrested on bribery
charges. The businessmen, Ronny Fuchs and Zeev Frankiel, were secretly
filmed offering senior Georgian officials a multimillion dollar bribe
to convince them to drop the government's appeal of the award. They
were convicted of bribery but characterized their conviction as
entrapment. According to their attorneys, the government offered to
settle the bribery case if Fuchs waived his right to the arbitral
award. In September Fuchs alleged that he had been harassed by prison
officials. President Saakashvili granted both men a presidential pardon
on December 2 after they negotiated a reduced settlement for the
arbitration award.
During the year the government adopted some new measures to combat
corruption, for example, introducing an electronic procurement system
to make data of state agencies more transparent to citizens. Reforms at
the Revenue Service, including the adoption of a new tax code,
appointment of a new Revenue Service head, and creation of a business
ombudsman, reduced the ability of Revenue Service officials to apply
political pressure. Reports that businesses experienced oppressive and
work-stopping audits decreased during the year. The transition to risk-
based audits and the option for private audits reduced the perception
of political abuse by the Revenue Service.
The Ministry of Justice took some steps during the year to curb
bribery, prosecuting 69 public officials for accepting bribes, of whom
60 were convicted. In addition five public officials were convicted of
paying a bribe. There were no convictions of officials for trading in
influence or of judges or prosecutors for corruption-related offenses.
The Ministry of Justice's Inspector General's Office actively enforced
internal ethics and disciplinary rules in the Prosecution Service.
The law requires public officials to submit yearly declarations of
their own and family members' financial incomes and property for tax
inspection. The Bureau of Declarations received the financial
declarations, and the Prosecutor's Office investigated government
corruption cases.
The law provides for public access to government meetings and
documents. In practice, however, the government sometimes did not
provide access. According to 2010 Transparency International/Georgia
field tests, agencies provided satisfying responses in 79 percent of
cases. Although the law states that a public agency shall release
public information immediately or no later than 10 days after receiving
a request, agencies sometimes delayed release indefinitely. NGOs noted
that a 100 lari ($60) fee for court information was burdensome and
limited the ability to access information. In addition the freedom of
information law restricts third-party access to information on cases
involving the government in international courts.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups in most cases
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Some NGOs enjoyed close
cooperation with the government, and officials were cooperative and
responsive to their views, while others complained they had
insufficient access to government officials and their views were
ignored. Some NGOs also reported instances of official harassment.
The major human rights problems that caused tensions between the
government and NGOs during the year were the alleged mistreatment of
prisoners, excessive use of force and subsequent lack of transparency
in investigations relating to the May 26 protests, harassment of human
rights defenders and journalists, the conduct of IDP evictions, and a
lack of transparency in cases against journalists.
In a July 20 statement, the NGO Human Rights Center noted continued
challenges to democratic freedom, citing increased use of police force
to disrupt demonstrations, incidents of police intimidation of human
rights NGOs, and pressure against media and civil society.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--De facto authorities in
Abkhazia allowed some international organizations, including several
U.N. agencies, to operate there on a limited basis, but only the ICRC
had a specific human rights mandate. De facto authorities in South
Ossetia allowed no international organization except the ICRC to
operate there on a regular basis, but a few organizations, including
the Council of Europe and the OSCE, gained extremely restricted and
intermittent access, also without a human rights mandate.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--NGOs continued to view the Public
Defender's Office as the most objective of the government's human
rights bodies. The constitutionally mandated office monitored human
rights conditions and investigated allegations of abuse. The public
defender's authority does not include the power to initiate prosecution
or other legal actions, but he can recommend action, and the government
must respond. The office generally operated without government
interference and was considered effective. However, the public defender
reported that the government often responded partially or not at all to
inquiries and recommendations. Ministries which demonstrated patterns
of partial, delayed, or nonresponses to requests for information
included the Ministry of Correction and Legal Assistance, Ministry of
Justice, Ministry of Defense, and Ministry of Internally Displaced
Persons from the Occupied Territories, Refugees, and Accommodations.
The public defender has the right to make nonbinding
recommendations to law enforcement agencies to investigate particular
human rights cases. The public defender must submit an annual report on
the human rights situation for the calendar year, but can make periodic
reports as the office deems necessary. Government offices must respond
to all requests for information from the Public Defender's Office
within 10 days. The office may not report on torture unless the victim
gives clear consent. De facto authorities in the occupied territories
did not grant the office access to those territories. The parliamentary
Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs' Human Rights Division, and the National Security
Council's human rights advisor had mandates to investigate claims of
abuse.
By law the prosecutor general is charged with protection of human
rights and fundamental freedoms. The Human Rights Unit of the Office of
Chief Prosecutor monitored overall prosecution and supervision of
compliance with national and international human rights standards. The
unit reviewed statistical and analytical activities within the
prosecution system and was responsible for considering and responding
to human rights recommendations of national and international human
rights institutions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, religion, disability, language, or social status. However, the
government did not always enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, but spousal
rape is not specifically addressed by criminal law. Criminal cases of
rape generally could be initiated only after a complaint by the victim.
A first-time offender may be imprisoned for up to seven years; a repeat
offender or perpetrator of rapes of multiple victims may receive up to
10 years' imprisonment. If the victim is, or becomes, pregnant,
contracts HIV/AIDS, or is subjected to extreme violence, the sentence
may be increased to 15 years. If the victim is a minor in any of these
cases, the sentence may be increased up to 20 years. During the year
investigations were initiated in 126 rape cases, compared with 118 in
2010. Observers believed many instances of rape were unreported due to
the social stigma for victims and because police did not always
investigate reports of rape.
Domestic and other violence against women was a problem. NGOs
believed cases were underreported. According to statistics from the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, 445 domestic violence cases were reported
to police during the year.
Domestic violence is an administrative offense that is legally
defined as a violation of the constitutional rights and liberties of
one member of a family by another through physical, psychological,
economic, or sexual violence or coercion. Domestic violence is not
specifically criminalized. Authorities prosecuted perpetrators of
domestic violence under criminal provisions, such as battery or rape.
The law allows victims to seek immediate protective orders from
courts against domestic abusers and authorizes police to issue
temporary restraining orders against persons suspected of abusing a
family member. Restraining orders were issued in 56 percent of domestic
violence cases reported to police during the year, and courts issued 52
protective orders. A court must approve a restraining order within 24
hours of a victim's application. Such orders prohibit the abuser from
coming within 310 feet of the victim and from using common property,
such as a residence or vehicle, for six months. A victim may request an
unlimited number of extensions of a restraining order. Violation of a
restraining order results in an administrative fine.
During the year the Ministry of Justice established a fully staffed
and trained victim/witness coordinators program within the Chief
Prosecutors Office to better provide services to victims of domestic
violence and sexual assault. The goal of the program was to increase
the number of victims willing to report assaults and follow through on
their prosecution.
NGOs reported that police response to domestic violence calls and
use of the national referral system for victims improved from 2010 due
to training. During the year Tbilisi police patrol inspectors, regional
police officers, and prosecutors received domestic violence-related
training, as did police officers in eight other cities.
Local NGOs and the government jointly operated a hotline and
shelters for abused women and their minor children, although space in
the shelters was limited. There were two state-run and two NGO-run
shelters for domestic violence victims. All adhered to the same
standardized regulations and generally provided the same services. The
total capacity of the shelters was 56 women. There were no facilities
or support services available for men. There were some complaints that
the hotline could not be called toll free from a cellular telephone.
Shelters included crisis centers that offered domestic violence victims
psychological, medical, and legal assistance. The State Fund, an
interagency government department that works with NGOs on gender-based
issues, reported that 1,140 consultations were conducted by telephone
or in person during the year. The State Fund reported that the shelters
hosted 36 women and 53 minor children during the year.
During the year the government/NGO Interagency Council on Gender-
based Issues continued a public awareness campaign to publicize the
domestic violence hotline, coordinate domestic violence training in
partnership with the Prosecution Service and police, and maintain the
two state-run domestic violence shelters.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--Kidnapping of women for
marriage occurred in ethnic minority areas and communities, but was
rare. Such kidnappings reportedly often were arranged elopements.
Police rarely took action in these cases, although the law criminalizes
kidnapping.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment against women in the
workplace was a problem. NGOs stated that discrimination against women
in the workplace existed, but instances were underreported. While the
law prohibits sexual harassment, it was not effectively enforced, and
authorities rarely investigated complaints. During the year
investigations were initiated in seven cases related to sexual
harassment.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the legal right
to decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children.
Information was accessible so families and individuals could make
reproductive decisions free from discrimination, coercion, or violence.
Discrimination.--The law provides for the equality of men and
women. However, it was not always implemented in practice. The 2010
Gender Equality Law provides for the establishment of a national
women's council, enhancement of women's security, equality in the labor
market, and strengthening of women's political participation. The law
also introduced gender-responsive planning and budgeting on the part of
the government. On May 5, parliament approved a National Action Plan on
Gender Equality for the years 2011-13. The Public Defender's Office
monitored gender equality cases.
Although some observers noted continuing improvement in women's
access to the labor market, women remained primarily confined to low-
paying and low-skilled positions, regardless of their professional and
academic qualifications, and salaries for women lagged behind those for
men. According to the World Bank's Gender Equality and Development 2012
report, during 2011 women in the country earned on average 60 percent
as much as men engaged in similar work. As a result, many women sought
employment outside the country.
Children.--Birth Registration.--The law provides for acquisition of
citizenship by birth on the country's territory. It applies to children
of stateless individuals. According to statistics from the U.N.
Children's Fund (UNICEF), the births of 97 percent of children under
the age of five were registered.
Romani children were usually born at home, and their parents
frequently did not register their births with the government. Since
official identification is required to receive medical treatment and
other public services, the lack of identification and the reluctance of
parents to apply for such services could deprive Romani children of
access to medical and other services.
Education.--The quality of education fluctuated greatly between
urban and rural areas and between Tbilisi and the regions. Children of
noncitizens often lacked the necessary documentation for school
registration, impeding registration in some cases. The quality of
education in the occupied regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
outside of the government's control, was reportedly poor. In rural
areas school facilities were often inadequate and lacked heating,
libraries, and blackboards.
Child Abuse.--There were some reports of child abuse, particularly
of street children, although there was no societal pattern of such
abuse. According to the Ministry of Justice, 45 cases of rape, six
cases of sexual abuse involving violence, and 26 cases of coercion into
sexual acts involving minors were reported during the year.
In May 2010 a child referral mechanism was established to refer
children who had suffered abuse to the relevant community and state
services in coordination with stakeholders, including police, schools,
and social service agencies. According to the Public Defender's Office,
during the year 53 cases of abuse of children were reported, of which
14 involved physical abuse and 42 involved neglect and emotional abuse.
Child Marriage.--According to UNICEF data, 14 percent of women
between the ages of 20 and 24 were married or cohabitating with a
partner before they were 18 years old. The legal minimum age for
marriage for both men and women is 18, although some exceptions were
authorized at 16.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Commercial sexual exploitation of
children and child pornography are punishable by up to three years'
imprisonment. Street children and children living in orphanages were
reportedly particularly vulnerable to exploitation. According to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, the number of cases was very small.
There is an explicit statutory rape provision that classifies
sexual intercourse with a juvenile as rape. Other sexual crimes carry
increased levels of punishment if the victim is a juvenile. The
criminal code prohibits sexual intercourse with juveniles under the age
of 16, provided the perpetrator is shown to be aware of the age of the
victim. In such cases the penalty is a fine and/or incarceration for up
to three years.
Displaced Children.--Difficult economic conditions contributed to
the problem of street children, although the number was not considered
to be high and decreased yearly. A study covering the period 2007-08 by
the NGO Save the Children indicated that approximately 1,500 children
lived and worked in the streets. The Ministry of Labor, Health, and
Social Affairs operated a shelter in Tbilisi and, according to the
Public Defender's Office, hosted 43 children during the year. The
office reported a lack of information about street children and noted
inadequate resources were devoted to them. In November the government
created an interagency committee composed of representatives of several
ministries and UNICEF to better address issues of street children.
There were unconfirmed reports that police harassed street
children. Patrol police routinely transferred street children to 24-
hour care centers, which lacked resources for treatment and
rehabilitation of children, many of whom were substance abusers or
suffered from mental disorders.
The conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia displaced thousands of
children. Even before the conflicts, UNICEF reported that health
services in both regions were scant, immunization rates were lower than
elsewhere in the country, schools were deteriorating, and malnutrition
was a serious problem.
Many orphanages were unable to provide adequate food, clothing,
education, medical care, or facilities and often lacked heat, water,
and electricity. According to government statistics, the number of
institutionalized children decreased from an estimated 5,000 in 2000 to
440 during the year. The government began working in February 2010 to
close or rehabilitate the remaining orphanages.
In an effort to replace large-scale orphanages with smaller scale
foster parenting arrangements, 37 small group homes, run by specially
employed foster parents and funded by the state and donor
organizations, had been opened throughout the country, 20 of which
became operational in 2011. By year's end the government had closed 10
of 20 large-size orphanages, and 144 children were reintegrated with
biological families, 81 placed in foster care, and 200 placed in small
group homes.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The
Jewish community was estimated to be 8,000.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, or the provision of other state services or other areas. However,
the government was not effective in enforcing these provisions.
Discrimination, including social, educational, and employment
discrimination, against persons with disabilities was a problem. Most
schools did not provide appropriate educational services because of a
lack of qualified instructors.
The law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities
and stipulates fines for noncompliance. However, very few public
facilities or buildings were accessible, although notably the newly
constructed presidential residence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, and Office of the Public
Defender's buildings complied with the law.
There were nine major committees in the country that evaluated
children with disabilities and assisted with their integration in
schools. Approximately 200 schools became accessible during the year by
providing access ramps and other facilities. During the year standards
for day care centers for children with disabilities were developed and
all centers were evaluated based on these standards. The evaluations
revealed problems in the majority of centers, including poor quality of
services, lack of adaptation of buildings to special needs, and poor
access to learning materials. The Ministry of Education closed five
boarding schools for children with disabilities and transferred
students to inclusive education facilities during the year. However,
families reported the ministry did not provide transitional costs, such
as transportation, in many cases.
In the 2010 Situation of Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia
report, the Public Defender's Office noted that living conditions at
institutions for persons with mental and physical disabilities were
poor, including poor ventilation, lack of heat, lack of access to
hygiene products, and poor nutrition. Patients who were admitted
voluntarily were not allowed to leave of their own free will. The
report noted a serious shortage of medical, psychological, and social
rehabilitation services so severe that residents could not leave their
rooms for years due to the unadapted environment and the lack of
wheelchairs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Georgian language skills
continued to be the main impediment to integration for the country's
ethnic minorities; political, civic, economic, and cultural integration
challenges also remained. The government took several steps to
integrate ethnic minority communities through Georgian-language
instruction, education, and participation in several programs seeking
to promote civic, cultural, and economic integration of minorities.
Access to higher education improved, as did transportation
infrastructure to high minority population areas, and several state
agencies actively participated in civic integration programs. The
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) noted in its
June 2010 report that the government continued to provide Georgian-
language instruction to members of ethnic minorities serving in the
armed forces and police and had developed projects to teach tolerance
and respect among students for other ethnic and religious groups.
However, NGOs, the public defender, and governmental organizations
continued to report instances of discrimination and violence against
ethnic minorities during the year. The Public Defender's Office
specifically mentioned lack of political participation and unequal
access to employment and educational opportunities as persistent
problems for minorities in its 2010 Situation of Human Rights and
Freedom report.
Ethnic Armenians, Azeris, Abkhaz, South Ossetians, and Russians
usually communicated in their native languages or in Russian in the
areas where they were the dominant ethnic groups. The law requires that
ethnic minority students learn Georgian as a second language. The
government continued to provide education in the state language and
minority languages in minority regions.
Many NGOs in minority regions stated that they saw an improvement
during the year in the number of opportunities for Georgian-language
instruction and in the quality of the classes. The government
introduced new bilingual textbooks in 40 pilot public schools in
minority regions. However, members of minority communities reported
many students and some teachers were unable to understand some of the
content because 30 percent of the text was untranslated Georgian.
Members of the Muslim community also reported some texts treated
historic religious accounts and figures disrespectfully. The public
defender's Tolerance Center also received complaints from several
ethnic minority families that some schools displayed Georgian Orthodox
religious objects in schools. A letter addressed to the Ministry of
Education from the Tolerance Center, requesting such objects be
removed, received no response.
Students were able to take university entrance exams in minority
languages and could take advantage of a program under which the
government offered and funded one year of intensive Georgian language
instruction and four years of university education for students who
passed the entrance examinations in minority languages. The number of
ethnic minority students enrolled in this program doubled during the
year to 432. A quota system required that a minimum of 10 percent of
all national university seats be allocated to Armenian and Azeri-
speaking students. According to government statistics issued during the
year, 245 Armenian, 185 Azeri, and two Abkhaz speakers were admitted to
the public universities through the quota system.
Some minorities claimed that the law requiring all government
officials to speak Georgian excluded them from participating in
government. In addition some government materials distributed to the
public were only available in Georgian. According to the Ministry of
Reintegration, it translated all major legislative acts into Armenian,
Azeri, and Russian.
The Zen School of Public Administration in Kutaisi provided courses
specifically for students from minority areas and facilitated
integration of future public servants from minority areas into Georgian
society.
There was a significant surge in statements in the media against
ethnic minorities following the July passage of a law allowing all
minority religious organizations registered in Council of Europe
countries to register as ``entities of public law,'' a status
previously accorded only to the Georgian Orthodox Church. NGOs reported
that Georgian Orthodox clergy, some opposition party leaders, members
of the academic community, and others made critical statements in the
first few days following passage of the law. The public defender also
criticized major NGOs working on minority rights for their allegedly
weak response to the surge in hate speech following the adoption of
this law. On July 28, the Tolerance Center hosted a roundtable on
minorities and hate speech in media and public discourse.
In August authorities dismissed Robert Sturua, artistic director of
the National Theater, for making statements considered to be
xenophobic.
The Public Defender's Office reported that its investigation
continued into allegations Vahagn Chakhalian was beaten in prison in
2010. Chakhalian was serving a 10-year sentence on charges of
organizing a riot, hooliganism, and illegal purchase and possession of
a firearm. An Armenian NGO alleged the arrest was politically
motivated.
The law permits the repatriation of the Muslim Meskhetian
population, a national minority group that Stalin deported in 1944.
More than 5,800 Meskhetians had filed for repatriation by January 2010.
More than 150 returned unofficially over the previous three years,
quietly settling in Akhaltsikhe and Abastumani. As of year's end, 300
applications had been reviewed, but there were no official
repatriations due to the long and complicated process. According to the
NGO Toleranti, due to the relatively small number of Meskhetians, there
were no tensions with the local population.
The ECRI reported that Roma appeared to suffer from widespread
societal prejudice and marginalization and noted that the government
needed to do more to integrate Roma. During the year the European
Center for Minority Issues estimated the Romani population at 1,500,
with no more than 300 in any one location. The most recent census,
conducted in 2002, reported the number of Roma at 472. Roma were found
principally in the Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Kobuleti, Kakheti, and Sukhumi
regions.
Ethnic Georgians living in the Gali district of Abkhazia had no
legal access to education in the Georgian language. In practice,
instruction in Georgian occurred, but with limitations. Teachers who
did not speak Abkhaz instructed students in Georgian but were often
harassed by Abkhaz de facto authorities, who also did not provide
funding for teachers of Georgian. Local communities had either to pay
for teachers themselves, make arrangements for teachers to cross from
undisputed Georgian territory to teach, or send their children from
Abkhazia for Georgian-language lessons. An increasingly strict boundary
regime imposed by Russian border guards made the latter two
alternatives more and more difficult. There were reports of Russian
border guards detaining children attempting to cross the boundary for
language lessons.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Social prejudices against
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons were strong, and
the Georgian Orthodox Church strongly condemned same-sex sexual
activity. During the year only two LGBT organizations worked openly
because of extensive societal stigma against LGBT persons. Problems
reported included incidents of police mistreatment, family violence,
and verbal and physical societal abuse. Identoba, an LGBT advocacy and
support NGO, reported victims of discrimination and violence were
reluctant to report incidents to police for fear of disclosing their
sexual orientation to family members and homophobic police reactions.
Identoba reported that in March several young LGBT persons were
involved in an argument outside a bar in Tbilisi. When the police
arrived to quell the dispute, the participants were transferred to a
local police station and questioned. One participant reported that
police used homophobic language and sexually harassed the detainees
throughout the interrogation until they were released the next morning.
There was an unconfirmed report in September that three German
tourists were beaten and thrown into a river in Tusheti after their
hosts learned of their sexual orientation. However, no complaints were
filed with the local police or the German embassy in Tbilisi, and no
investigation was undertaken.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--NGOs reported that
social stigma resulted in individuals avoiding testing and treatment
for HIV/AIDS. Some health-care providers, particularly dentists,
refused to provide services to HIV-positive persons. Individuals often
concealed their HIV-positive status from employers for fear of losing
their jobs.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The country's labor code allows all workers, including government
employees, to form and join independent unions, protects the right to
strike and bargain collectively, and prohibits antiunion
discrimination. However, the law restricts the right of employees of
law enforcement agencies, medical doctors, firemen, personnel of the
Prosecutor General's Office, and the employees of certain ministries
(for example, defense) to form and join unions and to strike.
Labor unions asserted that certain provisions of the labor code
limit the mechanisms available to workers for the exercise of these
rights. At least 100 members are needed for a trade union to be
registered, a requirement considered unreasonable by the International
Labor Organization's Committee of Experts on the Application of
Conventions and Recommendations. The AFL-CIO also noted that the law
permits a court to suspend the activity of a trade union if the union
stimulates social conflict, a provision susceptible to being misapplied
to suspend legitimate trade union activity.
According to trade unions, the law did not establish a coherent
process for commencing strikes. Strikes were limited to 90 days in
duration and were permissible only in cases of conflict of rights, not
conflict of interests. Workers generally exercised their right to
strike in accordance with the labor code, but strikes were rare.
The law prohibits employers from discriminating against union
members or union-organizing activities, and employers may be prosecuted
for violations and forced to reinstate employees and pay back wages.
However, the labor code allows employers to terminate employment at
will and without cause, providing a pretext to fire employees on
discriminatory grounds or for union activism.
The government frequently did not respect these rights in practice
or effectively enforce applicable laws. Approximately 10 percent of the
employed population was unionized, a proportion that rose to more than
31 percent if persons categorized as self-employed were excluded. The
principal association of unions is the Georgian Trade Union
Confederation (GTUC), which represented unions in 22 sectors with more
than 194,764 unionized workers. There were a few small unions for civil
servants, agricultural workers, and artists, but they did not
participate in the GTUC. Generally the union membership democratically
elected union leaders.
Unions reported government interference in union activity in
several areas, including instances of government harassment and
intimidation, interference with collection of dues, and arbitrary
dismissals. On September 15, three days into a strike at the Kutaisi
Hercules Metallurgical plant, police detained 18-40 persons for
allegedly blocking access to the factory. The detained strikers were
held between three and six hours and were required to sign
``protocols'' before they were released. GTUC claimed that these were
``pledges'' promising never to strike or join a union. According to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, the protocol informed the strikers that
elements of their actions were illegal.
The Public Defender's Office and GYLA both stated the dispersal of
the strike and subsequent detention of strikers violated the law
because the strikers acted in accordance with the law on public
assembly and did not block access to the factory. GYLA alleged police
obstructed their access to legal representation by denying that the
strikers were in custody. The Public Defender's Office demanded an
investigation by the Prosecutor's Office into the dispersal of the
strike and detention of the strikers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs
declined to investigate, responding that the strike was not dispersed,
only 18 strikers were asked to sign the protocol, and no strikers were
formally detained.
The government did not always protect the right to bargain
collectively in practice. The practice of collective bargaining was not
widespread, and employers are not obliged to engage in collective
bargaining even if a trade union or a group of employees wishes to do
so.
The government continued to interfere with unions' ability to
collect dues. The government no longer permitted the Educators and
Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia (ESFTUG--the teachers' union),
the National Railway Association Worker's Union, and the Health Care
Workers' Union to deduct union members' dues from paychecks, a practice
known as the check-off system. The government also prohibited the
ESFTUG from collecting dues during union meetings in schools, leaving
union members no choice but to electronically transfer dues, a process
in which half of the dues were lost to bank transaction fees. The
inability to collect dues seriously impaired the unions' ability to
function.
ESFTUG and the Health Care Workers Union reported government
interference with union activity during the year. ESFTUG reported that
school ``mandators'' tracked which teachers were union members and
alleged that teachers were dismissed due to union membership. The
president of the Healthcare Workers Union reported that government
officials in the Ministry of Health offered him alternative employment
if he stepped down from his position as union president.
The GTUC and its national unions continued to report serious cases
of management warning staff not to organize trade unions and employee
dismissals for union activity. For example, in September, after workers
at the Hercules metallurgical factory notified management that they had
organized a union, the factory allegedly terminated six union board
members. Workers subsequently held a warning strike, and 11 more
workers were terminated. Ten days later the union began a full strike
with participation by approximately 150 workers. Before and during the
strike, management allegedly threatened workers who participated in the
strike with dismissal. At year's end all but three workers had been
rehired after reportedly promising never to participate in a strike
again.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports
that men and women were trafficked from and through the country for
labor. There were no confirmed reports of foreign victims being
trafficked to the country for forced labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor was uncommon, although the Public Defender's Office noted
that one of the major deficiencies of the labor code was insufficient
attention to the rights of minors. Although official data was not
available, a 2007 survey estimated that 77.4 percent of working
children were employed intermittently on family farms, while 18.4
percent worked in family enterprises. The International Trade Union
Confederation reported that children living in rural areas were
slightly more involved in child labor. Children in urban areas were
susceptible to trafficking for work in the streets, begging, or selling
small items.
The most visible form of child labor was street begging in Tbilisi.
The NGO Save the Children estimated that the number of street children
decreased to approximately 1,500 in 2009 from 2,500 in 1999. Some
experts reported that the number decreased further since that date.
Many minors under the age of 16 worked and performed chores on
small family-owned farms in rural areas. In most cases this work was
not abusive and not categorized as child labor. However, in some ethnic
minority areas, family farm obligations were reported to disrupt the
ability to attend school. Some observers suggested that school
participation by ethnic minority children was especially low. Some
families in rural Kvemo Kartli (an ethnic Azeri region) and Kakheti
(where there is also a significant ethnic Azeri population) worked on
distant pastures for six to nine months a year, meaning that their
children seldom attended school. Statistics were not available.
In most situations the minimum legal age for employment is 16. In
exceptional cases, children may work with parental consent at the ages
of 14 and 15. Children under the age of 18 may not engage in unhealthy
or underground work, and children between the ages of 16 and 18 are
subject to reduced working hours and prohibited from working at night.
The labor code permits employment agreements with persons under the age
of 14 in sports, arts, cultural activities, and for performing
advertising services.
The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs reported
receiving no complaints about child employment, although no single
government entity is charged with investigation of child labor
allegations unless the case contains criminal elements. The police
investigated one such case on referral from the Public Defender's
Office.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage for
public sector employees is 115 lari ($68) and has remained the same
since 2005. Minimum wage for private sector employees is 90 lari ($54)
per month. The official subsistence level income is 138 lari ($82) for
the average consumer and 276 lari ($164) for a family of four. The
labor code provides for a 41-hour work week and for a weekly 24-hour
rest period unless otherwise determined by a labor contract. According
to the code, shifts must be at least 12 hours apart. Pregnant women or
women who have recently given birth may not be forced to work overtime
without their consent. Overtime is defined as work that exceeds the
work hours addressed in the employment agreement. If the employment
agreement does not specify business hours, then overtime is considered
to be performance exceeding 41 work hours per week. Terms of overtime
labor are defined by agreement between the parties. The labor code also
permits an employer to change the hours of work by 90 minutes without
renegotiating the terms of any labor contact. NGOs contended that this
provision would effectively require employees to work overtime without
compensation, a violation of the constitutional prohibition against
compulsory labor. The law does not explicitly prohibit excessive
overtime.
The government set occupational health and safety standards, but
the Public Defender's Office listed the failure to ensure safe
conditions for workers as one of the major deficiencies of labor code
implementation. There is no government body responsible for workplace
monitoring. The Technical and Oversight Inspection Agency had some
inspection responsibility, but only for occupations codified as
hazardous. There are no government labor inspectors.
After three explosions in a Tkibuli mine in 2010 killed nine
miners, workers went on strike in February over workplace safety and
pay rates. Although management and the Metallurgical, Mining, and
Chemical Workers' Union stated conditions improved, four more workers
died in three separate accidents in the mine in 2011.
__________
GERMANY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Germany is a constitutional, parliamentary democracy. Citizens
choose their representatives periodically in free and fair multiparty
elections. The head of the federal government, the chancellor, is
elected by the Federal Parliament (Bundestag). The second legislative
chamber, the Federal Council (Bundesrat), represents the 16 states at
the federal level and is composed of members of the state governments.
The most recent national elections for the Bundestag took place in
2009. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Right-wing extremist offenses were a source of significant public
and official concern. In November police arrested persons linked to a
right-wing extremist group, the National Socialist Underground, for the
killings of nine persons with Turkish or Greek backgrounds as well as
one policewoman over a period of 13 years. Members of the extreme right
also perpetrated a number of anti-Semitic acts, the most widespread of
which were the desecration of Jewish cemeteries or other monuments with
graffiti including swastikas and racist slogans. Challenges facing
persons with disabilities were the topic of public discussion: e.g.,
some nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) questioned the practice of
teaching children with disabilities in designated schools with special
facilities, fearing that this segregates the children from society and
hinders their future integration as full members of society. Finally,
there was also some societal violence and discrimination because of
sexual orientation.
Human rights problems during the year included the system of
``subsequent preventative detention'' that European and national courts
have ordered reformed. Citizens challenged the government's collection
of a vast amount of cell-phone data during demonstrations on February
19, resulting in court decisions requiring the government to be more
selective in its collection of information and to protect it better.
The government limited the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association of neo-Nazi and other groups it deemed extremist. There
were questions about whether the country's ``fast procedure'' for
determining the refugee status of asylum seekers gave applicants a fair
hearing. There were reports of societal violence against women, and sex
and labor trafficking of women, men, and children. The gender disparity
in pay was significant, as women were concentrated in lower-paying jobs
and in part-time work. Some societal discrimination against persons
with HIV/AIDS was reported.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials in the
security services and elsewhere in government who committed abuses.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On May 12, John Demjanjuk was sentenced by a Munich court to five
years' imprisonment on 28,060 counts of accessory to murder--the number
of inmates who died during the time he worked as a guard at the Sobibor
extermination camp in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The
91-year-old Demjanjuk was released to a retirement home south of Munich
pending appeal. In July prosecutors in Weiden, Bavaria, opened an
investigation of Demjanjuk's work as a guard at the Flossenbuerg
concentration camp in 1943-44, during which time more than 5,000
inmates were killed.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and there were
no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
According to the Federal Statistics Office, the country's prison
population as of August 31 was 69,697, including 3,869 women and 10,783
pretrial detainees. Of the latter, 359 were juveniles under age 18. The
prison system had a capacity of 78,762 inmates. Prisoners and detainees
had access to potable water, reasonable access to visitors, and could
engage in religious observance. Authorities permitted convicts and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship. Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane
conditions. The government investigated and monitored prison and
detention center conditions. There is no ombudsman for prisons or
prisoner affairs.
The government permitted the monitoring of prison and detention
centers by independent nongovernmental observers, including the Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture, in accordance with
their standard modalities. During the year the Federal Agency for the
Prevention of Torture conducted numerous visits of facilities
throughout the country and reported on them.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over police and the Federal Criminal
Investigative Service, and the government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Authorities
may arrest an individual only on the basis of a warrant issued by a
competent judicial authority, unless police apprehend a suspect in the
act of committing a crime or have strong reason to believe that the
individual intends to commit a crime. If there is evidence that a
suspect might flee the country, police may detain that person for up to
24 hours pending a formal charge. The constitution provides that
authorities must bring a person detained on suspicion of having
committed a criminal offense before a judge no later than the day after
his arrest. At that time the judge must inform him of the reasons for
the arrest and give him an opportunity to raise objections. The law
entitles a detainee to prompt access to an attorney, either one of his
choosing or, if he does not select one, one appointed by the court. The
court must then issue an arrest warrant stating the grounds for
detention; otherwise the court must order the individual's release.
Authorities generally respected these rights in practice.
Bail exists but was infrequently granted. Authorities usually
released persons awaiting trial unless a court decided that there was a
clear risk that they might flee. In such cases authorities could hold
detainees for the duration of the investigation and subsequent trial,
subject to judicial review. Time spent in investigative custody applies
towards any eventual sentence. If a court acquits a defendant who was
incarcerated, the government must compensate the defendant for
financial losses as well as for ``moral prejudice'' due to the
incarceration.
While the law does not allow courts to punish persons twice for the
same crime, a court may order an offender convicted of rape, homicide,
or manslaughter to spend additional time in subsequent preventive
detention after completion of sentence if the court determines that the
offender represents a continuing danger. The law permits imposition of
subsequent preventive detention for an indefinite period.
On April 14, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled
against the government's system of subsequent preventive detention and
the retroactive application of the law in certain cases involving
subsequent preventive detention. The ECHR found that the government
violated its commitments in the European Convention on Human Rights to
impose ``no penalty without a law'' and to protect the right to
freedom. The ruling came in response to a complaint by a man from
Baden-Wuerttemberg who had been sentenced to three years in prison for
a sexual offense but was imprisoned for a total of 17 years under the
application of subsequent preventive detention. In response to this and
earlier ECHR rulings, the government introduced reforms, including one
providing that, as of January 1, 2011, subsequent preventive detention
could no longer be applied retroactively.
In May the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that regulations on
subsequent preventive detention, including recent reforms, were
unconstitutional as a violation of the basic right of personal freedom.
The court ruling required the legislative branch of government to amend
the law by May 31, 2013, and defined tight preconditions for
implementation of subsequent preventive detention (such as high-grade
risk of severe violent, sexual criminal offenses, or mental disorder).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair, public trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right. Juries are not used. Cases may be tried by a single judge,
a panel of professional judges, or a mixed panel of professional and
non-professional judges, depending on the severity of the charges.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal.
The law requires defendants to be present at their trials. Defendants
have the right to consult with an attorney. According to the law,
before any interrogation begins authorities must inform a suspect,
arrested or not, of his or her right to consult an attorney. The
government provides an attorney at public expense if defendants
demonstrate financial need. Defendants may confront and question
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their
behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to all court-held
evidence relevant to their cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary in civil matters provides access to a court to
bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. Decisions in human rights cases can be appealed to the ECHR.
Administrative remedies for alleged wrongs are available as well.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
State-level offices for the protection of the constitution (OPCs)
in Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and
Bavaria continued to monitor the Left Party because the party tolerated
left-extremist groups within its ranks. Other political parties deemed
potentially hostile to the constitution (such as neo-Nazi National
Democratic Party) were also under the observation of the federal and
state OPCs.
The federal and state OPCs answer for their activities to the
federal and respective state ministers of the interior in the first
instance. The ministries, in turn, answer to their respective state and
federal parliaments. All OPC activities are challengeable in court,
including ultimately in the Federal Constitutional Court.
In investigations of certain serious crimes, law enforcement
officials may monitor the telecommunications of suspects, but only with
court approval. In intelligence-related cases, such as suspected
involvement in terrorism, the law permits intelligence services to
engage in surveillance activities without court approval. However, an
independent commission elected by a parliamentary control body must
approve such activities.
On February 19, during a neo-Nazi demonstration and anti-Nazi
counterdemonstration in Dresden on the anniversary of the bombing of
that city in World War II, police in coordination with local mobile
service providers tracked the movements of previous offenders suspected
of attending the rally by monitoring cell-phone data. This procedure
resulted in the collection of approximately 500,000 to one million
calls and text messages of all cell-phone users in the area. Police
stated that the data was collected in anticipation that the event would
become violent, which it did (see section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly).
The data was later used to investigate the injuries of 112 police
officers and 200 demonstrators. Dresden Chief of Police Dieter Hanitsch
was fired as a result.
On March 2, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the law
requiring the mass storage of telephone and Internet communications
data was unconstitutional because it violated telecommunications
privacy. The court ruled that although data storage is not in itself
unconstitutional, the law was disproportionate and did not provide
sufficient data protection measures. The court called for all the
information saved under the law to be deleted ``without delay.'' The
companies holding the data in question announced their compliance with
the decision.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and press.
However, the law bans Nazi propaganda, material denying the Holocaust,
and pornography.
Freedom of Speech.--While the government generally respected these
rights in practice, it imposed limits aimed at groups it deemed
extremist. During the year the government arrested, tried, convicted,
and imprisoned a number of persons for speech that incited racial
hatred, endorsed Nazism, or denied the Holocaust (see also section 6,
Anti-Semitism). The government also arrested, tried, and convicted
eight persons for translating and posting al-Qaida propaganda on the
Internet. Most of the defendants were juveniles at the time of the
incident. Three were sentenced in July. The harshest sentence was six
months' jail time with two years' probation. The sole female defendant
was ordered to attend an antiaggression course, and the youngest
defendant was released. On September 29, the Higher Regional Court of
Munich handed down another three sentences. One defendant received an
18-month suspended sentence, while the other two received probation and
80 hours of community service and counseling. On October 11, the
seventh defendant was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. On
December 6, the Munich Court sentenced the eighth person to 3.5 years
in jail for support of a terrorist organization abroad. The court
concluded there was evidence he had distributed al-Qaida propaganda
material on the Internet and that he had sought military training in a
camp in the Iranian-Pakistani border region in 2007.
On April 10, the Regional Court of Koblenz sentenced nine of the 18
operators of the right-wing extremist Internet radio program,
``Resistance Radio,'' to sentences of 21 months to three years in
prison. The court found the defendants guilty of incitement to hatred
and instruction in the formation of criminal organizations that exalted
Nazism and threatened the lives of Jews and foreigners. In August a
prosecutor in Koblenz arrested an additional 12 operators. Their trials
were pending at the end of the year.
On May 17, Berlin's administrative court ruled that the city's
Kreuzberg district must treat all political parties equally and allow
the extreme-rightist anti-Muslim group Pro Deutschland to hold a
meeting in a hall belonging to the city. The Kreuzberg district Green
Party faction had blocked renting the hall to the group. On the day of
the planned event, protesters outside the building blocked access so
that Pro Deutschland was unable to proceed with the meeting.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views with few restrictions. There were no
prosecutions involving right-wing extremist, racist, or anti-Semitic
material.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet; government agencies may monitor e mail or Internet
chat rooms in certain circumstances. Individuals and groups could
engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including
by e mail.
Federal and state laws permit the Federal Office for the Protection
of the Constitution (FOPC) and its state-level counterparts to monitor
the private e mails and chat room postings of individuals and groups
under FOPC and OPC surveillance. An independent commission elected by a
parliamentary control body was responsible for oversight of such
activities. The law prohibits access to material such as child
pornography and Nazi propaganda.
On May 17, the Stralsund Regional Court rejected the appeal of a
man fined 3,000 euros ($3,900) on sedition charges. The man operated a
neo-Nazi Internet portal, Altermedia, on which he published several
anti-Semitic articles and denied the Holocaust. On October 24, the
court sentenced him to two years in prison without parole.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were some government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events supporting extreme
right-wing neo-Nazism.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
usually respected this right in practice. The government occasionally
prevented certain prohibited organizations, mainly right-wing extremist
groups, from holding public assemblies. Authorities permitted several
right-wing extremist or neo-Nazi groups to hold public rallies or
marches during the year when the assembly was in accordance with the
law and did not involve a prohibited organization.
Permits must be obtained for open-air public rallies and marches,
and state and local officials have authority to deny permits when
public safety concerns arise or the applicant is a prohibited
organization. Denials were rare but did occur.
It is illegal to block an officially registered demonstration,
including demonstrations organized by neo-Nazi groups. Many anti-Nazi
activists refused to accept such restrictions and attempted to block
neo-Nazi demonstrations or hold counterdemonstrations, resulting in
clashes between police and anti-Nazi demonstrators.
On February 19, police in Dresden used water cannons, tear gas,
truncheons, and dogs to break up several thousand anti-Nazi
counterdemonstrators attempting to block a neo-Nazi rally taking
advantage of the 66th anniversary of the Allied bombing of the city.
The ensuing clash between police and demonstrators resulted in injuries
to more than 200 counterdemonstrators and 112 police officers,
according to press reports (see also section 1.f.).
Police may detain known or suspected criminals, usually right-wing
or left-wing extremists, for brief periods when they believe such
individuals intend to participate in illegal or unauthorized
demonstrations. The length of time varies from state to state and can
range from one to 14 days.
On May 18, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern parliament passed a law
prohibiting neo-Nazi marches and rallies at memorials for the victims
of World War II.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The law permits the prohibition of organizations whose
activities have been judged illegal or opposed to the constitutional
democratic order. While only the Federal Constitutional Court may
prohibit political parties on these grounds, federal or state
governments may prohibit or restrict other organizations, including
groups that authorities classify as extremist or criminal in nature.
Organizations have the right to appeal prohibition or restrictions.
The FOPC and state OPCs are responsible for examining possible
threats to the constitutional democratic system and monitored several
hundred organizations. Monitoring generally consisted of collecting
information from written materials and firsthand accounts, but it also
included intrusive methods, such as the use of undercover agents who
were subject to legal oversight. The FOPC and OPCs published lists of
monitored organizations, including left-wing political parties.
Although the law stipulates that OPC surveillance must not interfere
with an organization's activities, representatives of monitored groups
complained that the publication of the organizations' names contributed
to prejudice against them.
In April the interior minister of Brandenburg banned the right-wing
extremist group Freie Kraefte Teltow-Flaeming, which avowed Nazi
ideology, advocated xenophobic and racist positions, and distributed
anti-Semitic propaganda. Police searched 19 sites in Brandenburg and
one in Berlin, confiscating Nazi propaganda, flags, and symbols.
Authorities seized property and funds of the organization.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--Laws provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The
constitution extends to foreigners persecuted on political grounds the
right to apply for asylum in the country. The law also allows the
granting of refugee status when the persecutors are not representatives
of the state.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--According to EU regulations,
individuals who attempt to enter the country through a ``safe country
of transit,'' i.e., a member state of the EU or a country adhering to
the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, could be turned
back at the border or, if they had entered the country, deported to
that safe country of transit. Several NGOs questioned this regulation.
According to the Interior Ministry, there is no blanket denial of
asylum to applicants from safe countries of origin. If the applicant
hails from a safe country of origin, appealing a denial of asylum will
not prevent authorities from returning the applicant to his country of
origin before a court issues a decision on the appeal. An applicant may
prevent an early return by filing an urgent motion with the competent
court.
The member states of the EU, Senegal, and Ghana are classified as
safe countries of origin. Nationals from both countries were granted
refugee status in 2010.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government generally provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
During the year human rights organizations questioned whether an
agreement with Kosovo provided adequate safeguards for failed asylum
seekers who were repatriated there. The federal government considered
the security situation for returnees in Kosovo as stable, even if they
belonged to the Romani minority. According to the Federal Ministry of
the Interior, 528 Kosovars, approximately a quarter of whom were Roma,
were repatriated in 2010. Between January and July, 252 Kosovars, a
third of whom were Roma, were returned.
Refugee Abuse.--Human rights organizations continued to criticize
the ``fast procedure'' at Frankfurt airport, under which the Federal
Office for Migration reaches a decision on asylum applications within
two days. Based on its examination of 32 cases from 13 countries in
2009, the NGO Pro Asyl asserted that the minimum requirements for a
fair procedure were not met, as decisions were made so rapidly.
According to Pro Asyl's analysis, the two-day deadline is too short for
lawyers to contact their client and give them proper legal assistance.
Pro Asyl also claimed that the procedure is vulnerable to political
influence.
Access to Basic Services.--In May the U.N. Committee on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights issued a report that criticized the
situation of asylum seekers in the country. The committee noted that
social benefits were inadequate and that asylum seekers had to live in
overcrowded quarters and received only emergency medical care.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived primarily by birth from
one citizen parent, but citizenship may also be granted to children
based on their birth in the country, provided one parent has been
living there for at least eight years or one parent has a permanent
residence permit and has had that status for at least three years.
According to UNHCR statistics, there were 7,920 stateless persons
in the country at the end of 2010. The government generally implemented
laws and policies to provide stateless persons the opportunity to gain
nationality on a nondiscriminatory basis. Refugees and stateless
persons may apply for citizenship after six years residence, but it can
be difficult for an applicant to produce sufficient evidence or
documentation for the establishment of statelessness status because the
burden of proof is on the applicant. In general the country protected
stateless persons from deportation to their country of origin or usual
residence where they could be threatened with political persecution.
Temporary Protection.--During the year a number of individuals were
granted subsidiary protection status (individuals that do not meet the
criteria of the refugee convention but need protection for other
reasons, e.g., because they faced the death penalty, torture, or risks
related to armed conflict in their home countries).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held parliamentary elections that were considered free and
fair.
Political Parties.--Political parties generally operated without
restriction or outside interference unless they were deemed a threat to
the federal constitution. Even when the federal authorities perceive
such a threat, they have no authority to ban a party; they can only
petition to the Federal Constitutional Court to do so.
A total of 31 splinter parties were denied approval to participate
in the 2009 federal parliamentary elections. A report on the
parliamentary elections released in 2009 by the Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticized certain provisions of the law
for the admission of new parties for conflicts of interest in the
federal election committee, which decides on such admissions, and a
lack of judicial review of election administration decisions.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The federal chancellor and
five of the 16 cabinet members were women. There were 204 women in the
620-seat Federal Parliament. Five judges on the 16-member Federal
Constitutional Court were women.
There were 16 members of ethnic minorities or members with an
immigrant background in the parliament, one on the Federal
Constitutional Court, and one in the cabinet. There were three female
state-level ministers for integration with a Turkish background and
three female minister presidents.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively.
Nevertheless, in the construction sector and public contracting, there
were indications of inappropriate political party influence in the
awarding of contracts.
Most state governments and local authorities have contact points
for whistle-blowers and provisions for rotating personnel in areas
prone to corruption. Government officials are forbidden to accept gifts
linked to their jobs. There are serious penalties for bribing
officials, corrupt practices between companies, and price-fixing by
companies competing for public contracts.
On March 18, prosecutors accused two executives from Ferrostaal AG
of paying foreign officials 62 million euros ($81 million) in bribes
related to the sale of submarines to Greece and Portugal.
Parliamentarians are subject to financial disclosure laws that
require them to publish earnings from outside employment. State
prosecutors generally are responsible for investigating corruption
cases.
Federal law provides for public access to government information.
Eleven federal states (Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, North
Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hamburg, Bremen, Saarland,
Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and Rhineland-Palatinate) also have freedom
of information laws that provide an appeals process. Access to records
was generally uncomplicated, and responses to requests were swift and
positive. The fee for requesting information can be up to 500 euros
($650).
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
On July 1, an NGO criticized the annual report of the FOPC that
indicated a nationwide drop in violence by right-wing extremists and a
rise in left-wing extremist violence. This NGO had recorded an increase
in right-wing extremist crimes in Saxony-Anhalt over the previous year.
The NGO stated that the FOPC had likely failed to identify some crimes
as having a right-wing extremist motivation.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The courts were the main resource
for individuals seeking protection of individual human rights. In
addition to the courts, the country has a wide range of governmental
and nongovernmental bodies and organizations working to protect human
rights. Citizens could file complaints with petition committees and
commissioners for citizens' affairs. Such points of contact are usually
referred to as ``ombudsmen.''
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government effectively
enforced these provisions in practice.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, and provides penalties of up to 15 years in
prison. The government enforced the law effectively. According to
national police criminal statistics, there were 7,724 cases of rape or
serious sexual coercion in 2010, the latest data available. The federal
government supported numerous projects in conjunction with the federal
states and NGOs to deal with violence against women, both to prevent
violence and give victims greater access to medical care and legal
assistance.
The law prohibits violence against women, including spousal abuse;
the law may temporarily deny perpetrators access to the household, put
them under a restraining order, or in severe cases prosecute them for
assault or rape and require them to pay damages. Penalties varied
depending on the nature of the case. The law does not require a civil
court decision for a temporary denial. The government enforced the law,
but authorities believed that violence against women was widespread.
Organizations that aid victims estimated that between 20 and 25 percent
of women have been victims of physical or sexual violence. There were
approximately 346 women's shelters in the country and 18 sheltered
apartments/emergency centers for women, as well as a widespread system
of emergency hotlines. According to the Federal Ministry for Family,
Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth, approximately 400,000 women per year
sought refuge from abusive situations. Many NGOs on the local level
provided hotlines, assistance, advice, and shelter.
Forced marriages are illegal and invalid, and may be punished by up
to five years' imprisonment. While there were no reliable statistics on
the number of forced marriages, evidence indicated that the problem
occurred more often in the immigrant Muslim community than in the
general population. Forced marriages reportedly often led to violence.
Victims included women and, in some cases, young men living in the
country for whom the family brought a spouse from abroad. In addition,
some women were sent by their families to other countries to marry
against their will.
``Honor'' killings were also reported. In February, a 21-year-old
pregnant woman in Taufkirchen, Bavaria, was murdered by the father of
the child, allegedly over questions of the child's paternity. The 18-
year-old suspect confessed to the murder and, as a juvenile at the
time, could be sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment of women was a recognized
problem. The law prohibits sexual harassment and requires employers to
protect employees from sexual harassment. A variety of disciplinary
measures against offenders are available, including dismissal. The law
considers an employer's failure to take measures to protect employees
from sexual harassment to be a breach of contract, and an affected
employee has the right to paid leave until the employer rectifies the
problem. There were press reports of sexual harassment in the workplace
and in public facilities, but no statistics were available. Unions,
churches, government agencies, and NGOs operated a variety of support
programs for women who experienced sexual harassment and sponsored
seminars and training to prevent it.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was easy access to
contraception, skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and
essential obstetric and postpartum care. Women and men were diagnosed
and treated equally for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Men and women enjoy equal rights under the
constitution. The law provides for equal pay for equal work. Employers
generally did not pay women less than men for equivalent work, although
women were underrepresented in well-paid managerial positions and
overrepresented in some lower-wage occupations. According to current
information from the Federal Ministry for Family, Senior Citizens,
Women and Youth, women earned an estimated 23 percent less than men for
the same work. The earnings disparity was attributed to the tendency
for a greater number of women than men to be part-time workers.
Children.--Birth Registration.--In most cases citizenship is
derived from one's parents. Citizenship may also be granted to children
born in the country, provided one parent has either been a resident for
at least eight years or has a permanent residence permit and held that
status for at least three years. Dual nationality is not recognized,
and upon reaching age 23, a dual national must choose which citizenship
to retain. Civil registration offices record births.
Child Abuse.--The law criminalizes rape and provides penalties of
up to 15 years in prison. Consensual sex is legal from the age of 14 in
most cases. An exception is if the older partner is over 18 years old
and is ``exploiting a coercive situation'' or offering compensation, in
which case the younger partner must be over 16 years old. It is also
illegal for someone older than 21 to have sex with someone under 16 if
the older person ``exploits the victim's lack of capacity for sexual
self-determination.''
According to the Federal Criminal Office (FCO), 11,867 incidents of
sexual abuse of children up to 14 years of age were reported in 2010,
compared with 11,319 incidents in 2009.
In February a man identified as ``Detlef S'' was accused of 160
counts of sexually abusing his now 18-year-old daughter, his 27-year-
old stepdaughter, and his stepdaughter's twin brother between 1987 and
2010. He was also accused of prostituting his two daughters. On March
17, he confessed to raping his daughter and producing seven children
with his stepdaughter. In March Detlef S was sentenced to 14 years and
six months in prison.
In July an unidentified Roman Catholic priest of the St. Joseph
Community in Salzgitter was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a
young boy. After further investigation, authorities charged him with
280 counts of sexually abusing three boys between the ages of nine and
15. The priest confessed to the allegation but denied the number of
occurrences. The case continued at year's end.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Possession of child pornography
is a criminal offense. A child is defined as a person younger than 14
years of age. According to the law possession of, or attempt to
acquire, any material reflecting a true or realistic incident of child
pornography is punishable by imprisonment for three months to five
years. The country's legal system also applies extraterritorial
jurisdiction, so that an act involving child pornography may be
prosecuted under domestic law, even if it was committed outside of the
country.
Between 2009 and 2010, the number of cases involving the
distribution of child pornography declined from 3,246 to 2,784. In 2010
the number of reported cases of ownership and procurement of child
pornography declined by 14.6 percent, from 3,145 cases in 2009 to 2,687
cases in 2010. According to the FCO, the number of cases involving the
distribution of pornography involving youth (ages 14-18) increased from
171 in 2009 to 277 in 2010. Cases involving possession of youth
pornography increased 69.4 percent, from 160 in 2009 to 271 in 2010.
According to one estimate, 3-11 percent of prostitutes were 16
years old or younger.
Displaced Children.--The NGO Coalition for Street Children
estimated there were as many as 11,000 street children in the country.
Authorities believed these children were frequently fleeing violent and
abusive homes. Street children often turned to prostitution for income.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--In 2010 the country's Jewish population was
estimated to be more than 200,000. A government-appointed expert panel
on anti-Semitism found that approximately 20 percent of Germans were
``latently'' anti-Semitic, a very small percentage of whom resorted to
violence as an extension of their views. The panel found deficiencies
in Holocaust education and widespread anti-Semitism in sports, social
events, and certain aspects of the media. The 2010 FOPC annual report
listed a total of 1,166 right-wing, politically motivated crimes with
extremist and anti-Semitic background in 2010 compared with 1,502 in
2009, a decrease of 22 percent. The report also noted that membership
in skinhead and neo-Nazi groups increased over the course of the year
to 5,600 and that neo-Nazis groups were increasingly resorting to
violence. Federal authorities generally took action against the
perpetrators of anti-Semitic offenses.
The most widespread anti-Semitic acts during the year were
desecrations of Jewish cemeteries or other monuments with graffiti,
including swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans. In 2010, 41 desecrations
of Jewish cemeteries were reported. There were no reports that
authorities made arrests in any of these cases.
Despite government efforts to prevent the gravesite of Rudolf Hess
from becoming a pilgrimage site, right-wing extremists continued to
honor the grave of the former deputy to Adolf Hitler in Wunsiedel. The
church that owned the property terminated the lease on Hess's family
gravesite, dismantled the grave, and on July 20 scattered his ashes
over the sea.
On August 28, the chairman of the Central Council of Jews in
Germany, Dieter Graumann, called for the prohibition of the right-wing
extremist National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD). He stated that
the Berlin NPD's provocative campaign posters in the year's local
election in that city reading ``gas geben'' (literally ``give gas'' but
also meaning ``accelerate'') were tasteless and disgusting references
to the Holocaust. He asserted that they were intentionally displayed in
the vicinity of the Holocaust Memorial and Jewish Museum. The movement
to ban the NPD was reportedly growing among the population and had the
support of many politicians, including Federal Interior Minister Hans-
Peter Friedrich and the Green party.
Over the past year, the Left Party faced increasing criticism that
its anti-Israel policies crossed the line to anti-Semitism. In June the
Left Party condemned traditional forms of anti-Semitism. In various
editorials leaders of German Jewish organizations criticized the Left
Party's condemnation as inadequate.
While most anti-Semitic acts were attributed to neo-Nazi or other
right-wing extremist groups or persons, an expert panel on anti-
Semitism noted an increase of anti-Semitic attitudes among Muslim
youths.
According to the FOPC's annual report published in 2011, 29 violent
anti-Semitic acts committed by right-wing extremists were registered in
2010.
During the year courts punished some persons for attacks on Jews
but released others with light or no sentences. Some courts appeared
reluctant to ascribe political motivations to attacks that were openly
and virulently anti-Semitic or that allowed the perpetrator to get off
with a relatively light sentence:
In February the Berlin municipal court sentenced one man to 24
months in prison and a second to 22 months on probation in connection
with the June 2010 neo-Nazi attack that seriously injured a 23-year-old
man in Berlin-Oberschoeneweide. In October 2010 state police searched
four apartments in Berlin and arrested four men suspected of having
committed the attack. Police found clothing worn during the attack and
also neo-Nazi CDs. The court did not find the attack to have been
politically motivated.
In February the Hanover municipal court sentenced a 15-year-old
youth to 15 months' probation, antiaggression training, and five days
of social work in connection with the June 2010 attack during a street
festival in Hanover, Lower Saxony, by a group of children and teenagers
who attacked a Jewish dance troupe with stones and anti-Semitic remarks
shouted through a bullhorn. The assailants were reportedly of Lebanese,
Palestinian, Iraqi, Iranian, and Turkish origin. The court did not find
anti-Semitic motives in the youth's actions, and the Jewish community
criticized the ruling as belittling the seriousness of the attack.
On July 11, the Regional Court in Regensburg confirmed an April
2010 ruling against Holocaust denier Bishop Richard Williamson, a
member of the conservative Catholic Pius Brotherhood, for denying the
existence of gas chambers during the Nazi era. In light of his
financial situation, the court fined Williamson 6,500 euros ($8,450)
instead of 10,000 euros ($13,000) from the earlier ruling.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other federal state services. The relevant law makes no specific
mention of persons with sensory or intellectual disabilities, but these
are believed to be subsumed under the other headings. The government
effectively enforced these provisions. While special schools were often
better equipped to take care of students with disabilities, critics
argued that such separation prevented the full integration of children
with disabilities into the professional world and society as a whole.
On June 15, the federal cabinet agreed on a national plan of action
to implement changes in laws that support rights for persons with
disabilities, based on the U.N. Convention on Rights for People with
Disabilities. It also provided 100 million euros ($130 million) in
additional funds for a period of five years. Some private groups
complained the implementation measures were too vague and practical
plans for improvements were missing.
On August 1, a regulation went into effect in Bavaria to give
children with disabilities unlimited access to secondary schools under
certain circumstances.
The government promoted the employment of persons with disabilities
through a number of measures. As of September 1, pursuant to an
agreement between the German Railway and the Federal Ministry for Labor
and Social Affairs, persons with disabilities who fulfill certain
requirements can use all regional trains within the country free of
charge. In addition employers with a minimum of 20 employees must hire
persons with disabilities to fill at least 5 percent of all positions,
and for noncompliance face a fine of between 100 euros ($130) and 290
euros ($377) per month. According to the Sozialverband VdK Deutschland,
this regulation applies to about 135,000 companies; however, 38,000
chose to pay the noncompliance fine.
The federal government provided payments of 518.2 million euros
($673.7 million) per year through 2019 to the states to support
barrier-free buildings. Efforts continued to improve barrier-free
access to public transportation.
By law the federal government is required to provide barrier-free
access to communications, especially in the field of administrative
Internet sites and official forms and notifications.
The Office of the Federal Commissioner for Matters relating to
Persons with Disabilities is the principal government contact in all
matters related to persons with disabilities and has specific
responsibility for protecting their rights. The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs; the Ministry of Family, Senior Citizens, Women, and
Youth; and the Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Affairs also
have responsibilities for addressing the needs of persons with
disabilities. The German Institute for Human Rights has been designated
to monitor the implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities in the country.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Beatings and harassment of
foreigners and members of racial minorities remained a problem
throughout the country.
In November and December, police arrested five persons with links
to a right-wing extremist group, the National Socialist Underground,
for the killings of nine persons with Turkish or Greek backgrounds as
well as one policewoman over a period of 13 years. On November 22, the
parliament passed a resolution with the support of all five parties
represented in parliament expressing ``deep shame'' that a neo-Nazi
underground group was able to perpetrate these crimes. In a November 19
video podcast, Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the crimes, calling
them a ``disgrace for our country.'' She added that ``Hatred, racism,
neo-Nazism, and anti-Semitism have to disappear from the heads of
certain people.. [W]e will reply with humanity, human dignity, and the
rule of law.''
On June 25, four unidentified persons attacked an apartment complex
housing several Sinti and Romani families in Leverkusen. The attackers
threw several Molotov cocktails into the ground floor of the building.
Authorities were unable to determine whether the act had a xenophobic
motivation. None of the 19 persons living in the building was injured.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Many lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender rights groups reported no impediments to their
operation or free association. In 2010 the government reported 164
crimes motivated by a bias against sexual orientation, of which 45 were
violent crimes. According to German statistics published in the OSCE's
2010 report, Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region, 187 hate crimes motivated
by sexual orientation occurred in 2010, of which 48 were violent. The
NGO RAA Sachsen reported that in eastern Germany, 13 homophobic hate
incidents occurred. The NGO Maneo reported one attempted murder, 60
incidents involving physical assault or attempted assault, 69 cases of
theft and two cases of damage to property.
On May 10, the EU Court of Justice ruled that same-sex couples
should be eligible for the same retirement benefits as heterosexual
couples. The case involved a former employee of the city of Hamburg who
was in a civil union with another man. He sued the city after it
refused him pension benefits equal to those given to heterosexual
couples. Under the retirement plan as applied to married couples, he
should have received an additional 302 euros ($393) per month.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was societal
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. The government worked
with NGOs, religious groups, and businesses to educate the public about
HIV/AIDS and its prevention.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for the right of employees to form and join
independent unions of their choice without excessive requirements or
previous authorization as well as for the right to strike for all
workers except civil servants (including teachers) and staff in
sensitive or essential positions, such as members of the armed forces.
The constitution protects the right to collective bargaining, and
agreements are governed by law.
Antiunion discrimination and other forms of employer interference
in union functions are prohibited by law and were not widespread. In a
July 27 ruling, the Kassel Administrative Court weakened the
constitutional ban on strikes by civil servants by granting civil
servants a limited right to strike. Workers not allowed to strike have
legal recourse to the courts to protect their rights. The law prohibits
retaliation against strikers or for other union activities, and the
government generally enforced this law. The International Trade Union
Confederation reported discriminatory tactics of some employers
including targeted dismissals, demotions, transfers, and discrimination
in recruitment.
The government generally respected freedom of association and the
right to collective bargaining in practice, and worker organizations
were independent of the government and political parties. Collective
agreements are binding only for trade union members and their
respective employer associations; however, many employers of nonunion
labor also made use of the agreements to determine part or all
employment conditions of their employees. Collective bargaining
agreements negotiated with public service employees were usually
extended to civil servants through legislation, although such
extensions did not always include all of the provisions of those
agreements.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
federal statutes prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by
children. There were reports of forced labor involving adults mainly in
restaurants, hotels and in domestic households as well as on
construction sites where workers (often illegal residents) were
exploited.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Comprehensive legislation protects children from exploitation in the
workplace, and the government enforced these laws.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 with a
few exceptions: children 13 or 14 years of age may do farm work for up
to three hours per day or deliver newspapers for up to two hours per
day, and children three to 14 years of age may take part in cultural
performances under strict limits on the kinds of activity, number of
hours, and times of the day. Exploitative child labor was not a serious
problem, although violations did occur mainly in small, often family-
owned businesses such as bars, restaurants, and grocery stores. The
Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs enforced the law
effectively through its Factory Inspection Bureau.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The country does not have a
statutory minimum wage. As of December 31, binding minimum wages were
in place for approximately four groups of construction occupations,
electrical trades, painting, postal service, waste management, large-
scale laundries, nursing care, security services, special mining
services, and temporary employment agencies, covering approximately 8
percent of the workforce. Minimum wages vary between eastern and
western Germany. In eastern Germany wages ranged from 6.53 euros
($8.49) per hour in security activities up to 10.80 euros ($14.04) per
hour for erection of roof coverings and frames; minimum wages in the
west ranged from 7.65 euros ($9.95) per hour in commercial cleaning up
to 13.00 euros ($16.90) per hour for skilled construction work.
Official social indicators on poverty and social exclusion (``federal
indicators'') revealed that persons who had a disposable income of less
than 11,151 euros ($14,496) per year), after inclusion of government
transfer payments, were at risk of poverty. While in the eastern German
states (including Berlin), 19.5 percent of the population was at risk
of poverty, the rate in the former West Germany (excluding Berlin) was
significantly lower (12.9 percent). The reference period for collecting
the income data was 2008.
The minimum wage rates set by collective bargaining agreements are
enforceable by law. Sector-wide collective bargaining agreements
determined wages and working conditions in most industries, but
company-level agreements frequently deviated from them. Multicompany,
industry-wide contracts covered directly approximately 32 percent of
all firms; company-level agreements covered 4 percent, 40 percent were
guided by a respective industry agreement, and 24 percent were not
covered at all. Collective bargaining agreements covered approximately
65 percent of the labor force in the western part of the country and
approximately 51 percent in the eastern part.
The law provides for equal treatment of foreign workers, who
generally worked in conditions equal to those of citizens, although
such workers faced some wage discrimination. For example, some schools
paid foreign teachers less than their citizen counterparts. Employers
also often paid lower wages to seasonal workers from Eastern Europe who
came to the country on temporary work permits. At times employers paid
workers from other EU countries the same wages they would receive in
their home country, even if the corresponding citizen worker would
receive a higher wage.
Federal regulations limit the workweek to 48 hours, but collective
bargaining agreements may stipulate lower maximums. Contracts directly
or indirectly affecting 80 percent of the working population regulated
the number of hours of work per week. According to the European Labor
Force Survey, in 2010 the average full-time employee's workweek was
39.8 hours for women and 41 hours for men; rest periods for lunch were
accepted practices. Provisions for overtime, holiday, and weekend pay
varied depending upon the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Excessive compulsory overtime is prohibited, and workers are covered
and protected against arbitrary employer requests either by collective
bargaining agreements or individual contracts.
Employees who refuse to work overtime cannot lose their jobs or
face other reprisals such as demotion or assignment to unattractive
work or to less desirable shift times such as nights or weekends.
An extensive set of laws and regulations governs occupational
safety and health. In practice a comprehensive system of worker
insurance carriers enforced safety requirements in the workplace. The
Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and its counterparts in
the federal states effectively enforced occupational safety and health
standards through a network of government bodies, including the Federal
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). At the local
level, professional and trade associations--self-governing public
corporations with delegates representing both employers and unions--
oversee worker safety. In 2010, according to the BAuA, approximately
3,029 factory inspectors and 90 physicians were engaged nationwide in
enforcing compliance with the country's occupational safety and health
laws. The number of work accidents increased to 1,045,816 in 2010 (up
7.3 percent from 2009), and the number of fatalities at the workplace
rose to 674 (up 8.4 percent).
__________
GREECE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Greece is a constitutional republic and multiparty parliamentary
democracy. On November 11, a new ``unity'' government composed of the
Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), the New Democracy (ND) party,
and the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party was sworn in, with Lucas
Papademos as prime minister. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
The most important human rights problem during the year concerned
the government's treatment of undocumented migrants, including
unaccompanied minors, detained for long periods pending disposition of
their cases in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions and sometimes
allegedly subjected to physical abuse by security forces. There were
also reports of harsh prison conditions as well as discrimination
against Roma and exploitation of Romani children.
Other human rights problems cited during the year included alleged
abuse of detainees by security forces, laws restricting freedom of
speech, restrictions on religious freedom, deportation of unaccompanied
immigrant minors, inadequate reception capacity or legal aid for asylum
seekers and refugees, domestic violence, incidents of anti-Semitism,
trafficking in persons, limits on the freedom of certain ethnic
minority groups to self-identify, and discrimination against and social
exclusion of ethnic minorities. There were also allegations of
excessive use of force against protestors during violent demonstrations
in which police officers were also injured.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices and provides safeguards
for criminal suspects and undocumented immigrants in detention.
However, during the year several international organizations and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) alleged abuse by police personnel
and the coast guard, particularly of undocumented immigrants and asylum
seekers. In October Reporters without Borders claimed that police
officers attacked journalists covering antiausterity protests and
strikes in Athens.
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment Manfred Nowak reported receiving
numerous allegations of mistreatment by law enforcement officers, both
upon arrest and during detention in police stations; criminal
investigation departments; border guard stations, and migrant detention
centers. The report of the Committee for Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of its January 19-27
visit noted a deterioration in detention and prison conditions
throughout the country and maintained the country had not implemented
long-standing CPT recommendations.
In May the Hellenic National Police authority suspended three
police officers from duty for their role in allegedly injuring a
demonstrator during a violent protest in Athens, where demonstrators
attacked the parliament building and police with Molotov cocktails,
bricks, and stones. Demonstrations occurred throughout the year, many
of them violent. Often demonstrators and police officers sustained
injuries; yet charges generally were not filed. Some NGOs alleged that
police used excessive force in efforts to control the violence;
however, the police were not responsible for all of the injuries
demonstrators sustained.
On December 13, a police officer was sentenced to a six-year
suspended sentence for the aggravated torturing with electrical shocks
of two young men in Aspropyrgos (Attica area) in August 2002. On
December 19, the courts sentenced two police officers to suspended
prison sentences of five years and five-and-a half years respectively
for beating Afghans during a police raid in an Athens apartment
building in December 2004. The officers appealed the sentences.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and
detention facilities did not meet international standards.
According to local and international organizations, including the
deputy ombudsman for human rights, Doctors without Borders, the CPT,
Amnesty International, the Agency for Fundamental Rights, and the U.N.
special rapporteur, Greece continued to face a humanitarian crisis in
the detention of illegal immigrants as well as in its prison system.
In March U.N. Special Rapporteur Nowak announced he had received
numerous reports of mistreatment in police stations, border guard
stations, and migrant detention centers. Many detainees claimed police
officers and border guards had physically or verbally abused them. The
allegations primarily concerned kicks, slaps, and punches. In the
downtown Athens area of Omonia, detainees were allegedly blindfolded
and handcuffed before being beaten. At the Soufli Border Guard Station,
detainees mentioned kicks and slaps, adding that guards pushed them
when they did not follow orders immediately or complained.
The U.N. special rapporteur also expressed his extreme concern
about undocumented immigrants held in overcrowded and poor conditions,
which amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment. He indicated that
pregnant women, lone women with small children, and unaccompanied
minors were particularly vulnerable. He underscored that unaccompanied
minors often were not registered properly, were systematically
detained, and frequently housed with adults. At the Feres Border
Station in Thrace (northern Greece), the U.N. special rapporteur found
123 detainees in a facility designed for 28. He stated also that
conditions at the long-term detention centers in Fylakio and Venna were
inadequate to meet the most basic needs of detainees.
The U.N. special rapporteur found that many police stations had
converted spaces into facilities for the detention of aliens awaiting
deportation, but such facilities were not suitable for prolonged
detentions of up to six months. Specifically, they often lacked an
outside exercise area, had insufficient natural lighting and poor
ventilation, and were frequently overcrowded, with detainees forced to
share mattresses or sleep on the floor. At the Athens police stations
of Omonia, Aghios Panteleimonas, and Acropolis, the special rapporteur
found more than 40 foreigners held in irregular and apparently
unofficial detention areas that reportedly were overcrowded with
insufficient lighting, ventilation, and bedding. The detainees were
forced to sleep on benches or on the floor for extended periods and had
severely limited access to drinking water or toilets. As a result many
detainees reported respiratory, skin, and psychological problems.
Access to medical care was very limited.
In January the CPT issued a public statement harshly criticizing
detention conditions of undocumented migrants and the unacceptable
state of the prison system. The CPT noted that the situation in police
stations, border guard installations, and prisons had declined. The CPT
also observed a steady deterioration in the living conditions and
treatment of prisoners over the past decade.
The deputy ombudsman for human rights, the CPT, and the U.N.
special rapporteur maintained that prisons were severely overcrowded,
with some (Korydallos, Komotini) containing three times more prisoners
than their maximum capacity. The total number was approximately 12,700,
while prison capacity was about 9,100; there were 510 juveniles and 554
female prisoners.
Prisoners had access to visitors and could observe religious
practices. They could submit complaints to the judicial authorities
without censorship. The authorities investigated allegations of
inhumane conditions.
A few sporadic prison protests and hunger strikes took place during
the year.
In May the Ministry of Justice announced the adoption of a
recommendation of the deputy ombudsman for human rights to desist from
body cavity searches of female prisoners and ordered such searches to
be conducted only by a medical doctor based on risk assessment.
Treatment of female prisoners improved after the cessation of body
cavity searches. During the year all four detention centers in Thrace
had on staff a nurse, social worker, and interpreter to assist the
detainees.
The government permitted monitoring of conditions at prisons and
detention centers by independent nongovernmental observers including
local and international humanitarian organizations such as the Office
of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the CPT, Doctors
without Borders, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the
Greek Council of Refugees, Medical Intervention, and the deputy
ombudsman for human rights. The ombudsman for human rights conducted
frequent short-notice visits to prisons throughout the country.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention. However, police continued to
conduct large-scale sweeps and temporarily detained large numbers of
immigrants, sometimes in crowded and squalid conditions, while
determining their residency status.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police are
responsible for law enforcement and the maintenance of order within the
country; the coast guard is responsible for law enforcement in
territorial waters. Both agencies are under the authority of the
Ministry of Citizen Protection. The police and the army jointly shared
law enforcement duties in certain border areas. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control over the police and coast guard.
The Hellenic Police Internal Affairs Unit investigated allegations of
corruption and police impunity. The 2010 report of the Internal Police
Affairs Unit noted a 101 percent increase in corruption cases (from 389
to 785) since 2009 in the police and the public sector in general. The
increase included a 78 percent increase in cases involving police
officers and a 246 percent increase in cases involving public
employees.
Based on a law prohibiting the expression of racist ideas, human
rights NGOs in March 2010 filed a protest letter with the Athens
prosecutor regarding a coast guard unit (39 members) that chanted
racist slogans during the Independence Day (March 25) parade in Athens
that year. The prosecutor filed charges against unit members. In
December two of the 39 defendants were convicted and each sentenced to
a three and a half month suspended prison sentence; the others were all
acquitted.
During the year police and coast guard personnel received training
from government ministries, regional and international organizations,
NGOs, and service academies. Subjects included antiracism,
antitrafficking and victim identification, asylum-seeker recognition,
witness protection and interviewing, and crowd control.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires judicial warrants for arrests except during the commission of
a crime and prohibits arbitrary arrest. In practice police did not
always follow these provisions.
Police are required to bring detainees before an examining
magistrate within 24 hours. During this period the magistrate must
issue a detention warrant or order the detainee's release; these
provisions were generally observed in practice. Pretrial detention may
last up to 18 months, depending on the severity of the crime. A panel
of judges may release detainees pending trial. Pretrial detainees made
up approximately 40 percent of those incarcerated and contributed to
prison overcrowding, according to figures provided by the Ministry of
Justice.
Some defense lawyers and legal activists asserted that, while
pretrial detention was supposedly reserved for exceptional cases, it
had become the norm. They also maintained that the detention period was
excessively long. Bail is available for defendants detained on felony
charges and for lesser offenses unless a judicial officer deems the
defendant a flight risk. The law provides detainees the right to
contact a close relative or third party, consult with a lawyer, and
have access to medical services, and authorities generally respected
these rights. Only indigent defendants facing felony charges are
provided legal representation by the bar association. While authorities
generally informed detainees promptly of charges against them, foreign
detainees occasionally did not have access to a court-appointed
interpreter. According to U.N. Special Rapporteur Nowak's 2010 report,
authorities gave foreign detainees information packets in multiple
languages describing the asylum procedure and their rights as
detainees, although not always promptly.
Individuals accused of misdemeanors could be tried under expedited
procedures. While such defendants enjoyed the right to counsel, the
short time period allegedly limited their ability to present an
adequate defense. Defendants may request a delay to prepare a defense,
but the court is not obliged to grant their requests. Expedited
procedures were used in less than 10 percent of applicable cases.
Pretrial Detention.--The pretrial detention rate was approximately
41 percent of cases. While legislation provides for separation of
pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners, local and international
NGOs alleged this distinction did not exist in practice due to lack of
infrastructure and capacity. Litigation, particularly in civil cases,
could take many years, as courts were overburdened with cases and
understaffed.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected this
provision in practice. However, observers reported the judiciary was
inefficient and sometimes subject to influence and corruption. The
judiciary occasionally was more lenient toward those claiming political
motives for acts of property destruction than those who did not. For
example anarchists frequently received suspended sentences in lieu of
prison time or fines. Authorities generally respected court orders, and
there were no reported instances in which the outcome of trials
appeared predetermined.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public in most instances,
and juries are used in most felony cases. The law permits denial of a
jury trial in cases of violent terrorism. Defendants have the right to
be present at trial and consult with an attorney in a timely manner.
Indigent defendants facing felony charges are provided an attorney.
Defendants may question prosecution witnesses and present witnesses and
evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. They have
the right to appeal.
Defendants who do not speak Greek have the right to a court-
appointed interpreter.
Some NGOs reported during the year that the quality and
availability of interpreters for non-Greek speakers varied from trial
to trial.
The government recognizes Shari'a (Islamic law) as the law
regulating family and civic issues of the Muslim minority in Thrace.
Muslims married by a government-appointed mufti are subject to Shari'a
family law. Members of the Muslim minority also have the right to a
civil marriage and to take their cases to civil court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On three occasions during
the year, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) found that the
country had violated provisions of the European Convention on Human
Rights with regard to the right to a fair trial within a reasonable
period. The country paid the compensation ordered by the court.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is a generally
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. The law provides
citizens with the ability to sue the government for compensation for
alleged violations of rights. Individuals may seek civil remedies for
human rights violations and appeal decisions to the ECHR. Restitution
is available. The government complied with domestic and ECHR decisions.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary
interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence. However,
NGOs such as the Greek Helsinki Monitor reported that authorities did
not always respect these provisions in practice, as evidenced during
alleged police raids of Romani settlements.
According to NGOs, the police and prosecutors conducting raids and
searches of Romani and immigrant neighborhoods, frequently entered
homes in search of criminal suspects, drugs, and weapons without
authorization.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and the government did not
impede criticism. However, the law provides for prosecution of
individuals who ``intentionally incite others to actions that could
provoke discrimination, hatred, or violence against persons or groups
of persons on the basis of their race or ethnic origin or who express
ideas insulting to persons or to groups of persons because of their
race or ethnic origin.''
Freedom of Press.--Independent media were active and expressed a
wide variety of views. The law permits any prosecutor to order the
seizure of publications that insult the president, offend any religion,
contain obscenity, advocate the violent overthrow of the political
system, or disclose military secrets. The government did not enforce
this law during the year. According to the law, the National Radio and
Television Council, an independent regulatory agency, supervises radio
and television broadcasts. The law requires that television stations
broadcast at least 25 percent of their programming in Greek; the
percentage for radio broadcasting varies. The law also requires
national radio and television stations to broadcast 24 hours a day and
sets requirements for minimum capitalization and numbers of employees.
In recent years the representative on the freedom of media of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called for the
lowering of these requirements, arguing that their high level made it
difficult for minority, community, and low-cost broadcasters to receive
authorization, thereby endangering media pluralism.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The law provides criminal penalties
for defamation. Nonetheless, in most criminal defamation cases,
defendants were released on bail pending trial and served no time in
jail.
In December 2010 a civil court fined two Thracian Turkish-language
newspapers, Gundem and Millet, under the defamation law for articles
criticizing a Greek teacher in a Muslim minority school. The teacher
sued the newspapers, and the court ordered them to pay 150,000 euros
($195,000) and 120,000 euros ($156,000), respectively. The newspapers
appealed the decision, and the case was pending in the appeals court.
The newspapers' editors alleged that the ``unprecedentedly high''
compensation ordered by the court could result in their bankruptcy.
The law provides for the government to exercise ``immediate
control'' over radio and television stations in case of national
emergency and establishes ownership limits on media frequencies. State-
operated stations relayed the government's views but also reported
objectively other parties' positions.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. There were no
reports of interference with cultural events of various ethnic groups.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government generally respected this right in practice.
Freedom of Association.--Although the law provides for freedom of
association, the government continued to place legal restrictions on
the names of associations of nationals who self-identify as ethnic
Macedonians or associations that included the term ``Turkish'' (see
section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation for all citizens, and the government generally respected
these rights in practice. The government cooperated with the UNHCR and
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance
to refugees and asylum seekers.
Foreign Travel.--NGOs and international organizations noted that
immigrants with temporary residence permits faced prolonged delays in
renewing their permits, sometimes resulting in the denial of their
right to return to the country, and consequently creating practical
limits to their foreign travel. Many of the country's estimated one
million immigrants were in a semi legal status, holding expired
residency permits while undergoing the renewal process. During the year
NGOs reported multiple instances of immigrants subjected to summary
deportation without legal due process. The law provides for
legalization of undocumented immigrants who can prove by a visa stamp
or possession of a tax roll number that they entered the country before
2005. Nevertheless, the ombudsman noted that this system of
legalization remained disorganized, and there was no database of
residence permit holders.
Citizenship: The law permits the government to deprive a person of
citizenship for committing acts contrary to the country's interests for
the benefit of a foreign state. Historically, the number of such cases
was low, and there were no reports of new cases during the year.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum and humanitarian protection. While
the government has established a system for refugee protection, it was
widely regarded as inadequate, given the large numbers of illegal
immigrants entering the country. According to government figures,
98,368 persons were detected arriving in Greece illegally during the
year, posing special problems for the country and the capacity of its
asylum system.
The UNHCR, Amnesty International, the U.N. special rapporteur on
torture, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI),
the deputy ombudsman for human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and
Doctors without Borders all expressed concern about the country's
asylum policy and practices. Specific problems included unacceptable
living conditions; lack of permanent reception centers and the use of
ad hoc facilities (primarily on islands where boatloads of refugees
arrive); underdeveloped refugee welfare systems; insufficient
counseling to assist in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers;
a lack of appropriate facilities for unaccompanied minors; and
deficient interpretation and legal counseling for asylum seekers,
especially at entry points.
The Hellenic National Police's Asylum Office reported that from
January to November asylum seekers filed 8,525 first-time applications.
During the same period the government reviewed 10,850 applications and
appeals and accorded refugee status to 85 applicants (1.9 percent) and
special humanitarian status to 69 (1.3 percent).
According to new asylum legislation passed in January, asylum
decisions must be issued within three months in an accelerated process
and within six months for regular applications. The UNHCR noted that
the enactment of this law led to progress during the year, and more
than 30 percent of applications were approved at the appeals level.
However, problems related to access and registration of claims and
detention conditions of irregular entrants persisted.
In his May report the deputy ombudsman for human rights asserted
that individuals who should be protected did not have access to the
asylum process, while economic migrants used and exploited the asylum
system to secure their presence in the country.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided only limited
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion. Many NGOs and international organizations
reported that authorities summarily deported illegal immigrants,
including asylum seekers, across Greek-Turkish land and maritime
borders.
Refugee Abuse.--Local and international NGOs found conditions for
illegal immigrants and asylum seekers detained by authorities to be
generally unsatisfactory, specifically criticizing detention procedures
and facilities for refugees and asylum seekers as inadequate.
Conditions for undocumented immigrants and asylum-seeking children were
particularly difficult. During the year the UNHCR and local and
international NGOs, including Amnesty International and Doctors without
Borders, on several occasions found unaccompanied minors incarcerated
along with adults in detention centers in degrading, inhumane, and
unsanitary conditions. The UNHCR reported that an estimated 4,000 to
5,000 unaccompanied minors arrived in the country each year.
Unaccompanied immigrant children lacked safe accommodations or legal
guardians and were vulnerable to homelessness and labor exploitation.
In 2009 the ECRI noted with concern that the law allows for the
deportation of unaccompanied minors, and that unaccompanied minors were
served deportation orders with no specific date of deportation and no
interim housing pending departure. The deputy ombudsman for children's
rights informed the ECRI that social workers were responsible for the
guardianship of unaccompanied minors, but in practice they did not
fulfill their responsibility due to a lack of funds and guidelines. In
September after visiting detention centers in the Evros region, HRW
alleged the country's authorities were holding migrants, including
members of vulnerable groups such as unaccompanied children, for weeks
or months in conditions that amounted to inhuman and degrading
treatment. HRW also found men and women colocated in overcrowded cells
and unaccompanied minors housed in packed cells with adult men. Beds
were scarce, toilet and washing facilities almost nonexistent, medical
help rare, and beatings common for protesters. HRW further noted that,
in some border centers, sewage was running on the floors; the smell was
almost unbearable, prompting guards to wear surgical masks when
entering the passageway between the large, barred cells. The report
also included detainees' accounts of protests, riots, and beatings at
the detention center in Fylakio, Evros.
On January 21, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that M. S.
S., an Afghan translator who first arrived in Greece in 2008 and later
applied for asylum in Belgium, should not have been deported from
Belgium to Greece, where he faced degrading and inhuman treatment. In
January 2010 UNHCR Antonio Gutierrez advised European states which
apply the Dublin II regulation on asylum not to return asylum seekers
to Greece as provided under the regulation pending the implementation
of asylum reforms.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
country's parliamentary elections in 2009 were considered free and
fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 51 women in the
300-seat parliament and two women in the 18-member cabinet. A quota
system requires that 30 percent of all parties' candidates for local
government be women. At the three highest courts, 14 of 61 Council of
State justices, 28 of 59 Supreme Administrative Court justices, and
three of 62 Supreme Court justices were women.
There were two members of the Muslim minority of Thrace in the
parliament; there were no minority members in the cabinet.
Approximately one-third of the Romani population was not registered
to vote.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. While
the previous government (October 2009 to November 2011) took some
concrete actions, the media, international organizations, and NGOs
continued to voice concerns about corruption. In September 2010 the
public prosecutor's office set up a new unit to facilitate prosecution
of economic/financial crimes in the public sector. Authorities designed
the unit to work closely with the financial and economic crime unit of
the Ministry of Finance and the internal affairs division of the State
Police, which was responsible for corruption cases across the public
sector.
Reports of police corruption continued. During the year the police
bureau of internal affairs took multiple disciplinary measures,
including dismissal and suspension, against officers involved in
corruption. Police misdeeds primarily involved forging documents,
taking bribes, illegal actions involving arms and explosives, illegally
releasing persons from custody, procuring, and violations related to
alien registration.
There are income disclosure laws for high-ranking public officials
and members of parliament. Such information was generally provided and
made public.
The law provides for the right of access to government-held
information. However, NGOs and media observers noted that access to
information was sometimes difficult in practice because of bureaucratic
delays.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were often cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The law provides for an
independent ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman provided an
effective means for citizens to report human rights problems. The
office received adequate resources to perform its various functions,
which included mediating between private individuals and public
administrators and defending and promoting children's rights.
There were five deputy ombudsmen who dealt, respectively, with
human rights, children's rights, citizen-state relations, health and
social welfare, and quality of life problems. The deputy ombudsman for
human rights received complaints during the year regarding the
government's handling of residence and work provisions for immigrants;
overcrowding in prisons and detention centers for illegal aliens;
social exclusion of vulnerable groups such as Roma and migrants;
confiscation of Romani properties because of unpaid housing loans;
problems in the asylum and visa processes; arbitrary and unjustified
administrative decisions related to professional rights and
registration in professional associations; unjustified procedural
difficulties in acquiring citizenship; discrimination against aliens;
police brutality; and an increase in crime and homelessness in the
center of Athens.
The government-funded National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR)
is an autonomous human rights body that advises the government on the
protection of human rights. It is composed of representatives of the
government, labor unions, political parties, civil society
organizations, independent authorities, and academics. During the year
it produced public reports (available on the Internet at http://
www.nchr.gr/) on the situation in detention centers, violence during
demonstrations, and the implementation of ECHR rulings.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status. However, the government
did not protect these rights consistently in practice.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a crime. Conviction rates for rape were low for first-time
offenders, but sentences were robust for repeat offenders. According to
police statistics 215 rape or attempted rape cases were reported in
2010. Medical, psychological, social, and legal support was usually
available to rape victims from the government and NGOs.
Domestic violence, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
problem. The General Secretariat for Gender Equality (GSGE), an
independent government agency, reported that domestic violence was
common and developed policies to combat it. The law provides for
prosecution of all domestic violence crimes, without the need for a
victim to press charges. Penalties range from two to 10 years'
imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the crime. The GSGE estimated
that only 6 to 10 percent of domestic violence victims contacted the
police, and only a small fraction of those complaints went to trial.
The GSGE received 2,957 calls from victims of domestic violence since
the establishment of the women's abuse hotline in March.
The GSGE, in cooperation with the Ministry of Citizen Protection,
trained police on working with domestic violence victims. Despite
training efforts the GSGE reported police tended to discourage women
from pursuing domestic violence charges, encouraging them instead to
undertake reconciliation. NGOs reported that courts were lenient to
male offenders in domestic violence cases. Police stations generally
had a manual on how police should treat victims of domestic violence.
The GSGE provided counseling and assistance to domestic violence
victims. Two GSGE shelters for battered women and their children, in
Athens and Piraeus, offered services including legal and psychological
help. The GSGE operated a 24-hour emergency telephone hotline for
abused women, and the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity operated
a hotline providing referrals and psychological counseling for victims
of domestic violence. The municipality of Athens, the Greek Orthodox
Church, and a variety of NGOs also operated shelters and walk-in
centers and provided counseling and assistance to such victims.
Government statistics on the extent of rape, domestic violence, and
spousal abuse were either unavailable or outdated. Data on
prosecutions, convictions, and prison sentences for rape and domestic
violence crimes were unavailable.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and
provides penalties ranging from two months to five years in prison. The
ombudsman for human rights reported a ``very low'' number of complaints
of sexual harassment in 2010, with only 13 cases submitted, all by
women. The ombudsman complained that addressing sexual harassment cases
was difficult, since there was often a lack of evidence and testimonies
to support allegations.
The Center for Research on Gender Equality Issues reported that the
vast majority of women who experienced sexual harassment in the
workplace did not file charges; some quit their jobs. The center
estimated that 30 to 50 percent of working women and 10 percent of
working men experienced sexual harassment at their workplaces each
year.
Reproductive Rights.--The government generally respected the
reproductive rights of couples and individuals. Contraception was
widely available in stores and hospitals, and the government respected
the rights of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly
the number, spacing, and timing of their children. Public hospitals
provided services free of charge; consequently, any health issues
typically surfaced only after a woman returned to her community, which
might have substandard facilities. Both public and private hospitals
provided modern skilled attendance during childbirth. Women and men had
equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually
transmitted diseases.
Discrimination.--Muslim women in Thrace may choose to be subject to
Shari'a law as interpreted by official muftis; separately, according to
the U.N. independent expert on minority issues, women's rights under
family law, property law, and in the judicial system are inferior to
those of men. The government recognizes Shari'a as the law regulating
the family and civic issues of the Muslim minority in Thrace, with
local trial courts routinely ratifying the muftis' decisions. The U.N.
independent expert on minority issues in 2009 highlighted that the
application of Shari'a in some instances subjected Muslim women to
norms incompatible with the constitution, legislation, and
international standards. She further noted the situation of women in
Romani and Muslim communities was of particular concern. According to
the U.N. report, Muslim women experienced severe inequalities in access
to education and consequently suffered disproportionately high levels
of illiteracy and unemployment.
The NCHR advised the government to limit the powers of the muftis
to religious duties and to stop recognizing Shari'a because it could
restrict the civil rights of citizens. Muslim female activists claimed
that, since the overwhelming majority of Muslim women in Thrace were
married under Shari'a, they were obliged to acquire a mufti's consent
to obtain a divorce. These decisions were based on interpretations of
Shari'a that do not exist in written form and therefore could not be
appealed. Members of the Muslim minority in Thrace can also use the
services of the country's civil courts.
Apart from the Muslim minority in Thrace, women have rights equal
to those of men, and the constitution stipulates gender equality.
The law provides for equal pay for equal work; however, according
to Social Security Institute statistics, there was a 28 percent gap
between the salaries of men and women in the country in favor of men.
Although relatively few women occupied senior private-sector positions,
women continued to enter traditionally male-dominated professions, such
as law and medicine, in ever larger numbers. Women were
underrepresented in labor-union leadership.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents at birth. A single parent can confer citizenship to a child,
and the country allows for dual citizenship.
A new citizenship law passed in March 2010 grants citizenship
rights to alien children born in Greece whose parents have lived
legally and permanently in the country for five years. Alien children
born abroad to parents who have lived legally and permanently in the
country for five years become citizens upon successful completion of
elementary education (six years). Foreigners arriving in the country
after the new law took effect must fulfill a seven-year legal residency
requirement before they can apply for citizenship, which, together with
procedural delays, could stretch the wait to a decade. The fee for
citizenship applications was recently reduced to 700 euros ($910) from
1,500 euros ($1,950).
The law gives immigrant children born in Greece the right to apply
for long-term residence permits. NGOs estimated that, of the 200,000
foreign children living in the country, only 30,000 could meet the
requirements of the law, which include a fee of 900 euros ($1,170), a
certificate of completion of the mandatory nine years of education in
country, and two parents with legal residence permits.
Education.--Romani children continued to face discrimination in
education (see section 6: National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities), with the
lack of transportation to some schools preventing their attendance.
Child Abuse.--Violence against children, particularly street and
Romani children and undocumented immigrants, remained a problem. The
law prohibits corporal punishment and mistreatment of children, but
government enforcement was generally ineffective. Welfare laws provide
for treatment and prevention programs for abused and neglected children
as well as alternative family care or institutional placement for those
in need of it. However, government-run institutions were understaffed,
and NGOs complained of insufficient places for all children who needed
alternative placement. The deputy ombudsman for children's rights
reported that the system of child welfare and protection was deficient
overall and did not cover increasing needs. In particular social
services were not appropriately staffed to handle serious family
problems, and welfare allowances and support for single parent families
were insufficient. In addition the deputy ombudsman noted that
prosecutors responsible for minors, who legally should take measures to
protect children in difficult situations, were overloaded with other
duties. Understaffed child protection institutions lacked certification
and sufficient qualified staff to provide care to abused, refugee, or
drug-abusing children.
According to UNICEF and local NGOs, the majority of street children
(often indigenous or Albanian Roma) were exploited by family members,
who forced them to work in the streets begging or selling small items.
Government efforts to prevent this form of child exploitation were
inadequate. While national statistics were unavailable, in 2009 the NGO
ARSIS reported finding 638 street children in Athens and Thessaloniki.
In 2009 and 2010, according to ARSIS, there was a significant rise in
the total number of street children, especially Romani children from
Bulgaria and Romania. However, the number of street children from
Albania declined.
The deputy ombudsman for children's rights cited serious,
persistent problems in the Center for Care of Children of Lechaina
(Peloponnese) where, due to a lack of staff, children were sedated,
tied to their beds, or even confined in wooden cages to limit their
mobility.
Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 18. However, child
marriage was common within the Romani community, and there were a
limited numbers of marriages of persons under 18 among the Muslim
minority in Thrace and Athens, performed with the permission of the
prosecutor. NGOs reported that Romani women typically marry and have
children at a very early age, reportedly as young as 13. A tradition in
the Romani community, child marriages also stemmed from a lack of
education and work opportunities.
The state-appointed muftis, who may apply Shari'a in family
matters, noted that the marriage of children under age of 15 is not
allowed and, in order to protect children, marriages involving minors
between the ages of 16 and 18 required a prosecutor's decision.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes sex with
children under the age of 15. If the victim is under ten years of age,
the sentence carries at least ten years imprisonment; if the victim is
between 10 and 13, up to ten years; and if the victim is 13 and over,
the length of imprisonment is not specified and is determined by the
court. The law prohibits the possession and circulation of child
pornography, treating it as a felony punishable by five to 10 years'
imprisonment.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Local leaders estimated the Jewish community
numbered 5,000. Isolated expressions of anti-Semitism occurred,
particularly in the extremist press and some blogs.
In November in response to the forming of the new coalition
government that included the LAOS party, some of whose members had
previously made anti-Semitic remarks, the Central Board of Jewish
Communities in Greece issued an announcement. The announcement
emphasized the belief that, while the new government included
representatives of a political party whose members had expressed anti-
Jewish propaganda, the government would ``continue the same policy
against racism and anti-Semitism that all previous democratic
governments in Greece have maintained. and not allow any violation of
the Constitution that provides for the equality of all citizens
regardless of race or religion.''
LAOS Party leader Georgios Karatzaferis had made numerous anti-
Semitic statements in the past, insinuating that Jews planned the
September 11 attacks and denying the existence of the Holocaust. Four
members of LAOS held various ministerial positions in the interim Greek
government. Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Maroudis
Voridis in 1994 formed an anti-Semitic and nationalist party called
``Hellenic Front,'' which in 2005 merged with LAOS. Deputy Minister for
Regional Development, Competitiveness, and Shipping Adonis Georgiadis
also claimed in 2009 that ``all major banks belong to the Jews.''
Additionally, on his television show Georgiadis publicized Kostas
Plevris' anti-Semitic book The Jews--the Whole Truth and was a witness
for Plevris in the latter's lawsuit against members of the Greek Jewish
community and NGOs, whom he sued for publicly criticizing judges who
had earlier acquitted him of inciting hatred and racial violence with
his book. The trial in question of the Greek Helsinki Monitor and
Jewish community representatives was postponed.
In April vandals committed an arson attack on a synagogue in Corfu.
In May unknown perpetrators desecrated a synagogue in Volos (Central
Greece). Unknown perpetrators in June twice desecrated the Holocaust
Monument in Thessaloniki with swastikas. In September unknown
perpetrators drew anti-Semitic graffiti on a street art composition in
Nea Ionia (suburb of Athens).
In December 2010, during an interview on the country's largest
television station, Metropolitan of Piraeus Seraphim blamed world Jewry
for the country's financial problems and claimed that the Jews
themselves orchestrated the Holocaust. The Jewish community, the
country's government, and some of Metropolitan Seraphim's
coreligionists condemned his comments. Subsequently, in a statement
released in January, Metropolitan Seraphim reiterated his belief that
the Jews controlled the banking system but stated that Hitler was a
``horrible criminal against humanity.'' His statement also equated
Zionism with ``Satanism.'' The government and other church officials
immediately condemned the statements.
The government condemned all incidents of vandalism and desecration
and provided funds for the restoration of the Chania synagogue damaged
in arson attacks in December 2009-January 2010. The police routinely
investigated all such instances of vandalism and desecration.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with all known disabilities in employment, education,
access to health care, or the provision of other government services.
In practice NGOs and organizations for disability rights reported that
government enforcement of these provisions was uneven. The law mandates
access to buildings for persons with disabilities and special ramps for
the sidewalks and means of public transportation; however, authorities
enforced this law poorly. Activists for the rights of persons with
disabilities reported that, although special ramps for sidewalks were
being constructed throughout the country, sidewalks and special ramps
were overwhelmingly occupied by parked vehicles, thus hindering
accessibility for persons with disabilities. The general lack of
accessibility forced such persons to remain at home and led to serious
social exclusion. Research by the Polytechnic School of Athens during
the year revealed that 69 percent of the country's ports were not
accessible to passengers with disabilities. The law allows service
animals to accompany blind persons in all mass transit, but blind
activists claimed they faced serious problems when attempting to use
city transportation with their dogs.
Only 5 percent of public buildings were fully accessible to persons
with disabilities, with the majority of these in Athens; even buildings
with special ramps did not, for the most part, have accessible
elevators or lavatories. The deputy ombudsman for social welfare
handled complaints related to persons with disabilities, especially
those related to employment, social security, and transportation.
In 2009 the Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity estimated
there were 180,000 children with disabilities with special educational
needs. The Teachers' Association estimated in 2009 that only 18,500 of
these children attended primary school and that of these only 10
percent would attend secondary school, due to a lack of either local
special education schools or accessibility. According to NGOs working
on this issue, the situation worsened over the year.
The Confederation of the Disabled reiterated during the year that
education was not available for persons with serious disabilities, and
many such persons were forced either to leave school due to lack of
accessibility or to accept a low-quality education at the special
education schools. The confederation stated that only two of the 10
universities in Athens were accessible to persons with disabilities and
that 80 percent of children in special schools for children with
disabilities were housed in buildings unsuitable to their needs.
The Confederation of the Disabled estimated the unemployment rate
for persons with disabilities to be 84 percent in 2010 and called
unemployment the greatest social problem they faced.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to NGOs, Roma
continued to face widespread governmental and societal discrimination,
including alleged police abuse or mistreatment while in police custody;
regular raids and searches of their neighborhoods for criminal
suspects, drugs, and weapons; limited access to education; and
segregated schooling. Their dwellings lacked running water,
electricity, or waste removal and were at times demolished by municipal
authorities. NGOs and representatives of the Romani community reported
that government efforts to address these problems were inconsistent,
especially at the municipal level.
The law prohibits the encampment of ``wandering nomads'' without a
permit and forces Roma to establish settlements outside inhabited areas
and far from permanent housing. There were approximately 70 Romani
camps in the country. Local and international NGOs charged that the
enforced separation of Romani settlements from other inhabited areas
contravened the country's commitments under the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In
addition Roma were reportedly threatened with forced evictions.
In his report on human rights the deputy ombudsman for human rights
noted that, in addition to the grave housing problem, Roma faced very
serious social exclusion and Romani women and children were
particularly vulnerable. Very few indigenous Romani children attended
school; alien Romani children tended not to go to school at all; and
government projects to attract Romani children to education had very
limited success. According to statistics from the EU Agency for
Fundamental Rights for 2009, only 4 percent of Roma reported having
attended school for at least 10 years, and 63 percent were living in
segregated conditions, effectively cut off from mainstream society and
municipal services.
In February the prosecutor ordered lower courts to take action to
combat exclusion of Romani children from education. The lower courts
ignored the order. In September the Greek Helsinki Monitor stated that
segregation of Romani children in schools was a persistent phenomenon
and noted the existence of Roma-only schools throughout the country as
well as the refusal of school authorities in a number of areas to allow
Romani children access to schools.
Romani children also continued to face social exclusion and lack of
access to social services, in part because they accompanied their
parents who primarily worked as wandering merchants or engaged in
selling scrap materials. According to the deputy ombudsman for human
rights, Roma lived in ``extremely dangerous and unacceptable shacks''
in many areas, and government housing projects for indigenous Roma have
been largely unsuccessful.
The life expectancy for Roma was estimated at 55 years (compared to
79 for the rest of the population). Although some progress in
vaccinations was made, approximately 90 percent of Romani children were
still not vaccinated, and the rate of hepatitis B among Roma was three
times higher than among the rest of the population. The incarceration
rate for Roma was seven times higher than that of the general
population.
Media and NGOs reported multiple attacks on immigrants by far-right
extremist groups. NGOs and labor unions expressed deep concern over the
rise in racist violence by far-right groups.
Immigrants, who made up approximately 10 percent of the total
population of the country, also reportedly faced widespread societal
discrimination and accused the police of physical, verbal, and other
mistreatment. They reported the confiscation and destruction of
personal documents, particularly during police sweeps to apprehend
undocumented immigrants.
Migrant groups and NGO activists alleged that violent attacks
directed at immigrants took place throughout the year. Perpetrators
allegedly launched multiple arson attacks during the year on makeshift
mosques in downtown Athens. In one such attack in March, five persons
were injured.
Vigilantes, allegedly including members of the far-right group
Golden Dawn, launched several attacks against illegal immigrants
throughout the year, such as in September against the secretary of the
Sudanese community, and in March and September against Pakistanis,
Afghans, and other migrants.
The UNHCR sent a letter to the prime minister in September noting
its concern over the series of criminal attacks ``with the sole
criterion being the color of the skin or the country of origin'' of the
victim.
A number of citizens identified themselves as Turks, Pomaks
(Slavic-speaking Muslims), Vlachs (a Balkan minority group speaking a
dialect of Romanian), Roma, Arvanites (Orthodox Christians who speak a
dialect of Albanian), or Macedonians. Some members of these groups
sought to be identified officially as ``minorities'' or ``linguistic
minorities.'' The government considers the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as
providing the exclusive definition of minorities in the country and
defining their group rights. Accordingly, the government recognizes
only a ``Muslim minority.'' An officially recognized Muslim minority of
approximately 150,000 members resided in Thrace and was composed
primarily of ethnic Turkish, Pomak, and Romani communities. Some
members of the Pomak community claimed members of the Turkish-speaking
community pressured them to deny the existence of a Pomak identity
separate from a Turkish identity.
Although the government neither confers official status on any
indigenous ethnic group, nor recognizes ``ethnic minority'' or
``linguistic minority'' as legal terms, it affirms an individual's
right of self-identification. However, many individuals who defined
themselves as members of ``a minority'' found it difficult to express
their identity freely and maintain their culture. Use of the terms
Tourkos and Tourkikos (``Turk'' and ``Turkish'') is prohibited in
titles of organizations, although individuals legally may call
themselves Tourkos. Associations with either term in their name were
denied official recognition.
The government did not recognize the existence of a Slavic dialect,
called ``Macedonian'' by its speakers, in the northwestern area of the
country. Nevertheless, a small number of its speakers insisted on
identifying themselves as ``Macedonian,'' a designation that generated
strong opposition from other citizens. These individuals claimed that
the government pursued a policy designed to discourage the use of their
language. Government officials and the courts denied requests by Slavic
groups to identify themselves using the term ``Macedonian,'' stating
that approximately 2.2 million ethnically (and linguistically) Greek
citizens also use the term ``Macedonian'' to identify themselves.
The U.N. independent expert on minority issues, in a 2009 report,
urged the government to withdraw from the dispute over whether there
was a ``Macedonian'' or a ``Turkish'' ethnic minority in the country.
She advised focusing instead on protecting the rights to self-
identification, freedom of expression, and freedom of association of
those communities and on complying fully with the rulings of the ECHR
that associations should be allowed to use the words ``Macedonian'' and
``Turkish'' in their names and to express their ethnic identities
freely. The independent expert found that those identifying themselves
as ethnic Macedonians continued to report discrimination and
harassment. Representatives of the minority claimed they were denied
the right to freedom of association, citing unsuccessful efforts since
1990 to register the organization ``Home of Macedonian Culture'' in
Florina.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While the legal age of consent
for sexual intercourse is 15, it is 17 for sex between men. The law
does not specify an age of consent for sex between women. The NGO
Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (OLKE) stated that the
higher age of consent for gay men and the lack of any legal framework
for lesbian sex constituted discrimination. OLKE also criticized the
country's laws against hate speech for not including sexual orientation
or gender identity.
The police provided adequate security, and the mayor of Athens
sponsored the annual Gay Pride parade in central Athens in June; there
were no reports of impediments to the march.
NGOs reported that societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity was widespread but focused on gay
relationships. Transgender persons were exempt from military service on
disability grounds.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Observers indicated
that individuals with HIV/AIDS suffered from high social exclusion
rates and a loss of employment if they revealed their status.
There were no reports of dismissal from work due to HIV/AIDS during
the year. Persons with HIV/AIDS were exempt from military service on
medical grounds.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law grants all workers, with the exception of members of the
military services, the right to form and join independent unions;
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference; and
permits workers in the private sector, the government, and parastatal
corporations to strike. The law also provides for the right to bargain
collectively. Workers and unions exercised these rights freely in
practice. No antiunion discrimination was reported during the year.
Agricultural employees, most of whom were foreigners, were not
unionized.
Police have the right to organize and demonstrate but not to
strike. There are some legal restrictions on strikes, including a
mandatory notice period of four days for public utility workers
(including those in the transportation sector), and 24 hours for
workers in the private sector. The law mandates minimum staff levels
(as determined by management) during strikes affecting public services.
Courts may declare a strike illegal, but they seldom enforced such
decisions. Unions complained that this judicial power deterred some of
their members from participating in strikes. Courts declared some
strikes (of transportation workers, air traffic controllers, garbage
collectors, dock workers, and others) illegal during the year for such
reasons as the union's failure to give adequate advance notice of the
strike or introduction of new demands during the course of the strike,
but no workers were prosecuted for striking. During the year numerous
strikes involving private and public sector employees, public utility
employees, truck drivers, and garbage collectors took place. There were
no apparent government impediments to the right to strike.
All workers in the country are covered by collective bargaining
agreements except for security and armed forces personnel, whose
salaries are determined by the state. Reforms of the labor laws during
the year allowed company-level agreements to take precedence over
sectoral-level collective agreements in the private sector. Civil
servants negotiate and conclude collective agreements with the
government on all issues except for salaries, for which the government
has a constitutionally provided prerogative. The legislation imposes a
salary cap for employees of public enterprises as well as a 10 percent
salary cut for salaries above a certain limit. The unions protested the
reforms and alleged to the International Labor Organization (ILO) that
implementation of the legislation would violate ILO conventions
protecting the right to collective bargaining which the country
ratified.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, women,
children, and men were trafficked for labor exploitation in
agricultural and construction sectors. The National Coordination
Mechanism to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Human Beings and the
Hellenic Police's antitrafficking unit, among other government
entities, worked to prevent and eliminate labor trafficking. In April
the antitrafficking police removed 35 Romanians who worked in forced
labor conditions harvesting strawberries in the Peloponnese. During the
same month the antitrafficking police also dismantled a Bulgarian ring
bringing minors and persons with disabilities into the country and
forcing them to beg.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although the law protects children from exploitation in the workplace
and prohibits forced or compulsory labor, the government did not
adequately protect children, primarily Roma, who were trafficked for
begging, pickpocketing, or selling merchandise on the street.
The minimum age for employment in the industrial sector is 15, with
higher limits for some activities. The minimum age is 12 in family
businesses, theaters, and the cinema. The Labor Inspectorate enforced
these limits by occasional spot checks, and they were generally
observed. Younger family members often assisted families in
agriculture, food service, and merchandising on at least a part-time
basis.
Child labor was a problem. A number of children begged or sold
small items in the streets. The government and NGOs reported that the
majority of beggars were either indigenous Roma or Albanian Roma.
Drawing upon recent Ministry of Education data, local children's
advocates estimated that a large number of the 150,000 children under
the age of 18 who dropped out of school each year ended up in the labor
market, often in poorly paid and arduous positions. Jobs for dropouts
included washing cars, pumping gas, construction, and low-level service
sector employment.
For some years there were reports that unaccompanied immigrant
children, working mainly in the agriculture, construction, and garment
manufacturing sectors, were particularly vulnerable to labor
exploitation, and the situation remained largely unchanged during the
year.
Children from Albania were reportedly trafficked and forced to beg,
with some parents forcing their children to beg for money or using them
to elicit sympathy while the parents themselves begged.
The Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing child labor
legislation; however, trade unions alleged that enforcement was
inadequate due to inspectorate understaffing.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The gross national minimum wage
in the private sector was 34 euros ($44) per day and 751 euros ($976)
per month. Public sector salaries, including the minimum wage, were
determined by the government without negotiations with civil servant
unions. The minimum gross salary for the public sector was 780 euros
($1,014) per month. The National Statistical Authority estimated in
2008 (the latest statistics available) that the poverty income level
for an individual was 6,480 euros ($8,424) per year. Wages were
officially the same for local and foreign workers, but there were
numerous reports of exploitation of documented, and even more reports
of exploitation of undocumented, foreign workers by employers who paid
low wages and made no social security contributions. Workers in the
shadow economy, estimated to comprise approximately 25-35 percent of
gross domestic product, usually received less than the minimum wage and
had no social security coverage. The Labor Inspectorate estimated in
September that more than 35 percent of migrants received salaries below
the minimum and did not have social security coverage. The law allows
employers to pay workers under the age of 25 wages amounting to 84
percent of the national minimum wage.
The maximum legal workweek is 40 hours. The law provides for at
least one 24-hour rest period per week, mandates paid vacation of one
month per year, and sets limits on the amount of overtime. Premium pay
and authorization by the Ministry of Employment and Social Security are
required by law for overtime work. The Labor Inspectorate is
responsible for enforcement of labor legislation; however, trade unions
alleged that enforcement was inadequate, especially in the construction
and public works sectors and in medium and small enterprises, due to
insufficient inspectorate staffing. The actual number of labor
inspectors was unavailable.
The law provides for minimum standards of occupational health and
safety. The General Confederation of Greek Workers characterized health
and safety laws as satisfactory but stated that enforcement by the
Labor Inspectorate was inadequate. Workers have the right to lodge a
confidential complaint with the Labor Inspectorate regarding hazardous
conditions or situations they believe endanger their health. Inspectors
can close machinery or a process for up to five days if they find
safety or health hazards that they believe present an imminent danger
to workers.
The labor inspectorate reported 2,184 labor accidents in 2010, of
which 19 were fatal.
__________
HUNGARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hungary is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Legislative
authority is vested in the unicameral National Assembly (parliament).
The parliament elects the president (the head of state) every five
years. The president appoints a prime minister from the majority party
or coalition following a two-round national election every four years.
The last parliamentary elections in April 2010 were assessed as free
and fair. The conservative Fidesz-Christian Democrat (KDNP) coalition
won a two-thirds majority. Fidesz's prime ministerial candidate, Viktor
Orban, took office in May 2010. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Among the most important human rights problems during the year were
societal discrimination and exclusion of the Romani population and
violent right-wing extremism. Discrimination against Roma exacerbated
their already limited access to education, employment, health care, and
social services. Right-wing extremism, including public campaigns by
paramilitaries to intimidate and incite hatred against Roma and other
minorities, increased. Also the government began implementing a new law
that restricts media freedom by increasing government influence over
the media in general. The government also adopted a new Fundamental Law
to replace the 1949 constitution, as well as more than 20 cardinal
laws. New laws concerning the judicial system, religious organizations,
and media freedom gave rise to concerns that the new legislation could
undermine the country's democratic institutions by removing key checks
and balances. The Fundamental Law and most cardinal laws were to come
in to force on January 1, 2012.
Other human rights problems during the year included police use of
excessive force against suspects, particularly Roma; new restrictions
on due process; new laws that caused concerns over the broad powers of
the media regulatory authority, which could encourage self-censorship;
government corruption; questionable layoffs of state media employees;
societal violence against women and children; sexual harassment of
women; anti-Semitism; trafficking in persons; and the adoption of laws
that weakened the labor rights of civil servants.
The government generally took steps to prosecute and punish
officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or
elsewhere in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
On July 18, the Budapest Metropolitan Court's Military Panel
acquitted 97-year-old Sandor Kepiro, a former officer in the
gendarmerie, of war crime charges due to lack of sufficient evidence.
In 1944 Hungarian courts convicted Kepiro for his role in the Serbian
1942 Novi Sad massacre in which more than 1,200 persons were killed,
most of them Jews. However, his sentence was never carried out. In 2006
the Simon Wiesenthal Center discovered that Kepiro was living in
Budapest, and in 2007 the prosecutor's office opened a new case against
him. Both the prosecutor and the defendant appealed the July 18
verdict. On September 3, Kepiro passed away, and the appellate court
invalidated the verdict on October 21 pursuant to the law on criminal
procedure code.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) reported that police often
verbally and physically abused suspects of Roma origin in certain areas
of the country, most frequently in the northeastern Borsod-Abauj-
Zemplen County.
Authorities opened criminal investigations of police misconduct in
224 cases in connection with large antigovernment demonstrations and
riots in 2006 in Budapest and other major cities. Prosecutors pressed
charges against 36 police officers and terminated the investigation in
175 cases without charges. Courts dismissed charges in 23 cases and
found defendants guilty of causing bodily harm in 12 cases. The
verdicts were not subject to appeal. One case remained pending at the
appellate court and 23 other cases remained under investigation at
year's end. On March 15, the chairman of the Human Rights Committee,
Istvan Balsai, appointed by the prime minister to be special
commissioner in charge of investigating the 2006 demonstrations,
completed his 150-page report. The ``Balsai Report'' cited 15 crimes
allegedly committed by police and other state bodies and suggested that
political and police leadership, including former prime minister Ferenc
Gyurcsany and former Budapest police chief Peter Gergenyi, might be
criminally responsible. The report also called for an inquiry into acts
committed by the state related to the demonstrations in the fall of
2006. On October 6, parliament's Human Rights Committee presented the
report to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
In 2006 the Budapest Military Prosecutor's Office opened the first
of the total of 16 investigations based on abuse of authority and
maltreatment in official proceedings in connection with the alleged
mistreatment and physical abuse of detainees in the Nagy Ignac prison
committed during the 2006 demonstrations. At year's end all these
investigations were closed without pressing charges due to the lack of
evidence.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Overcrowding and poor
conditions were the main problems in the prison system.
At year's end there were 17,210 inmates in prisons and detention
centers, including 1,237 women and 527 juveniles. The prison population
increased to 137 percent of capacity, compared with 132 percent in
2010. The official capacity of the Prison Service is 12,604.
According to the National Prison Service Headquarters, nine inmates
committed suicide during the year. In each case, a mandatory
investigation cleared prison guards and other prisoners of any
responsibility for the deaths.
According to human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),
prisoners generally had access to potable water.
The parliamentary commissioner (or ombudsman) for civil rights,
Mate Szabo, handles prison complaints in general. On November 24, the
government appointed Szabo to the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM)
under the Optional Protocol to the U.N. Convention against Torture
(OPCAT). The ombudsman has no authority to act on behalf of prisoners.
In a report published on August 2, Szabo criticized placing inmates
in special security departments and cells. On September 5, the
ombudsman issued two investigative reports on the prisons of
Marianosztra and Szombathely. The first report concluded that inmates
in Marianosztra were kept in inhuman, humiliating, and dangerous
conditions as prison cells were overcrowded, toilets were only
separated with curtains, and several inmates were unable to bathe for
two weeks after being admitted. The second report concluded that
procedures in Szombathely prison violated inmate rights to human
dignity and fair procedure by failing to provide proper clothing for
the period of solitary confinement and by repeatedly rejecting inmates'
legitimate complaints.
The Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) continued to complain that
detainees who alleged physical mistreatment usually were only examined
by internal medical staff. According to a 2010 order of the national
police chief, medical examinations can be conducted in the absence of
law enforcement staff only at the request of the detainee or the
doctor, and only if permitted by the senior guard supervisor.
The law provides prisoners with a minimum of one 30-minute visit
per month. In practice, prison wardens decide the maximum length of
visiting time, which at most facilities is one hour. The HHC asserted
that the one-hour monthly limit on visits could not be regarded as
reasonable access to visitors, especially in the case of pretrial
detainees.
The law allowed detainees telephone calls in accordance with the
technical capacity of the individual penitentiary. The HHC reported
that telephone calls were available in every institution, but their
permitted length varied significantly.
Authorities generally permitted prisoners and detainees to submit
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request
investigation of alleged inhumane conditions.
NGOs reported that prisoners and detainees were permitted religious
observance. The law provides female prisoners with 37.67 square feet
free movement space ``if possible,'' while men are provided with 32.29
square feet.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, such as the
Hungarian Helsinki Committee, and the media. The HHC announced that it
conducted three ad hoc visits to inmates who reported serious
complaints and met with prisoners without the presence of prison
officials. The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture also was permitted to monitor prison and detention center
conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police
Headquarters (NPH), which operates under the direction of the Ministry
of Interior, is responsible for maintaining order nationwide. Nineteen
county police departments and the Budapest police headquarters are
directly subordinate to the NPH; city police are subordinate to the
county police and have local jurisdiction. Two hierarchically equal
units are directly subordinate to the minister of interior: the
Counterterrorism Center, which is responsible for protecting the prime
minister and the president and for preventing and investigating
terrorist acts, including kidnapping and hijacking, and the National
Defense Service (NDS). The Hungarian Defense Force is subordinate to
the Ministry of Defense and is responsible for external security as
well as aspects of domestic security and disaster response.
On January 1, the new NDS commenced operations aimed at eliminating
corruption within law enforcement agencies, replacing the former
Defense Service of Law Enforcement Agencies. The new NDS had increased
authority, including the authority to use covert intelligence tools,
and operated under the direct supervision of the minister of interior
and the prosecutor general.
Organized citizen groups, such as neighborhood and town watches,
played an important role in helping police prevent crime. At the
beginning of the year, far-right extremists continued to take advantage
of the law to form vigilante groups and conduct patrols in smaller
towns in eastern Hungary, apparently to intimidate the local Roma
population. On April 23, the government issued a decree providing for
fines of up to 100,000 forints ($414) for any failure of local
neighborhood watch members to cooperate with the police. On May 2,
parliament amended the penal code to increase sentences for
unauthorized law enforcement activities. According to the amended code,
anyone who organizes an unauthorized law enforcement effort commits an
offense punishable by up to two years in prison. On November 29,
parliament amended the law in order to require neighborhood watch
groups to complete a written agreement with relevant police stations.
The prosecutor's office maintained legal control over the operation of
the neighborhood watch groups and could initiate legal proceedings at
court upon the lack of the written cooperation agreement with the
police.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over police, the
NDS, and the armed forces, and the government has effective mechanisms
to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports
of security forces acting with impunity.
While there were no reports of impunity, the HHC noted that there
was a great disparity between the number of indictments of members of
security forces alleged to have committed abuses and the indictment of
persons alleged to have committed violent acts against officials. In
the first six months of the year, only 6 percent of complaints of abuse
by members of the security forces resulted in an indictment, while 76
percent of alleged acts of violence against an official person resulted
in an indictment. There was also a significant disparity between the
conviction rate of members of the security forces charged with a crime
(60 percent) and the conviction rate for persons indicted for violence
against an official person (96 percent).
The Military Prosecutor's Office is responsible for conducting
proceedings involving any member of the armed forces charged with a
criminal offense. On November 28, parliament amended the law
integrating the formerly independent Military Prosecutor's Office into
a united Prosecutor's Office under the supervision of the Central
Investigative Chief Prosecutor's Office. The law was scheduled to come
into effect in 2012.
In the first nine months of the year, authorities found 3,022
police officers responsible for breaches of discipline, 766 guilty of
petty offenses, 283 guilty of criminal offenses, and 10 unfit for duty.
In the same period, courts sentenced four police officers to prison
terms, gave suspended sentences to 39, fined 106, and dismissed 12. In
the same period, courts convicted 37 officers of corruption. No
information was available on the number placed on probation.
Victims of lesser police abuses may complain either to the alleged
violator's unit or to the Independent Police Complaints Board (IPCB),
which investigated violations and omissions by the police that affected
fundamental rights. The five-member body, appointed by a two-thirds
majority of parliament, functions independently of police authorities.
At year's end the board had received 805 reports from the public. It
reviewed 458 complaints (including some cases filed in 2010) and found
serious legal violations in 67 and minor legal violations in 33. The
board forwarded the 67 cases to the national police chief, who agreed
with the findings in two cases, partially accepted the findings in
three, and rejected the findings in three. The rest remained pending.
The IPCB's authority is limited to making recommendations to the NPH
and reporting its findings to parliament.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may
take individuals into ``short-term arrest'' if they are caught
committing a crime, suspected of having committed a crime, subject to
an arrest warrant, or unable or unwilling to identify themselves.
Individuals who cannot prove their identity with identification
documents may be charged with a petty offense. Short-term arrests
generally last up to eight hours, but may last up to 12 hours in
exceptional cases. Police may detain suspects whom they consider
security threats for 24 hours. Police and the prosecutor's office may
order the 72-hour detention of suspects if there is a well-founded
suspicion of an offense punishable with imprisonment or if the
subsequent pretrial detention of the defendant seems likely. If the
court does not order pretrial detention within 72 hours, police must
release the detainee.
Under certain conditions (such as risk of escape, or hindrance of
an investigation), a prosecutor can file a motion with the local court
of the district where the accused is taken into custody to request
pretrial detention. Pretrial detention ordered by the court lasts until
the issuance of a trial court ruling. Detention ordered by an appeals
court lasts until the delivery of the final binding decision, but no
longer than the length of imprisonment imposed by the trial court's
sentence. The HHC continued to criticize the practice of pretrial
detention.
On July 4, parliament amended the criminal procedure code,
introducing the criminal category of ``priority cases,'' which entered
into force on July 13. The amendment reclassifies as priority cases
specific criminal acts, such as the abuse of authority; crimes
committed in criminal organization; acquisition of unlawful economic
advantage; bankruptcy, money laundering, tax and social security fraud;
and crimes without statute of limitation (such as crimes against
humanity, first-degree murder, kidnapping, violence against a superior
or person in authority, acts of terrorism, seizure of aircraft, or
mutiny). Authorities may apply special procedures to priority cases,
including detaining suspects for up to 120 (instead of 72) hours
without court order and banning access to a defense lawyer without
judicial review in the first 48 hours of detention. In addition, the
prosecutor general can choose in which court to press charges, based on
court workload, which could lead, some critics claimed, to ``venue
shopping.''
On August 4, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Andras Baka turned
to the Constitutional Court to challenge the modified criminal
proceedings in priority cases. On December 19, the Constitutional Court
struck down the new provisions on priority cases, including those that
allowed for 120 hours of detention, the ban on access to a defense
lawyer in the first 48 hours of detention, and the prosecutor general's
power to try priority cases at a court of his choosing. However, on
December 30, parliament adopted the Transitional Provisions of the
Fundamental Law for the country's new constitution, which reintroduced
the prosecutor general's authority to designate the court for cases in
order to ensure the fundamental right to a speedy trial, and a balanced
caseload throughout the court system. The same law also empowered the
president of the newly established National Court Administration Office
(OBH) to designate the court for cases in order to ensure the
fundamental right to a speedy trial and balanced caseload throughout
the court system. The Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law is
scheduled to enter into force on January 1, 2012.
Police must inform suspects of the charges against them and of the
section of the criminal code under which they are charged at the
beginning of their first interrogation, which must be within 24 hours
of detention. Authorities generally respected this right.
There is a functioning bail system. However, bail is restricted in
cases when there is a flight risk. According to the HHC, bail and other
alternatives to pretrial detention were underused. HHC claimed that the
lack of a monitoring system and devices is generally the reason for the
underutilization of alternatives to pretrial detention, such as house
arrest or geographical ban.
According to the law, police must inform suspects of their right to
counsel before questioning them. Representation by defense counsel is
mandatory when suspects face a charge punishable with imprisonment of
more than five years; are deaf, blind, or suffering from a mental
disorder; are unfamiliar with the Hungarian language; are unable to
defend themselves in person for any other reason; are juveniles; or are
indigent and request the appointment of a defense counsel. When defense
counsel is required, suspects have three days to hire an attorney;
otherwise, the police or the prosecutor will appoint one. If suspects
make clear their unwillingness to retain counsel, police or the
prosecutor are required to appoint counsel immediately. However,
neither police nor the prosecutor are obligated to wait for counsel to
arrive before interrogating the suspect. According to human rights
NGOs, police routinely proceeded with interrogation immediately after
notifying suspects of their right to counsel.
On November 24, the ombudsman published a report urging the
National Prison Service Headquarters (BVOP) to eliminate the 1998 BVOP
order that permits prison wardens to listen to the first 15 seconds of
the telephone conversation between pretrial detainees and defense
lawyers with the aim of determining the identity of the person called.
The ombudsman found that this order violates the 1996 ministerial
decree that prohibits listening to telephone conversations between
pretrial detainees and defense lawyers.
The law permits short-term detainees to notify relatives or others
of their detention within eight hours unless the notification would
jeopardize the investigation. The investigative authorities must notify
relatives of a detainee who is under ``72 hour detention'' of the
detention and the detainee's location within 24 hours. NGOs reported
that in practice police did not fully comply with this requirement.
Arbitrary Arrest.--According to the Prosecutor General's Office,
during the year, there were 88 official complaints of arbitrary
detention. The Office of the Prosecutor General rejected 46 complaints,
closed the investigation without pressing charges in 37 cases,
initiated indictments in four cases, and closed one case with
reprimand.
Pretrial Detention.--The HHC reported its concerns that some court
decisions ordering pretrial detention were arbitrary even if the
detentions were correct procedurally. According to the HHC, some court
decisions ordering pretrial detention often were not adequately
substantiated with facts, and the arguments put forth by the defense
were neither taken under consideration nor mentioned in the decisions.
In December 2010 parliament amended the law permitting the
detention of asylum seekers during the entire refugee status
determination process. The HHC continued to criticize the government's
practice of keeping asylum seekers in immigration detention
facilitates. On September 20, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
ruled in an immigration detention case submitted by the HHC that
Hungary had violated its obligation to avoid arbitrary detention by
maintaining the detention even after the applicants were admitted to
the in-merit phase of the asylum procedure. According to the HHC, the
detention of many asylum seekers still can be regarded as arbitrary
according to the principles the ECHR laid down in the judgment, since
the practice does not assess individually the need for prolonged
detention and detention appears to be ordered automatically (see
section 1.e., Regional Human Rights Court Decisions).
Human rights NGOs continued to criticize the 2010 amendment of the
law on petty offenses permitting the incarceration of juveniles (under
18) in cases when the juvenile has no income or property and thus
cannot be fined as a way of punishment. Alternative sanctions, such as
community service or mediation, also do not apply in such cases. Human
rights NGOs expressed concern that the law left no alternative to
incarceration of juveniles convicted of minor offenses. On January 31,
civil rights ombudsman Mate Szabo published a statement emphasizing
that the incarceration of juveniles disproportionately and
unnecessarily limits their right to personal freedom and personal
security. Szabo urged the government to amend the relevant law to
prohibit the incarceration of juveniles.
The law provides that persons held in pretrial detention and later
acquitted may receive monetary compensation. According to the National
Prison Service Headquarters, on December 31, 4,875 persons were being
held in pretrial detention. Of these, 1,039 had been incarcerated for
six months to a year and 770 had been held for more than a year.
Research conducted in 2008 by the HHC with data from the police and
the National Police College indicated that Roma were three times more
likely to be stopped for identification checks than non-Roma, although
Roma were no more likely to be involved in unlawful activities than
non-Roma.
Amnesty.--President Pal Schmitt issued 17 official pardons during
the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. The Fundamental Law adopted by
parliament on April 25 provides for independent and impartial courts
and a fair public trial within a reasonable period.
During the year Supreme Court Chief Justice Baka expressed concern
over the independence of the judiciary in connection with the newly
adopted nullity law, the law on the mandatory retirement of judges, the
amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (see Arrest Procedures and
Treatment While in Detention), and the law on court administration.
According to Baka, the nullity law annulled court verdicts in certain
cases related to the 2006 antigovernment demonstrations. It violated
judicial independence by denying judges the right to consider cases
(see section 1.c.). On April 14, Baka, together with five heads of
courts of appeal and 15 heads of county courts, issued a joint
statement criticizing the mandatory retirement regime, alleging that it
could create the possibility for political intervention and reduce
judicial independence. The mandatory retirement law, adopted on June 20
and effective in 2012, reduces the age for mandatory retirement of
ordinary judges and prosecutors by eight years (from 70 to 62), then
gradually increases it to 65 by 2021. Baka also stated that there were
no checks and balances on the ``unrestricted, nontransparent and
incontrollable'' power of the president of the OBH.
On November 20, Fidesz submitted a bill to parliament on the
Transitional Provisions of the Fundamental Law, which terminated the
mandate of the president of the Supreme Court. On December 28, Baka
countered that his removal was illegal, asserting that he was forced
out of office because he had openly criticized the government's plan to
reform the judiciary system.
On November 28, parliament adopted the new law on the organization
and administration of courts and another law on statutes and
remuneration of judges. The new law on court administration abolished
the National Council of Justice (OIT) and transformed the Supreme Court
into the Kuria as of December 31. The government declared that the new
laws meant to separate judicial and managerial functions, which had
been unified under the president of the Supreme Court, who was at the
same time president of the OIT. The new concept assigned court
management to the president of the OBH, while leaving oversight of the
uniform administration of justice with the president of the Kuria. The
law stipulated that a two-thirds majority of parliament elects the
president of OBH from among judges for a nine-year term. The OBH
president's authority includes budgetary and financial management of
courts; staffing, appointment, and controlling of court executives; and
distribution of caseload and the ability to apportion cases to
different courts. The incumbent president of OBH shall remain in the
position until parliament elects his or her successor. The new law also
established the National Council of Judges (OBT), a primarily
consultative body of 15 judges without any substantive decisive power.
While the OBT may offer opinions on the decisions of the OBH president
and forward its own proposals for consideration, the OBH president is
not bound by the OBT's actions.
On December13, parliament elected Tunde Hando (the president of the
Metropolitan Labor Court) as president of OBH and Peter Darak (a judge
at the Administrative Division of the Supreme Court) as president of
the Kuria. Some international and domestic critics observed that Hando
is the wife of Fidesz European Parliament member Jozsef Szajer and a
close friend of Prime Minister Orban and claimed that her appointment
constituted a politicization of the judicial system.
On June 6, parliament amended the constitution to increase the
number of Constitutional Court justices from 11 to 15, extend the
tenure of new justices from nine to 12 years, and eliminate the
possibility of their reelection. The amendment does not affect existing
justices. On June 14, parliament adopted a separate constitutional
amendment, under which the president of the Constitutional Court would
no longer be elected by the majority of court justices but by a two-
thirds majority of parliament. On June 27, parliament elected five new
Constitutional Court justices (for four new seats and one previous
vacancy). All the newly elected justices were nominated by the
governing Fidesz/KDNP coalition.
On July 13, the Constitutional Court ruled that it had no power to
review the constitutionality of parliament's passage of the new
constitution and constitutional amendments. The court also declared
that democratic checks and balances, as well as constitutional rights,
could be undermined if lawmakers added unconstitutional legal
regulations to the constitution in order to circumvent the authority of
the Constitutional Court. The ruling noted that, although the recent
practice of individual members of parliament submitting amendments to
the constitution and cardinal laws met the procedural requirements laid
down in the constitution, it challenged the requirements of a
democratic state and the supremacy of the rule of law. The ruling also
emphasized that the lack of substantive consultations and parliamentary
debates endangered the legitimacy of the constitution.
Human rights NGOs continued to criticize the 2010 law giving
additional rights to judicial secretaries (law school graduates
employed by the judiciary who have taken the bar examination but have
not been formally appointed as judges by the president), such as the
right to make decisions in petty offense cases punishable by
imprisonment. The NGOs asserted that judicial secretaries were not
independent because they were appointed by the head of their respective
county court.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and laws provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. The law extends these rights to all defendants. The new
constitution, effective in 2012, also provides for the right to a fair
public trial within a reasonable period of time.
Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. There is no
jury system; verdicts are rendered by judges. Judicial proceedings
generally are investigative rather than adversarial. Defendants have
the right to be present and are entitled to consult with an attorney
during all phases of criminal proceedings with the exception of the
``priority cases.'' Representation by defense counsel is mandatory for
defendants facing a charge for which the punishment is five years or
more in prison, as well as for those in detention. If a defendant fails
to retain counsel within three days, police or the prosecutor will
appoint one at public expense.
Defendants may challenge or question witnesses and present
witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have the
right of appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year, the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on 18 cases lodged by
citizens against the state. The government paid fines imposed by the
ECHR by the set deadline.
On November 3, the ECHR ruled in favor of a Hungarian Workers'
Party member. The party member had complained about his conviction for
wearing the five-pointed red star, which the Hungarian courts
considered a totalitarian symbol, at a demonstration in 2004. On
November 4, Speaker of the House Laszlo Kover stated in a press
interview that ``a couple of idiots in Strasbourg, lacking any idea of
what went on in this country for 50 years, think that demonstrating
with a red star constitutes a fundamental freedom.'' Kover also
expressed his hope that the law banning the red star would stay in
effect and authorities would continue to enforce it.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Under the law, persons may
seek damages for human rights violations. If domestic remedies have
been exhausted, individuals may submit complaints that Hungary has
violated the European Convention on Human Rights to the ECHR.
Property Restitution.--The Constantinople Patriarchy Hungarian
Exarchy (the Hungarian branch of the Greek Orthodox Church) continued
to demand the restitution of property that the Russian Orthodox
community has occupied since the 1950s. When Hungarian courts dismissed
the exarchy's claim to the property, the church filed a complaint with
the ECHR. The ECHR case was pending at year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
On May 12, the government sent out more than eight million
questionnaires to all Hungarian citizens above the age of 16 with
questions pertaining to pensions, welfare, and education. Respondents
were asked to return the questionnaires to the Central Office for
Administrative and Electronic Public Services (KEKKH) by June 15. On
June 7, the data protection ombudsman stated that the questionnaires
violated the right to privacy, as respondents had no opportunity to
reply anonymously. The ombudsman called on KEKKH to delete the personal
details (name, address, barcode, signature, and e-mail address)
supplied by the respondents from the authority's database. According to
the ombudsman, the responses or even the fact that someone had replied
to the questionnaire could be classified as a political opinion. On
August 16, the ombudsman issued a resolution ordering the deletion of
personal data from the questionnaires and prohibiting the creation of
illegal database and data management.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The media reflects diverse opinions, and the right to free
speech and freedom of the press is provided for by law. However, some
observers believe that concerns over the broad powers of the media
regulatory authority and a perceived decrease in judicial independence
could create a climate conducive to self-censorship and political
influence. The HCLU noted an increasing bias in news reporting by the
public media.
Freedom of Speech.--While individuals generally could criticize the
government in public or private without reprisal, individuals could be
held liable for their published statements or for publicizing libelous
statements made by others. Journalists reporting on an event could be
judged criminally responsible for making or reporting false statements.
Officials continued to use the libel laws to claim compensation for
perceived injuries to their character.
The criminal code includes provisions against incitement of hatred
and hate-inspired violence. Any person who publicly incites hatred
against any national, ethnic, or racial group or certain other groups
of the population is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
for up to three years. In addition, any person who verbally assaults
someone because of his membership in a national, ethnic, racial, or
religious group is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for up
to five years. NGOs criticized courts for failing to convict persons
for inciting hatred unless the crime was accompanied by a physical
assault.
Laws enacted in 2010 broadened the range of views whose expression
was illegal to include public denial, doubt about, or minimizing the
Holocaust, genocide, and other crimes of the National Socialist and
Communist regimes. The law provides that such crimes carry a maximum
sentence of three years in prison. In September 2010 the HCLU filed a
petition with the Constitutional Court to overturn the law, arguing
that it imposes serious restrictions on freedom of speech. The case
remained pending at year's end.
The law prohibits the public display of certain symbols. They
include the swastika, the hammer and sickle, and the arrow cross, a
symbol associated with the country's fascist World War II-era
government. The law prohibiting the public display of the five-pointed
red star remained in effect despite a 2008 ECHR ruling that declared it
to be a violation of the right to freedom of expression. On November 3,
the ECHR repeated this judgment in a subsequent case (see section 1.e.,
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions).
Freedom of Press.--On January 1, a series of new media regulations
adopted by parliament in November and December 2010 entered into force,
while provisions on print and online media and imposable fines became
effective on July 1. The new laws concentrated authority over the media
(including linear media services, on-demand media services, print, and
online press) in a single state administrative body with wide-ranging
authorities.
According to the law, the National Media and Info-communications
Authority (NMHH), subordinate to parliament, is the central state
administrative body for media issues. The authority of NMHH includes
overseeing the operation of broadcast and media markets as well as
``contributing to the execution of the government's policy in the area
of frequency management and telecommunications.'' The prime minister
appoints the NMHH president for a nine-year term with no limit on
reelection. The NMHH president also serves as chair of the five-member
Media Council, appointed by parliament to supervise electronic and
print media content. The four additional council members are elected to
nine-year terms by a two-thirds majority vote of the members of
parliament in attendance. The new public service broadcasting system
merged the supervisory boards of all state-owned public service
broadcasting entities (including the state news agency, MTI) into the
newly created Public Foundation for Public Service Media (MTVA) and
placed their finances and assets under the control of the new Media
Service Support and Asset Management Fund. The foundation is managed by
an eight-member Board of Trustees, six of whom are elected for nine-
year terms, while the chair and one other member are delegated by the
Media Council. The Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund is
in charge of promoting national audiovisual culture and public service
programs, under the supervision of the Media Council.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The laws introduced a new
content regulation regime and standards for journalistic rights,
ethics, and norms applicable to all media, including news portals and
online publications. According to the law, all citizens have the right
to be appropriately informed about local, national, and European public
affairs, as well as other ``events bearing relevance'' for citizens.
The law prohibits inciting hatred against persons, nations,
communities, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, majority groups,
churches, or religious groups. The legislation introduced the
institution of ``source protection'' maintaining the confidentiality of
information with respect to criminal proceedings. However, the law
provides exceptions to journalists' right to source protection in cases
when unauthorized sources reveal classified information if courts or
government authorities rule that such disclosure is ``in the interest
of protecting national security and public order, or uncovering or
preventing criminal acts.''
Effective July 1, the Media Council has the authority to impose
fines for violations of content regulation, including media services
that violate prohibitions on inciting hatred or violating human dignity
or regulations governing the protection of minors, public health,
public security, national security and consumers and investors. The
council may impose fines for violations ranging from 10 to 200 million
forints ($41,400 to $828,000), depending on the type of publication and
audience size. It may fine individual editors up to two million forints
($8,280). The council can also suspend the right to broadcast for up to
a week and is also empowered to render ``reprimanding judgments'' in
cases of content that it considers ``unbalanced.'' Decisions of the
Media Council may be challenged in court by lodging a petition against
the council, but the complaint shall not delay the Media Council's
sanction. Through October 20, the Media Council issued 70 resolutions
imposing fines totaling 410 million forints ($1.7 million) on 36 media
outlets. Twenty-one media organizations challenged the Media Council's
decision in court. All the court cases remained pending at year's end.
On September 5, the Media Council fined the right-wing television
channel Echo TV 500,000 forints ($2,070) over a February broadcast of
the program ``World Panorama,'' which contained openly racist
statements. The presenter spoke of ``Gypsies,'' ``Gypsy terrorism,''
and the ``Nazi liberals'' whose goal is to ``inflict parasitic human-
like figures on Hungarians.'' According to the ruling of the Media
Council, the broadcast violated media regulations on respecting human
dignity and incitement to hatred.
On December 3, two state-run television channels (MTV and Duna TV)
blurred out the face of former Supreme Court president Zoltan Lomnici,
who was standing in the background during an interview. Lomnici, the
president of the Council of Human Dignity, called the incident the most
serious attack on the freedom of press in the previous 20 years. The
communications director of the MTVA characterized the incident as ``a
grave ethical offense'' and announced the launch of an investigation to
find those responsible. On December 8, MTVA management reprimanded two
news editors and one film editor as result of the investigation and
both channels apologized for the incident. On December 10, the vice
president of the Independent Labor Union of Television and Film Makers
(TFSZ), Balazs Navarro Nagy, began a hunger strike to protest the lack
of punishment for those responsible for the blurring out Lomnici, later
joined by four other current or former employees of the state media. On
December 15, the MTI managing director fired the news center director
and demoted the deputy editor of the news center, while the managing
director of MTVA demoted the editor in chief of the news department.
The five persons on a hunger strike continued their protest as their
demands were only partially met. On December 27, MTVA fired Navarro
Nagy and one other hunger-striking journalist, who was also a union
leader, arguing that they had provoked their employer and violated the
Media Act and the labor code ban on expressions of political opinion
during their demonstration. Navarro Nagy called their dismissal
illegal, since, as union leaders, their dismissal would require the
consent of their respective unions. On December 28, other unions, civil
groups, and opposition parties staged a demonstration protesting the
dismissal of the two union leaders by MTVA. The hunger strike and the
demonstrations continued until year's end.
During the year national and international human rights
organizations continued to criticize the new media laws. Critics
particularly emphasized the broad scope of regulatory control of a non-
independent administrative body that covers not only broadcasting media
but also print, on-demand, and Internet media providers. Domestic civil
society groups held several demonstrations to protest against the new
media regime in the support of media freedom during the year, including
a demonstration on March 15 that attracted approximately 30,000 people
in Budapest.
On February 25, EU Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes
declared that the wide range of problematic provisions in the country's
media legislation result in a narrowing of the space in which the media
can operate freely and recommended a comprehensive revision of the
media law package as a whole. On February 25 and 28, the Council of
Europe's human rights commissioner and the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative on freedom of the media
issued their opinions highlighting serious shortfalls in the laws,
including the vague content restrictions for all media outlets, harsh
sanctions, a mandatory registration system, and a weak regime to
protect sources. On March 10, the European Parliament adopted a
resolution on the country's media laws, calling on the government to
restore the independence of media governance and halt state
interference with freedom of expression and balanced coverage.
On March 7, parliament amended some provisions of the media law,
removing the requirement for on-demand media content providers to give
``comprehensive, factual, up-to-date, objective, and balanced
information.'' In addition, television and on-demand audio-visual media
services provided by foreign media were exempt from content sanctions,
with the exception of circumvention of law.
On April 5, the visiting U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of
expression, Frank La Rue, issued a declaration stating that the media
legislation still risks generating a climate of self-censorship.
On July 18, parliament amended the media laws so that penalties
levied on media companies could be collected the same way as public
debt by the tax authority.
In July the NMHH signed co-regulation contracts with the
Association of the Hungarian Electronic Broadcasters, the Hungarian
Association of Publishers, the Association of Hungarian Content
Providers and the Self-regulatory Advertising Council. From July 1, the
four contracted co-regulatory organizations started monitoring press
and online media products and on-demand services. Upon the
authorization of the Media Council, the co-regulatory organizations
handle complaints, and the procedures set by their own code of conduct
precede any action by the Media Council. Self-governance can only be
exercised regarding those who have either voluntarily assumed
membership in a co-regulatory body or have voluntarily subjected
themselves to the code of conduct. The co-regulatory bodies must keep a
register of membership and of the companies that have accepted the code
of conduct. The Media Council may review the procedures of the self-
regulatory bodies. There was no information available on how many
complaints were addressed by the self-regulatory bodies during the
year.
On July 21, the Media Council announced it would begin accepting
applications for 10 local radio frequencies, including the Budapest
95.3 MHz frequency used by Klubradio, a left-leaning talk-radio station
strongly critical of the government that reached an estimated 300,000
listeners. In the call for applications, the NMHH announced its new
preference for radio channels that favor a music format with a focus on
local events. Eventually, seven applications were submitted for the
95.3 MHz frequency. On December 20, the Media Council issued its
decision to award the frequency to Autoradio, a year-old company with
no previous experience in broadcasting. Klubradio appealed the decision
to the Budapest Metropolitan Appellate Court. The Media Council cannot
sign a contract with Autoradio until the court procedure is completed.
Domestic and international media and civil society groups harshly
criticized the Media Council decision.
During the year and in 2010, all opposition parliamentary parties,
the HCLU, the Association of Hungarian Journalists (MUOSZ), and
individual citizens petitioned the Constitutional Court for a
constitutional review of the media laws. On December 19, the court
issued a ruling striking down elements of the two media laws, including
provisions on content regulation, protection of journalists' sources,
the obligation to provide data to the Media Authority, and the
institution of the Media and Broadcasting Commissioner. The
Constitutional Court annulled the effect of the 2010 Act on the Freedom
of the Press and the Fundamental Rules of Media Content (SMTV) related
to print and the Internet media outlets as of May 31, 2012. The court
found that the Media Authority's authority to review content relating
to human rights, human dignity, and privacy from print and online media
outlets constituted an unconstitutional restriction of freedom of press
as there are other possibilities in the legal system to enforce these
rights. The effect of this will be to remove print and online media
from the jurisdiction of the Media Council. The court voided the
restriction on journalists' protection of anonymous sources, striking
down a clause of the SMTV according to which journalists are only
entitled to protect their sources at court and in official proceedings
if the information in question is in the public interest. The court
ruled against the clause of the 2010 Act on Media Services and Mass
Media (MTTV) granting the Media Council the power to obtain protected
information (i.e., information protected by lawyer-client
confidentiality) without court approval. Finally, the court struck down
the institution of the media and communication commissioner stipulated
in the MTTV, stating that the powers granted to the official
constituted significant interference in press activity. The
Constitutional Court refrained from reviewing the constitutionality of
other parts of the two laws also challenged by petitioners.
During the year the NMHH dismissed approximately 900 employees from
state-owned media outlets as part of a wide-ranging reorganization and
downsizing. On July 12, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
and the South and East European Media Organization (SEEMO) issued a
joint statement expressing their concern over the dismissals in the
Hungarian public broadcasting sector and claimed that some of the
layoffs were politically motivated.
In August 2010 a member of the far-right Jobbik faction in
parliament, Gyula Gyorgy Zagyva, allegedly harassed and threatened two
journalists of the weekly paper Hetek during the Magyar Sziget music
festival in Veroce. According to reports, Zagyva, carrying a whip, told
the journalists ``you should be glad that you were not beaten up.'' He
reportedly also said it was a sign of ``Jewish arrogance'' that the
journalists turned on their tape recorder and that he wanted to ``stamp
out their guts.'' Zagyva denied the reports. The Central Investigative
Chief Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation on the basis of
harassment accompanied by the threat of physical violence. On June 29,
parliament waived the parliamentary immunity of Zagyva, and the
prosecutor's office pressed charges against him on September 6. The
case remained pending at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mails or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--Under the law, demonstrations do not require
a police permit, but event organizers must inform police of a planned
assembly in a public place at least three days in advance. The law
authorizes police to prohibit any gathering if it seriously endangers
the peaceful operation of representative bodies or courts or if it is
not possible to ensure alternate routes for traffic. However, police
are not required to disband a spontaneous, unauthorized assembly that
remains peaceful. Until November 17, police prohibited 51
demonstrations, which represented 1 percent of total announced
demonstrations.
During the year, the HHC and other human rights organizations
continued to emphasize the need to modify the law on assembly to
clarify when police may prevent a public gathering. According to the
HHC, the law does not permit police to prevent a demonstration based on
an unverified assumption that the demonstrators are highly likely to
commit a criminal offense. According to NGOs, the shortcomings of the
law sometimes resulted in inconsistent police practices.
On June 24-25, during the official visit of the Chinese prime
minister, approximately 10 Tibetan activists organized demonstrations
in Budapest in support of Tibet. According to the HCLU and opposition
politicians, authorities severely curbed their right of assembly. Media
reported that police prevented several protesters from holding Tibetan
flags along the route of the Chinese prime minister's motorcade,
checked the identity of approximately five pro-Tibet protesters, and
arrested one demonstrator. Police did not prevent the pro-China
demonstrators from waiving their flags. On June 25, the Office of
Immigration and Nationality summoned 79 foreigners legally residing in
the country, including Tibetan refugees, for a ``routine check'' and
kept them waiting in the office for approximately five hours. On June
27, Prime Minister Orban stated in parliament that ``one can
demonstrate but we expect the demonstrations not to want to destroy
Hungary's important goals. Hungary needs these ties and these meetings
must not be disturbed.'' On August 4, civil rights ombudsman Mate Szabo
stated in a report that police action against the demonstrators
violated their rights to free expression and human dignity while the
Office of Immigration and Nationality violated the prohibition against
discrimination. On July 7, the HCLU filed a complaint with the Budapest
Investigative Prosecutor's Office for the alleged violation of the
right of peaceful assembly and the abuse of authority. On September 9,
the prosecutor's office rejected the complaint based on the lack of
offense.
On June 24, the police prevented the pro-Tibet demonstration of
five Hungarian citizens planned at ELTE University also in connection
with the visit of the Chinese prime minister. On October 11, two of the
demonstrators represented by the HCLU filed a complaint with the
Budapest Investigative Prosecutor's Office for alleged abuse of
authority. In November the prosecutor's office ordered an investigation
in the case that remained pending at year's end.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of refugee status or subsidiary protection, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. Under the law, ``subsidiary protection'' is defined as
protection provided to foreigners who do not satisfy the criteria of
recognition as a refugee if there is a risk that, in the event of their
return to their country of origin, they would be exposed to serious
harm. The law also provides that the office may authorize persons to
stay in the country by granting them ``tolerated status'' consistent
with the country's nonrefoulement obligations under international law.
While asylum procedures were generally accessible, the HHC reported
incidents of police failing to identify asylum seekers in border
procedures in mixed migration flows (especially at the Serbian-
Hungarian border) and of forced return of persons in need of
international protection without the proper assessment of their
protection needs or factors of vulnerability. The Office of Immigration
and Nationality stated that they did not receive any official
complaints of problems.
During the first 10 months of the year, the Office of Immigration
and Nationality received 1,284 applications for refugee status and
approved 34. The office granted 87 persons subsidiary protection
status. During the year the Office of Immigration and Nationality
granted 11 persons tolerated status.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The law includes definitions for
the principles of ``safe country of origin'' and ``safe third country''
(i.e., safe country of transit) including adequate provisions for
individual consideration in exceptional cases. In practice, authorities
decided on a case-by-case basis whether the country of origin may be
regarded as a safe country of origin for the applicant.
The HHC reported that the proportion of asylum applications
rejected in pre-admission interviews significantly increased during the
year due to the increased application of the safe third country
principle in the case of Serbia.
Nonrefoulement.--In law and practice, the government generally
provided protection against the expulsion or the return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion. The HHC reported that the Office of
Immigration and Nationality's practices with respect to returning
asylum seekers to Ukraine contradicted the UNHCR's 2007 recommendations
regarding Ukraine, which the UNHCR assessed cannot be considered a safe
country of transit for asylum seekers.
During the year, the HHC criticized the law adopted in December
2010 that permits the detention of asylum seekers during the entire
refugee status determination procedure, including the ``in-merit''
procedure, during which the detailed examination of the asylum case
takes place. The HHC asserted that the restrictions contradicted the EU
Directive on Return and could not be justified by conditions.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The OSCE
election observation mission reported that two-round parliamentary
elections held in April 2010 were conducted in a manner consistent with
international standards and commitments for democratic elections. The
elections brought a Fidesz-KDNP coalition back to power with a two-
thirds majority.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The 386-seat parliament
elected in April 2010 included 34 women, 20 percent fewer than its
predecessor. There were no women in Prime Minister Orban's eight-member
cabinet until December 23, when Zsuzsanna Nemeth took the office as the
new minister of national development. Women were represented at the
subcabinet level. There was one woman on the Constitutional Court
elected by parliament on June 6. Due to privacy laws regarding ethnic
data, no statistics were available on the number of minorities in the
parliament, cabinet, or Constitutional Court.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and NGOs
contended that officials often engaged in corrupt practices with
impunity.
Corruption in the executive and legislative branches remained a
problem during the year, and numerous cases of alleged corruption
received significant public attention. According to the World Bank's
Worldwide Governance Indicators, government corruption was a problem.
Corruption within police agencies remained a problem. Penalties for
police officers found guilty of wrongdoing include reprimand,
dismissal, and criminal prosecution.
Members of parliament, the president of the republic, high-level
government officials, mayors, and local government representatives have
to prepare and publish their assets declarations on a regular basis, as
the law requires. In addition, the vast majority of public sector
employees, including law enforcement and army officials, judges,
prosecutors, civil servants, and public servants, are obliged to
prepare assets declarations but are not required to make them
accessible for the public. NGOs contended that the regulation was not
adequate because there was no effective method for detecting and
sanctioning violators.
Several government offices were responsible for combating
corruption. The State Audit Office audited the public sector and
received reports on campaign spending of political parties but did not
assess the accuracy of these reports. Prosecutors, police, and in
certain cases the customs and finance guard were responsible for
investigating corruption. Special agencies, such as the competition
authority and the supervisory body of financial institutions, were
responsible for ensuring fair and transparent market conditions. During
the year, Transparency International Hungary repeatedly emphasized the
need for more effective coordination between the 10 or more
institutions involved in anticorruption activities. On June 20,
parliament passed a ``cardinal law,'' effective July 1, empowering the
State Audit Office to supervise public funds and manage national
assets. The new law provided the office with the authority to review
the finances of private companies if public funds are used, regardless
of the amount. Any company employee who refuses to cooperate with the
State Audit Office could be subject to imprisonment for up to three
years.
During the year, investigative authorities and courts took actions
in several alleged corruption cases of former senior government
officials, and the cases were the subject of intense public interest.
The government commissioner for accountability and anticorruption,
Gyula Budai, forwarded 25 cases to investigative authorities during the
year, most on the basis of crime against property and one case based on
crime against the purity of public life.
On March 16, the Budapest Military Prosecutor's Office indicted 18
senior officials at the Ministry of Defense, including four generals
and 12 current or former staff officers on bribery charges. Four
ministry departments, four ministry-owned companies, and 20 outside
firms are involved in the case. On June 28, the minister of defense
stated in a press conference that more than two billion forints ($8.3
million) was allegedly embezzled from the ministry in the 2005-10
period. The case remained pending at the Kaposvar City Court at year's
end.
On September 12, parliament suspended the parliamentary immunity of
former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany upon the request of the
prosecutor general. On October 3, the Central Investigative Chief
Prosecutor's Office indicted Gyurcsany on suspicion of abuse of office
regarding the Sukoro Casino project. Gyurcsany refused to answer
questions and filed a complaint accusing prosecutors of taking part in
a ``cynical show trial.'' The case remained pending at year's end.
The constitution and law provide both citizens and foreigners the
right to access information held by public bodies, although the public
bodies controlling such information may restrict access in order to
protect what they determine to be legitimate public interests, as
defined by law. Requestors may appeal denials in court within 30 days
after the denial or initiate the procedure of the data protection and
freedom of information parliamentary commissioner (ombudsman). Public
bodies are required to disclose information within 15 days upon
receiving the request or provide the requestor detailed reasons for any
denials.
On July 11, parliament adopted a new law on the reform of the
ombudsman's system. The law, scheduled to go into effect in 2012,
abolishes the Office of the Data Protection and Freedom of Information
Parliamentary Commissioner and transfers its duties to the new National
Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority. The prime
minister nominates the head of the authority, who is appointed by the
president to a nine-year term. Transparency International Hungary
criticized the elimination of the Office of the Data Protection
Ombudsman, claiming that the new authority would not be independent of
the executive branch and thus would not be able to protect citizens
from breaches of executive power in the field of freedom of information
and right to privacy. The data protection ombudsman criticized the
change, asserting that the termination and reform of the country's data
protection regulations violate EU law.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--There are parliamentary
commissioners (ombudsmen) for civil rights, national and ethnic
minority rights, data protection and freedom of information, and future
generations. These ombudsmen examined constitutional rights violations
and initiated individual or general proceedings to prevent further
violations. Following appointment by the president, a two-thirds
parliamentary majority confirms the ombudsmen for six-year terms,
renewable once. The ombudsmen are responsible only to parliament, which
allocates their financial resources and votes on their annual report.
The ombudsmen operated without government or party interference and
published annual reports, recommendations, and statements during the
year.
On July 11, parliament passed a law providing for a new, integrated
ombudsman system. The law, scheduled to take effect in 2012, creates
the post of a single ombudsman for fundamental rights and two deputies
for the protection of interests of national minorities and future
generations, respectively. The president nominates the ombudsman for
fundamental rights, and the ombudsman has the right to nominate the two
deputies. Parliament confirms the three officials for six-year terms,
starting in 2012.
The new law provides the new ombudsman with enhanced authority,
including the right to initiate proceedings to defend the basic rights
of large groups of citizens from violations committed by state-run
institutions, banks, businesses, and social organizations. In addition,
the new constitution provides that citizens may submit constitutional
complaints about laws passed by parliament to the Office of the
Ombudsman for Fundamental Rights, who may refer the complaints to the
Constitutional Court. On December 9, Attila Peterfalvi became the head
of the National Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority.
Mate Szabo, who kept his office as the ombudsman for civil rights,
claimed that consolidation of the four ombudsmen into a single position
ensures more efficient advocacy of civil rights both at home and at
international forums.
Parliament's Committee for Human Rights and Minority, Civil, and
Religious Affairs has 21 members selected in proportion to the parties'
seats in parliament. The committee debates and reports on human rights-
related bills and supervises the human rights-related activities of the
ministers.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
While the constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, the government
failed to fully enforce these rights in practice.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal, but human rights observers generally considered the problem
underreported. Under the law, a sexual assault is considered rape only
if it involves the use of force or aggravated threats. Penalties for
rape range from two to eight years in prison and can be as long as 15
years in aggravated cases. According to the Office of the Prosecutor
General, in the first six months of the year, prosecutors pressed rape
charges in 75 cases.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence or spousal
abuse. The charge of assault and battery, which carries a maximum
prison term of eight years, was used primarily to prosecute domestic
violence cases. Under the law, police called to the scene in domestic
violence cases may issue an emergency restraining order valid for three
days in lieu of immediately filing charges, while courts may issue 30-
day restraining orders in civil law cases and a maximum of 60-day
orders in criminal procedures. According to women's rights NGOs, the
law does not provide appropriate protection for the victims and does
not place sufficient emphasis on the accountability of perpetrators.
NGOs noted that no protocols or systematic training regarding domestic
violence were available for law enforcement personnel, even for the
implementation of the police protocol.
Expert research in the field of domestic violence indicated that
approximately 20 percent of women have been physically assaulted or
victimized by domestic violence in their adult life. However, most
incidents of domestic violence went unreported due to fear on the part
of victims or prior bad experience with authorities. Prosecution for
domestic violence was rare. Prosecuting abusers was difficult because
of societal attitudes that tended to blame the victim. According to
NGOs, police remained reluctant to arrest abusers due to a lack of
confidence that the judicial system would effectively resolve abuse
cases.
The Ministry of National Resources continued to operate a 24-hour
hotline for victims of abuse. During the year the ministry reduced the
number of state-funded shelters for socially disadvantaged persons,
including victims of domestic violence, from 80 to 40. The ministry
continued to operate four ``halfway houses'' around the country
available for 16 families for up to five years. According to women's
rights NGOs, services for victims of violence against women either
operated with limited capacity or did not meet international standards
of good practice.
Sexual Harassment.--The law establishes the right to a secure
workplace and makes sexual harassment a criminal offense; however,
according to NGOs, sexual harassment remained widespread. NGOs
contended that the law did not clearly define sexual harassment,
leaving victims with a lack of legal awareness or incentive to file a
complaint. During the first 10 months of the year, the Hungarian
National Police Headquarters recorded 3,884 cases of harassment against
woman.
In the first 10 months of the year, the Equal Treatment Authority
(ETA), an independent authority set up by the government to monitor
enforcement of antidiscrimination laws, received 11 reports of sexual
harassment. The ETA found legal violations in seven of the cases, and
in four of those it imposed penalties ranging from 500,000 to one
million forints ($2,070 to $4,140). Four cases remained pending at
year's end.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was relatively easy
access to contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth, and
national family planning services focused on providing prenatal and
postnatal care and counseling.
NGOs long contended that the lack of legal framework regulating the
work of independent midwives limited women's access to reproductive
health care, as the authorities do not recognize independent midwives
as a professional group and could charge them with a crime for their
work. On March 2, the government issued a decree allowing women to give
birth at home with the assistance of a midwife licensed by the State
Medical Office or obstetrician under certain conditions. According to a
decree applying to births after May 1, pregnant women aged 18-40 may
choose where they prefer to deliver their child, so long as neither the
child's nor the mother's life is in danger and a hospital is accessible
within 20 minutes' travel.
Women and men were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Under the constitution and the law, men and women
have equal rights. The ETA is responsible for monitoring the
implementation of the Equal Treatment Law and for coordinating
governmental activities in the field of gender equality. However, NGOs
pointed out that the law has no gender-specific provisions and raised
concerns about the ETA's lack of financial and human resources, which
decreased even further under the restructuring of government
ministries.
During the first 10 months of the year, the ETA received 707
complaints, issued 249 decisions, and found 15 complaints of illegal
discrimination in the field of employment to be justified. In the
``justified'' cases, the ETA ordered employers to stop their illegal
activities and refrain from further violations. In seven instances, the
ETA ordered employers to pay penalties ranging from 50,000 to one
million forints ($207 to $4,140).
According to the EU Commission's statistics, there was a 15.7
percent difference between the average gross hourly earnings of male
and female employees in 2009. During the year, the ETA found employer
discrimination against women in 15 complaints. There was economic
discrimination against women in the workplace, particularly against job
seekers older than 50 and those who were pregnant or had returned from
maternity leave.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired by birth
from a parent who is a citizen and birth registrations are administered
immediately.
Education.--The law provided for free compulsory education for
children. On December 19, parliament adopted the law on public
education that lowered the mandatory school age from 18 to 16.
On June 7, the National Family and Social Policy Institute
published a national survey, which found that 70 percent of Roma had
eight years of education or less while 26 percent earned some kind of
vocational qualification. Only 5 percent of Romani students completed
secondary school, and only 1 percent held a college or university
degree.
Segregation of Romani schoolchildren remained a problem. NGOs and
government officials estimated that one-third of Romani children were
educated in segregated classes and that 20 percent were placed without
justification in remedial classes for children with mental
disabilities, effectively segregating them from other students. Schools
with a majority of Romani students employed simplified teaching
curricula, were generally less well equipped, and were in significantly
worse physical condition than those with non-Romani majorities.
During the year, the Chance for Children Foundation (CFCF)
initiated one lawsuit against the local government and primary school
of Gyongyospata. During the year, five other cases initiated by the
CFCF in previous years remained pending.
A 2008 European Roma Rights Center report found that Romani
children were overrepresented in the child protection system. In the
sample of children in professional care institutions, 40 percent were
of Romani origin and 18 percent had one Romani parent. In the general
population, Romani children accounted for approximately 13 percent of
the child population. Romani children had a higher probability of being
placed in a children's home rather than in family-like care or a
community setting.
Child Abuse.--In the first 10 months of the year, the NPH
registered 6,763 cases of ``crimes against children.''
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Buying sexual services from a
child younger than 18 is a crime punishable by up to three years in
prison. The minimum age for consensual sex is 14. According to the law,
statutory rape is a felony punishable by imprisonment for two to eight
years, or five to 10 years if the victim is under 12 years of age. The
law prohibits child pornography, which is punishable by up to eight
years in prison. Some girls under the age of 18 engaged in
prostitution.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population was estimated to be between
80,000 and 100,000. While Jewish congregations reported a decline in
anti-Semitic incidents, anti-Semitic remarks in public discourse became
harsher than they were in 2010.
During the first 10 months of the year, there were 145 reported
instances of vandalism of Jewish and Christian properties, 14 in houses
of worship, and 139 in cemeteries.
On January 29, three teenagers confessed to vandalizing 75
gravestones in the Jewish cemetery in Marcali on January 23 to ``show
off their strength to one another.'' The 14- to 15-year-old culprits
caused damage estimated at 1.5 million forints ($6,210). Prime Minister
Orban condemned the vandalism, calling the act offensive to the Jewish
community and all Hungarians.
The weekly radical magazine Magyar Forum and the official weekly
publication of the far-right Jobbik party, Barikad, continued to
publish anti-Semitic articles during the year.
There were numerous far-right Web sites available in the country,
many of which were openly anti-Semitic and some of which were hosted on
foreign Internet servers. NGOs reported that the government monitored
the content of these sites to enforce the prohibition against public
display of such symbols as the swastika, the hammer and sickle, the
five-pointed red star, and the arrow cross.
During the year leaders of the extremist parliamentary party Jobbik
and other far-right groups continued to make anti-Semitic statements.
On February 14, Jobbik chairman Gabor Vona wore the vest of the banned
paramilitary group Magyar Garda in parliament on the opening day of the
spring parliamentary session. The Hungarian Confederation of the Jewish
Communities in Hungary (MAZSIHISZ) condemned the incident and suggested
that Speaker Laszlo Kover amend the parliamentary rules to prevent
incidents that violate legal regulations or incite hatred against
individuals or groups on religious or racial grounds. On August 4, the
leader of the paramilitary group Outlaw Army, Zsolt Tyirityan, gave an
inflammatory speech at the far-right music festival Magyar Sziget
during which he spoke about an ``ongoing war between races'' and stated
that ``one has to become able to pull the trigger of a machine gun,
maybe, when seeing a different skin color.'' On September 16, the Pest
County Police Headquarters opened an investigation into the incident,
which remained pending at year's end.
During the year the prime minister, cabinet members, and opposition
politicians routinely criticized extremist movements, condemned anti-
Semitic incidents, and attended events commemorating the Holocaust. The
government continued its effort to enhance dialogue and expand
coordination with the domestic and international Jewish communities.
The state secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration and
Justice, Andras Levente Gal, held regular consultations with leaders of
Jewish congregations and NGOs on various issues, including restitution
for heirless Jewish properties and Holocaust education in public
schools.
On October 6, Budapest Mayor Istvan Tarlos appointed Gyorgy Dorner
director of the Uj Szinhaz theater of Budapest. The mayor also
appointed playwright and founding member of the far-right MIEP party,
Istvan Csurka, as theater superintendent. MAZSIHISZ and other local and
international Jewish organizations and professional groups criticized
the mayor's decision, citing Dorner's and Csurka's open affiliation
with far-right groups. On October 22, approximately 2,000 people
demonstrated outside Uj Szinhaz against the appointments. On December
14, the mayor requested the theater not to employ Csurka.
The government continued to support to a seven-day Holocaust
education seminar for educators held in November. The seminar was the
second element of a three-year educational program aimed at revising
Holocaust education in schools.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services. However, persons with disabilities
frequently faced discrimination and prejudice. Government sources
estimated there were 600,000 persons with disabilities, while
disability organizations estimated the number to be approximately one
million.
NGOs continued to complain about the lack of independent oversight
over government-run long-term care institutions for persons with mental
disabilities. According to the Hungarian Association for Persons with
Intellectual Disabilities, there were 23,000 persons with mental
disabilities living in long-term care institutions. There were sporadic
reports that employees of such institutions used inappropriate physical
restraints on patients. NGOs also noted that there was no legal
regulation or government strategy for deinstitutionalization of persons
living in such institutions.
The international NGO Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC)
criticized the government for failing in its obligation to protect the
rights of persons with disabilities who were under the legal
guardianship of others, particularly in their access to employment,
education, and health care. According to the center, one of the key
problems was a lack of alternatives to guardianship for persons with
disabilities needing support in making certain decisions. According to
NGOs, almost 67,000 adults were under guardianship.
Under the constitution, citizens placed under guardianship by a
court immediately lose their right to vote. The new Fundamental Law,
which will become effective in 2012, defers to the courts to decide on
suffrage for persons with limited mental capacity. The MDAC harshly
criticized the ``mental ability'' provision calling it an
``unsophisticated disguise for disability-based discrimination,'' as it
could be applied to people with intellectual disabilities and people
with psychosocial disabilities. NGOs noted that polling places were
generally not accessible to persons with disabilities and that election
materials were not available in easy-to-read format.
A government decree requires all companies with more than 20
employees to reserve 5 percent of their work positions for persons with
physical or mental disabilities and provides fines for noncompliance.
Employers typically paid the fines rather than employ persons with
disabilities. In 2010 approximately 8 percent of working-age persons
with mental disabilities were employed.
Both the central government and municipalities continued to
renovate public buildings to make them accessible to persons with
disabilities. Under the law, buildings operated by the central
government were to have been made accessible by 2010, while those
operated by municipalities were given until 2013 to meet the goal.
There was no data available on the percentage of government buildings
that were not accessible, but NGOs contended many public buildings
remained inaccessible. NGOs claimed that the right to public schooling
was not honored for children with severe and multiple disabilities
because public elementary schools are not obliged to enroll disabled
children.
The lead agency for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities is the Ministry of National Resources.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Romani community remained
the largest ethnic minority. According to the Central Statistics
Office, in 2007 the Romani community accounted for 2 percent of the
population, or approximately 200,000 persons. However, unofficial
estimates varied widely and suggested the actual figure was much
higher, ranging between 500,000 and 800,000 persons. Human rights NGOs
reported that Roma were discriminated against in almost all fields of
life, particularly in employment, education, housing, penal
institutions, and access to public places, such as restaurants and
bars.
During the year, right-wing extremist groups continued to incite
violence against Roma and held marches around the country aimed at
intimidating local Romani communities. Beginning on March 6, far-right
activists of the For a Better Future Civil Guard Association donned
uniforms and patrolled the town of Gyongyospata with the aim of
intimidating the local Roma population. On April 22-24, the
paramilitary group Vedero (Defense Force) organized a three-day
training camp near the village's Roma neighborhood. On the morning on
April 22, some 267 Romani women and children were bussed out of the
village in a move that some individuals claimed was an ``evacuation,''
but which the organizer, Red Cross Hungary, asserted was a prearranged
camping trip. On April 22, Interior Minister Sandor Pinter visited
Gyongyospata, ordered increased police presence in the town, and
instructed the police to expel the extremists. The same day, police
arrested eight far-right activists and charged them with disorderly
conduct. On April 25, the court acquitted five defendants. On April 26,
four of the far-right activists who remained in Gyongyospata provoked a
fight with the Romani residents. One of the provocateurs suffered
serious injuries, while the three others and two local Romani residents
suffered minor injuries. The police opened an investigation in the case
and pressed charges against two Roma for disorderly conduct committed
in a group and in an armed manner.
NGOs accused far-right groups of intentionally provoking ethnic
tension in Gyongyospata and asserted that the government failed to
protect the local Roma minority against racist provocation. However,
the government responded vigorously, adopting legislation in April and
May to halt the ``uniformed criminal activity'' of far-right groups
(see section 1.d.).
On March 25, the trial of four persons charged in connection with
the 2008-09 serial killings of six Roma, including a father and child
who were shot fleeing their burning home, began at the Pest County
Court. Three of the defendants were charged with multiple homicides,
and the fourth was charged as an accomplice in the killings. The case
remained pending at year's end.
According to the HCLU, members of the Romani community were
regularly sentenced for minor offenses, such as collecting firewood or
minor traffic violations, that were usually ignored when committed by
non-Roma. The HCLU asserted that police and municipalities selectively
applied laws against the Roma to keep them segregated and restrict
their freedom of movement. The Ministry of Public Administration and
Justice operated an antidiscrimination legal service network that
provided free legal aid to Roma in cases where they encountered ethnic
discrimination. However, human rights NGOs complained that the legal
offices were located in the larger cities and were inaccessible to Roma
living in deep poverty in small villages. The HCLU received reports
that the network's lawyers rejected some Roma cases.
During the year NGOs complained that courts increasingly used the
provision of the criminal code on racism to convict Roma, whereas the
law was designed to protect members of minority groups. On March 3, the
Pest Central District Court convicted seven young Roma for what the
court ruled was a racist attack on a non-Romani individual by applying
the criminal code provision of violence against a member of a
community. On October 24, the Budapest Metropolitan Court of Appeal
upheld the charge of racist motivation in one case and reduced the
charges in the case of six other men to ``armed hooliganism,'' a change
that significantly mitigated the legal penalties. The appeals court
emphasized in its ruling that lawmakers criminalized violence against
member of an ethnic community in order to expand protection of minority
groups, not the majority group.
According to the government, approximately 85 percent of working-
age Roma were unemployed, and in many underdeveloped regions of the
country, the number exceeded 90 percent. On July 11, parliament amended
the law on public work stipulating that the unemployed who want to
continue to receive benefits cannot reject public work opportunities
unless they have small children, need to care for a sick family member,
or would require more than three hours to commute to and from work. The
new law, effective September 1, also reduced the period for which
unemployment benefits are granted from 270 to 90 days and authorized
local governments to set up their own preconditions for granting social
subsidies. The new National Public Employment Program, launched on
September 1 and estimated to cost 60 billion forints ($249 million),
provided part-time employment opportunities for 250,000 registered
unemployed persons living on social welfare for two to four months. The
public works program typically involves cleaning public spaces or work
on agricultural or water projects. During the year approximately
302,152 individuals were involved in the various forms of public
employment programs, including those run by local governments.
The public education system continued to provide inadequate
instruction for minorities in their own languages. Romani language
schoolbooks and qualified teachers were in short supply. According to
the national survey published by the National Family and Social Policy
Institute on June 7, Roma were significantly less educated than other
citizens.
During the fall school season, four Christian churches opened Roma
Specialist Colleges in Budapest, Miskolc, Debrecen and Nyiregyhaza
providing housing and tutoring for Romani students enrolled in higher
educational institutions. During the year 75 Romani students
participated in the network of special colleges.
Inadequate housing continued to be a problem for Roma, whose
overall living conditions remained significantly worse than those of
the general population. According to Romani interest groups,
municipalities used a variety of techniques to prevent Roma from living
in more desirable urban neighborhoods. In order to apply for EU and
government funds for urban rehabilitation and public education
projects, municipal authorities must attach to their proposal a
desegregation plan outlining planned actions to eradicate segregation
in housing and public education. According to a 2010 survey by the
Ministry of National Resources, approximately 100,000 seriously
disadvantaged persons, mainly Roma, lived in approximately 500
settlements that lacked basic infrastructure and were often located on
the outskirts of cities. During the year, the government launched a new
program worth 3.5 billion forints ($14.5 million) to rehabilitate these
settlements aimed at improving the living conditions of the residents.
The government program involved four segregated settlements,
accommodating approximately 5,000 people.
During the year the state secretary for social integration at the
Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, Zoltan Balog, continued
to play a critical role in advancing Roma affairs within the
government. The office harmonized the government's inclusion policy as
well as that governing Roma-related government programs (e.g.,
scholarships, Decade of Roma Inclusion Program). The Ministry of
National Resources continued to offer financial incentives to encourage
schools to integrate Romani and non-Romani children in the same
classrooms and to reintegrate Roma inappropriately placed in remedial
programs. On September 26, the government established the 27-member
Roma Coordination Council, chaired by the minister for public
administration and justice and co-chaired by the head of national Roma
self-government, Florian Farkas, who was elected on January 20. The new
council includes representatives of local Roma self-governments, NGOs,
and churches. Most ministries and county labor affairs centers had
special officers for Romani affairs focused on the needs of the Romani
community.
On November 30, the cabinet approved the National Social Inclusion
Strategy. The national strategy identifies specific actions the
government aims to take to reduce the percentage of the population
living under the poverty line, integrate Roma into the labor market,
and increase the level of education of Roma. On December 13, the
cabinet adopted the Governmental Action Plan for the implementation of
the National Social Inclusion Strategy for 2012-2014. The action plan
determines specific tasks, identifies responsible members of the
cabinet, and sets deadlines in the areas of child welfare, education,
employment, health care, housing, raising awareness, and fighting
discrimination against Roma.
On December 19, parliament passed a new law on ``nationalities,''
scheduled to enter into force in January 2012. The new law defines the
cultural autonomy of the nationalities and recognizes as collective
rights the fostering and enrichment of historic traditions, language,
culture, educational rights, as well as establishing and operating
institutions and maintaining international contacts.
Roma and the other 12 official minorities are entitled to elect
their own minority self-governments to organize minority activities and
handle cultural, educational, and linguistic affairs. The president of
each minority self-government has the right to attend and speak at
local government assemblies.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law on equal opportunity
explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual preference. The
provisions of the penal code on ``inciting against a community'' and
``violence against a member of a community'' prohibit certain forms of
hate speech and prescribe increased punishment for violence against
members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
community, albeit without explicit reference to these groups. Despite
legal protections, members of the LGBT community continued to be
subject to physical abuse and attacks by right-wing extremists. The
annual gay pride march was a frequent target of such attacks, although
hate crimes were also committed sporadically against LGBT persons. The
2011 march occurred without incident. Law enforcement and other
authorities often disregarded the hate element of these crimes, and no
protocol or training on the subject exists.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements,
conduct their activities without interference, and bargain
collectively. With the exception of law enforcement, military
personnel, prison guards, border guards, and firefighters, workers have
the right to strike. The law permits military and police unions to seek
resolution of grievances in court. The law prohibits antiunion
discrimination and provides for reinstatement of workers fired for
union activity.
While employers are not allowed to hire temporary workers during a
strike, temporary workers hired beforehand are allowed to continue
working. Workers at companies performing activities fundamental to the
population--such as public transport, telecommunications, water, power,
gas, and other energy sector firms--may not strike unless an agreement
has been reached on minimum services during a strike. The courts
determine the definition of minimum services. National trade unions
opposed the law on the basis that the courts lack the expertise to
decide on necessary minimum services and that the term ``abusing the
right to strike'' is too vague.
The labor code requires trade unions to represent 65 percent of the
workforce (for a single employer) or 50 percent of the workforce (for a
group of employers) in order to engage in collective bargaining. Labor
unions of law enforcement professionals are not entitled to rights of
collective bargaining.
In practice, freedom of association and the right to collective
bargaining were generally respected. However, there was anecdotal
evidence of unilateral termination of collective agreements. Worker
organizations were independent of government and political party
interference, but unions reported an enhanced attempt from the
government to influence their independent operation. Workers freely
exercised the right to strike and collectively bargain, mainly at the
company level.
The International Trade Union Confederation expressed concern that
judges and prosecutors have the legal authority to interfere with
internal trade union matters and that, in practice, trade union
registration practices were long and cumbersome.
While the law provides for reinstatement of workers fired for union
activity, court proceedings on unfair dismissal cases sometimes took
more than a year to complete, and court decisions were not always
properly enforced. The Democratic Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(LIGA), National Confederation of Hungarian Trade Unions (MSZOSZ), and
Co-operation of Trade Unions (SZEF) reported cases of employers
intimidating trade union members, transferring, relocating, or
dismissing trade union officers, and hindering union officials from
entering the workplace.
On July 4, parliament approved the government's decision to replace
the National Interest Reconciliation Council (OET) with a National
Economy and Social Council (NGTT). The OET, a macro-level tripartite
consultation forum of workers, employers, and government
representatives, had been responsible for all labor-related matters,
including any major economic policy issue with implications for the
distribution of state revenues. In contrast, the 32-member NGTT is an
advisory body made up of representatives of unions, NGOs, churches,
domestic and international business chambers, and scientific groups,
with the government present only as an observer. Trade unions harshly
criticized the abolition of the OET and asserted that the NGTT was not
a feasible substitute for the former tripartite consultation mechanism
as the latter's decisions are not binding on the government.
On December 13, parliament adopted a new labor code, scheduled to
enter into force in January 2012.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, authorities and NGOs
reported an increase in labor trafficking cases involving male citizen
victims during the year. The country is primarily a country of origin
and transit for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation and
secondarily a source country for men and women trafficked for labor
exploitation. Victims of labor exploitation were trafficked
internationally from Hungary primarily to the United Kingdom, Spain,
Canada, Norway and the United States. Unemployed and low-skilled
Hungarian men have become more vulnerable to labor trafficking. This is
especially true in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. A group of
Dutch countertrafficking practitioners reported that labor exploitation
of Hungarian men is widespread in the northern part of the Netherlands
in the agricultural sector. There is a good indication that
exploitation of Hungarian men in Western Europe has intensified.
According to law enforcement statistics, police initiated
investigations in two labor trafficking cases during the year.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits children younger than 16 from working. Children between
the ages of 16 and 18 may work under certain circumstances as temporary
workers during school vacations. Children may not work night shifts or
overtime or perform hard physical labor.
The government effectively enforced child labor laws. Through
December the National Labor Safety and Labor Affairs Inspectorate
(OMMF) reported that one company employed six children under the age of
15. There was no data available on the amount of the fine imposed on
the company. Individuals who identify child victims of labor
exploitation are required to report them to the Guardianship Authority.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum monthly
wage was 78,500 forints ($325). A special minimum monthly wage for jobs
requiring the completion of secondary education was 94,000 forints
($389).
The law sets the official workday at eight hours, although it may
vary depending on the industry. A 48-hour rest period is required
during any seven-day period. The regular workweek is 40 hours with
premium pay for overtime and two days of rest. The law prohibits
overtime exceeding 200 hours per year and provides for paid annual
national holidays. The government set occupational safety and health
standards. Labor laws also apply to foreign workers with work permits.
Labor courts, the OMMF and county labor inspectorates monitored and
attempted to enforce occupational safety standards set by the
government, but enforcement was not always effective. During the year
the OMMF employed 428 labor inspectors.
On February 15, the Constitutional Court struck down an act adopted
by parliament in December 2010 on the dismissal of government
employees. The court's ruling, effective May 31, reasoned that, because
the act gave the government the disproportionately broad right to
dismiss civil servants without providing an explanation, it violated a
number of worker rights. Prior to the ruling, the government dismissed
more than 3,200 civil servants (approximately 5 percent of the total
number) without justification. On May 23, parliament amended the act to
stipulate that civil servants could no longer be dismissed without
explanation. However, the new law, effective June 1, provides a number
of permissible grounds for dismissal, including if the position becomes
redundant because of reorganization, if the employee is over the
retirement age, or if the activity involved in the position is no
longer necessary. Dismissal may be mandatory if the employee becomes
unworthy of holding the position or does not properly fulfill tasks or
if the employer loses trust in the employee. The new law also provides
for the creation of a government officials arbitration committee to
adjudicate appeals of dismissals, scheduled to commence in 2012.
On May 6, the Constitutional Court upheld its earlier decision that
the retroactive 98 percent ``special tax'' imposed on severance
packages worth more than 3.5 million forints ($14,500) awarded from
2005-09 was unconstitutional because it violated human dignity, and as
a result the tax authority had to provide refunds. The court stated
that the provision's effect in 2010 and subsequent years did not
violate basic rights because taxes on these later payments were not yet
due. On May 9, parliament passed a law imposing the 98 percent special
tax on any part of a severance package exceeding two million forints
($8,280) and disbursed since January 2010 to state leaders, members of
parliament, notaries, senior officials of state-run companies, and
supervisory board members, and on any part of a severance package for
other government employees that exceeded 3.5 million forints (14,500).
Unions challenged the new law in the Constitutional Court but the court
did not issue any new rulings in the matter prior to year's end. During
the year the tax authority collected 3.7 billion forints ($15.3
million) in special taxes from citizens.
During the first nine months of the year, 12,122 accidents occurred
in places of work, mostly in the mechanical industry. The OMMF
registered 59 workplace fatalities most of which occurred in
construction work.
__________
ICELAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Iceland is a constitutional parliamentary republic. The president
is the head of state; a prime minister, usually the head of the
majority party, is head of government. There is a unicameral parliament
(Althingi). In 2008 voters reelected Olafur Ragnar Grimsson as
president without opposition. After free and fair parliamentary
elections in 2009, the Social Democratic Alliance (SDA) and the Left-
Green Movement formed a governing coalition led by Prime Minister
Johanna Sigurdardottir (SDA). Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Domestic violence and abuse of women and trafficking of persons--
primarily women for prostitution--to and through the country were the
most serious problems reported during the year.
Other human rights problems included instances of authorities
holding incarcerated juveniles and adults and pretrial detainees and
convicted prisoners in the same cell, the absence of a legal status for
transgender persons, and anecdotal evidence of societal discrimination
against foreigners and persons who were not ethnic Icelanders.
There were no reports of officials committing abuses in the
security services or elsewhere in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances, abductions, or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. The government
permitted visits by independent human rights observers. There were no
deaths in the prisons or pretrial detention centers.
During the year the daily average number of prisoners was 138, and
the daily average number of pretrial detainees was 15. The prison
facilities could hold 161 prisoners. The government maintained a
separate minimum-security prison for female inmates; however, because
so few women were incarcerated (eight on average), some men also were
held there. Men held in facilities with women were closely monitored
and only interacted with women in the common areas; they did not share
cellblocks. Juvenile offenders were normally held in nonprison
facilities run and supervised by the Government Agency for Child
Protection. In four instances, however, children were held in detention
with adults, since there was no separate facility for juveniles in the
prison system. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted
prisoners except in those instances when it was deemed necessary to
place them in solitary confinement.
Prisoners had access to potable water. Parliament passed
legislation in September offering alternatives to prison sentences for
nonviolent offenders. These included electronic monitoring for
individuals with suspended sentences and expanded use of community
service.
When overcrowding in the main prison at Litla-Hraun or in
Reykjavik's main pretrial detention facility occurred, pretrial
detainees were held in local police station jails. There was a waiting
list of approximately 350 persons convicted of crimes but unable to
serve their sentences during the year due to a lack of prison space.
The Prison and Probation Administration (PPA) decides whether
convicted prisoners who have received a prison sentence of less than
six months serve their sentences in community service rather than in
jail. The PPA also maintains records to ensure that prisoners do not
serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged offense.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance.
The parliament's ombudsman can, on his own initiative, take up a
prison problem, and he did so on several occasions in the past.
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to
judicial authorities and the parliament's ombudsman without censorship
and to request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane
conditions if they so chose. There were no allegations of inhumane
conditions during the year. The government investigated and monitored
prison and detention center conditions.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, the media,
and the International Committee of the Red Cross, but no such
monitoring occurred during the year. The government permitted visits by
independent human rights observers during the year. In previous years
prisoners could, and did, request visits from Prisoners' Friends, a
group of volunteers from the Icelandic Red Cross. The volunteers spoke
with prisoners and provided them with second-hand clothes upon request.
This program was, however, virtually inactive during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
maintain internal security. In addition the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG)
carries out general law enforcement duties at sea. The police forces
and the ICG both fall under the purview of the Ministry of the
Interior.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may
make arrests under a number of circumstances: when they believe a
prosecutable offense has been committed, when they see a need to
prevent further offenses or destruction of evidence, when they need to
protect a suspect, or when a person refuses to obey police orders to
move. The law explicitly requires warrants only for arresting
individuals who fail to appear at court for a hearing or a trial or at
a prison to serve a sentence.
Persons placed under arrest must be promptly informed of the
charges against them, and they are entitled to legal counsel upon
arrival at the police station, which the government provides for the
indigent. Authorities must inform persons under arrest of their rights
and bring them before a judge within 24 hours of arrest. The judge
determines whether a suspect must remain in custody during the
investigation; the judge may grant conditional release, subject to
assurances that the accused will appear for trial. There was no
functioning bail system.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Trials are generally public but may be closed by judges at the
defendant's request or when minors are involved. Defendants are
presumed innocent, and courts generally tried cases without delay.
Courts do not use juries, but multijudge panels are common. Defendants
have access to legal counsel of their own choosing. The government
covers attorneys' fees of defendants unable to pay, but defendants who
are found guilty are required to reimburse the government. Defendants
have the right to be present at their trial, to confront witnesses, to
present witnesses and evidence on their behalf, and to participate in
the proceedings. They and their attorneys have access to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases. At the discretion of the courts,
prosecutors may introduce evidence that police obtained illegally.
Defendants have the right to appeal, and the Supreme Court handles
appeals expeditiously. These rights extend to all defendants without
prejudice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals may seek
damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation, and they could
appeal decisions to the European Court of Human Rights. A single court
system handles both criminal and civil matters. The judiciary was
considered independent and impartial in civil matters. Administrative
remedies are available as well for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibits such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Immigration law allows authorities to conduct house searches
without a prior court order when there is a significant risk that delay
would jeopardize an investigation of immigration fraud. Immigration law
also allows authorities to request DNA tests without court supervision
in cases where they suspect immigration fraud. There were no reports
that DNA testing took place during the year.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and
press.
The law establishes fines and imprisonment for up to three months
for persons convicted of publicly deriding or belittling the religious
doctrines of an active religious organization registered in the
country. The law also establishes fines and imprisonment for up to two
years for anyone who publicly ridicules, slanders, insults, threatens,
or in any other manner publicly assaults a person or a group on the
basis of nationality, skin color, race, religion, or sexual
orientation. There were no reports that the law was invoked during the
year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The government had no fixed refugee acceptance requirements.
In November the chairman of the refugee commission at the Ministry of
Welfare publicly criticized the government for not receiving enough
refugees. The country received six refugees in 2010, but none in 2009
and 2011. The processing of asylum requests at times took a year or
longer.
The minister of justice and human rights appoints the head of the
Directorate of Immigration, which is also the adjudicating body of
first instance for asylum cases. Some observers asserted that this
hierarchy could constitute a conflict of interest because asylum
seekers must appeal denials to the Ministry of the Interior. If
rejected at that level, however, they can appeal to the courts.
Human rights advocates criticized the law for not specifying which
``significant human rights reasons'' must underpin granting temporary
residence and eligibility for work permits while asylum cases are
processed, arguing that the situation created the possible appearance
of arbitrary decisions. Observers noted that the law was ambiguous
about the criteria for granting and denying asylum. This ambiguity,
combined with the small number of approved asylum applications, left
unclear what considerations were applied in adjudicating the
applications of asylum seekers. The law allows for accelerated refusal
of applications deemed to be ``manifestly unfounded.''
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The country adheres to the EU's
Dublin II regulation, which allows for the return of refugees and
asylum seekers to the first country they entered that is also party to
the regulation.
Access to Basic Services.--Human rights advocates criticized the
law for not allowing the registration of asylum seekers into the public
health care system until six months after their asylum case requests
were closed. At the same time, those refugees whom the government
decided to receive annually based on a UNHCR assessment of overall
resettlement needs (quota refugees) enjoyed access to the system
immediately upon entering Iceland.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Temporary Protection.--The law permits the government to provide
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
The government has never made use of this authorization.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held parliamentary elections that were considered free and
fair. In 2008 the incumbent president was reelected unopposed.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 25 women in the
63-seat parliament. The speaker was a woman as well as five of the six
vice speakers. There were four women in the 10-member cabinet,
including the prime minister. Two of the 12 Supreme Court judges,
including the president of the court, and 17 of 48 district court
judges were women. No members of minority groups held seats in either
parliament or the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year.
In April the Supreme Court upheld a district court ruling
sentencing Baldur Gudlaugsson, a former permanent secretary of the
Ministry of Finance, to two years in prison for insider trading. The
court found Gudlaugsson guilty of selling his shares in the bank
Landsbanki in September 2008, immediately before the bank's fall, based
on insider knowledge. The court also seized the 192-million-kronur
($1.67 million) profit from the share sale.
Most public officials were not subject to financial disclosure
laws. Members of parliament are expected, but not required, to report
their financial interests to the parliament's presidium for public
disclosure. Every member of parliament registered his or her financial
interests.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. On occasion the government denied
legal requests for information based on reasons of confidentiality. The
government provided the legal reasons for denials. Appeals against
refusals by government authorities to grant access to materials may be
referred to an information committee consisting of three persons
appointed by the prime minister. Permanent employees of government
ministries may not be members of the committee.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The independent parliament's
ombudsman elected by parliament monitored and reported to national and
local authorities on human rights developments to ensure that all
residents, both citizens and noncitizens, received equal protection.
Individuals can lodge complaints with the ombudsman about the
decisions, procedures, and conduct of public officials and government
agencies. The ombudsman may demand official reports, documents, and
records; may summon officials to give testimony; and has access to
official premises. Government agencies generally responded to the
ombudsman's requests for information and documents within a reasonable
time. While the ombudsman's recommendations are not binding on
authorities, they generally were adopted.
Parliament's General Committee is responsible for legislative
oversight of human rights in the country.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, and social status. Various laws implement
these prohibitions, and the government effectively enforced them.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape carries a maximum penalty
of 16 years in prison. Judges typically imposed sentences of one to
three years. Spousal rape is not explicitly addressed in the law. In
previous years the Icelandic Counseling and Information Center for
Survivors of Sexual Violence noted that the number of reported rapes
consistently rose faster than the number of convictions. According to
national police statistics, there were 98 reported rapes in 2010, the
latest data available. During that year prosecutors brought 24 cases to
trial and obtained a conviction in 13. In 2009 convictions were
obtained in eight of the 14 cases that went to trial. Activists
continued to complain that the burden of proof in rape cases was too
heavy and discouraged victims from reporting acts of rape and
authorities from prosecuting them. The government did not respond
formally to these concerns.
The law prohibits domestic violence; however, violence against
women continued to be a problem. The penalties can range from a fine to
16 years in prison, depending on the type of violence committed. In
addition the law permits judges to increase the sentences of persons
who commit violence against persons with whom they had a domestic
relationship or other close bond. However, there were no domestic
violence cases in which judges actually handed down stronger sentences,
and one respected activist expressed concern that sentences were too
mild and too few.
Law enforcement agencies reported 203 cases of domestic quarrelling
and 295 cases of domestic violence to the state prosecutor's office in
2010, the latest data available. Some observers suggested that many
incidents of domestic violence went unreported. In January a study
conducted in 2008 for the Ministry of Welfare found that 22 percent of
women between the ages of 18 and 80 had suffered violence in a close
relationship at some point after the age of 16.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--The law criminalizes FGM. The
general penal code stipulates that violations are punishable by
imprisonment up to 16 years depending on the impact on the individual's
health and the type of violence committed.
Sexual Harassment.--Two laws prohibit sexual harassment. The
general penal code prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates that
violations are punishable by imprisonment up to two years. The law on
equal status defines sexual harassment more broadly as any type of
unfair or offensive sexual behavior--physical, verbal, or symbolic--
that is unwanted and affects the self-respect of the victim, and is
continued despite a clear indication that the behavior is undesired.
The law requires employers and organization supervisors to make
specific arrangements to prevent employees, students, and clients from
becoming victims of gender-based or sexual harassment. Victims of
harassment can report incidents to the Complaints Committee on Equal
Status. Only employers with 25 or more employees are required to
provide their employees with information on the legal prohibitions
against sexual harassment in workplaces.
Some local human rights monitors attributed the underreporting of
domestic violence and sex crimes to the infrequency of convictions and
to traditionally light sentences. In the few cases of domestic violence
that went to court, the courts often continued to base sentences on
precedent and rarely made full use of the more stringent sentencing
authority available under the law. According to statistics from the
Icelandic Counseling and Information Center for Survivors of Sexual
Violence, in 2010, the latest year for which data was available, 11.4
percent of its clients pressed charges.
In response to concerns regarding the effectiveness of restraining
orders, in June parliament amended the law to grant victims of domestic
violence the right to have police physically remove perpetrators from
the home for up to four weeks at a time. Police can also impose a 72-
hour restraining order to prevent the abusers from coming into
proximity with the victim, and courts can extend this restraining order
for up to a year. Victims of sex crimes are entitled to lawyers to
advise them of their rights and to help them pursue charges against the
alleged assailants; however, a large majority of victims historically
have declined to press charges or chosen to forgo trial, in part to
avoid publicity.
During the year, 107 women sought temporary lodging at the
country's shelter for women, mainly because of domestic violence. The
shelter offered counseling to 191 clients. During the year up to
December 19, 116 women sought assistance at the rape crisis center of
the National University Hospital of Iceland.
The government helped finance the Icelandic Counseling and
Information Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence, the rape crisis
center of the national hospital, and other organizations that assisted
victims of domestic or gender-based violence. In addition to partially
funding such services, the government provided help to immigrant women
in abusive relationships, offering emergency accommodation, counseling,
and information on legal rights.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There were no restrictions on
the access to contraceptives and maternal health services, including
skilled attendance during childbirth. Women had easy access to prenatal
care, essential obstetric care, and postpartum care. Women also used
nurses and midwives for prenatal and postnatal care unless the mother
or child suffered more serious health complications. Women were
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections equally with
men.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights as men,
including under the family and property laws and in the judicial
system. However, despite laws that require equal pay for equal work, a
pay gap existed between men and women. According to a salary survey
conducted by the VR, the country's largest commercial and office
workers' union, and published in September, women working full time
earned 87 percent of the base pay of men who also work full time. The
law states that employers and unions should work towards gender
equality in the labor market, especially in managerial positions, and
that employers should work towards declassifying jobs as primarily
female- or male-oriented. According to the Center for Gender Equality
(CGE), the government took steps to attract men to female-oriented jobs
and vice versa, with only limited success. The CGE reported that many
more men than women are in managerial positions.
The government funded a center for promoting gender equality to
administer the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of Women and Men.
The center also provided counseling and education on gender equality to
national and municipal authorities, institutions, companies,
individuals, and nongovernmental organizations. The minister of welfare
appoints members of the Complaints Committee on Equal Status, which
adjudicates alleged violations of the act. The minister also appoints
members of the Equal Status Council, drawn from national women's
organizations, the University of Iceland, and labor and professional
groups. The council makes recommendations for equalizing the status of
men and women in the workplace.
As of September 30, the Complaints Committee on Equal Status had
decided four cases. In one case the committee found that the prime
minister, who is a woman, breached the law on equal status when
appointing a male director for the Office of Administration and
Community Development at the Prime Minister's Office. In another case,
the committee found that a forestry company breached the law on equal
status when it terminated a female employee.
Children.--Birth Registration.--A child acquires the country's
citizenship at birth if both parents are Icelandic citizens, if the
mother is an Icelandic citizen, or if the father is an Icelandic
citizen and is married to the child's foreign mother. Registration of
birth is prompt. If a mixed-nationality couple had obtained a judicial
separation at the time when the child was conceived, however, the child
acquires the mother's citizenship. If the child is stateless, he or she
can become an Icelandic citizen at the age of three. In both cases the
child's access to social services depends on whether he or she has a
residence permit in Iceland.
Child Abuse.--In 2010, the latest year for which data was
available, local child protection committees, whose work is coordinated
by the Agency for Child Protection, received 1,995 reports of abuse,
including 1,068 reports of emotional abuse, 525 of physical abuse, and
430 of sexual abuse. The agency operated three treatment centers and a
diagnostic facility for abused and troubled minors. It also coordinated
the work of 28 committees throughout the country that were responsible
for managing child protection problems in their local areas. The local
committees hired professionals with expertise in social work and child
protection.
The government maintained a children's assessment center to
accelerate prosecution of child sexual abuse cases and lessen the
trauma experienced by the child. In 2010 the center conducted 55
investigative interviews and 168 exploratory interviews, provided
assessments and therapy for 108 children, and performed 17 medical
examinations.
The children's ombudsman, who is appointed by the prime minister
but acts independently of the government, has a mandate to protect
children's rights, interests, and welfare. When investigating
complaints, which typically involved physical and psychological abuse
and inadequate accommodation for children with illnesses or
disabilities, the ombudsman had access to all public and private
institutions that housed or otherwise cared for children. The ombudsman
was not empowered to intervene in individual cases but could
investigate them for indications of a general trend. The ombudsman
could also initiate cases at her discretion. While the ombudsman's
recommendations are not binding on authorities, generally they were
adopted.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes statutory
rape with incarceration for up to 12 years. The minimum age for
consensual sex is 14. The law prohibits child pornography, which is
punishable by up to two years in prison.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community is estimated to be fewer than
100 individuals; there is no synagogue or Jewish cultural center.
In September the media reported that Bjork Vilhelmsdottir, the
chairperson of the Reykjavik City Welfare Committee, posted the phrase
``Jewnited States'' on her personal Facebook site to protest U.S.
intentions to veto Palestinian statehood in the U.N. Security Council.
The chairperson later asserted in a media interview that she had not
been aware of the negative connotations of the phrase. There were no
reports of any other anti-Semitic acts during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and the
provision of other state services. There were no reports of official
discrimination in these areas. The law provides that persons with
disabilities receive preference for government jobs when they are at
least as qualified as other applicants. However, disability rights
advocates asserted that the law was not fully implemented and that
persons with disabilities constituted a majority of the country's poor.
The government ensured that persons with disabilities have access
to buildings, information, and communications. Building regulations
require that public accommodations and government buildings, including
elevators, be accessible to persons in wheelchairs; that public
property managers reserve 1 percent of parking spaces (a minimum of one
space) for persons with disabilities; and that sidewalks outside the
main entrance of such buildings be kept clear of ice and snow to the
extent possible. Violations of these regulations are punishable by a
fine or a jail sentence of up to two years; however, the main
association for persons with disabilities complained that authorities
rarely, if ever, assessed penalties for noncompliance.
The Ministry of Welfare was the lead government body responsible
for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. It coordinated
the work of six regional offices that provided services and support to
persons with disabilities. It also maintained a diagnostic and advisory
center in Reykjavik that aimed to create conditions allowing persons
with disabilities to lead normal lives.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Immigrants, mainly from Eastern
Europe and the Baltic countries, suffered occasional incidents of
harassment based on their ethnicity.
Anecdotal evidence suggested that some Icelandic landlords were
reluctant or unwilling to rent out residential facilities to persons
other than ethnic Icelanders. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that
some employers may without reason limit their hiring to native
Icelandic-speaking individuals.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The rules of the Icelandic
blood donation agency, the Blood Bank, do not allow gay men to donate
blood. In February a gay man filed an administrative complaint with the
Ministry of Welfare against the Blood Bank for this rule after he had
not been allowed to donate blood. In September the ministry ruled that
the Blood Bank was correct in following its rules on the grounds that
the interests of blood recipients are greater than those of blood
donors.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, including government employees, to form and
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization
or excessive requirements. The law allows workers, including foreign
workers, to bargain collectively. The law allows unions to conduct
their activities without interference and prohibits employer
interference in union functions. It also prohibits antiunion
discrimination but is silent on whether workers fired for antiunion
activity should be reinstated. It does, however, permit fining
employers that engage in this practice.
In practice the government protected these rights, and workers
exercised them. Labor unions were independent of the government and
political parties. Nearly 100 percent of the workforce was covered by
collective bargaining agreements. Workers had the right to strike and
exercised this right in practice. The government has imposed mandatory
mediation when strikes have threatened key sectors in the economy, such
as in the fishing industry.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children. However, there were
also reports of persons subjected to labor trafficking in the country
in the construction, manufacturing, and restaurant industries. Also see
the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/g/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
constitution and law prohibit the employment of persons younger than 16
in factories, on ships, or in other places that are hazardous or
require hard labor; this prohibition was observed in practice. Children
who are 14 or 15 years of age may work part-time or during school
vacations in light, nonhazardous jobs. Their work hours must not exceed
the ordinary work hours of adults in the same positions. The
Administration of Occupational Safety and Health (AOSH) enforced child
labor regulations effectively.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not establish a
minimum wage. The minimum wages negotiated in various collective
bargaining agreements applied automatically to all employees in those
occupations, including foreign workers, regardless of union membership.
While the agreements can be either industry-wide, sector-wide, or in
some cases firm-specific, the negotiated wage levels are defined by the
kind of position.
The standard legal workweek is 40 hours, including nearly three
hours of paid breaks a week. Paid annual holidays include 13 whole days
and two half days. Work exceeding eight hours per day must be
compensated as overtime. Overtime pay does not vary significantly
across unions, but unions determine the terms of overtime pay when
negotiating a bargaining agreement with the employer's association.
Workers are entitled to 11 hours of rest in each 24-hour period and one
day off each week. Under special defined circumstances, employers may
reduce the 11-hour rest period to no less than eight hours, but they
must then compensate workers with one-and-a-half hours of rest for
every hour of reduction. They may also postpone a worker's day off, but
the worker must receive the corresponding rest time within 14 days.
Foreign workers are entitled to the same protections in terms of
working time and rest periods as citizens. The AOSH enforced these
regulations. There were indications that undocumented foreign workers--
primarily men in the construction and restaurant industries--were
underpaid and required to work long hours while living in substandard
housing or even sleeping at building sites. Most sources stressed that
the men willingly worked illegally to earn more than they might have
expected in their Eastern European or Baltic home countries.
The law sets health and safety standards, and the Ministry of
Welfare administered and enforced them through the AOSH, which
conducted both proactive and reactive inspections. The AOSH employed
approximately 25 labor inspectors, and it effectively enforced
standards in all sectors. The AOSH can, and did, levy daily fines on
companies that do not follow instructions urging them to improve work
conditions. During the year labor inspectors in hazardous sectors
assumed greater responsibilities in promoting accident prevention. Also
in 2011 the AOSH emphasized the enforcement of a regulation applying to
children and teenagers working in the fish-processing industry. The
ministry can close workplaces that fail to meet safety and health
standards. Workers have a collective, but not individual, right to
refuse to work at a job that does not meet occupational safety and
health criteria. Violations of OSH standards occurred in all sectors;
however, in 2011, they occurred most frequently in the fish-processing
industry. Young workers and employees who do not understand or speak
Icelandic and do not know Icelandic rules and regulations are more
likely to be subject to hazardous or exploitative working conditions.
Foreign employees and unskilled laborers are more likely to be victims
of workplace accidents. In 2010, the latest year for which data was
available, the AOSH reported three workplace fatalities and 1,174
accidents. Violations of wage and overtime standards were most common
in the restaurant and hospitality sector.
__________
IRELAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ireland is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with an executive
branch headed by a prime minister, a bicameral parliament (Oireachtas),
and a directly elected president. The country held free and fair
parliamentary and presidential elections in February. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
The principal human rights problems were related to conditions in
older prisons and detention facilities, some of which failed to meet
basic needs for hygiene and sanitation. In addition, some prisons were
overcrowded.
Other human rights problems reported were: trafficking in persons;
discrimination against racial minorities, immigrants, and an indigenous
nomadic group called Travellers; domestic violence; and the
mistreatment of children.
The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed
human rights abuses, including in the security services and elsewhere
in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On April 3, Police Service of Northern Ireland Constable Ronan
Kerr, a Catholic, was killed by a booby-trap bomb placed under his car
at his home in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Following a three-month, cross-
border search, police arrested five alleged members of a dissident
republican splinter group for the crime. Press reports suggested that
these groups, which rejected the peace agreement in Northern Ireland
and sought the full reunification of the island, actively targeted
Catholic members of security forces to hinder ``normalization'' in
Northern Ireland. At year's end the trial was still pending.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
In 2010, Garda Siochana Ombudsman (GSOC) received 2,258 complaints
from the public, of which 722 were inadmissible. The complaints
contained 4,931 allegations of misconduct by police, of which 1,087
were deemed inadmissible. The reasons for inadmissibility varied from
complaints being outside the six-month time limit to infractions being
deemed by GSOC to be frivolous or of such minor concern that the
issuance of a warrant to investigate was not unnecessary. The largest
number of allegations against police related to abuse of authority,
followed by neglect of duty. Approximately 15 percent of the
allegations were for nonfatal offenses against a potential detainee.
The overall number of complaints and allegations against police
officers decreased approximately 15-25 percent from 2009.
On October 2, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) published a report of its February 2010 visit to the
country's police detention centers, prisons, and mental institutions.
Most of the detainees that the committee interviewed in detention
centers indicated they had been treated correctly, but a number stated
that officers had verbally or physically mistreated them. The alleged
physical abuse consisted mostly of kicks, punches, and blows with
batons to various parts of the body. It took place mainly at the time
of arrest or during transport to a Garda station. In interviews with
convicted prisoners, the CPT reported allegations that officials
engaged in physical mistreatment consisting mostly of punches and kicks
to the body. Guards also reportedly verbally abused, including with
racist comments, members of the Traveller community and foreigners.
This was particularly a problem at Cork Prison, where such treatment
seemed to be particularly prevalent during removal of the prisoners to
the segregation unit, a separate area where HIV-positive prisoners and
serious drug and criminal gang members were held.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--While many prisons met
international standards, some of the country's older prisons failed to
meet prisoners' basic hygiene and sanitation needs. On October 2, the
CPT reported that some prisoners in Portlaoise Prison had no sanitary
facilities in their cells and were forced to use chamber pots in a
process known as ``slopping out'' and that the ventilation in Cork and
Mountjoy prisons was inadequate. Prison overcrowding was a problem. The
2010 Irish Prison Service cited a number of cases of prisons exceeding
their bed capacity.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers.
Human rights groups continued to criticize understaffing and
working conditions at the Central Mental Health Hospital in Dundrum,
the country's only secure hospital for prisoners with mental
disabilities.
During 2010 a total of 13,758 people, including 1,701 women and 234
juveniles, were in some form of detention. The prison population
averaged 4,500 inmates a day. At times authorities held detainees
awaiting trial in the same facilities as convicts. Although the country
maintained separate facilities for children and young adults, in
certain specific circumstances, including the need for higher security,
authorities held a small number of 17 year olds together with young
adults. There were no reported instances of detainees awaiting trial
being held together with convicts.
Prisoners had access to visitors, were permitted religious
observance, and could submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship. Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane
conditions.
The government permitted monitoring by independent, nongovernmental
authorities.
Prisoners had access to potable water. There is a prison ombudsman.
In recent years the country has taken advantage of early release
programs to deal with prison overcrowding. Women prisoners experienced
the same conditions as men. The government took limited steps to
improve prisons, including early parole programs to lessen prison
overcrowding.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Garda is the
national police force and maintains internal security. It is under the
control of the Ministry of Interior. Ireland's Defense Forces are
responsible, under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense, for
external security, but also have some domestic security
responsibilities. The Defense Forces are authorized to act when
necessary in support of the Garda.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the Garda
and the army. The government has effective mechanisms to investigate
and punish abuse and corruption. While there were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year, there were
isolated problems of minor abusive behavior, which the government
investigated and punished.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--An arrest
typically requires a warrant issued by a judge, except in situations
necessitating immediate action for the protection of the public. The
law provides the right to a prompt judicial determination of the
legality of the detention, and this right generally was respected in
practice. Authorities must inform detainees promptly of the charges
against them and, with few exceptions, cannot hold them longer than 24
hours without charge. For crimes involving firearms, explosives, or
membership in an unlawful organization, a judge may extend detention
for an additional 24 hours upon a police superintendent's request. The
law permits detention without charge for up to seven days in cases
involving suspicion of drug trafficking, although police must obtain a
judge's approval to hold such a suspect longer than 48 hours.
Upon their arrest, the law permits detainees and prisoners prompt
and unrestricted access to attorneys. If the detainee does not have an
attorney, the court will appoint one. The law allows detainees prompt
access to family members.
The law requires that authorities bring a detainee before a
district court judge ``as soon as possible'' to determine bail status
pending a hearing. Bail is used; a court may refuse bail to a person
charged with a crime that carries a penalty of five years' imprisonment
or more or when continued detention is deemed necessary, to prevent the
commission of another serious offense.
There were no amnesties during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
The law provides ``for special criminal courts,'' where juries are
not used, when the director of public prosecutions certifies a case to
be beyond the capabilities of an ordinary court. A panel of three
judges, usually including one high court judge, one circuit judge, and
one district judge, hears such cases. They reach their verdicts by
majority vote. Apart from trial-by-jury, defendants in the special
courts enjoy all of the due process protections available to other
defendants. Their trials are public.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The independent and
impartial judicial system hears civil cases and appeals on civil
matters, including damage claims resulting from human rights
violations. Such claims may be brought before all appropriate courts,
including the Supreme Court. Individuals could appeal decisions to the
European Court of Human Rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech including for members of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system act jointly to ensure freedom
of speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--The constitution prohibits blasphemy. The
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Reporters without Borders criticized
a new law that entered into effect in January 2010 ``updating'' this
long-held constitutional provision. The law defines blasphemy as
publishing or uttering ``matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in
relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing
outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion.''
The law permits defendants to argue ``genuine literary, artistic,
political, scientific, or academic value'' as a defense. There has been
only one prosecution for blasphemy since 1855.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views without restriction. The law proscribes words
or behaviors that are likely to generate hatred against persons in the
country or elsewhere because of their race, nationality, religion,
national origins, or sexual orientation. The law empowers the
government to prohibit the state-owned radio and television network
from broadcasting any material ``likely to promote or incite to crime
or which would tend to undermine the authority of the state.''
Authorities did not invoke these prohibitions during the year..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Censorship of Publications
Board has the authority to censor books and magazines it finds indecent
or obscene. The board did not exercise this authority during the year.
The Irish Film Classification Office (IFCO) must classify films and
videos before they can be shown or sold; it must cut or prohibit any
film that is ``indecent, obscene, or blasphemous'' or which tends to
``inculcate principles contrary to public morality or subversive of
public morality.'' During the year the IFCO did not prohibit any films
or videos.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/
index.htm.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and laws provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The country's active asylum system provides process to
refugees; those who receive a negative result can appeal the decision.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The country employs the Dublin
Regulation that returns asylum applicants to a ``safe country of
origin.'' Provisions were made in exceptional cases.
Durable Solutions.--The government operated a resettlement program
that accommodates up to 200 persons per year on referral from the UNHCR
or identified through selection missions to existing UNHCR refugee
operations.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and did so for
approximately 100 persons during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections and universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Observers reported that the parliamentary and presidential elections
were free and fair. Political parties could operate without restriction
or outside interference.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 25 women in the
166-seat parliament (Dail Eireann) and 18 in the 60-seat senate (Seanad
Eireann). The outgoing president of the republic was a woman, as were
two of the 15 government ministers. There were two female candidates
for the presidency. The chief justice of the Supreme Court, the
director of public prosecutions, and the attorney general were women.
There were no minorities in the lower house, the senate, or the
cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Revenue Commission in the Department of Finance is responsible for
identifying and combating government corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information and
requires government agencies to publish information on their activities
and make such information available to citizens, noncitizens, and
foreign media upon request. Authorities generally granted public
information requests and did not charge prohibitive fees. There were
mechanisms for appealing denials.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views. The government met with
major local human rights NGOs and was responsive to them.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Irish Human Rights Commission
(IHRC) was established to promote and protect those rights of all
persons living or present in Ireland. One of the IHRC's functions is to
recommend to the government how human rights standards should be
reflected in legislation, policy, and practice as well as carrying out
inquiries surrounding human rights concerns. The country also has an
ombudsman to regulate press matters.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced these provisions. Discrimination against racial and
ethnic minorities, including immigrants and Travellers, remained a
problem.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, and the government enforced it. During the year
there were 458 rapes among the 1,937 sexual offenses reported to the
authorities. The police and judicial authorities showed no reluctance
to investigate and prosecute rape or sexual assaults, and most persons
convicted received prison sentences of between five and 12 years.
According to the most recent report by the director of public
prosecutions, there were 131 prosecutions for sexual offenses in 2010,
resulting in 60 convictions.
The law criminalizes domestic violence, but such violence continued
to be a problem. The law authorizes prosecution of a violent family
member and provides victims with safety orders that prohibit a person
from engaging in violent actions or threats and orders that bar an
offender from entering the family home for up to three years. Victims
may apply for interim protection while courts process their cases.
Violations of these orders are punishable by a fine of up to 1,900
euros ($2,470).
Sexual Harassment.--The law obliges employers to prevent sexual
harassment and prohibits dismissing an employee for making a complaint
of sexual harassment. The Employment Equality Act 1998 obliges all
employers to prevent sexual harassment at work. Sexual harassment is
considered as such when committed by a fellow worker, boss, client,
customer or any other business contact. Under the act, an employer may
also be held responsible if sexual harassment takes place outside the
place of employment but the victim is treated differently at work
because of rejection or acceptance of the harassment. The country's
Equality Authority is responsible for the preventing sexual harassment
and is generally viewed as effective. However, the Equality Authority
reported a 60 percent increase in allegations of suspected
discrimination in 2010.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so, free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women had access to
contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth. According to
information compiled by international organizations, the maternal
mortality rate in 2009 was approximately three deaths per 100,000 live
births. The neonatal mortality rate was approximately four deaths per
1,000 live births. Women were not subject to coercive family planning.
Men and women were diagnosed and treated equally for sexually
transmitted infections. There were no legal barriers that prevented
women from taking advantage of these services.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men, including
rights under family law, property law, and in the judicial system.
However, inequalities in pay and promotions persisted in both the
public and private sectors. The law obliges employers to prevent sexual
harassment and prohibits dismissing an employee for making a complaint
of sexual harassment. The Equality Authority investigates claims of
unfair dismissal and may require an employer to reinstate the employee
or pay the employee up to 104 weeks' pay. Authorities effectively
enforced the law in the cases of reported sexual harassment.
Children.--Birth Registration.--A person born after 2004 on the
island of Ireland, including Northern Ireland, is automatically an
Irish citizen if at least one parent is an Irish citizen, a British
citizen, a resident of either the Republic of Ireland or Northern
Ireland entitled to reside in either without time limit, or a legal
resident of the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland for three out
of the four years preceding the child's birth (excluding time spent as
a student or an asylum seeker). Births are registered immediately.
Failure to register birth, and the corresponding lack of proof of
citizenship, could lead to the denial of public services.
Child Abuse.--The law proscribes any person from engaging or
attempting to engage in a sexual act with a child under age 15; the
maximum sentence is life imprisonment. The law also criminalizes
engaging or attempting to engage in a sexual act with a child under 17.
The maximum sentence in these cases is five years' imprisonment, but a
maximum sentence of 10 years can be given if the accused is a person in
authority, such as a parent or teacher.
On July 13, the Ministry of Justice's Commission of Investigation
into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne published its report on the
handling by church and state authorities of allegations against clerics
of child sexual abuse from 1996 to 2009. The commission investigated 40
reports of clerical sexual abuse of minors in the Diocese of Cloyne
involving 32 priests and found that the response of diocese authorities
was gravely inadequate and did not adhere to the basic protections in
place for minors articulated by the Irish bishops in the 1997 Framework
Document or Irish civil and criminal law. The report criticized the
Diocese of Cloyne for not reporting immediately credible allegations of
clerical sexual abuse to civil authorities or in some cases not
reporting them at all. It also criticized the Health Services
Executive, which maintained that there was no need for further
investigation even after credible evidence of the sexual abuse of
minors came to its attention.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--A maximum penalty of life
imprisonment may be imposed for child trafficking and taking a child
for sexual exploitation. A person convicted of meeting a child for the
purpose of sexual exploitation faces a maximum penalty of 14 years'
imprisonment, and the law provides that a person convicted of allowing
a child to be used for child pornography may be sentenced with a fine
of up to 31,000 euros ($40,300), up to 14 years' imprisonment, or both.
The maximum penalty is 1,900 euros ($2,470), a year's imprisonment, or
both, for producing, distributing, printing, or publishing child
pornography.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to the 2006 census, the Jewish community
numbered 1,930 persons. There were few reported acts of anti-Semitism
during the year.
The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted comments on the
Israeli Embassy's Facebook page in November that called the Israeli
government ``fascist'' and ``genocidal.'' Subsequently, the campaign
disrupted the Israeli Embassy-sponsored Israeli Film Days festival
scheduled at the end of November by smashing windows and threatening
the organizers. Responding to this, the deputy prime minister (who is
also foreign minister) condemned acts of intimidation and offered to
hold the festival in government buildings. He also attended and spoke
at the opening of the festival. During the film festival, there were
reports of protesters shouting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments;
police officers removed approximately 50 protesters from the event.
In December, Ireland became a member of the International Task
Force on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental,
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services; the government effectively enforced
these provisions. The government effectively implemented laws and
programs to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to
buildings, information, and communications. The National Disability
Authority has responsibility for setting and implementing disability
standards, as well as directing disability policy.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on language or social status, and the government
enforced the law. In spite of this, societal discrimination and
violence against immigrants, and racial and ethnic minorities continued
to be a problem.
There were racially motivated incidents involving physical
violence, intimidation, graffiti, and verbal slurs, particularly
against the country's African population. In one recent case, Darren
Scully, the mayor of Naas, County Kildare, said during a radio
interview that he would no longer meet with constituents of African
origin. Scully was widely condemned for his statement and later
apologized for his comments and resigned from his seat. NGOs reported
problems with landlords refusing to rent property to persons who were
not born in Ireland. NGOs reported that immigrants, particularly those
of African descent, suffered unemployment disproportionately during the
economic downturn.
According to the 2006 census, 22,369 persons identified themselves
as members of an indigenous nomadic group called Travellers, with a
distinct history and culture. Despite applicable antidiscrimination
laws and longstanding government policies to redress imbalances,
Travellers faced societal discrimination and occasionally were denied
access to education, employment, premises, facilities, and basic
services. However, Travellers also received substantial funding from
the government, particularly for education and housing.
The law obliges local officials to develop accommodations for
Travellers and to solicit Traveller input into the process. Traveller
NGOs asserted that many communities provided Travellers with housing
that was inconsistent with the nomadic Traveller lifestyle, or provided
transient caravan-camping sites that did not include basic amenities
such as sanitary facilities, electricity, and water.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--A large number of cities and
towns celebrated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pride events
with parades and festivals. The government endorsed these activities
and provided sufficient protection.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or
against other groups not covered above.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the right to form and join independent
unions, conduct legal strikes, and bargain collectively, and these
rights were respected in practice. The law prohibits anti-union
discrimination and provides for reinstatement for workers fired for
union activity. Police and military personnel may form associations,
but technically not unions, to represent them in matters of pay,
working conditions, and general welfare.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
government interference, and this right was exercised in practice. The
law provides for the right to strike, except for police and military
personnel, and workers exercised this right in both the public and
private sectors. Labor unions have the right to pursue collective
bargaining and in most instances did so freely; however, the law did
not require employers to engage in collective bargaining, and they did
not encourage it. There were no reports of antiunion discrimination.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including that of children, although there
were reports that such practices occurred. NGOs alleged that men and
women were subjected to forced labor within the country in
construction, commercial fishing, as domestic servants in private
homes, and in agriculture. Women and girls were subjected to sex
trafficking; there were reports of children subjected to forced begging
and forced labor in restaurants and domestic service. There were
reports of children subjected to commercial sexual exploitation, forced
begging, and forced labor in restaurants and domestic service.
To combat and increase awareness of labor trafficking, the
government cooperated with the International Labor Organization in its
antitrafficking initiative and formed a labor-exploitation working
group with participants representing trade unions and employer
organizations.
See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of children under age 16 in full-time jobs.
However, employers may hire children ages 14 or 15 for light work on
school holidays as part of an approved work experience or educational
program. Employers may hire children over age 15 on a part-time basis
during the school year. The law establishes rest intervals and maximum
working hours, prohibits the employment of 18-year-olds for late night
work, and requires employers to keep detailed records of workers under
age 18. The Office of the Labor Inspectorate at the Department of
Enterprise, Trade, and Employment is responsible for enforcement and
was generally effective.
The government implemented laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace, and these laws were effectively
enforced.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum hourly wage
was 8.65 euros ($11.20). Approximately 6 percent of the population is
below the poverty level for a family in Ireland; the official poverty
rate was 10,831 euros ($14,080) a year. During the year reports
persisted that the pay of foreign migrant workers was at times below
the minimum wage, particularly in the rural agricultural and
construction sectors. Laws establishing and regulating wage levels do
not explicitly cover foreign migrant workers. The standard workweek is
39 hours. The law limits industrial sector to nine hours per day and 48
hours per week. The law limits overtime work to two hours per day, 12
hours per week, and 240 hours per year. The government effectively
enforced these standards. Although there is no statutory entitlement,
premium pay for overtime could be arranged between employer and
employee.
The gray or informal market for labor is small. While largely
undocumented and not reported, the agriculture and services sectors
have historically had the most informal labor representation. However,
recent reports indicated that the underground economy, which
encompassed everything from narcotics to cash-only employment, may be
growing as the country deals with a prolonged economic slump.
The government operated an agency independent of the Department of
Enterprise, Trade, and Employment that monitored employment practices.
The agency was active and effective. The National Employment Rights
Authority has a staff of 112, including 57 labor inspectors and nine
inspector-team managers.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment is responsible
for enforcing occupational safety laws, and these laws provided
adequate and comprehensive protection. There were no complaints from
either labor or management during the year regarding shortcomings in
enforcement. Regulations provide workers with the right to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations that present a ``serious,
imminent, and unavoidable risk'' without jeopardy to their continued
employment, and authorities effectively enforced this right.
__________
ITALY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Italy is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a bicameral
parliament consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The
constitution vests executive authority in the Council of Ministers,
headed by the prime minister, who is the president of the council. The
president, who is the head of state, nominates the prime minister after
consulting with the leaders of all political forces in the parliament.
International observers considered the 2008 national parliamentary
elections free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Principal human rights problems included the continued
incarceration of pretrial detainees with convicted criminals;
substandard living conditions in overcrowded prisons and detention
centers for undocumented migrants; and societal prejudice and some
municipal mistreatment of Roma, which exacerbated their social
exclusion and restricted their access to education, health care,
employment, and other social services.
Other human rights problems included an inefficient judicial system
that did not always provide speedy access to justice, government
corruption, harassment and violence against women, sexual exploitation
of children, and anti-Semitic vandalism. Trafficking for sexual and
labor exploitation occurred, but the government prosecuted traffickers
and assisted victims. A few cases of violence against gay men and
lesbians and labor discrimination based on sexual orientation were also
reported.
The government prosecuted and punished officials who committed
crimes and abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however,
during the year security forces were involved in several controversial
killings.
On April 7, detainee Carlo Saturno was found hanged in a Bari
prison cell. Saturno had been charged with assault after clashing with
prison guards. The public hospital physicians who examined him
expressed doubts over the cause of death, and authorities opened an
investigation.
On July 14, a judge ordered an extension of the investigation into
the death of Moroccan immigrant Aziz Amiri, who police shot and killed
as they attempted to arrest him in Bergamo in February 2010. Press
reports stated that Amiri attempted to evade police during a routine
traffic stop and was shot after he drove into an official vehicle.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices. However, there were
reports that police occasionally used excessive force against
individuals, particularly immigrants detained in connection with common
criminal offenses or in the course of identity checks. There were also
reports of abuse and poor care of inmates with psychological
disabilities in prisons and mental health facilities (see section 6,
Persons with Disabilities).
On March 4, a woman accused three Carabinieri (national
gendarmerie) and local police officers of raping her on February 23
while she was in police custody in Rome. Prosecutors opened an
investigation.
On November 22, the Court of Cassation cleared Gianni De Gennaro,
former head of the National Police during protest demonstrations at the
G-8 Summit in 2001, of charges of having induced police officers to
give false testimony regarding police behavior toward the protesters.
In June 2010 the appeals court of Genoa had sentenced De Gennaro to 16
months' imprisonment.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Some prisons were
significantly overcrowded and antiquated. According to the Ministry of
Justice, at year's end there were 66,897 inmates being held in 206
prisons designed to hold 45,700. Female prisoners (2,808 as of
December) were held in separate prison sections. Uneven distribution of
prisoners exacerbated overcrowding in certain institutions. In
addition, as of June 30, a total of 479 minors were detained. All
detainees had access to potable water. Older facilities lacked outdoor
or exercise space, and some prisons lacked adequate medical care.
On January 3, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Antigone
submitted a complaint to prosecutors regarding the case of a minor,
Carmelo Castro, who was found dead while under detention in the Catania
prison in 2009. According to prison guards, Castro committed suicide,
but the family and Antigone believed the guards submitted an
inconsistent report on his death.
On July 14, a trial of five prison officers suspected of having
beaten a Tunisian prisoner, Ismail Ltaief, began in Velletri. The
detainee had reported to prison authorities that the guards were
stealing foodstuffs from prison storage.
The law does not require the separation of pretrial detainees from
convicted prisoners. At year's end approximately 59 percent of inmates
were convicted criminals serving sentences, while the other 41 percent
were primarily detainees awaiting trial.
On December 16, the government approved a prison decree aimed at
easing the overcrowded prison system. According to the new legislation,
pretrial detainees can now be held in special ``police cells'' for up
to 48 hours in order to avoid being temporarily held in prisons
together with convicted criminals. In addition detainees convicted for
minor offenses are allowed to serve sentences of less than 18 months
(or the remaining 18 months of a longer sentence) at home under house
arrest.
Prisoners had access to visitors and attorneys and were allowed to
submit complaints to judicial authorities, who generally investigate
credible allegations. The government and NGOs regularly monitor the
prison system.
From January to July the Ministry of Justice registered 24 cases of
beatings, three reports of sexual violence, and 31 cases of personal
injuries committed in prison. There was no evidence that women were
disproportionally impacted by violence in prisons.
According to an independent research center, 186 prisoners died in
custody during the year, 66 of them by suicide. There were allegations
that a small number of these deaths were the result of prison official
abuse or negligence.
On June 11, Antigone reported that detainees protested in the
Viterbo prison and other detention centers and staged hunger strikes to
protest overcrowding and inhuman living conditions.
On July 28, the president of the parliamentary Committee on Public
Health Care, Ignazio Marino, said he found inadequate living conditions
and lack of necessary patient treatment in several judicial psychiatric
hospitals. The committee ordered the upgrading and partial closure of
two facilities in Tuscany and Sicily.
The government permitted visits to prisons and detention facilities
by independent human rights organizations, parliamentarians, and the
media. Seventeen municipalities, six provinces, eight regions, and
Antigone had permanent independent ombudsmen to promote the rights of
detainees and facilitate access to health care and other services. The
government assigned magistrates to every prison in the country to
protect prisoner rights, implement measures to prevent organized crime
infiltration into prisons, and examine alternatives to incarceration.
The magistrates also made decisions on parole and eligibility for work
release.
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) of the Council of
Europe (COE) periodically visited prisons and detention facilities,
most recently in June 2010. The government also provided
representatives of the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) access to detention centers for undocumented migrants
in accordance with the UNHCR's standard modalities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ministries of
interior and defense maintained effective control over the Carabinieri,
national police, financial police, and municipal police forces. The
army is responsible for external security but also has specific
domestic security responsibilities. The government has mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse, and although there were no reports of
impunity involving security forces during the year, long delays by
prosecutors and authorities in completing some investigations reduced
the effectiveness of mechanisms to investigate and punish police
abuses. Police were effective at enforcing laws, conducting
investigations, and seizing assets of criminal organizations relative
to the amount of resources dedicated to such activities.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--To detain an
individual, police require a warrant issued by a public prosecutor
unless a criminal act is in progress or there is a specific and
immediate danger to which they must respond. When authorities detain a
person without a warrant, an examining magistrate must decide within 24
hours of the detention whether there is enough evidence to proceed with
an arrest. The investigating judge then has 48 hours to confirm the
arrest and recommend whether to prosecute. In terrorism cases
authorities may hold suspects up to 48 hours before bringing the case
to a magistrate.
Authorities generally respected the right to a prompt judicial
determination. Although the law entitles detainees to prompt and
regular access to lawyers of their choosing, authorities did not always
respect that right in practice. In a 2010 report the CPT found that in
some cases police effectively denied detained persons the right to an
attorney, which can be invoked only at the time of arrest, by engaging
detainees in ``informal chats'' before formally arresting them.
The law permits family members' access to detainees. The state
provides a lawyer to indigent persons. In exceptional circumstances,
usually in cases of organized crime or in which there is danger that
attorneys may attempt to tamper with evidence, the investigating judge
may take up to five days to interrogate the accused before access to an
attorney is permitted. Some NGOs and international organizations
asserted that the terrorism law is deficient in due process and in some
cases resulted in the deportation or return of alien suspects to
countries where they had reason to fear persecution. The law allows for
increased surveillance and enhanced police powers to gather evidence in
terrorism cases, for example, collecting DNA for purposes of
identifying detained migrants (see section 2.d.).
Lengthy pretrial detention and trial delays were a significant
concern. During the first half of the year, 43 percent of all prisoners
were either in pretrial detention or awaiting a final sentence. The
maximum term of pretrial detention is from two to six years depending
on the severity of the crime. According to independent analysts and
magistrates, delays resulted from the large number of trials, the lack
of nonjudicial remedies, and insufficient and inadequate distribution
of offices and resources, including shortages of judges and staff.
There were instances of judges allegedly colluding with organized
crime. On November 30, Milan prosecutors requested the arrest of
Vincenzo Giglio, former president of the Reggio Calabria court of
preventive measures, for corruption and aiding and abetting an
organized crime family.
There is no provision for bail; however, judges may grant
provisional liberty to detainees awaiting trial. As a safeguard against
unjustified detention, detainees may request that a panel of judges
(liberty tribunal) review their cases on a regular basis and determine
whether continued detention is warranted.
Authorities may impose preventive detention as a last resort if
there is evidence of a serious felony or if the crime is associated
with organized crime or terrorism. Except in the most extraordinary
situations, the law prohibits preventive detention for pregnant women,
single parents of children under age three, persons more than 70 years
of age, and the seriously ill.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, a significant number of court cases
reportedly involved long trial delays.
There were isolated reports of judicial corruption. For example, on
January 18, Turin prosecutors opened an investigation on Imperia Court
President Gianfranco Boccalatte for corruption in favor of organized
crime.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Trials are public. The Courts of Assizes, which have jurisdiction over
the most serious crimes, are composed of two professional judges and
six laypersons chosen at random among citizens 30 to 65 years old.
Although the law provides that defendants have access to an attorney in
a timely manner, authorities did not always respect this right in
practice. Defendants may confront and question witnesses against them
and may present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Prosecutors
must make evidence available to defendants and their attorneys upon
request. Defendants have a presumption of innocence and the right to
appeal verdicts.
Domestic and European institutions continued to criticize the slow
pace of the judicial process.
Courts could determine when the statute of limitations should
apply, and defendants who had been granted provisional liberty often
took advantage of the slow pace of justice to delay trials through
extensive pleas and appeals.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Individuals may appeal
alleged human rights violations by the state to the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) once all avenues for a remedy in the Italian court
system have been exhausted. The government complied with the ECHR's
final decisions on such appeals.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Civil
remedies are determined by law. Contracts allow for and regulate
arbitration. Individuals and organizations may seek civil remedies for
human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Searches and
electronic monitoring were generally permissible with judicial warrants
and in carefully defined circumstances. The Court of Cassation's lead
prosecutor may authorize wiretaps of terrorism suspects at the request
of the prime minister. According to independent observers prosecutors
did not always limit the use of wiretaps to cases of absolute necessity
as requested by the Supreme Court. On September 15, Bari prosecutors
announced that they had ordered the recording of more than 100,000
telephone calls in a case regarding an entrepreneur and other business
executives who allegedly blackmailed then prime minister Silvio
Berlusconi.
The media published leaked transcripts of government wiretaps
authorized as part of ongoing investigations. In June two leading
national newspapers, Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica, published
transcripts of telephone calls between certain members of parliament
and the ministries. Some of these government officials were under
investigation for corruption and conspiracy to obtain confidential
information regarding judicial proceedings.
The law allows magistrates to destroy illegal wiretaps that are
discovered or seized by the police.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views. However, disputes over partisanship continued
to prompt frequent political debate. The two main opposition parties
and NGOs contended that media ownership was concentrated in too few
hands. Former prime minister Berlusconi's family holding company,
Fininvest, held a controlling share in the country's largest private
television company, Mediaset; its largest magazine publisher,
Mondadori; and its largest advertising company, Publitalia.
Berlusconi's brother owned one of the country's nationwide dailies, Il
Giornale. Italian media organizations tended to reflect the point of
view of their proprietors, whether a political party or a business
entity.
Violence and Harassment.--On July 19, Rome prosecutors opened an
investigation on then prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for abuse of
power. In 2009 Berlusconi allegedly pressured the Italian public
television network RAI to stop broadcasting Annozero, a political
program hosted by Michele Santoro, who often criticized the government.
In its 2011 rankings, Reporters Without Borders indicated
diminished press freedom in the country because of a long-standing
conflict of interest that ``bears the marks of the old government'' led
by media magnate and former prime minister Berlusconi.
The National Federation of the Italian Press criticized instances
of what it described as excessive restrictions on freedom of
expression. On February 1, police searched the apartment of Il Giornale
journalist Anna Maria Greco, who had written an article on a Milan
prosecutor. Some journalism associations protested the search.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Public officials continued to bring
cases against journalists under the country's libel laws. According to
most observers the risk of such suits did not adversely affect the
willingness of the press to report on politically sensitive subjects.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
A special unit of the police monitored Web sites for crimes
involving child pornography. As an antiterrorism measure, authorities
required that Internet cafe operators obtain licenses and that those
using wireless Internet areas register personal information before
logging on.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the annual International Religious
Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the UNHCR and other
humanitarian organizations to provide protection and assistance to
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Following the Arab Spring, the flows of migrants arriving by boat
dramatically increased. Unrest in Tunisia resulted in the suspension of
the Tunisian agreement with Italy between January and April 5, after
which Tunisia and Italy signed a new pact providing for enhanced border
protection and repatriation of economic migrants. Most Tunisian
migrants who arrived after April 5 were deported. Those who arrived
before that date obtained temporary residence permits.
In March the Libyan government suspended the implementation of the
friendship treaty with Italy, prompting a large number of sub-Saharan
African migrants to leave Libya by boat, mainly for the Italian island
of Lampedusa. Most of them qualified for asylum.
According to the government, between January and September, 4,012
foreign minors arrived in the country, 3,739 of whom were
unaccompanied. Approximately 2,700 unaccompanied minors landed in
Lampedusa. Those who were apprehended were sent to temporary detention
centers for processing. A magistrate then determined whether migrants
would be deported (if their identity could be ascertained), ordered to
depart (if their identity could not be ascertained), or accepted for
asylum processing. Between January and July, the government repatriated
13,700 migrants primarily to Tunisia. The Ministry of Interior, in
cooperation with the International Organization for Migration, assisted
the safe return of migrants to their home countries.
On January 20, there were 7,540 unaccompanied minors in the
country, of whom 1,137 were Afghani. The Ministry of Interior equipped
special sections of temporary detention centers to host minors.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The country is party to the EU's
Dublin II Regulation, whose partners generally transfer asylum
applications to the first EU member country in which the applicant
arrived.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--There were reports of disturbances at detention
centers for immigrants throughout the year. The large flows of
Tunisians and African refugees fleeing Libya between January and
September aggravated the already poor living conditions of temporary
centers, especially in Lampedusa.
On June 6, detainees in the Bari detention center were responsible
for disturbances that culminated in a mass attempt to escape by sawing
through bars. The detainees injured several police officers, who
arrested two Moroccans and nine Tunisians in connection with the
incident.
On September 20, detained Tunisians at Lampedusa destroyed by arson
the reception facilities on the island, resulting in the evacuation of
migrants held there. According to a September 30 report by the
Parliamentary Assembly of the COE after a May 23-24 visit, the
government held Tunisians on Lampedusa for prolonged periods of time
without access to a judge. The report also noted insufficient
separation of minors, overcrowding, prolonged periods of detention, and
inadequate sanitary facilities. Finally, the report criticized the
government's slow response to the initial influx of migrants, noting
the confusion and unsanitary conditions arising out of an early lack of
action. Following the fire, Lampedusa's detention center closed for
repairs.
Access to Basic Services.--The government issued temporary
residence permits that the Ministry of Interior could periodically
renew. While not a guarantee, these temporary permits can lead to
future permanent residence.
Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees. Between
January and June, 10,900 persons submitted asylum requests to
authorities, compared to 5,400 in the same period of 2010. The top four
countries of origin of 4,900 persons assisted between January and
September were Afghanistan (14 percent), Somalia (13 percent), Eritrea
(11 percent), and Nigeria (8 percent).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--National
and international observers, including the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, considered the 2008 parliamentary elections
free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 60 women in the
321-seat Senate and 135 women in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies.
Women held five of 23 positions in the Council of Ministers. The
proportion of female judges is 7 percent.
Two legally defined minority groups had representatives in
parliament; the French-speaking Valdostani and the German-speaking
Altoatesini/Suedtiroler had a total of four senators and three
deputies. In a predominantly ethnically homogenous society, immigrants
represented approximately 6.5 percent of the population, and fewer than
half of these qualified as ethnic/racial minorities. Two
representatives of ethnically diverse groups (of Moroccan and Congolese
origin) were members of the Chamber of Deputies.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. Media
continued to report on isolated incidents of government corruption
during the year.
According to the general prosecutor of the National Audit Court,
709 persons were accused of corruption, 183 of embezzlement, and 2,290
of abuse of power in 2010.
In 2010 the regional sections of the National Audit Court found
sufficient cause to charge 227 persons with corruption and graft (40
cases), abuse of power (17 cases), fraud (95 cases), embezzlement (50
cases), and other crimes (25 cases).
All parliamentarian arrests must be approved by the parliament. On
July 20, police arrested parliamentarian Alfonso Papa for abetting
criminals, breaching confidentiality, and accepting bribes during an
investigation of a secret association. While the parliament approved
Papa's highly politicized arrest, during the year it nevertheless
blocked the arrests of several other parliamentarians, including Deputy
Marco Milanese and Senator Alberto Tedesco.
Members of parliament are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Ministry of Public Administration encouraged adherence to voluntary
guidelines for financial disclosure by the leaderships of all
ministries. The anticorruption and transparency office in the Ministry
of Public Administration is the government watchdog on corruption.
The law gives citizens the right to access government documents and
to be informed of administrative processes. With some security-related
exceptions, the government and local authorities respected this right
in practice for citizens, noncitizens, and the foreign press.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views. The government's Office
to Combat Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in the Ministry of Equal
Opportunity (UNAR) assists victims of discrimination.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--An interministerial commission on
human rights and a parliamentary committee on human rights focused on
international and high-profile domestic cases.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, ethnic
background, and political opinion. It provides some protection against
discrimination based on disability, language, or social status. The
government generally enforced these prohibitions; however, some
societal discrimination continued against women; persons with
disabilities; immigrants; Roma; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender persons.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal, and the government enforced the law effectively. According
to the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in 2009 there
were 4,963 cases of rape reported to the police.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a
problem. In September 2010 ISTAT reported that approximately 10.5
million women aged 16 to 65, or 51.8 percent of all women, were victims
of violence or harassment at least once in their lives. Between 2008
and 2010, 3.9 million women were involved in cases of violence or
harassment. Of these 3.9 million cases, 27 percent were verbal
assaults, 22 percent were stalking, 20 percent were indecent exposure,
and 19 percent involved physical violence. Women who lived in big
cities were more at risk; 64.9 percent of urban-dwelling women reported
a case of violence or stalking at least once in their lifetime. An
estimated 8.5 percent of women in the study reported sexual harassment
at work. In 2010 police reported to prosecutors 4,813 cases of sexual
violence, most of which occurred against women. Updated data were not
available.
The law criminalizes the physical abuse of women, including by
family members; allows for the prosecution of perpetrators of violence
against women; and helps abused women avoid publicity. Police officers
and judicial authorities prosecuted perpetrators of violence against
women, but victims frequently declined to press charges due to fear,
shame, or ignorance of the law.
In 2009 the Ministry of Equal Opportunity established a hotline for
victims of stalking in addition to the hotline for victims of violence
seeking immediate assistance and temporary shelter. Local authorities
fund shelters and protected communities usually run by NGOs. These
initiatives improved awareness of rights and remedies, and women were
more inclined to denounce their abusers. Between mid-September 2010 and
March 17, 2011, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity's hotline received
11,900 calls. Of the 4,500 calls received between January 10 and March
17, 2011, 10 percent were from foreigners, 35 percent regarded cases of
psychological violence, 25 percent involved physical violence, and 6
percent involved stalking. In 2010 police received 5,739 stalking
complaints, 87 percent of which were reported by women. Updated data
were not available.
In 2010 the NGO Telefono Rosa assisted 1,749 victims of violence,
40 percent of whom were victims of physical violence, 38 percent of
psychological violence, and 9 percent of stalking. Between September
and December 2010 the NGO ACMID-Donna, which ran a hotline for abused
Muslim women, received 1,376 calls, 970 of which were requests for
help. Of those who called, 74 were victims of forced marriage; 23 were
subsequently sheltered in protected communities.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--The media occasionally
reported on ``honor crimes.'' On December 22, a Modena court sentenced
to life imprisonment a Pakistani, Khan Ahamad Butt, for the murder of
his wife, Shanaz Begum. His son, Umair, was sentenced to 20 years in
jail for the attempted murder of Butt's daughter, Nosheen Butt. Shanaz
Begum had defended her daughter against her husband and son after the
daughter had refused an arranged marriage with an older man.
On January 28, a court of appeals sentenced 45-year-old Moroccan El
Ketaoui Dafani to life imprisonment for the murder of his 18-year-old
daughter, Saana Dafani, in 2009. El Ketaoui killed his daughter for
having a relationship with a 31-year-old Italian man. His lawyers
appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is a crime punishable by up
to 10 years' imprisonment. According to the National Institute for the
Health of Migrants, which assisted close to 5,000 FGM victims over the
previous 10 years, as many as 3,000 additional girls were at risk of
genital mutilation. In 2009 the Ministry of Equal Opportunity estimated
that 35,000 immigrant women (1,100 of whom were age 17 and younger)
were victims of genital mutilation. In the vast majority of cases the
mutilation occurred in the victims' countries of origin. Most of the
women lived in Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, and Lazio. A Ministry
of Equal Opportunity interagency committee in charge of combating FGM
implemented a prevention program that included an awareness campaign
for immigrants, risk analysis, cultural mediator training, and a
hotline dedicated to FGM victims.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal, and the
government effectively enforced the law. By government decree,
emotional abuse based on gender discrimination is a crime.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals had the right to
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had the
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, or
violence. Access to information on contraception and skilled attendance
at delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. Women and men
received equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--The law gives women the same rights as men,
including rights under family law, inheritance law, property law, and
the judicial process.
According to Eurostat the overall gap between salaries for men and
women in 2009 was 5.5 percent. Women continued to be underrepresented
in many fields, including management, entrepreneurial business, and
other professions. In 2009, 63 percent of public health employees were
women, but women accounted for only 18 percent of all public health
executives. In 2010 women represented only 6 percent of board members
of companies listed on the stock market. On June 29, the parliament
approved legislation which requires companies listed on the stock
market to appoint women to at least one-fifth of executive board
positions by 2012 and at least one-third by 2015.
On December 22, the parliament approved legislation raising the
retirement age for women and ending discrimination between men and
women in the private sector by 2018.
A number of government offices worked to provide for women's
rights, including the Ministry for Equal Opportunity and the Equal
Opportunity Commission in the Prime Minister's Office. The Ministry of
Labor and Welfare has a similar commission that focuses on women's
rights and workplace discrimination. Many NGOs, most of them affiliated
with labor unions or political parties, actively and effectively
promoted women's rights.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Local authorities registered all births immediately.
Child Abuse.--In the first six months of the year, Telefono
Azzurro, an NGO that advocates children's rights, received 882 requests
for assistance. Of these, an estimated 5 percent involved sexual abuse,
12.5 percent physical violence, and 6 percent psychological abuse. In
53 percent of cases the victims were female; 62 percent of the victims
were younger than 10.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The country has a statutory rape
law. The minimum age for consensual sex varies from 13 to 16, based on
the relationship between partners. The penalty for child pornography
ranges from six to 12 years in prison, and the penalty for violating
the minimum age for consensual sex ranges from two to 10 years in
prison. Between January and September a special police unit monitored
16,100 Web sites; 685 persons were reported to authorities for crimes
involving child pornography online, and 39 persons were arrested.
Between January and March, Telefono Arcobaleno detected more than
18,000 Web sites used by pedophiles.
In 2010 authorities registered 582 reports of sexual intercourse
with minors, 380 reports of child pornography production or child
pornography possession, and 175 reports of minors obliged to assist
with sexual intercourse between adults.
Save the Children estimated that minors represented 10 percent of
persons in prostitution (constituting between 1,600 and 2,000 minors).
While few children of Italian nationality engaged in prostitution for
survival, the independent research center Parsec reported that
thousands of minor migrants from Eastern Europe did.
On June 28, police arrested 16 persons accused of sexually
exploiting underage Italian girls in the province of Cosenza.
Recruiters enticed and then forced their victims into prostitution.
On July 4, authorities arrested 11 persons for recruiting and
forcing Romanian girls in Massa Carrara into prostitution. The girls'
pimps threatened and beat them.
Romani adults continued to use Romani children of all ages for
begging, and, in some instances, for prostitution and theft as well.
Police did not always intervene to prevent forced begging by Romani
children.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were approximately 30,000 Jews in Italy.
Anti-Semitic societal prejudices persisted. Isolated individuals and
small extremist fringe groups were responsible for anti-Semitic remarks
and actions, including vandalism and anti-Semitic material on the
Internet.
In October the Italian Chamber of Deputies' Committee for the
Inquiry into Anti-Semitism released a new report on anti-Semitism in
the country. The report cited a 2008 study by Italy's Center of
Contemporary Jewish Documentation that estimates that 44 percent of
Italians express attitudes and opinions ``in some way hostile to Jews''
and that 12 percent are ``fully fledged anti-Semites.'' The report also
documented the proliferation of anti-Semitic Web sites and the tendency
for criticism of Israel to become anti-Semitic.
On January 27, anti-Semitic graffiti was discovered by local
authorities on city walls, streets, and grave headstones in Stradella.
According to the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation, in
2010 there were more than 40 anti-Semitic Web sites. On January 18, a
right-wing Web site published a list of names of Jewish university
professors it accused of proselytizing for the ``Zionist cause.''
Postal police promptly shut down the Web site. In December a Web site
targeted several well-known Italian Jews by posting their photos
alongside hateful messages. The photos were taken down after the Rome
Jewish Community reported the incident to the police. In addition the
Web site contained several anti-Semitic cartoons, conspiracy theories,
and the text of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion ``Zionist cause.''
Postal police promptly shut down the Web site.
The Ministry of Education funded training courses for teachers
designed to prevent anti-Semitism on social media.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in the areas of employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced these provisions, but there were incidents of
societal discrimination. Antigone claimed there was a pattern of abuse
in prisons and mental health facilities, highlighting a number of
deaths that may have resulted from poor care for persons with
disabilities. On March 16, a parliamentary committee released a report
on six criminal detention centers for inmates with psychiatric
problems. The committee found that several of the centers had poor
living conditions and did not provide adequate patient treatment. On
July 27, police shut down 49 cells in two psychiatric facilities
visited by the committee and arrested two Aversa hospital prison guards
after charging them with sexually abusing a transsexual detainee on
March 10.
Although the law mandates access to government buildings for
persons with disabilities, mechanical barriers, particularly in public
transport, continued to pose challenges. Many cities lacked
infrastructure (such as subway elevators, funicular stations, and ramps
on sidewalks) for persons who were wheelchair bound or had limited
mobility. The Ministry of Labor and Welfare was responsible for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
A government agency, the Institute for the Development of
Vocational Training for Workers, estimated there were three million
persons with disabilities in the country, of whom 93 percent lived with
their families.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were no accurate
statistics on the number of Roma in the country. NGOs estimated that
between 120,000 and 170,000 Roma, including 75,000 citizens, were
concentrated on the fringes of urban areas in the central and southern
parts of the country.
During the year the Romani population continued to be subject to
some municipal mistreatment, societal discrimination, and violent
attacks against unauthorized camps. Some political discourse continued
to contribute to municipal and societal discrimination against the
Romani population, especially mob violence and individual attacks
targeting Roma.
On December 10, a protest organized by residents of the Vallette
suburb in Turin turned violent when some protesters attacked and burned
a Romani camp by setting fire to caravans and makeshift shelters that
housed approximately 150 Roma. The protest was organized after a 16-
year-old girl reported to police that she had been raped by two Roma.
The girl stated later to police that her accusations were false and
publicly apologized. Amnesty International reported that, the day
before the protest, leaflets were circulated inciting the inhabitants
of the suburb to ``clean up'' the area where the settlement was
located. Approximately 500 persons took part in the march; of those,
approximately 30 were reported to have been involved in the raid
against the settlement. There were no injuries since the police had
evacuated the area before the protest began.
National and local government officials made racist comments
against Roma and other members of minorities during the year. In May
then prime minister Berlusconi warned that Milan was at risk of
becoming ``an Islamic city, a Gypsy town full of camps and besieged by
foreigners.'' The press and NGOs reported cases of discrimination,
particularly in housing and evictions, deportations, and government
efforts to remove Romani children from their parents for their
protection.
According to the report on September 7 by the COE after the visit
on May 26-27 by COE commissioner for human rights Thomas Hammarberg,
the state of emergency in force in five regions ``provided the bedrock
for widespread evictions of Roma and Sinti from settlements throughout
the country, often in manners that are at variance with human rights
standards.'' Unauthorized camps lacked electricity, access to water and
sanitation, adequate shelter, and pest control. The report attributed
the segregation of Roma in camps to the ``local and national housing
policies which assume Roma to be nomads'' and which failed ``to meet
their needs.'' Evictions had a negative impact on children's right to
education.
Amnesty International reported that during March and May
authorities conducted 154 targeted evictions in Rome affecting 1,800
Roma. The European Roma Rights Center asserted that these evictions
violated international laws and standards under domestic law regulating
forced evictions. They charged that Rome municipal authorities did not
provide prior notice in advance of the eviction, did not offer proper
alternative accommodation, and destroyed personal property during the
evictions.
In November the Council of State ruled that the state of emergency
was not lawful and constituted discrimination. It stated that there was
no evidence of a causal link between the existence of nomadic
settlements and the extraordinary and exceptional disruption of order
and public security in the affected areas. Despite the ruling,
municipal governments defended the state of emergency, highlighting the
``absolute incompatibility'' between the camp conditions and the
protection of human rights.
On January 6, four Romani children died in their sleep after a fire
broke out in an illegal encampment on the outskirts of Rome. Mayor
Gianni Alemanno reiterated his intention to implement the 2009 Nomad
Plan, which calls for closing down illegal camps and transferring the
Roma to legal settlements.
Government officials at the national and local levels, including
those from the Ministry of Interior and UNAR, met periodically with
Roma and their representatives. On June 17, groups of Roma living in
Milan established a council to facilitate dialogue with the local
government. By July the Observatory for the Security against
Discrimination had received 130 reports regarding 56 crimes against
Roma; police arrested 11 persons and opened investigations on another
33.
In 2010 UNAR received approximately 1,000 calls on its national
hotline and 10,000 requests through its Web site. UNAR received
information on 500 cases of discrimination, 28 percent of which were
related to labor conditions, 20 percent to housing, and 10 percent to
discrimination in the provision of public services. UNAR provided legal
assistance and helped mediate disputes.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The press reported a few cases
of violence against gay and lesbian couples during the year. According
to a poll of gay men and lesbians conducted by the association Arcigay
released on October 13, 5 percent of those interviewed had been fired
for their sexual orientation, and 19 percent had been victims of other
forms of labor discrimination.
On January 27, police arrested Gianluca Costantino, Stefano
Merighi, and Diego Fosco on charges of savagely beating and raping a
foreign gay man in Canazei near Trento in April 2010.
On April 11, a Rome court of appeals found the ministries of
defense and transport guilty of discrimination for revoking the
driver's license of a gay man, Danilo Giuffrida, in Catania in 2005 and
ordered the ministries to pay 20,000 euros (approximately $26,000) as
compensation.
On July 27, police arrested two Aversa hospital prison guards after
charging them with sexually abusing a transsexual detainee on March 10
(see Persons with Disabilities).
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Based on
verifiable incidents, there was no detectable underlying pattern of
discrimination/abuse.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right to establish, join, and carry out union
activities in the workplace without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. Unions are independent of government and political
parties. The law prohibits union organization in the armed forces. The
law provides for the right to strike but restricts strikes affecting
essential public services (such as transport, sanitation, and health)
by requiring longer advance notification and precluding multiple
strikes within days of each other. The law restricts transport strikes,
allowing only those unions representing at least half of the workforce
to call a strike. Unions are allowed to conduct their activities
without interference, and the right to organize and bargain
collectively is instilled in the law. In 2010 ISTAT estimated that 78
national collective bargaining agreements covered a total of 13 million
public and private employees. Secondary contracts negotiated at the
company or territory-wide level also covered about 30 percent of
employees. Antiunion discrimination is illegal. Employees fired for
union activity have the right to request their reinstatement.
The government protected the rights of workers and enforced the
law. In practice workers exercised these rights, including union
formation and participation and legal strikes. Workers organized and
bargained collectively. There were no reported cases of discrimination.
The law allows a company of any nationality in a free trade zone to
employ workers of the same nationality under that country's labor laws
and social security systems.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government
enforced such laws; however, there were reports that such practices
occurred.
Parsec, an NGO that assists victims of trafficking in persons and
conducts research on trafficking trends, estimated that approximately
500 victims of labor trafficking worked mainly in domestic,
agricultural, and service sectors. Forced labor occurred primarily in
the construction and agriculture sectors.
According to research conducted by independent experts on 291
victims of forced labor who received assistance from NGOs between 2005
and 2009, the top countries of origin were Romania, Morocco, Egypt, and
India. Approximately 71 percent of the victims were male. Most of the
victims left their countries voluntarily to escape poor living
conditions (68 percent) and to find a better job (72 percent). Two-
thirds of female victims of labor trafficking and 48 percent of male
victims received deceptive employment offers; 25 percent worked in the
construction sector, 17 percent as caregivers, and 14 percent in
agriculture.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government sought to enforce laws and policies designed to protect
children from exploitation in the workplace; however, there were a
number of reports of child labor.
The law prohibits employment of children under age 15 with some
limited exceptions, and there are specific restrictions on employment
in hazardous or unhealthy occupations for boys under the age of 18 and
girls under the age of 21. Enforcement was generally effective in the
formal economy; however, enforcement was difficult in the relatively
extensive informal economy.
Illegal migrant child laborers, mostly between 15 and 18 years of
age, continued to enter the country from North African and Asian
countries. They worked primarily in the manufacturing and services
industries. Labor inspectors found that, between January and August
2010, 190 minors worked as illegal employees.
On June 30, the Ministry of Welfare said it had identified 5,806
unaccompanied minors as eligible to receive government assistance and
services. The top three countries of origin were Afghanistan, Tunisia,
and Egypt.
The government, employer associations, and unions continued their
tripartite cooperation to combat child labor. The Ministry of Labor and
Welfare, working with police and Carabinieri, is responsible for
enforcement of child labor laws, but its efforts produced limited
results.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law does not provide for a
minimum wage. Instead, collective bargaining labor contracts negotiated
by unions set minimum wage levels for different sectors of employment.
The official poverty line was set at 992 euros ($1,290) per month for a
family of two. Workers in the informal sector often worked for less
than the comparable minimum wage in the formal sector. The estimated
three million workers in the informal sector accounted for 11.3 percent
of the total workforce and worked primarily in the south in the
agricultural and service sectors during the year, according to ISTAT.
The legal workweek is 40 hours. Overtime work may not exceed two
hours per day or an average of 12 hours per week. Unless limited by a
collective bargaining agreement, the law sets maximum overtime hours in
industrial sector firms at no more than 80 per quarter and 250
annually. The law requires rest periods of one day per week and 11
hours per day. Premium pay is required for overtime. The government,
with regular union input, effectively enforced these standards.
The law sets basic health and safety standards and guidelines for
compensation for on-the-job injuries. There were labor inspectors in
both the public health service and the Ministry of Labor and Welfare,
but their numbers were insufficient to provide for adequate enforcement
of health and safety standards. The government and employers did not
enforce these standards in the informal economy. According to the
Workmen's Compensation Institute, there were 980 work-related deaths in
2010.
__________
KOSOVO
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Kosovo is a parliamentary democracy. The constitution and laws
provide for the authorities and responsibilities of the freely elected
unicameral national Assembly, the Assembly-approved government, and the
Assembly-elected president. The country declared its independence in
2008 after it accepted the Ahtisaari plan, which provided for
internationally sponsored mechanisms, including an International
Civilian Office and the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX), to support the
new government. Multiparty elections for the Assembly, conducted
beginning in December 2010, met many international standards, but
serious irregularities and electoral manipulations in some areas raised
concerns and resulted in a limited re-vote in some municipalities.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities, with the Kosovo
Security Force (KSF) also monitored by the U.N.-authorized NATO
Peacekeeping Force for Kosovo (KFOR) and the Kosovo Police (KP)
monitored, in a limited capacity, by EULEX.
Roadblocks that Serb hardliners established in the northern part of
the country seriously restricted basic rights, including freedom of
movement and movement of goods. Serb hardliners also employed violence
and intimidation against domestic opponents and international security
forces, resulting in deaths and injuries during the year. A third area
of serious concern was societal discrimination against minority
communities, persons with disabilities, and members of the lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, as well as domestic
violence, particularly against women.
Additional human rights concerns included allegations of prisoner
abuse as well as corruption and favoritism in prisons, lengthy pretrial
detention, judicial inefficiency, intimidation of media by public
officials and criminal elements, limited progress in returning
internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes, government
corruption, trafficking in persons, and child labor in the informal
sector.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government, although many perceived that senior officials engaged in
corruption and acted with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
On July 25, Enver Zymberi, a member of the Special Police Unit, was
shot in an ambush by Serb hardliners following an operation by the unit
to take control of Bernjak, a border crossing point on the Kosovo-
Serbian border. Zymberi died of his wounds on July 26.
There were developments related to the December 2010 release of a
report by a rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe (COE), Dick Marty. The report alleged that, from mid-1999 to
mid-2000, elements of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and affiliates
held scores of ``disappeared'' persons in Albania and that a small
number of persons became ``victims of organized crime'' when their
kidneys were extracted for use by an international organ-trafficking
ring. The report stated that all of those held, Albanians and Serbs,
were presumed to have been killed. On January 27, EULEX opened a
preliminary investigation in the case, and on August 29, named John
Clint Williamson as the lead prosecutor for the Special Investigative
Task Force. At year's end, the task force continued its investigation
with government cooperation.
On July 15, a EULEX judge confirmed the indictment against nine
defendants, including assembly member Fatmir Limaj, in the case of
alleged war crimes committed at the high-profile KLA Klecka detention
facility in 1999. On September 22, following the release of the
Constitutional Court's ruling that assembly members do not enjoy
blanket immunity from arrest, Limaj surrendered to EULEX police and was
placed under house arrest. On September 28, EULEX announced that Agim
Zogaj, the key witness in the Klecka case, known as ``Witness X,'' was
found dead in a park in Germany. German forensic authorities stated
Zogaj, who was in a witness protection program, had committed suicide.
On November 11, the trial of the Klecka case began in the district
court of Pristina. All defendants pleaded not guilty. Limaj's defense
asked to postpone the trial until February 2012 due to the absence of a
forensics report on the death of Zogaj and insufficient time to analyze
the indictment. On November 15, the Pristina District Court postponed
the trial until January 2012.
In a July 29 decision, a mixed panel of EULEX and Kosovo judges
convicted former KLA members Sabit Geci, Riza Aliaj, Shaban Hoti, and
Haki Hajdari of the abuse, beatings, and murder of detainees at two KLA
detention centers in Kukes and Cahan in northern Albania in 1999. The
panel sentenced the four men to a total of 40 years' imprisonment --
Geci to 15 years, Alija to 12, Hajdari to seven, and Hoti to six. A
fifth suspect in the case remained at large.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances. However, according to the International Committee of
the Red Cross, as of the end of the year, 1,796 persons were still
listed as missing as a result of the 1998-99 conflict. Of these, 70
percent were Kosovo-Albanians, and 30 percent were Kosovo-Serbs and
other minorities.
On September 14, a law on missing persons entered into force that
defines missing persons, details rights of family members of missing
persons to information, and formalizes the Government Commission on
Missing Persons as the coordination body on issues related to missing
persons.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices. One
organization found that the KP employed forms of abuse that could be
considered torture to obtain confessions, while other observers found
that torture did not exist in the correctional institutions. There were
no reports during the year that EULEX or KFOR (which has limited arrest
and detention authority) employed forms of abuse.
In October the COE's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
released a report on its June 2010 visit to detention facilities. The
CPT received numerous and consistent allegations of physical
mistreatment by KP officers from persons who were or had recently been
taken into custody. The allegations primarily concerned punches, kicks,
and blows with batons at the time of apprehension. The CPT also
reported that some police officers attempted to obtain confessions
during questioning with slaps, punches, kicks (including to the
genitals), striking the person with hard objects, squeezing of the hand
with a pencil being placed between two fingers, and beating on the
soles of the feet. The CPT noted that in some cases the severity of the
alleged mistreatment was such that it could ``easily be described as
torture.'' The CPT concluded that it appeared that ``the situation as
regards the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty by the
Kosovo Police has stagnated if not deteriorated'' since its 2007 visit.
In one case the CPT interviewed and conducted medical examinations
of a group of detainees who alleged that officers of the KP special
intervention group punched, kicked, and beat them with a variety of
objects, at times with their hands cuffed behind them, a few days
before the CPT delegation's visit to Prishtine/Pristina Police Station
No. 1. Several detainees were injured to the point of requiring medical
treatment. The detainees reported that a EULEX monitor was present at
the station and attempted to prevent the KP officers from continuing
with the beatings without success. EULEX subsequently informed the CPT
in September 2010 that it had ``requested its Internal Investigation
Unit (IIU) to undertake an investigation into possible misconduct
(i.e., inaction) by the EULEX staff member present at the police
station,'' but that the IIU closed the case on the grounds that it was
unsubstantiated.
In reports based on more recent visits, domestic observers,
including the Office of the Ombudsperson and the Kosovo Rehabilitation
Center for Torture Victims (KRCT), found that torture as defined by the
U.N. Convention against Torture did not exist in the country's
correctional institutions and that isolated complaints regarding
mistreatment of prisoners and detainees had consistently decreased in
recent years. The Office of the Ombudsperson reported receiving only
two reports of detainees or prisoners who were slapped during the year.
The European Commission's Progress Report on Kosovo 2011 also noted
that the number of reported cases of torture or mistreatment by police
and prison staff decreased during the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Physical conditions at
prisons and detention centers were generally satisfactory, although
physical conditions remained substandard in some areas.
In its October report the CPT concluded that material conditions of
detention had significantly improved since its 2007 visit and that
conditions were ``generally satisfactory,'' with no overcrowding
problems. The European Commission's Progress Report on Kosovo 2011 also
observed that living conditions in the country's detention facilities
improved and noted overall progress in relation to correctional
services. The Office of the Ombudsperson commented on a general
improvement in material conditions of detention and prison facilities.
The CPT and KRCT reports stated that conditions remained substandard in
some areas and in some parts of facilities, including poor lighting or
ventilation in some cells and dilapidated kitchens, toilets, and
bedding facilities in some prison and detention facilities. There were
no reports that prisoners lacked access to potable water.
In addition to the alleged torture and abuses listed above, the
CPT's October report cited allegations that certain prisoners had
``hired'' members of the establishment's special intervention group to
assault physically other prisoners who were causing them trouble. The
CPT also concluded that corruption and favoritism were ``endemic'' at
the main correctional center, Dubrava Prison, and a problem at other
penitentiary establishments. Interprisoner violence was also cited as a
problem.
The Correctional Service managed daily operations at all
correctional and detention centers. EULEX retained a limited
monitoring, mentoring, and advising role in the prisons and transported
prisoners upon request. As of the end of August, there were 1,195
convicted prisoners and 1,489 pretrial detainees mixed in prison and
detention centers. There were 20 women and 42 juveniles in detention
and prison facilities. During the year the monthly prison population at
Dubrava Prison varied from 650 to 1,000 inmates, below its total
capacity of 1,200. Three correctional facilities, six detention
centers, one center for the protection of witnesses, and one prison
hospital operated during the year.
Prisoners had access to visitors and were permitted religious
observance, including the right to request visits of clerics. Prisons
and detention facilities also offered modified menus for observance of
holidays, including for religious fasting.
Detainees could submit complaints and requests for investigations
to judicial authorities and the Office of the Ombudsperson without
censorship through anonymous boxes in most prison facilities. The
Office of the Ombudsperson assigned two central-level and three field
staff people to monitor prisons during the year.
With assistance from the European Commission, the government
started construction during the year of a new high-security prison in
Podujeve/Podujevo with a capacity for 300 inmates. The government
provided all correctional facilities and detention centers with
surveillance cameras during the year. More prisoners were employed
during the year than in previous years, and for the first time
juveniles at the Lipjan/Lipljan correctional center took part in
educational programs in public schools, accompanied by police, rather
than in the correctional center. The KRCT observed an increased ease of
access to detention and correctional facilities for observer
organizations.
Authorities permitted visits and monitoring of the country's
prisons and detention centers, including by the CPT and EULEX. The
ombudsperson and KRCT inspected correctional and detention centers
during the year. Monitors reported good cooperation from the
correctional service, including the ability to conduct private
interviews with inmates during visits. However, in its October report
the CPT noted allegations from several prisoners that they were warned
by prison officers not to complain to or have any contact with EULEX
monitors.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government, EULEX, and
KFOR generally observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Local security forces
include the KP and KSF. Under the law, police function under the
authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. EULEX operated under a
mandate to monitor, mentor, and advise local judicial and law
enforcement institutions. EULEX police also have operational
responsibilities and conduct policing operations under a defined
mandate. EULEX possesses limited executive authority in areas including
organized crime, corruption, war crimes, witness protection, money
laundering, terrorist financing, and international police cooperation.
The KSF is a lightly armed security and civil defense force that
functions under the civilian authority of the Ministry for the Kosovo
Security Force and was mentored by KFOR.
Specialized police units investigating war crimes, financial
crimes, and organized crime, and the EULEX police witness protection
program, remained staffed by international EULEX police officers and
operated independently of the KP. EULEX and the KP independently
operated units on criminal intelligence and organized crime. EULEX's
international police officers, prosecutors, and judges deployed in the
country had broad discretion to intervene in any particular criminal
matter. However, as a practical matter, most policing duties and
responsibilities were in the hands of the local police.
The Police Inspectorate operated as an independent body under the
Ministry of Internal Affairs and has a mandate to conduct
investigations and inspections involving police personnel. The
inspectorate became operational on June 1, taking over responsibility
for personnel investigations from the Professional Standards Unit (PSU)
of the KP. Through the end of September, the inspectorate and its
predecessor, the PSU, reviewed 438 complaints, of which 380 were
disciplinary violations and 58 were criminal cases. Of the 58
investigations into criminal misconduct, 25 remained under
investigation, 25 were sent to the office of the prosecutor, three were
sent to the court for minor offenses, three were initially investigated
as criminal cases but were reduced to disciplinary violations, and two
cases were closed for lack of evidence.
The PSU investigated minor police violations and imposed
administrative penalties for infractions. During the year the unit
opened 1,244 cases, including instances of minor insubordination and
damage or loss of police property. At year's end 284 cases remained
under investigation.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally made arrests openly using a warrant issued by a judge or
prosecutor and based on sufficient evidence. In some cases masked or
undercover officers conducted arrests. By law arrests must be based on
prosecutors' orders, and arrestees must be brought before a judge
within 48 hours. The majority of the year's arrests were carried out by
police. There were no reports that police abused the 48-hour rule, and
authorities generally charged arrestees within six to eight hours or
released them. Arrestees have the right to be informed of the reason
for their arrest in a language they understand, remain silent and not
answer any questions except those concerning their identity, obtain
free assistance of an interpreter, obtain defense counsel and have
defense counsel provided if they cannot afford one, and receive medical
and psychiatric treatment. Police also have the right to take a person
into temporary police custody for up to six hours to protect the person
from harm or danger or if the person is uncooperative with lesser
measures. Kosovo and EULEX police generally respected most of these
rights in practice, but the CPT found that some investigators did not
inform detainees of their rights.
In its October report the CPT noted a number of allegations from
detained persons that they were not able to contact a lawyer at the
outset of their deprivation of liberty, but only at the start of the
initial period of questioning with an investigating police officer. The
CPT stated that in several cases the right of access to a lawyer
allegedly became effective only after the person concerned was
questioned and that a number of detained persons complained that, while
they had asked for an ex officio lawyer immediately after apprehension,
their first contact with the lawyer took place only at their initial
court appearance.
While detainees have the right to notify family members of their
detention, the CPT noted in its October report that authorities'
respect for this right generally seemed to have deteriorated since its
2007 visit. The CPT reported that a number of detained persons
complained that the KP failed to comply with their request to have a
family member notified shortly after their apprehension and that the
notification was made only towards the end of police custody. The CPT
corroborated the allegations through an examination of custody
registers and custody records in several of the police stations it
visited.
Following an initial ruling, a court may hold individuals in
pretrial detention for 30 days from the date of arrest and can extend
detention up to a total of one year if no indictment has been filed.
After the filing of an indictment and until the conclusion of trial
proceedings, detention on remand may be ordered or terminated only by
ruling of the trial panel. There is a functioning bail system. The law
allows for house arrest, confiscation of travel documents, and the
expanded use of bail as alternatives to pretrial detention. Defendants
can also appeal their detention on remand.
Under extraordinary circumstances, KFOR can arrest and detain
individuals without a warrant. The KFOR commander can detain
individuals for 72 hours, renewable for a second 72-hour period. After
144 hours, KFOR must release the detainee. There were no reports that
KFOR arrested persons without a warrant during the year.
Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy detentions, both before and during
judicial proceedings, remained a problem. The law provides that a judge
may impose pretrial detention when there is well-grounded suspicion
that a person has committed a criminal offense and that he or she is
likely to destroy, hide, or forge evidence, influence witnesses, flee,
repeat the criminal offense or engage in another criminal offense, or
when other measures provided by the law are insufficient to secure the
defendant's presence during criminal proceedings. In practice, however,
judges routinely used detention on remand without requiring any
evidentiary justification. In particular, in the Mitrovice/Mitrovica
District Court, which temporarily sits in Vushtrri/Vucitrn, detention
on remand for defendants was continuously extended throughout the
period when the court operated with limited capacity. At year's end 457
of 1,918 persons held in pretrial detention during the year were still
detained.
Factors including judicial inefficiency and corruption caused trial
delays.
Amnesty.--On February 17, the acting president pardoned 103
individuals (approximately 10 percent of the total prison population)
in honor of the country's third anniversary of independence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary. However, the judiciary was at times biased,
subject to outside influence, and did not always provide due process.
There were reports of corruption in the judiciary, and the court system
was inefficient. Unlike in previous years, an effective mechanism for
disciplinary proceedings against judges was in place, and 34 cases
against judges were heard and decided by the end of September.
In November the European Commission reported improvement in the
country's judicial system, but it noted that the system remained weak
and judicial efficiency needed to be enhanced.
The court system included a constitutional court, a supreme court,
five district courts, a commercial court, 25 municipal courts, 25 minor
offense courts, and an appellate court for minor offenses. Through
EULEX, 31 international judges and 15 international prosecutors
supported local judges and prosecutors. There was one state public
prosecutor's office, five district prosecutors' offices, and seven
municipal prosecutors' offices. EULEX exercised its executive authority
over a special prosecutor's office of eight international prosecutors
focused on serious crimes including trafficking in persons, money
laundering, war crimes, and terrorism.
In criminal cases in which EULEX international judges exercised
their jurisdiction, EULEX judges sat on mixed panels with local judges.
EULEX judges were the majority on these panels, with one EULEX judge
serving as the presiding judge. The president of the Assembly of EULEX
Judges has the authority to create a panel solely or the majority of
which are local judges or to not assign particular stages of
proceedings to EULEX judges. For civil cases in which EULEX
international judges exercised jurisdiction, judicial panels were
composed of three judges, two of whom were EULEX judges.
Under the Judicial Council, the Office of the Disciplinary
Commission is responsible for investigating the activities of judges
and lay judges and for prosecuting cases of misconduct before the
Judicial Council. Through the end of August, 149 new cases were
referred to the commission for action.
The Mitrovice/Mitrovica District Court continued to function
partially during the year. Only EULEX judges were based at the court's
premises in northern Mitrovica. EULEX operations at the Mitrovica
District Court ceased in the fall after Serb hardliners in North
Mitrovica actively prevented EULEX judges and prosecutors from reaching
the court. EULEX was forced to reconsider relocating trials elsewhere
in the country. Other operations of the Mitrovice/Mitrovica district
and municipal courts and the Mitrovice/Mitrovica district and municipal
prosecutors' offices continued to operate from the Vushtrri/Vucitrn
Municipal Court. District and municipal courts in Mitrovice/Mitrovica
and municipal courts in Leposaviq/Leposavic and Zubin Potok remained
closed following 2008 protests against the country's independence.
The Serbian government continued to operate an illegal parallel
judicial system in Kosovo-Serb enclaves and in majority Serb
municipalities.
Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants enjoy the
presumption of innocence, the right to be present at their trials,
confront witnesses, see evidence, and have legal representation.
Authorities may provide legal representation at public expense if
necessary; however, this procedure was used rarely in practice.
Defendants have the right of appeal. Trials are heard by panels
consisting of professional and lay judges; there are no jury trials.
The Legal Aid Commission, an independent government agency,
provided free legal assistance to low-income individuals. Most of the
assistance provided by the commission during the year was for civil or
administrative matters. The Ministry of Justice also operated a victims
advocates' section, assisting in providing access to justice for
victims of crime. The section provided free legal assistance for
victims of all crimes with a special focus on victims of domestic
violence, trafficking in persons, child abuse, and rape. The section
operated 15 offices throughout the country and provided assistance 24
hours a day.
A judicial integration section operated by the Ministry of Justice
continued to address problems affecting minorities. To that end, the
ministry operated 11 court liaison offices to assist minority
communities in Kosovo-Serb majority areas by accompanying them to
courts, filing documents with courts on their behalf, and providing
information and legal assistance to refugees and IDPs.
EULEX oversees war crimes cases. EULEX can investigate and
adjudicate cases either independently or, where appropriate, jointly
with Kosovo counterparts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports that the
government or KFOR held political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals may appeal to
courts in order to seek damages for, or cessation of, human rights
violations. There were many such lawsuits pending. Individuals turned
to the Constitutional Court for review of their rights to due process.
More than 60 percent of the 164 cases filed with the Constitutional
Court during the year alleged violations of constitutional rights by
courts, prosecutors, or police.
Property Restitution.--Systemic challenges to the restitution of
property persisted. A June report by the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found that unresolved property claims
related to the Kosovo conflict hindered the return of refugees and
adversely affect the human rights of all communities, particularly
Kosovo-Serbs and other non-Albanian communities. A confusing mix of
laws, regulations, administrative instructions, and court practices, as
well as the illegal reoccupation of properties and multiple claims for
the same property, hindered the legal system's review of property
rights cases.
The Kosovo Property Agency (KPA) is responsible for the resolution
of residential, commercial, and agricultural property claims arising
from the Kosovo conflict. OSCE monitors noted several problems
hindering the KPA's work, including multiple claims filed for the same
property, illegal reoccupation of properties, obstacles to registration
of property titles, and delays in appointing members to the KPA
appellate panel. Kosovo-Serbs in the northern part of Mitrovice/
Mitrovica continued to occupy Kosovo-Albanian-owned properties and
denied their owners access; Kosovo-Albanians in the southern part of
the municipality occupied and denied Kosovo-Serbs access to their
property. During the year the KPA carried out only a fraction of the
evictions for which it had orders due to concern by authorities that
attempts to serve eviction notices would lead to violence. Limitations
on the KPA's exercising its mandate in the north and a lack of criminal
prosecution of property rights violators also hindered implementation
of property rights decisions.
The backlog of property-related claims in municipal courts remained
high, with approximately 20,000 outstanding at year's end, representing
almost exclusively monetary claims by Kosovo-Serbs for war-related
damage.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government, EULEX, and KFOR generally respected these prohibitions
in practice. KFOR forces retained the ability to assist local police
and EULEX police in conducting searches for high-risk suspects, and
independently to search private property for weapons without court
orders, based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244's peacekeeping
authority. During the year KFOR did not conduct any such searches.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
However, there were reports that public officials, politicians, and
businesses intimidated media representatives. The media also
encountered difficulties in obtaining information from the government
and public institutions, compounded by the failure of the government
formed in February to appoint a spokesperson.
Freedom of the Press: According to the Association of Professional
Journalists of Kosovo (APJK), media outlets' financial difficulties
left the editorial independence and journalistic professionalism of
both print and television media vulnerable to outside influence and
pressure. A few newspapers were financially self-sufficient and thus
able to develop editorial policies independent of business and
political interests. However, other newspapers relied on funding from
businesses and political interest groups, as well as the government,
which provided financial support in exchange for positive coverage or
absence of critical coverage.
The budget of the public broadcaster, Radio Television Kosovo
(RTK), is controlled by the Assembly. The law provides for regulation
of RTK program content and requires that at least 15 percent of RTK
program time, including prime time, be dedicated to minority
communities in their respective languages on a proportional basis.
Violence and Harassment.--Through the end of the year, the APJK
reported 33 instances of government officials, business interest
groups, or media owners abusing press freedom, including making verbal
threats to journalists and their agencies, pressuring outlets not to
publish materials and articles, and obstructing the work of
journalists. The APJK also reported that many journalists complained
that editors often did not allow them to publish or broadcast stories
critical of the government or particular officials due to editors' or
media outlets' connections to, or preferences for, certain senior
government officials. In some cases journalists reported that editors
threatened to fire them if they continued to produce stories critical
of the government. Five journalists reported that editors prevented
them from producing stories on high-level government corruption.
Censorship: While there was no direct censorship of print or
broadcast media, journalists reported pressure from politicians and
organized crime frequently resulted in self-censorship. Some
journalists refrained from critical investigative reporting due to fear
for their personal security or their jobs. Journalists were
occasionally offered financial benefits in exchange for positive
reporting or for abandoning an investigation, and government officials
and suspected criminals verbally threatened some journalists for
perceived negative reporting. According to editors, government agencies
and corporations withdrew advertising from newspapers that published
material critical of them.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and the government, EULEX, and KFOR generally respected this right in
practice.
The law on public gatherings requires that organizers inform police
of protests 72 hours prior to the event. Police are required to notify
the organizers within 48 hours if the protest will be allowed.
Vetevendosje (``Self-Determination'' Movement) reported that seven
protesters were injured in a clash with police during a May 12 protest
in front of two government buildings. The Vetevendosje activists
initiated the violent protest against the visit of a senior Serbian
government official. Police responded with tear gas when protesters
threw stones and bags of paint at government buildings. Fifteen KP
officers were injured, and protesters damaged government buildings and
vehicles.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government and EULEX generally respected these
rights; however, interethnic tensions, roadblocks placed by Kosovo-Serb
hardliners, and real and perceived security concerns restricted freedom
of movement in practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Police continued to assess the security situation as stable but
fragile. Members of all ethnic communities continued to remain largely
within or traveled between areas where their group comprised the
majority.
In-country Movement.--Roadblocks in the north put in place by Serb
hardliners from July through the end of the year greatly limited
movement there and in some cases cut off access to areas altogether in
reaction to a joint EU-KFOR-Kosovo government effort to introduce legal
Kosovo customs controls at northern border crossings. In addition,
perceived risks and sporadic incidents of violence and intimidation
continued to limit freedom of movement for Kosovo-Albanians in the
north and Serbs in other parts of the country.
On July 27, Serb hardliners attacked and set fire to the border
facilities at Jarinje on the Kosovo-Serbia border.
On September 28, nine KFOR soldiers sustained injuries in attacks
by Kosovo-Serb hardliners at the Jarinje border control point. The
hardliners used pipe bombs, semiautomatic weapons, a grenade, and
vehicles against KFOR soldiers in an effort to break through a vehicle
checkpoint and disrupt security and customs procedures at the border.
Several Serb hardliners were also injured in the attack when KFOR
forces responded in self-defense.
On November 28, Serb hardliners protested KFOR efforts to remove a
barricade near the village of Jagnjenica in Zubin Potok municipality.
Protesters fired shots, threw firecrackers and Molotov cocktails, and
used pipe bombs against KFOR personnel, injuring 29 KFOR personnel,
including four KFOR soldiers who were seriously injured.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to the UNHCR, at
year's end there were 18,093 registered displaced persons within the
country from the 1999-2000 conflict and subsequent violence, 54 percent
of whom were Kosovo-Serbs, 40 percent Kosovo-Albanians, and 6 percent
from Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities. Significant numbers of
additional IDPs, particularly Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians, remained
unregistered and uncounted by authorities, according to the Internal
Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC). Of the 4,100 persons displaced
by riots in 2004, approximately 1,000 remained IDPs. Most IDPs remained
in areas where their ethnic group was a numerical majority, according
to the IDMC. An estimated 4,000 IDPs continued to live in collective
centers under poor conditions and with intermittent assistance,
according to the IDMC. Many unregistered displaced Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptians lived in informal settlements lacking electricity and other
basic services.
During the year the Ministry of Communities and Returns budgeted
five million euros ($6.5 million) for return of and assistance to IDPs.
International community donors also provided funding directly to
implementing partners of projects for returns in coordination with the
Ministry of Communities and Returns. The funds were spent on housing
reconstruction, food and nonfood assistance, income generation grants,
and basic support infrastructure, such as roads and water systems.
However, a lack of housing and poor economic conditions remained
principal impediments to return. Many IDPs also reportedly remained
reluctant to return home because of security concerns, poor local
services, and difficulties repossessing and rebuilding their property.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Administrative instructions to implement the law, such as procedures
and standards for the reception and initial treatment of asylum
seekers, and rights and obligations of asylum seekers, have been
promulgated but not yet implemented. During the year the UNHCR
continued to assist the Department of Citizenship, Asylum, and
Migration in building its capacity to adjudicate claims, provide
training to border police in identifying and processing individuals who
request asylum at ports of entry, and prevent the return of persons to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. A national
commission for refugees, established in 2010, began operations during
the year. The government, in cooperation with the European Commission,
was constructing a new reception center for asylum seekers in the
Lipjan/Lipljan municipality.
During the year 2,715 people were forcibly returned to the country,
mainly from Western Europe. During the year the government increased,
by tenfold over 2010, funding for reception and reintegration programs
for involuntary returnees, primarily Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian
families and individuals returning from Western Europe. Despite this
progress the U.N. Security Council's October 31 report stated that
repatriated persons continued to face difficulties in accessing civil
registration services, housing, health care, employment, and education.
Durable Solutions.--At year's end the country hosted 146 refugees,
mostly from neighboring countries.
According to the UNHCR, during the year 188 asylum seekers applied
for international protection in the country. The Department of
Citizenship, Asylum, and Migration and the asylum center accommodated
all asylum seekers. At year's end nine asylum seekers remained in the
country.
Stateless Persons.--Figures on stateless persons were unavailable,
but the UNHCR reported assisting 13,135 persons from the Romani,
Ashkali, and Egyptian communities to obtain civil status registration
in recent years. Children acquire citizenship from their parents or by
virtue of birth in the country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide residents with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
The Serbian government continued to operate illegal parallel
government structures in Kosovo-Serb enclaves.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In
December 2010 the country held snap Assembly elections, following a
November 2010 Assembly vote of no confidence in the government. The
elections carried into 2011. On January 9, the government held a re-
vote in the municipalities of Skenderaj/Srbica, Gllogovac/Drenas, and
Decan/Decani as well as in three polling stations in Malisheve/Malisevo
and Lipjan/Lipljan, where the Central Election Commission annulled
results due to irregularities and electoral manipulations. On January
23, the government organized a re-vote in the municipality of
Mitrovice/Mitrovica as a result of a Supreme Court decision on a
political party's appeal regarding failures of the ultraviolet ink and
lamps used in the December 2010 round of elections.
Domestic and international observers stated the elections met many
international standards but noted serious irregularities and electoral
manipulations in some areas, including breeches of election procedures,
falsification of signatures on the voters' list, and irregularities in
counting. They reported incidences of family voting (male heads of
household voting on behalf of female family members) throughout the
country. Observers also cited instances of pressure and intimidation of
domestic observers.
Following its constitutive session the Assembly approved the new
coalition government, led by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's Democratic
Party of Kosovo, and elected Behgjet Pacolli as president on February
22. On March 30, following a request by opposition parties, the
Constitutional Court ruled that the Assembly's election of President
Pacolli violated the constitution because there was not a valid quorum
to conduct the vote and due to the failure of more than one candidate
to contest the election. In its decision the court declared that the
Assembly's vote was no longer in force and immediately ended Pacolli's
mandate. Political leaders subsequently agreed on a consensus
candidate, and on April 7, the Assembly elected Atifete Jahjaga as
president. The political agreement was based on significant electoral
reform, which continued at year's end.
Political Parties.--Political parties could operate without
restriction or outside interference, but party affiliation played an
important role in access to government services and social and
employment opportunities. Clan loyalties also played an important,
although unofficial, role in political organizations.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 40 women in the
120-seat Assembly. The electoral law requires a 30 percent quota for
female parliamentarians. There were no women on the six-member Assembly
presidency. In the government there were two female deputy prime
ministers and two female ministers (one served concurrently as a deputy
prime minister). There were no female deputy ministers. While no women
were elected in the 2010 mayoral elections, women represented 31
percent of elected municipal representatives.
There were 25 ethnic minority members in the Assembly, including 13
Kosovo-Serbs and 12 members of other groups, including ethnic Turks,
Bosniaks, Gorani, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians. The constitution
requires that the Assembly reserve 10 seats for Kosovo-Serbs and 10 for
members of other ethnic groups.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials reportedly engaged in corrupt practices. There was widespread
public perception of corruption in the government. International
organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued to
report that corruption was a serious problem. A lack of effective
judicial oversight and general weakness in the rule of law contributed
to corruption in the government. The institutional weakness of the
Anticorruption Agency also contributed to lax oversight of
anticorruption efforts. In November the European Commission reported
some progress in the fight against corruption, including the
government's ``starting to tackle some of the corruption cases.''
On September 20, investigators from the EULEX Special Prosecutor's
Office interviewed former minister of transport and telecommunications
and assembly member Fatmir Limaj related to an investigation.
Investigators suspected Limaj of embezzling as much as 80 million euros
($104 million) from the ministry and through tendering procedures
during his tenure as minister. On November 16, in response to a request
of the EULEX Special Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme Court granted a
final six-month extension to the investigatory period in the case.
On May 3, an appeals panel confirmed the indictment against five
citizens for trafficking in human organs, organized crime, unlawful
medical activities, and abuse of official authority in 2008. The
charges related to the Medicus Clinic in Pristina, which the KP closed
in 2008 after a months-long investigation for the international
trafficking of organs. On June 10, a EULEX prosecutor from the Special
Prosecutor's Office filed an additional indictment against two
individuals. The trial began on October 4 at Pristina District Court
before a panel of one Kosovo and two EULEX judges. All seven defendants
pleaded not guilty. The trial continued at year's end.
Corruption and government influence remained problems in the
security forces. In June the KP Anticorruption Task Force arrested
eight KP officers from the Mitrovice/Mitrovica Operations Support Unit
on charges of corruption and taking bribes. The officers were suspected
of extorting money from truck drivers at vehicle checkpoints. The case
continued at year's end.
On December 15, a mixed panel of EULEX and Kosovo judges in the
Pristina District Court dismissed all five counts of a corruption-
related EULEX indictment against former Central Bank of Kosovo governor
Hashim Rexhepi due to lack of evidence. EULEX initially filed an
indictment against Rexhepi on suspicions of abuse of official position,
corruption, bribery, tax evasion, and money laundering in August 2010.
On September 8, the pretrial judge in the Pristina District Court
dismissed all charges against customs director Naim Huruglica and
customs legal advisor Lulzim Rafuna for involvement in a scheme to
deprive the government of 2.5 million euros ($3.3 million) in cigarette
tax revenue. The judge ruled that EULEX prosecutors had no credible
evidence to secure a conviction. However, on October 19, a mixed panel
of Kosovo and EULEX judges in the District Court of Pristina decided to
uphold partially an appeal by the prosecution and confirmed one count
of the indictment, abuse of official position.
The Anticorruption Agency and the Office of the Auditor General
(OAG) are the two major agencies responsible for combating corruption
in the government. During the year the Anticorruption Agency received
approximately 150 reports of corruption in addition to 67 cases that
carried over from 2010; 25 cases were referred for prosecution, 10 were
passed to the KP, approximately 100 were closed for lack of evidence,
and approximately 70 were under investigation.
The OAG reviewed fiscal management and accountability in the
central government, municipal authorities, and publicly owned
enterprises. During the year the OAG audited most ministries, the
president's office, and the Assembly.
The law provides for public access to government information as
well as penalties for institutions and officials that do not provide
access to information as required by the law.
A study conducted by the NGO FOL (``Speak Up'') covering the period
from May 2010 to May 2011 indicated that approximately 48 percent of
requests for access to official documents (sent randomly to local and
central authorities) received positive responses.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The government was
occasionally cooperative and responsive to their views. The government
from time to time met with domestic NGO monitors, responded to their
inquiries, or took action in response to their reports or
recommendations.
Governmental Human Rights Bodies: The Office of the Ombudsperson
has the authority to investigate allegations of human rights violations
and abuse of government authority. The ombudsperson was considered
ineffective, and a number of senior and experienced staff members
resigned from the office during the year. Up to the end of September,
the office issued only one public statement regarding human rights
violations. The statement was unrelated to government institutions and
thus outside the scope of the ombudsperson's authority, and it
contained factual inaccuracies regarding the situation it sought to
address. The European Commission's Progress Report on Kosovo 2011 noted
the weaknesses of the ombudsperson's institution and cited the need for
the ombudsperson to improve communication with the public on the
results of his work.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
gender, ethnic origin, disability, social status, or language. The
government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Although the law criminalizes
rape, spousal rape is not specifically addressed. Under the criminal
code, rape is punishable by two to 10 years in prison; statutory rape
(sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years old) is punishable by
five to 20 years in prison. Rape involving homicide is punishable by
imprisonment for 10 to 40 years. Observers believed that rape was
significantly underreported due to the cultural stigma attached to
victims and their families.
Domestic violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained
a serious and persistent problem. The law prohibits domestic violence,
and convictions carry prison terms of six months to five years. The law
treats domestic violence as a civil matter unless the victim suffers
bodily harm. Failure to comply with a civil court's judgment relating
to a domestic violence case is a criminal offense and can be
prosecuted. When victims pressed charges, police domestic violence
units conducted investigations and transferred cases to prosecutors.
According to the Special Prosecutor's Office, family loyalties,
poverty, and the backlog of cases in both civil and criminal courts
contributed to the low rate of prosecution.
Convictions for domestic violence were rare, and sentences ranged
from judicial reprimands to imprisonment. Traditional social attitudes
towards women in the male-dominated society contributed to the high
level of domestic abuse and low number of reported cases.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare had a unit dedicated
solely to dealing with family violence. The ministry provided some
financial support to NGOs running shelters for domestic violence
victims that also accommodated some trafficking victims. The ministry
also provided social services through social welfare centers. Several
domestic and international NGOs pursued activities to assist women;
however, they were constrained by a tradition of silence concerning
domestic violence, sexual abuse, and rape.
The police training school offered special courses on domestic
violence and rape. Police reportedly responded appropriately to rape
and domestic abuse allegations.
Sexual Harassment.--There is no specific law against sexual
harassment, which was a common problem. Women's rights organizations
indicated that sexual harassment commonly occurred on the job but went
unreported due to fear of being fired or subjected to physical
retaliation. Public awareness of sexual harassment remained low, and
few cases were reported.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. The law protects the
reproductive rights of individuals and couples, including the right to
information and access to reproductive services. In practice the
government generally respected reproductive rights. The U.N. Population
Fund reported that access to reproductive health information and
treatment was generally widespread and equitable, but poor,
marginalized, and illiterate communities often received limited access
to information. Public health care provided limited treatment for
sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women possess the same legal rights as men but
traditionally have a lower status within the family, which affected
their treatment within the legal system. The Agency for Gender Equality
in the Prime Minister's Office has the mandate to implement and monitor
the gender equality law.
Relatively few women obtained upper-level management positions in
business, police, or government. Women represented less than 30 percent
of the government workforce. According to the Business Registration
Agency, women owned fewer than 5 percent of registered businesses.
While the law makes no gender distinction in the right to inherit
property, family property customarily passes only to men. In rare cases
Kosovo-Albanian widows, particularly in rural areas, risked losing
custody of their children due to a custom calling for children and
property to pass to the deceased father's family while the widow
returns to her birth family.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Children acquire citizenship from
their parents or by virtue of birth in the country. According to a 2008
U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) study, 14 percent of Romani, Ashkali, and
Egyptian children in Kosovo-Albanian-majority areas were not registered
at birth. In Kosovo-Serb-majority areas, 5 percent of these children
were not properly registered. UNICEF reported that, as a rule, a lack
of registration did not affect a child's ability to receive elementary
education or health care but could have an adverse effect on access to
social assistance.
Child Abuse.--The extent of child abuse in the country was unknown,
but UNICEF believed it was underreported significantly due to lack of
awareness and victim services as well as authorities' limited capacity
to identify, report, and refer cases of abuse.
Child Marriage.--There was anecdotal evidence of child marriage,
particularly in the Romani, Ashkali, Egyptian, and Kosovo-Albanian
communities. The government and NGOs did not compile statistics on
child marriage.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Statutory rape is a criminal
offense punishable by five to 20 years in prison, depending on
circumstances and the age of the victim.
The law prohibits possession, production, and distribution of child
pornography. Persons who produce, use, or involve a child in making or
producing pornography are subject to one to five years' imprisonment.
Distribution, promotion, transmission, offer, or display of child
pornography is punishable by six months' to five years' imprisonment.
Possession or procurement of child pornography is punishable by fine or
imprisonment of up to three years.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a not party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were fewer than 100 Jews in the country. In
late November unknown persons painted swastikas on all of the
approximately 80 tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in Pristina.
Government officials, religious communities, and associations strongly
denounced the desecration of the graves. The Ministry of Culture's
Institute for the Protection of Monuments cleaned the graves and
pavement in the cemetery following the incident, removing the paint.
The KP was investigating the case at year's end but had no suspects.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and in the provision of other state services. However, the
situation for persons with disabilities remained difficult. The
government did not effectively implement laws and programs to provide
persons with disabilities access to buildings, information, and
communications. The Office of the Ombudsperson itself was not
accessible for persons with physical disabilities.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare is the government agency
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. By
law protection and provision of services is offered to all citizens.
However, there was considerable discrimination in practice, and
ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities was not a government
priority. Kosovo Mental Disability Rights International (K MDRI) found
that the government was failing to implement its national action plan
for people with disabilities and highlighted failures of the Ministry
of Labor to provide opportunities for persons with disabilities to be
integrated into society.
According to HandiKos, a local disability rights NGO, authorities
did not adequately implement laws and governmental action plans
relating to persons with disabilities. As a result children with
disabilities were often excluded from educational opportunities, were
not professionally evaluated, and lacked sufficient access to health
and social services.
There were legal protections for children with disabilities.
According to the Ministry of Education, there were seven special
residential schools for children with disabilities and 77 special needs
classrooms attached to regular schools. The ministry reported that at
year's end 1,179 pupils were receiving special education. According to
the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), children with disabilities faced a
number of barriers to access to mainstream educational facilities,
including the lack of transportation to and from educational
facilities, special training for teachers, and appropriate
infrastructure. As a result, only 10 percent of children with
disabilities were enrolled in mainstream schools. The Ministry of Labor
lacked funding and personnel to implement laws to provide support to
families of children with disabilities.
According to K MDRI and the CPT, persons with mental disabilities
continued to be detained without legal basis in isolated conditions. K
MDRI noted that there is no law to regulate the process of committing
persons to psychiatric or social care facilities or to protect their
rights within institutions. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimated there were 14,000 persons with mental disabilities in the
country. K MDRI reported an estimated 50,000 persons with mental
disabilities living isolated and stigmatized lives outside of
institutions.
The government-operated Shtime/Stimlje Institute maintained a
facility for persons with developmental or intellectual disabilities
with 56 residents run by the Ministry of Labor and a separate
psychiatric facility with 57 residents, run by the Ministry of Health.
Citing insufficient training for staff and a lack of rehabilitative
programming for patients and residents, K MDRI advocated closing the
Shtime/Stimlje facility and placing its patients and residents into
homes and apartments in urban areas where they could be integrated in
the community.
During the year the Ministry of Health hired a person with special
needs to conduct outreach to persons with disabilities. The ministry
operated eight integration and community homes across the country,
providing inpatient care for 75 persons with mental disabilities. In
addition the Ministry of Labor operated another 10 community homes with
approximately 10 to 15 residents in each facility. K MDRI reported that
while these homes were intended to be transitional, most residents
spent years there with little prospect of integration into the
community. According to the WHO there were not enough facilities to
provide care for persons with mental disabilities, and employment
opportunities for persons with mental disabilities were limited.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic minorities, which
included Serb, Romani, Ashkali, Egyptian, Turkish, Bosniak, Gorani,
Croat, and Montenegrin communities, faced varied levels of
institutional and societal discrimination, in areas such as employment,
education, social services, language use, freedom of movement, IDPs'
right to return, and other basic rights.
Members of the Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities were
subject to pervasive social and economic discrimination; often lacked
access to basic hygiene, medical care, and education; and were heavily
dependent on humanitarian aid for survival. An OSCE report in May found
that, despite steps taken by the government to implement an action plan
for the integration of Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities,
governmental institutions had fallen short of fulfilling their
commitments to create appropriate conditions for their integration.
Reports of violence and other crimes directed at minorities and their
property persisted.
There were clashes between groups of Kosovo-Albanians and Kosovo-
Serbs during the year as well as incidents of interethnic violence at
border points from July through late November.
On November 9, in the ethnically mixed neighborhood of Brdjani/Kroi
i Vitakut in North Mitrovica, a fight broke out which resulted in the
shooting of two Kosovo-Serb civilians and one KP officer (also a
Kosovo-Serb). One Kosovo-Serb civilian later died of his injuries. The
fight reportedly began after a Kosovo-Albanian security guard in the
neighborhood saw Kosovo-Serbs removing construction materials from a
Kosovo-Albanian house under renovation there. The case remained under
investigation at year's end.
On October 20, a Kosovo-Albanian, Nasif Visoqi, shot and killed one
Kosovo-Serb man and injured two others in Dobrusa village in Istog/
Istok municipality in a land dispute. Visoqi turned himself in to
police, confessed to the attack, and remained in custody at year's end.
No date was set for a trial in the case.
During events to mark the Serbian Vidovdan holiday in the country
on June 27 and 28, unknown persons stoned three Serbian busses, causing
reported damage to windows and light injuries to several passengers. KP
arrested two Kosovo-Serbs for ``inciting national hatred'' when they
dressed in the full military uniform of the extremist Chetnik movement
during the Vidovdan events.
On September 22, September 26, October 6, October 12, and October
30, ethnic Albanian Vetevendosje activists attacked trucks with Serbian
license plates carrying commercial goods into the country. In the
attacks the Vetevendosje activists dressed as road workers and stopped
the trucks, removed and damaged the goods they carried, and in four
instances rolled the trucks over. In the September 26 attack, the
driver reported that the activists assaulted him, and he received
medical attention afterwards. All cases were under investigation by the
KP at the year's end.
The KP arrested and later released two ethnic Albanians for stoning
a bus carrying Serbs to visit a cemetery in Gjakove/Gjakova for All
Souls' Day on June 11. There were no injuries or material damage
reported in the case.
According to a 2010 report prepared by the prime minister's Office
of Community Affairs, minority employment in public institutions was
limited and generally confined to lower levels of the government. The
report recommended that the government more actively reach out to
minorities and implement reporting, recruiting, training, equal
opportunity, and language procedures. There was no effective mechanism
for monitoring levels of minority employment in public institutions.
In education the law requires equal conditions for schoolchildren
regardless of mother tongue and provides the right to native-language
public education for minority students through secondary school.
However, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and
international organizations reported that school enrollment rates were
lowest among non-Serb minority communities (Ashkali, Bosniak, Egyptian,
Gorani, Romani, Turkish, and others), and the European Commission's
Progress Report on Kosovo 2011 noted little improvement in access to
education for minority communities. The UNDP's 2010 Kosovo Human
Development Report stated that nearly all Kosovo-Albanian and Kosovo-
Serb children were enrolled in primary school, while only 77 percent of
children of other ethnic groups were enrolled. Romani, Ashkali, and
Egyptian children attended mixed schools with Kosovo-Albanian and
Kosovo-Serb children and reportedly faced intimidation and bullying in
some majority Albanian areas. Romani children tended to be
disadvantaged by poverty, leading many to start work at an early age to
contribute to family income.
There were numerous reports that Kosovo-Serbs had difficulty
accessing their property, which was sometimes occupied or used by
Kosovo-Albanians. The KPA reported it faced frequent cases of illegal
occupation and reoccupation of properties, with many properties
vandalized or destroyed.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution and law
prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, there
were reports of violence and discrimination directed against LGBT
individuals. The Center for Social Group Development (CSGD), a local
NGO focused on LGBT health issues, reported that traditional societal
attitudes about homosexuality intimidated most gays and lesbians into
concealing their sexual orientation. LGBT individuals generally felt
insecure, and many reported threats to their personal safety.
The print media at times reinforced negative attitudes by
publishing articles about homosexuality that characterized LGBT persons
as mentally ill. Leaders of at least one political party, the Islamic-
oriented Justice Party, made public statements condemning
homosexuality.
The CSGD reported that while there was little official
discrimination against LGBT persons, there were a number of cases of
societal discrimination against LGBT individuals during the year.
Victims generally refused to allow the CSGD to present their cases
publicly due to fear of discrimination. While there were no overt
impediments to the CSGD's operation, social pressure and traditional
attitudes effectively limited its activities.
There was no official discrimination in employment, housing,
statelessness, access to education, or health care, but societal
pressure persuaded virtually all LGBT persons to conceal their sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--While there were no
confirmed reports of official discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS during the year, there were anecdotal reports that such
discrimination occurred.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Law and regulations allow workers to form and join independent unions
of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements. While the law does not expressly recognize the right to
strike, strikes were generally permitted in practice. The law permits
unions to conduct their activities without interference. Government
regulations provide for the right to organize and bargain collectively
without interference or restriction. Antiunion discrimination is
prohibited by regulation.
In practice the government did not restrict the right to organize
and bargain collectively and allowed unions to conduct activities
without interference.
In general the government respected the right to form and join
unions; however, private companies at times threatened their employees
when they joined or established unions. Some union officials reported
antiunion discrimination in practice. The Association of Independent
Trade Unions of Kosovo (BSPK) and the Confederation of Free Unions
(CFU) reported that only a small number of companies respected
regulations preventing antiunion discrimination and claimed that worker
rights were abused in every sector, including in international
organizations, where staff did not receive pensions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The criminal code
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however,
there were reports that such practices occurred.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Regulations prohibit exploitation of children in the workplace,
including a prohibition of forced or compulsory labor; however, with
the exception of trafficking, the government rarely challenged these
practices.
Regulations permit children to work at the age of 15, provided the
employment is not harmful or prejudicial to school attendance.
Regulations set 18 as the minimum age for any work likely to jeopardize
the health, safety, or morals of a young person.
Child labor remained a problem. According to UNICEF, in recent
years the number of children begging on the streets of towns and cities
rose, although the overall number of child beggars remained unknown.
While most children were not their families' main wage earners, child
labor served as a major contribution to many families' income.
In rural areas young children typically assisted their families in
agricultural labor. Urban children often worked in a variety of
unofficial retail jobs, such as selling newspapers, cigarettes, and
phone cards on the street. Some children were also engaged in physical
labor, such as transportation of goods. International NGOs active in
the country continued to report child labor violations during the year.
The Ministry of Labor coordinated child protection policies for the
government, and police had the lead on enforcing child labor laws. The
ministry established a system for monitoring incidents of child labor
in municipalities.replace faulty url deg.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no law establishing a
minimum wage. The Social Economic Council, comprised of the government,
chamber of commerce, and an association of trade unions agreed in 2010
to set the national minimum wage at 170 euros ($221) per month, which
was generally respected albeit not enforceable as law. The World Bank's
Consumption Poverty Report 2009 indicated that slightly more than one-
third of the population lived below the poverty line of 1.55 euros
($2.02) per adult equivalent per day, and 12 percent lived below the
extreme poverty line of 1.02 euros ($1.33) per day. The average monthly
salary in the country was 345 euros ($449).
Regulations provide for a standard 40-hour workweek, require rest
periods, limit the number of regular hours worked to 12 hours per day,
limit overtime to 20 hours per week and 40 hours per month, require
payment of a premium for overtime work, and prohibit excessive
compulsory overtime. The law provides for 20 days of paid leave per
year for employees and up to12 months of maternity leave.
During the year employers often failed to abide by official labor
standards due to a lack of government enforcement, particularly with
regard to the standard workweek and compulsory and unpaid overtime.
Employees often did not report such violations due to fear of
reprisals. According to the BSPK, many individuals worked long hours in
the private sector as at-will employees without employment contracts,
regular pay, or pension contributions paid on their behalf. Employees
reported being fired without cause in violation of existing laws and
being denied holidays. Women's rights organizations indicated that
sexual abuse occurred on the job but went unreported due to fear of
expulsion or physical retaliation. According to union officials,
workers in the public sector commonly faced similar mistreatment,
including sexual harassment and the loss of employment due to political
party affiliation.
The Labor Inspectorate within the Ministry of Labor is responsible
for enforcing labor, health, and safety standards. There were 50 labor
inspectors. However, the inspectorate primarily advised employers and,
although it issued 792 citations for various labor standard violations
during the year, many fines remained unpaid pending litigation.
While the law protects employees' health and working conditions,
many private and public institutions failed to comply with it. Labor
inspectorate officials reported difficulties in obtaining accurate
information because workers rarely disclosed the problems themselves in
spite of legal protections. The Ministry of Labor reported 10 workplace
fatalities and 31 workplace accidents during the year.
__________
LATVIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Latvia is a multiparty parliamentary democracy.
Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral parliament (Saeima).
Elections on September 17 for the 100-seat parliament were free and
fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem affecting Latvia was
corruption, which was perceived to exist at all levels of government.
Conditions at police detention facilities and prisons remained poor,
although the government made efforts to improve them. The problems
related to both inadequate facilities and abuse of prisoners by guards.
Violence against women, including rape and domestic violence, remained
a persistent problem during the year with incidents underreported to
police.
Other human rights problems included police abuse of detainees,
lengthy pretrial detention, delays in court proceedings, political
interference in state-owned media, and administrative burdens for
public demonstrations and on ``nontraditional'' religious groups.
Noncitizens, who constituted some 16 percent of the adult population,
naturalized at a slow rate and did not participate in the election
process. Other problems reported during the year included an
ineffective ombudsman's office, sex tourism, incidents of anti-
Semitism, trafficking in persons, and societal discrimination against
sexual minorities.
The government generally took adequate steps to prosecute officials
who committed abuses, although concerns existed regarding impunity in
corruption matters.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings in their official capacity.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances, abductions, or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were reports that government officials employed them. Independent
local organizations continued to express concerns about police
behavior, and there were reports that police continued to abuse persons
in custody. In the first nine months of the year, the Internal Security
Bureau of the state police received 184 complaints of alleged police
violence. Of these complaints, 131 cases were not substantiated, 12
criminal procedures were initiated, 33 cases were closed, and eight
cases remained under investigation at year's end.
During the year the ombudsman's office received six complaints
regarding mistreatment by police and seven about mistreatment by prison
officials.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in some of the
country's 12 prisons and detention centers remained poor, and most did
not meet international standards. The government acknowledged these
problems and took some steps during the year to remedy them. The
government permitted monitoring visits by the ombudsman and other
independent human rights observers, and such visits occurred. During
the year the government adopted alternative sentencing measures
(including reduced sentences and rehabilitation programs) for
nonviolent offenders.
Prison authorities opened 13 investigations into cases of violent
deaths of prison inmates. In five of these cases investigators found
that the victims committed suicide. Investigations in the other eight
cases continued at year's end.
On March 28, an inmate committed suicide while in solitary
confinement at the state police regional detention facility in Riga. An
investigation into criminal negligence by police officers who detained
the man continued at year's end.
During the year the ombudsman's office received 164 complaints and
the state police seven complaints about poor conditions in prisons and
other detention facilities, compared with 67 complaints to the
ombudsman's office in 2010. Complaints included inadequate privacy in
living spaces and bathrooms, severely dilapidated physical plants, lack
of heat, inadequate sanitary facilities and places to sit, lack of hot
water, insufficient work and educational opportunities, and inadequate
access to open space and fresh air. Prisoners generally had access to
potable water. Health care services for inmates, which are managed by
the Prison Administration, were not adequate. During the year the
ombudsman delivered several memoranda to the Ministry of Justice and
the Prison Administration noting that inmates' living conditions in
various detention facilities did not meet international standards and
charging that the government did not implement the ombudsman's
recommendations. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) argued the
ombudsman's office was not aggressive enough in this area.
On July 19, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) published the report of a follow-up visit to the country
in 2009. In the Jekabpils Prison, where the delegation had found
serious problems in 2007, the CPT found improvements. However, the
delegation did receive some allegations of continued physical
mistreatment of prisoners by prison officers, including kicks, blows
with truncheons, and other rough treatment mainly of prisoners held in
Unit 3. The delegation also heard allegations of violence between
prisoners at Jekabpils Prison. The admission cell, which held incoming
prisoners usually for their first four days at the prison, also had
limited access to natural light and ventilation. At Daugavgrivas Prison
the delegation found the same improper conditions in the cells.
Observers expressed concern that corruption and a lack of
professionalism in the Prison Administration contributed to problems in
prisons and detention centers. The Ministry of Justice temporarily
halted two projects begun in 2010 to improve management at state
prisons, citing concerns over mismanagement. There were also
allegations of mismanagement of the tender for renovation of the Cesis
Juvenile Detention Center. Based on these and other concerns, the
Ministry of Justice initiated disciplinary proceedings against
Visvaldis Pukite, chief of the Prison Administration. The ministry
concluded in November that Pukite was negligent in supervising various
projects, reduced his salary by 20 percent for six months, and ordered
him to address underlying accounting and management problems. It also
imposed disciplinary fines on seven other Prison Administration
officials.
At the end of the year the Ministry of Justice reported that 6,558
persons were held in the prison system, which had a total capacity of
7,970 persons. Of these, 2,033 were detainees awaiting trial or the
outcome of their appeals, and 4,525 were convicted inmates. Detainees
and convicted inmates occasionally were incarcerated together. Male
prisoners were held in 10 prisons throughout the country.
The prison population included 63 juvenile males. Most of these
prisoners were held at a separate juvenile facility in Cesis that was
equipped with a school funded by the state. The capacity of the Cesis
facility was 174. NGOs reported that a few juvenile males were held
during the year in a separate area (not in the general population) at
the Riga Central Prison, where they had access to state-funded
education. At the end of the year 13 juveniles were held in regular
adult detention facilities. Although the Ministry of Justice stated
such cases were temporary and rare, the ombudsman's office expressed
concern that during pretrial detention some juveniles were held for
long periods at these facilities, where they were isolated and had no
access to education.
The prison population included 416 women held in a separate women's
prison with a capacity of 385. The country's three juvenile female
prisoners were held in a separate wing of the women's prison. The
ombudsman's office and NGOs considered the physical conditions and
management at the women's prison to be better than at other facilities
and generally adequate. Nevertheless, inmate complaints about the
strict management style of the new director of the women's prison led
the Prison Administration to transfer the director to a different post.
In general prisoners had reasonable access to visitors. The Prison
Administration allowed prisoners and detainees to observe religious
practices with some limitations, including security-related
restrictions on religious articles kept in cells and dorm rooms. In
March the Constitutional Court ruled in favor of a challenge against
these restrictions by a group of prisoners, noting inconsistency
between facilities in the application of these restrictions. The court
ordered the government to revise these restrictions to reflect clear
criteria related to safety and to ensure consistent application. At the
end of the year the Ministry of Justice continued to work on revising
these restrictions.
Authorities allowed prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to
judicial authorities without censorship. Authorities generally
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented
the results of such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The
ombudsman's office monitored conditions at prisons and detention
facilities. Ministry of Justice and other government officials
investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions. Some
NGOs, however, criticized the requirement that all prisoner complaints
be submitted in the Latvian language.
Although NGOs acknowledged that the government made some
improvements in conditions in prisons and other detention facilities,
they agreed that the worst conditions remained unremedied. During the
year the government allocated three million lats ($6 million) over
three years to address specific prisoner complaints (e.g., broken
windows and plumbing fixtures) at existing prison facilities. In June
the government directed the Justice Ministry and the Health Ministry to
ensure that inmates had access to Latvia's state-funded medical system.
During the year the Ministry of Interior opened a new detention
facility for undocumented aliens and asylum seekers in Daugavpils,
replacing the seriously deficient Olaine facility. NGOs reported that
the new Daugavpils facility met international standards.
During the year the Prison Administration completed work on the
Cesis Juvenile Detention Facility, including a new building for
pretrial detainees and renovation of the existing building for
sentenced inmates. Although this project remedied problems with the
physical conditions, observers continued to express concerns about the
facility. The Children's Rights Protection Agency, a government
institution reporting to the Ministry of Welfare, highlighted numerous
problems, including physical and emotional abuse by officials and an
atmosphere that encouraged violence among inmates. In response, the
Prison Administration transferred the director to another facility.
During the year the government began construction of a separate
facility within the Olaine Prison for prisoners with special needs,
including alcohol and drug addiction.
The government generally permitted independent monitoring of
prisons and detention centers by international and local human rights
groups. The CPT visited prisons and detention facilities in September.
As of year's end, the CPT had not publicly released a report on its
visit.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The state police,
security police, and state border guards are subordinate to the
Ministry of Interior. Municipal police are under local government
control. Military forces, the Military Counterintelligence Service, the
Protective Service, and the National Guard are subordinate to the
Ministry of Defense. The state police and municipal police forces
shared responsibility for maintaining public order, but only the state
police were authorized to carry out criminal investigations. The
security police were responsible for combating terrorism and other
internal threats. The military and the National Guard primarily were
responsible for external security.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over security
forces, and the government had effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires that persons be arrested openly, with warrants issued by an
authorized judicial official, except in exceptional cases specifically
defined by law (e.g., apprehension in the act, eyewitness
identification of suspect, or flight risk). The law requires the
prosecutor's office to charge or release an individual under arrest
within 48 hours, and authorities generally respected these requirements
in practice. Detainees were promptly informed of charges against them.
Although there is a bail system, it was used infrequently and applied
most often in cases of economic crimes.
The government provided attorneys for indigent defendants.
Detainees have the right to have an attorney present during
questioning, and usually but not always were informed of that right.
Investigators sometimes conducted unscheduled interrogations of
detainees, or ``talks,'' without legal counsel. The ombudsman continued
to criticize these ``talks.''
Authorities permitted detainees prompt access to family members.
Pretrial Detention.--The law limits pretrial detention to no more
than 15 months from the first filing of the case (with the possibility
of extending the time to a maximum of 21 months) for the most serious
crimes and less for minor offenses. NGOs continued to express concern
about the length of pretrial detentions in practice.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
this provision in practice; however, there were significant problems,
including inefficiency.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair, public trial, and most judges enforced this right; however,
the fairness of individual court decisions, of judges, and of the
judicial system in general remained a concern. At year's end the
ombudsman's office reported that it opened 63 investigations into
complaints about the fairness of trials and courts.
The ombudsman and NGOs expressed concern that long judicial delays
effectively prevented access to the justice system in some cases. The
problem was especially acute in the administrative courts, where even
trivial matters could take up to two years for an initial hearing, but
significant backlogs existed in the civil and criminal courts as well.
The government took some steps during the year to address the problem,
including allowing some cases to be decided on written pleadings,
introducing a ``small claims'' system, and passing legislation allowing
specialized ``land book'' judges to hear some general civil cases.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are generally
public, but some may be closed to protect government secrets or the
interests of minors. A single trial judge hears most cases. Defendants
have the right to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, at
government expense if they are indigent. Defendants have the right to
be present at their trials. In closed trials defendants are subject to
criminal sanction if they reveal any details of the case outside the
courtroom. Defendants have the right to read charges, confront and
question witnesses against them, call witnesses, and offer evidence to
support their cases. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and may appeal to the
highest levels in the judicial system.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued 12 decisions in cases
involving Latvia, finding a violation of the European Convention on
Human Rights in10 of those cases. In general the country promptly
complied with judgments of the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, including access
to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a
human rights violation. Judgments on human rights matters can be
appealed to the ECHR. The government generally upheld the law
concerning civil procedures and generally enforced civil court orders.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
However, observers expressed concern over the independence and
transparency of the news media.
Freedom of Speech.--The law criminalizes incitement to racial or
ethnic hatred and spreading false information about the financial
system.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views usually without restriction.
Violence and Harassment.--In February, Ilze Nagla, a journalist
whose home was searched in 2010 pursuant to an extraordinary warrant in
connection with her coverage of a high-profile criminal investigation,
brought a case in the European Court of Human Rights, alleging that the
search violated her rights. The ECHR accepted her case for review, and
it was pending at the end of the year..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The country has one state-
owned television station, Latvian Television (LTV), and one state-owned
radio station, Latvian Radio. During the year the representative of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on freedom
of the media, NGOs, and other media outlets expressed concern over the
independence of LTV, pressure on journalists by politically appointed
LTV board members, lack of transparency in LTV's salary structure, and
the LTV leadership's susceptibility to political influence. In August
and September, four respected LTV investigative journalists were fired
or otherwise left LTV.
Privately owned television and radio outlets also operated in the
country. The law requires 65 percent of all broadcast airtime in
national and regional electronic media to be in Latvian or dubbed or
subtitled in Latvian. While Latvian is the sole official state
language, approximately one-third of the country's population (largely
ethnic Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians) spoke Russian as their
first language. Many television stations in the country employed
Latvian subtitles or voiceover when broadcasting programs originally
produced in another language. Despite the new law, extensive Russian-
language programming remained available during the year.
In December state police arrested and detained for two days
journalist Leonids Jakobsons for publishing allegedly ``private'' e
mails between Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs and a foreign diplomat. It was
not clear how Jakobsons obtained the e mails. The Latvian Journalists'
Association and other NGOs criticized Jakobsons' arrest as an improper
restriction on freedom of the press. The case remained pending at the
end of the year.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--In September parliament passed a
measure requiring media companies to disclose the identities of their
actual owners.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of assembly,
and authorities may not prohibit public gatherings except in very
limited cases related to public safety. Organizers of demonstrations
must provide 10-days' advance notice to local authorities, who may
prohibit the event or change the time and place to prevent public
disorder.
During the year numerous demonstrations took place peacefully and
in most cases without government interference. Police did not interfere
with peaceful assemblies and offered demonstrators appropriate levels
of protection. However, some observers continued to criticize the legal
requirement to give 10-days' advance notification of a planned protest.
In March, Riga city officials initially denied the request of a
group seeking to hold its annual event in remembrance of Latvian
soldiers who fought in German Waffen SS units during World War II. A
local court overturned the city's decision, and approximately 700
persons participated in the March 16 event. Opposition groups
counterdemonstrated, but police kept the two groups apart, and the
demonstration was largely peaceful. The media widely reported on an
incident in which a counterdemonstrator spat on an elderly participant
in the march, but no arrests were made. At the Latvian-Estonian border,
security police stopped seven ethnic-Russian Estonians who allegedly
intended to participate in the counterdemonstration on suspicion they
would cause disturbances.
In June the Riga city government denied a group the right to
demonstrate to mark the July 1 anniversary of the German army's entry
into Riga in 1941. A court overturned the city's decision, finding that
the marchers were not inciting violence or advocating Nazism, and
citing the sanctity of the right to assemble. The city complied with
the court's order and allowed the event, which proceeded without
incident.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of association, but prohibit the registration of Communist,
Nazi, or other organizations whose activities could contravene the
constitution, for example, by advocating the violent overthrow of the
government. The government respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice, including with respect to its ``noncitizen resident''
population. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In general this system was active, accessible, and subject to
due process. Reports continued, however, that authorities sometimes
turned away persons attempting to enter the country at border
checkpoints without establishing whether they might be refugees or
asylum seekers. The government disputed these claims. NGOs also
expressed concern about the government's policy of accepting asylum
applications only at land borders, and not at the Riga International
Airport. The Latvian Center for Human Rights, the primary provider of
legal services for asylum seekers, expressed concern that, because of
the distance of the new detention facility from the capital, asylum
applicants and refugees did not always have prompt access to legal
representation.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Latvia generally does not
adjudicate asylum cases based on the applicant's country of origin or
country of transit. However, as an EU member state bound by the Dublin
II Regulation, Latvia may return to the country of first entry into the
EU asylum-seekers who arrive from other EU member states, except in
cases involving family reunification or other humanitarian
considerations. There were no credible complaints that Latvia ignored
exceptional cases or routinely returned asylum seekers to countries
with poorly developed asylum systems.
Nonrefoulement.--NGOs reported one case in which an Uzbek asylum
seeker whose application was denied was beaten by Uzbek authorities
upon his return to Uzbekistan.
Access to Basic Services/Employment.--There were no reports of
discrimination against refugees (in comparison to other aliens) in
connection with access to public services or employment.
Temporary Protection.--The law provides temporary protection for
individuals who may not qualify as refugees. The provision was not
invoked during the year.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents. The
children of ``noncitizen residents'' may be naturalized upon
application by either parent.
According to UNHCR data, there were 326,906 stateless persons at
the end of 2010, the vast majority of whom the government considered
``noncitizen residents.'' According to 2011 census data published by
the Central Statistics Bureau, 290,660 ``noncitizen residents'' and 177
stateless persons lived in the country at the end of the year. Most of
the ``noncitizen residents'' were persons of Slavic origin who either
moved to the country during the Soviet occupation or are descended from
those who did. The government did not give them automatic citizenship
when the country regained sovereignty in 1991. ``Noncitizen residents''
have permanent residency status, consular protection abroad, the right
to return to the country, full rights to employment except for some
government jobs and private sector positions deemed related to national
security, and the right to all government social benefits. However,
they may not vote in local or national elections and may not organize a
political party without the participation of an equal number of
citizens.
Although the UNHCR considered most of these ``noncitizen
residents'' to be ``stateless,'' the government did not, because most
were eligible to naturalize under the country's law. The government
recognized as stateless only those individuals who did not have a claim
to foreign citizenship and were not eligible to apply for
naturalization in the country.
The UNHCR noted that ``noncitizen residents'' have, under the
country's laws, a transitional legal status that entitles them to
rights and obligations beyond the minimum rights prescribed by the 1954
Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The UNHCR
further noted that these rights are identical to those attached to the
possession of nationality, with the exception of certain limited civil
and political rights.
The law provides naturalization procedures for granting citizenship
to the noncitizen population. These procedures include a test of
Latvian language skills and knowledge of the constitution and history
of the country. Applicants may take the test three times on a single
application; after failing the test three times, an applicant must
reapply in order to take the test again, but can do so an unlimited
number of times. The government offered the test at various locations
throughout the country. During the year the government regularly
sponsored ``information days'' to assist in preparing for the test.
Most ``noncitizen residents'' had not applied for citizenship even
though they were legally eligible for it. They frequently cited as
reasons the perceived ``unfairness'' of the requirements, resentment at
having to apply at all, and the lack of perceived benefits.
``Noncitizen residents'' accounted for approximately 14 percent of the
population. During the year 2,771 persons applied for naturalization;
2,467 applications were approved, and 128 applications were ``denied''
for failing the test three times. In 2010, 3,182 persons applied, 2,336
were approved, and 150 applications were ``denied.'' Some observers
expressed concern that the passage rate in the naturalization test has
fallen in recent years. However, latest statistics from the Latvian
Citizenship and Migration Affairs Board indicate passage rates improved
from approximately 73 percent in 2010 to approximately 89 percent in
2011.
In October the government approved a new policy for ``integration
and national identity'' that sought a modest reduction in the
percentage of ``noncitizen residents'' in the population by emphasizing
Latvian language and national identity. NGOs and noncitizen advocacy
groups criticized the policy as ``ethnocentric.''
The ombudsman, NGOs, and the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Racism and Intolerance continued to urge the government
to reform Latvia's naturalization system, including granting automatic
citizenship for children born to ``noncitizen residents'' (unless the
parents object), relaxing testing requirements, allowing ``noncitizen
residents'' to participate in local elections, and reducing the list of
professions in which noncitizens may not participate.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic and generally free and fair elections based
on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On July
23, 95 percent of the participating electorate voted to dissolve
parliament. As a result, on September 17, the country held free and
fair extraordinary elections for parliament. Observers from the OSCE
found that the elections were professionally run with minimal
violations and offered voters a genuine choice. However, observers
noted that voter education materials were only available in Latvian,
potentially disadvantaging voters with low Latvian proficiency.
Political Parties.--Citizens can organize political parties without
restriction, but the law prohibits the country's ``noncitizen
residents'' from organizing political parties without the participation
of an equal number of citizens in the party. The election law prohibits
persons who remained active in the Communist Party or various other
pro-Soviet organizations after 1991 or who worked for such institutions
as the former Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB) from holding
elected office or certain other government positions related to
security.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Following the September 17
national elections, there were 23 women in the 100-member parliament,
and four women in the 14-member Cabinet of Ministers. Four of seven
judges on the Constitutional Court and 23 of the 44 justices of the
Supreme Court were women.
Approximately 16 percent of the country's adult population (36
percent of the non-Latvian minority population) were noncitizens. They
did not participate in the elections process and were left without
representation in the government. Members of minorities who were
citizens, including ethnic Russians and Poles, served in various
elected bodies. The mayor of Riga, the country's largest city, is a
member of the ethnic Russian minority. The Harmony Center Party, which
lists many ethnic Russians in its ranks, won the most seats in
parliament in the September elections.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices. There was a
widespread perception that corruption existed at all levels of
government. The World Bank's World Governance Indicators indicated that
corruption was a problem in the country.
The Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) is primarily
responsible for fighting corruption. However, internal struggles and
the perception of bias in referring cases to prosecutors hampered the
KNAB's effectiveness during much of the year. NGOs and other observers
expressed concerns that the KNAB's director, Normunds Vilnitis,
participated in a political attempt to hobble the agency. In March,
Vilnitis suspended and later dismissed his deputy, Alvis Vilks,
allegedly over personality conflicts. Also in March the KNAB's other
deputy, Juta Strike, who was generally considered honest and competent,
left the country in response to alleged death threats. In June
parliament dismissed Vilnitis based on the findings of a special
investigative committee that he had committed numerous legal and
procedural violations during his tenure. In November parliament
appointed Jaroslavs Strelcenoks as the new director of the KNAB.
In May, while Vilnitis was on a vacation, the KNAB launched a major
investigation into alleged corrupt practices by high-profile
politicians and business leaders, including members of parliament, the
mayor of the city of Ventspils, and the chief executive officer of
Latvia's national airline, airBaltic. The KNAB searched the homes and
businesses of some of these individuals. However, parliament invoked
its immunity to block the KNAB's execution of a search warrant at the
office of opposition member of parliament Ainars Slesers of the For a
Good Latvia Party. The investigation continued as of year's end. These
events, and the perception of corruption connected with them, led the
president to call for, and the electorate to approve, early
parliamentary elections, as discussed above.
On August 4, the KNAB warned that corruption risks remained high
within the Latvian government on both the administrative level (e.g.,
bribery of civil servants) and the political level (e.g., abuse of
office). The KNAB's report raised special concern about irregularities
in public procurement processes. During the year the KNAB initiated 20
criminal investigations against government and law enforcement
officials, and other legal institutions initiated 169 such
investigations. The KNAB also forwarded to the prosecutor's office 23
criminal cases involving 52 individuals.
Public officials are required to file income declarations annually,
and irregularities in the declarations were investigated.
A regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers provides for public access
to government information, and the government generally provided
citizens such access in practice. There were no reports that
noncitizens or the foreign media were denied access.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
met with NGOs and responded to their inquiries. Government officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman's office has the
responsibility to monitor the government's performance on human rights
problems. The office received some cooperation from the government and
operated without direct government or party interference. However, at a
time of across-the-board government budgetary cuts, the ombudsman's
office complained that inadequate funding prevented it from
accomplishing its mandate and interfered with its independence. NGOs
sharply criticized the ombudsman's office for being reactive rather
than proactive, advocating only a narrow range of rights, and suffering
from serious internal conflicts and institutional weakness. As required
by law, the office published an annual public report detailing its
activities and recommendations.
The parliament has a standing committee on ``Human Rights and
Public Welfare,'' which met weekly to consider initiatives relating to
human rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status; the government generally enforced these
prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law specifically
criminalizes rape but does not recognize spousal rape as a distinct
crime. Criminal penalties range from probation to life imprisonment,
depending on the nature of the crime, the age of the victim, the
criminal history of the offender, and the dependency of the victim on
the offender. During the year there were 72 criminal processes
initiated on rape charges, compared with 93 initiated criminal cases in
2010. NGOs complained that authorities were ineffective or inadequately
enforced rape laws. NGOs observed that rapes were underreported due to
a tendency of police to blame victims.
The law makes domestic violence an aggravating factor in certain
criminal offenses. The law also provides penalties for causing even
``minor'' bodily harm, where the victim and perpetrator are spouses or
former spouses. NGOs and police agreed, however, that domestic violence
was a significant problem, and the law was not effectively enforced.
Victims often were uninformed about their rights and reluctant to seek
redress through the justice system. The women's advocacy NGO Marta
Center noted that no system was in place for women to receive legal
protection as soon as they arrived at a hospital for treatment after
violence. Most abused women went first to a hospital and only afterward
turned to the police.
During the first nine months of the year, the Marta Center provided
support and assistance for 145 domestic violence victims (62 new
complaints of domestic violence were received), compared with 208
domestic violence victims (154 new) in 2010. The Marta Center provided
legal assistance in 122 of those cases (51 new cases) in the first nine
months of the year.
There were no shelters designed specifically for battered or abused
women. While women who experienced violence could seek help in family
crisis centers, these centers had limited capacity and gave priority to
women with children. There were no dedicated rape or assault hotlines,
but NGOs managed four general crisis hotlines. The Marta Center
operated Web sites that provided information and legal assistance for
female victims of violence.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal but reportedly
common in the workplace. However, the ombudsman's office received no
complaints regarding sexual harassment during the year, in part because
of the procedures required to register incidents. The ombudsman's
office, located in Riga, was the only designated location to file
complaints. In addition, cultural factors discouraged women from filing
sexual harassment complaints.
Sex Tourism.--Riga continued to be a destination for adult sex
tourism.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of
Health. There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives. The
government provided free childbirth services. Men and women had equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same rights as men, including
rights under family and property laws, and in the judicial system.
Although the law prohibits employment discrimination, in practice women
frequently faced hiring and pay discrimination, particularly in the
private sector. The Marta Center noted that there had been cases of
discrimination based on gender when applying for work.
The law prohibits work and wage discrimination based on gender and
requires employers to set equal pay for equal work; however, government
regulatory agencies did not implement the law effectively. According to
the country's Central Statistics Bureau, in the first quarter of the
year the average female worker earned 17 percent less than a male
worker.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Children of ``noncitizen'' parents born in the country are
registered immediately and are eligible to apply for citizenship.
Child Abuse.--An NGO working with abused children, the Dardedze
Center, stated that the number of reported instances of child abuse,
including sexual abuse, increased in the past several years. According
to a study published in October, one in three children in the country
between the ages of 14 and 18 had suffered sexual violence, 14 percent
of those within the past year. The center attributed this increase
largely to better reporting due to increased awareness of the problem.
Laws against child abuse were enforced effectively, although the center
observed that coordination among agencies involved in the protection of
children's rights was weak. Children from families that were unable to
care for them had access to government-funded boarding schools that
provided adequate living conditions; however, these schools had lower
educational standards than regular state schools.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Statutory rape and child
pornography are illegal. The minimum age for consensual sex is 16
years. Statutory rape is punishable by four years' imprisonment, or six
years if the victims are particularly young. The state police can
initiate proceedings against a sexual abuser without an application
from a victim who is a minor. Purchase, display, reproduction, or
distribution of child pornography is punishable by up to three years in
prison. Involving a minor in the production of pornography is
punishable by up to 12 years in prison, depending on the age of the
child.
A special police unit in Riga worked to prevent sexual abuse of
minors and eradicate child sex tourism through aggressive prosecution
of pedophiles and other child abusers. The unit also publicized the
potential dangers posed to minors through Internet chat rooms and
worked closely with local social networking sites to identify potential
Internet predator cases.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbers approximately 10,000.
There were continued reports of anti-Semitic incidents during the year,
including several cases of vandalism and a serious case of public anti-
Semitic statements, but no reports of anti-Semitic attacks against
individuals. Anti-Semitic sentiments persisted in some segments of
society.
On a television talk program on the same day as the March 16 Waffen
SS event (see section 2.b.), Uldis Freimanis, a neo-Nazi, made
malicious anti-Semitic comments advocating violence against Jews. The
local Jewish community filed a criminal complaint, alleging a violation
of the law against inciting racial or ethnic hatred and violence, and
the security police opened an investigation. On August 1, the security
police closed the criminal investigation, stating that ``the facts of
the case did not constitute a criminal offense.'' The Anti-Defamation
League also lodged a complaint with the government over the incident.
Cemetery desecration and monument vandalism continued to be a
problem. On June 28, a Jewish cemetery in Valdemarpils was desecrated
with swastikas. On May 17, vandalism was committed in Riga's Second
Forest Cemetery at the grave of Zanis Lipke, a protector of Latvian
Jews in World War II; Foreign Minister Kristovskis publicly condemned
the act.
On May 8, two persons from the Russian-speaking community painted
Nazi symbols and anti-Semitic statements in the Latvian language on a
memorial to Jewish Holocaust victims. Police promptly arrested the
perpetrators. The perpetrators confessed, claiming they intended to
cast suspicion on Latvian nationalist parties. On September 7, the
defendants pled guilty, and a court sentenced them to 50 hours of
community service.
In January police arrested three persons in the December 2010 case
involving the vandalism of 89 headstones in the New Jewish Cemetery of
Riga. The alleged perpetrators, teenage members of the Russian-speaking
community, possessed neo-Nazi materials published by Russian skinhead
groups. Charges were pending as of the end of the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to healthcare, or the
provision of other state services, and the government generally
enforced these provisions. The law mandates access to buildings for
persons with disabilities; however, most buildings were not accessible.
The law grants additional assistance to children with disabilities,
allowing them and their chaperones to use public transportation free of
charge. The law also allows families of children who have been
diagnosed with a disability to receive state-funded counseling.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--No physical attacks against
minorities were reported. However, NGOs representing minority groups
claimed that official statistics underreported the actual number of
incidents.
During the year the security police reviewed 34 applications or
complaints connected to possible incitement of ethnic or racial hatred.
Of these, authorities initiated criminal procedures in 12 cases. These
complaints generally involved hate speech on the Internet. During the
year the ombudsman's office received seven written complaints of racial
or ethnic discrimination, compared with two in 2010.
In December a defendant pled guilty to a charge of inciting ethnic
hatred in connection with derogatory Internet comments about Russian-
speakers. Sentencing was pending at the end of the year.
In June security police charged an Internet portal commentator for
hate speech and making derogatory comments online about Latvians,
Poles, and Jews. The defendant pled guilty and was given a 10-month
suspended sentence.
The Romani community, estimated to number approximately 8,000,
historically has faced widespread societal discrimination and high
levels of unemployment and illiteracy. The government had a national
action plan to address problems affecting the Romani community with
respect to employment, education, and human rights; however, observers
criticized the plan for lacking adequate funding to improve conditions
for Roma substantially.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While there were no official
reports of violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity,
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons' (LGBT) organizations
complained of widespread intolerance and underreporting of attacks to
authorities.
The ombudsman's office received no reports of discrimination based
on sexual orientation during the year. In 2010 the ombudsman's office
received two such reports. LGBT advocates maintained that the community
nevertheless faced widespread societal discrimination. A study
published during the year suggested that negative social attitudes
toward the LGBT community and discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation remain widespread.
LGBT representatives reported that the ombudsman expressed
reluctance to assist members of the LGBT community in securing their
rights, including with respect to a civil partnership law.
During the year Mozaika, an NGO promoting LGBT rights, received
three complaints of hate crimes based on sexual orientation. In one
incident police took a gay man into custody, confiscated his cell
phone, and publicly read his intimate text messages. The victim did not
file a formal complaint because of fear of disclosure of his identity.
Mozaika also reported that an LGBT Internet site was hacked, and
personal data of users was made public.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law entitles all workers, except uniformed members of the military,
to form and join independent unions and recognizes the right to strike,
subject to limitations related to public safety. Labor regulations
prohibit strikes by essential personnel including judges, prosecutors,
police, fire fighters, border guards, employees of state security
institutions, prison guards, and military personnel. The law provides
arbitration mechanisms that essential personnel may use in lieu of
striking. The law provides for collective bargaining. The law also
prohibits antiunion discrimination and employers' interference in union
functions, and provides reinstatement as a remedy for an employee's
unlawful dismissal, including dismissal for union activity. The law
prohibits ``solidarity'' strikes by workers who are not directly
involved in the specific labor agreement between strikers and their
employers, a restriction criticized by local labor groups.
The government generally protected these rights, and workers
exercised them in practice. Labor rights' organizations expressed
concerns about employer discrimination based on union membership during
the year. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) also noted
that, while Latvian law protects ``basic labor rights,'' the minimum
number of workers required to form a union was higher than in many
other European countries. However, the Free Trade Union Confederation
of Latvia (FTUCL), a local labor organization, stated it knew of no
cases in which this restriction limited the right to form a union in
practice. The ITUC criticized the country's rules allowing a strike to
be suspended pending an employer's legal challenge of the legality of a
strike.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government
generally enforced such laws effectively. The State Labor Inspectorate
(SLI), the agency responsible for enforcing labor laws, conducted
regular inspections of workplaces during the year and reported no
incidents of forced labor. There were, however, some cases of Latvians
being trafficked and forced into prostitution or other compulsory labor
abroad. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits those under the age of 18 from nighttime or overtime
work. The statutory minimum age for employment is 15, although children
who are 13 years of age or older may work in certain jobs outside
school hours with written permission from a parent.
Inspectors from the SLI are responsible for enforcing child labor
laws and did so effectively. The SLI's resources were adequate. During
the year the SLI inspected work places for violations and conducted
information campaigns on labor rights, including for youth audiences.
During the year there were no reports of labor abuses involving
children.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legally mandated monthly
minimum wage was 200 lats ($400). By comparison, the Latvian Central
Statistical Bureau's ``minimum subsistence consumer basket'' price
index for November was 172.05 lats ($344.10).
The law provides for a mandatory 40-hour maximum workweek with at
least one 42-hour rest period weekly. The maximum permitted overtime is
144 hours in a four-month period. Employees are also not allowed to
work more than 24 hours consecutively, 56 hours in a week, or overtime
on more than six consecutive days. The law requires a minimum of 100-
percent premium pay in compensation for overtime, unless other forms of
compensation are agreed to in a contract. The law establishes minimum
occupational health and safety standards for the workplace. Workers
have the legal right to remove themselves from situations that endanger
health or safety without endangering their continued employment. The
law entitles workers to 28 calendar days of paid annual holidays.
The State Revenue Service is responsible for enforcing minimum wage
regulations. The SLI was responsible for enforcing working time and
occupational health and safety standards. Most labor standards were
respected for both citizens and noncitizen workers; however,
authorities did not actively enforce workers' right to remove
themselves from situations that endanger health or safety. During the
year the SLI reported 31 workplace fatalities and 157 serious workplace
injuries.
__________
LIECHTENSTEIN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Principality of Liechtenstein is a multiparty constitutional
monarchy with a parliamentary government. The unicameral Landtag
(parliament) nominates, and the monarch appoints, the members of the
government. A two-party coalition government was formed following free
and fair parliamentary elections in 2009. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
There were no reports of widespread or systemic human rights
abuses.
The country's main human rights problems consisted of isolated
instances of violence against women, including spousal abuse, and child
abuse and societal discrimination against minorities.
The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed
abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards. In 2010 there
were 76 persons serving time in prison or detention for a total of
4,081 days. Five were women, and two were under the age of 18. Thirty
illegal immigrants were detained due to a violation of the provisions
of the law on foreigners, and 36 persons were in prison for offenses
under the criminal code. According to a provision in the 1982 bilateral
treaty between Austria and Liechtenstein, Austria incarcerates
Liechtensteiner prisoners with sentences over two years' imprisonment.
Fifteen individuals from the country were incarcerated in Austria.
Austrian detention officials provided regular reports on the prisoners
to Liechtensteiner authorities. The country's only prison had a total
capacity of 20 beds. The maximum capacity was not reached during the
year, and up to four beds remained unassigned for emergency purposes.
The detention facility was designed primarily as a short-term prison,
and it was not possible to separate different categories of prisoners.
Women prisoners had their own section.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. According to law, they could submit
complaints to the prince, the government, parliament, and judicial
authorities without censorship and request investigations of credible
allegations of inhumane conditions. No such allegations were submitted
during the year. There was no ombudsman who served on behalf of
prisoners and detainees.
No deaths occurred in the detention center during the year.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers and appointed the Corrections Commission as an independent
body to monitor prison conditions. The specialized commission, which
also served as the designated national preventive mechanism under the
Optional Protocol to the U.N. Convention against Torture, organized at
least one unannounced visit to the country's prison each quarter.
During these visits the commission collected documentation, interviewed
staff members, and spoke privately with prisoners. The country also
permitted visits by the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture.
The Corrections Commission made five unannounced visits in 2010 and
four during the year. It released a report with recommendations for the
government on February 15. The commission maintained that in 2010
overall conditions in the detention center were good but recommended
transferring oversight of prison operations from the chief of police to
the Ministry of Justice; counseling for prison staff; and the provision
of female guards for female inmates. Juveniles were usually
accommodated in the women's ward. Potable water was available to all
prisoners. Alternative forms of punishment existed, including monetary
penalties and charitable work for certain cases (especially for
juvenile criminals).
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the regular and auxiliary police, and
the government had effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse
and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the
security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police arrest
a suspect based on an arrest warrant issued by the national court.
Within 48 hours of arrest, police must bring suspects before an
examining magistrate who must either file formal charges or order the
suspect's release, and authorities respected this right in practice.
Release on personal recognizance or bail is permitted unless the
examining magistrate has reason to believe that the suspect is a danger
to society or would not appear for trial. The law grants suspects the
right to legal counsel of their own choosing during pretrial detention,
and counsel was provided at government expense to indigent persons.
According to the criminal procedure code, every detainee must be
informed at the time of detention or immediately thereafter of the
reasons for the detention. The detainee also must be advised of his or
her right to contact legal counsel and a relative. During investigative
detention, visits may be monitored to prevent tampering with evidence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Defendants are presumed innocent. A single judge hears trials
involving minor offenses. While most trials were public, in 2010
approximately 30 percent of trials were closed proceedings. A panel of
judges hears more serious or complex cases, and the most serious cases,
including murder, go before a public jury. The law grants defendants
the right to legal counsel of their own choosing; counsel is provided
at government expense for indigent persons. Defendants may challenge
witnesses or evidence and present witnesses or evidence on their own
behalf. They have access to government-held evidence relevant to their
cases. Those convicted have the right to appeal, ultimately to the
Supreme Court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters and access to a court to bring
lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights
violation. Citizens may appeal cases involving possible violations of
the European Convention on Human Rights by the state to the European
Court of Human Rights.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. However, the law prohibits public insult directed against a
race, people, or ethnic group, with a possible prison sentence of up to
two years. During the year no such charges were filed. An independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department's International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has a
system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--According to the law, persons
entering the country from another safe country are not eligible for
asylum.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--In May 2010 a U.N. Committee against Torture (CAT)
report noted that Liechtenstein authorities did not allow asylum
seekers under expulsion orders sufficient time to request an appeal
hearing. Under previously existing law, such individuals had only 24-
hours to request a hearing before the Administrative Court, which
according to CAT, was too short a period to ensure access to the asylum
procedures in Switzerland or Austria, countries having readmission
agreements with Liechtenstein. Based on CAT recommendations, the
county's constitutional court proposed an expanded time span. The law
was adopted by the Principality's parliament in its session of December
15, resulting in the effective extension of the hearing period from 24
hours to five days. In practice the period of time asylum seekers had
to request a hearing had already been expanded to five days earlier,
with the extended period applied to a number of cases during the year.
During the year Liechtenstein sent 13 asylum seekers to
Switzerland, compared with 18 in 2010. Asylum seekers were not sent to
countries with poorly functioning asylum systems.
Temporary Protection.--The government has a system for providing
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees.
Three individuals from one family were granted such temporary
protection during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
As a hereditary monarchy, the country's line of succession is
restricted to male descendents of the Liechtenstein dynasty. Prince
Hans Adam II is the head of state. In 2004 Hereditary Prince Alois
assumed the duties of head of state, exercising the rights of office on
behalf of the reigning prince. All legislation enacted by the
parliament must have the concurrence of the monarch and the prime
minister.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held free and fair parliamentary elections.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were six women in the
25-member parliament and two women in the five-seat cabinet. There were
no known members of minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government effectively implemented these laws. There were no
reports of government corruption during the year.
The law prohibits public officials from requesting or accepting
gifts or benefits in connection with their duties and places
restrictions on public officials engaging in private commercial
activities. The police and the prosecutor's office, respectively, are
responsible for investigating and prosecuting official corruption. The
police employ an organizationally independent special investigative
unit for corruption cases. An interdepartmental working group chaired
by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinated measures to prevent and
fight corruption.
Public officials are not subject to comprehensive financial
disclosure laws.
The law requires the government to inform the public of its
activities, and government information was freely available to all
persons living in the country, including domestic and foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated without
government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on
human rights cases. Government officials were cooperative and
responsive to their views.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status. The law also prohibits public incitement to
violence or public agitation or insult directed against a race, people,
or ethnic group. The government effectively enforced these
prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a criminal offense, and the government effectively prosecuted those
accused of such crimes. Spousal rape has the same penalties as rape
under other circumstances. Sentences for spousal rape may be reduced if
the victim decides to remain with the abusive spouse.
The law prohibits all forms of domestic violence and provides for
restraining orders against violent family members. However, there were
reports of violence against women, including spousal abuse. According
to police records, 14 women were the victims of domestic violence.
Sixteen women and 10 children received counseling and refuge at the
Frauenhaus, a women's shelter. Government centers provided single-stop
financial, administrative, legal, and psychological assistance to
victims of domestic violence.
Sexual Harassment.--Stalking is a criminal offense. Sexual
harassment is illegal and punishable by up to six months in prison or a
fine, and the government effectively enforced these prohibitions.
Employers are required to take reasonable measures to prevent sexual
harassment; failure to do so may result in compensation for victims up
to 40,000 Swiss francs (approximately $41,840). There were three
recorded complaints of sexual harassment during the year.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Contraceptives and medical
services are readily available. There were no reports of barriers
limiting access to maternal health services. Women and men had equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights as men,
including rights under family law, property law, and in the judicial
system. The Equal Opportunity Office and the Commission on Equality
between Women and Men worked to eliminate all forms of gender
discrimination. However, societal discrimination continued to limit
opportunities for women in fields traditionally dominated by men. On
average women earned 20 percent less than men for equal work. The labor
contract law and the equal opportunity law contain provisions to combat
gender discrimination in the workplace.
On September 16, the government hosted a conference on equal
opportunities commemorating the 25th anniversary of the country's
Commission for Equality between Women and Men.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents at birth. Citizenship may be derived from a single parent. Any
child born in the country may acquire citizenship after five years.
Children are registered at birth.
Child Abuse.--There were eight cases of child abuse during the
year, compared with five cases in 2010. Authorities charged and
prosecuted perpetrators in four of the five 2010 cases during the year;
there was one conviction. Possession of child pornographic material is
a criminal offense. Police registered five cases of pornography
involving minors in 2010. According to the law, penalties for statutory
rape are between one and 10 years' imprisonment. The law sets the
minimum age for consensual sex at 14 years.
The government supported programs to protect the rights of children
and made financial contributions to three nongovernmental organizations
that monitored children's rights. The Office for Social Services
oversaw the implementation of government-supported programs for
children and youth.
International Child Abduction.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The small Jewish community does not have an
organizational structure. Approximately 30 individuals belonged to the
Jewish community in 2010. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts
against persons or property.
Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons,
see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services or other areas.
The government effectively implemented laws and programs to ensure
that persons with disabilities have access to buildings, information,
and communications, and disabled persons readily had access. The law
mandates that all public kindergartens and schools, as well as public
transportation systems, must be accessible to persons with disabilities
by 2012. During the year 296 buildings were ``barrier-free,'' an
increase of 46 over the past five years. The law requires recently
constructed public buildings to be barrier-free by 2027 and older
public buildings by 2019.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Police estimated that violent
right-wing extremists, including skinheads, numbered no more than 30 to
40 persons. The government continued to monitor right-wing groups.
Foreign nationals, mostly Swiss, Austrian, German, and Italian,
represented 33 percent of the resident population. Ethnic Turks
accounted for 6.5 percent of the foreign population. Although no
serious incidents were cited during the year, police reported six
racially motivated offenses involving right-wing extremists in 2010.
Two cases were prosecuted, resulting in one conviction.
In 2010 the government initiated an awareness campaign against
right-wing extremism and established a working group against such
extremism. The working group initiative was ongoing at yearend, but the
awareness campaign ended in 2010.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--During the year there were no
formal complaints issued by the country's gay community, nor were there
any gay pride marches scheduled. On March 16, the government
implemented a registered partnership law aimed at eliminating legal
discrimination against same-sex couples; 70 percent of the voting
public voted in favor of the initiative on June 19.
The Office of Equal Opportunity launched campaigns and organized
numerous events with NGOs to raise awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) issues.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides that all workers, including foreigners, are free to
form and join independent unions of their choice and select their own
union representatives. The law allows unions to conduct their
activities without government interference. There are no provisions in
the constitution or in labor laws explicitly banning the right to
strike, nor does the law prohibit antiunion discrimination.
Strikes by civil servants are permitted; however no strikes
occurred during the year. Likewise, there were no reports of antiunion
discrimination.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; there were no
reported violations.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government effectively enforced these laws. The
law prohibits the employment of children younger than 16; exceptions
may be made for the limited employment of children who are 14 and older
and for those who leave school after completing nine years of
compulsory education. Children who are 14 and older may be employed in
light duties for not more than nine hours per week during the school
year and 15 hours per week at other times.
The law prohibits labor that subjects children to physical,
psychological, moral, or sexual abuse. There were no reported cases.
The government devoted adequate resources and oversight to child
labor policies, and the Department for Worker Safety of the Office of
the National Economy effectively supervised compliance with the law.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. The Liechtenstein Workers Association negotiates minimum wages
annually with the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber for Economic
Affairs. The government estimated the poverty income level at
approximately 28,000 Swiss francs ($29,300) per year, which equals
2,300 Swiss francs ($2,400) monthly, for a household (two adults and
two children) and around 1,100 Swiss francs ($1,153) per month for a
single person.
The law sets the maximum workweek at 45 hours for white-collar
workers and employees of industrial firms and sales personnel, and 48
hours for other workers. The law provides for a daily mandatory one-
hour break and an 11-hour rest period for full-time workers; with few
exceptions, Sunday work is not allowed. Pay for overtime is required to
be at least 25 percent higher than the standard rate, and overtime is
generally restricted to two hours per day. The average workweek,
including overtime, may not exceed 48 hours over a period of four
consecutive months. Thousands of workers commuted from neighboring
countries daily and were covered by the same standards.
The law sets occupational health and safety standards, and the
Department for Worker Safety generally enforced these provisions
effectively. Data on workplace accidents and fatalities for the 2010-
2011 period was not available.
__________
LITHUANIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Lithuania is a constitutional, multiparty,
parliamentary democracy. Legislative authority resides in the
unicameral parliament (Seimas). Presidential elections in 2009 were
considered free and fair. Parliamentary elections in 2008, also free
and fair, led to the formation of a center-right coalition government.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The country's most significant human rights problems were poor
prison conditions, intolerance of sexual and ethnic minorities, and
lengthy detention of persons awaiting trial.
Additional problems included interference with the privacy of
persons, domestic violence, child abuse, libel and antidiscrimination
laws that limited freedom of expression, and trafficking in persons.
The government took measures to prosecute or otherwise punish
officials who committed abuses, whether in the security services or
elsewhere. There were some reports of impunity among personnel in the
prison system.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
According to the National Courts Administration, during the year
five cases involving alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity
reached courts and 15 new investigations were started.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment, but there were reports that police physically mistreated
detainees.
During the year the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office received two
complaints that officials used force or psychological pressure to
obtain evidence in investigations. The office found one of them to be
groundless, while the other was terminated because the applicant
withdrew his complaint.
In May the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) released a report on the 2010 visit of a CPT delegation.
The report stated that the delegation received some assertions,
including by juveniles, that law enforcement officials mistreated them.
Most allegations of mistreatment involved excessive use of force at the
time of apprehension or slaps, kicks, punches, or truncheon blows
during questioning. A majority of persons interviewed, however,
indicated that they had been treated properly. Some detainees
complained that officers in police detention centers employed insulting
language or behavior.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions did not meet international standards. Some prisons
were overcrowded, and the CPT criticized the absence of safeguards to
prevent prisoner abuse.
As of December 31, according to the Prisons Department, the
country's prisons held 9,920 inmates, including 421 women and 130
juveniles. This number was approximately equal to total official
capacity. Nevertheless, the distribution of the prison population was
such that six institutions were overcrowded, including Siauliai Remand
Prison, which had a capacity of 452 inmates but held 708. The capacity
of detention facilities was 878. According to the Police Department,
detention facilities were not over capacity during the year.
In its May report, the CPT noted a lack of progress by the
government in improving the treatment of juvenile offenders,
particularly in the Kaunas Juvenile Detention Center and Prison, which
earlier CPT delegations had declared to be ``unacceptable.'' According
to the report, the CPT observed ``clear progress'' regarding the
material conditions of detention, including enlargement of cells.''
Despite the physical improvements, the delegation reported little
progress in some areas, including in the legal and procedural
safeguards against abuse of inmates by prison personnel. For example,
in one of the police detention centers visited by the CPT, the
delegation encountered a juvenile who alleged that he had been raped
three times shortly before the visit and that the custodial staff had
refused his request to change cells. An investigation was underway, but
the CPT delegation expressed ``misgivings'' that it was not conducted
by an authority independent of the prison system.
The CPT report noted major shortcomings, including overcrowding, in
the Klaipeda and Vilnius city police detention centers.
During the year the parliamentary ombudsman received 94 complaints
from inmates about prison conditions, compared with 123 in 2010. Most
complaints involved the failure of administrators to give proper
attention to prisoners' grievances regarding such problems as poor
hygiene in visiting rooms and other premises, poor food quality,
overcrowding, and inadequate operation of prison shops. The ombudsman's
investigators found 35 of these complaints to be justified.
Prisoners had access to potable water. Prisoners and detainees had
reasonable access to visitors and were permitted religious observance.
There was no ombudsman specifically dedicated to prison matters, but
prisoners could submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and request investigation of credible allegations of inhuman
conditions. Authorities generally investigated such allegations and
documented the results in a publicly accessible manner. No problems
with recordkeeping were reported.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman's Office served prisoners by
investigating their complaints and attempting to resolve them, usually
by making recommendations to detention institutions. The ombudsman's
office reported that institutions were responsive to all of their
interventions.
During the year the government allocated more than one million
litas ($376, 000) to the renovation of prison facilities. The May CPT
report indicated that ``significant investments were made in the Kaunas
facility for juveniles'' and that all the renovation and reconstruction
work announced by the government authorities in its response to the
2008 CPT visit had been completed.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year.
Representatives of the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Office made 14 visits
to prisons to observe conditions and hear prisoners' complaints. Media
representatives also visited prisons. The government permitted
monitoring in accordance with their standard modalities by independent
nongovernmental observers (e.g., human rights groups, the International
Committee of the Red Cross, as well as international bodies such as the
CPT). On May 17, a delegation from the Middle Europe Corrections
Roundtable visited Vilnius House of Correction. On September 22-23,
participants from the annual conference of European Society of
Criminology visited Lukiskes Prison in Vilnius.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions, but there were complaints of illegally prolonged pretrial
detention.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the State Security Department,
police, and military forces, and the government has effective
mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were
no reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are
generally required for arrests and judges may issue them only upon the
presentation of reliable evidence of criminal activity. Police may
detain suspects for as long as 48 hours before charging them.
Detainees have the right to be informed of the charges against
them, and there were no complaints of failure to comply with this
requirement. Bail was available and widely used. Detainees had prompt
access to family members. The law provides the right to an attorney
from the moment of detention and, if the detainee is indigent, to one
provided at state expense; this right was not always respected. The law
entitles a detained person to a prompt judicial determination of the
legality of the detention, and authorities respected this right in
practice.
Pretrial Detention.--The pretrial judge may order a suspect's
detention for a maximum of three months if the suspect is accused of a
felony, but only to prevent the accused of fleeing or committing new
crimes, facilitate an unhindered investigation, or comply with
extradition requests. As of July 1, the average length of pretrial
detention was seven months and 13 days. In many cases the law permits
detention to be extended to 18 months (12 months for juveniles),
subject to appeal to a higher court. Such extensions, often based on
the alleged danger the defendant would pose to society or the
possibility that he or she would influence witnesses, were frequent.
Approximately 10 percent of the incarcerated population consisted of
pretrial detainees.
The law provides for civil liability for damage caused by the
unlawful actions of investigating officials, prosecutors, judges, and
courts, but no information was available on the frequency with which
officials were sued on these grounds.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government respected this provision in
practice.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy the presumption of innocence.
The law provides for public trials; juries are not used. While
defendants have the right to be present, the law permits trials in
absentia when a defendant is outside the country. The law establishes
the right to legal counsel for defendants from the time of their
arrest. It provides for free legal counsel for indigent persons. During
the year the human rights ombudsman received seven complaints that
authorities failed to provide such counsel but found all of them to be
groundless. Defendants have the right to access government evidence,
present evidence and witnesses, and confront and question witnesses
against them. Defendants have the right to appeal.
Local human rights experts criticized the practice of trying
persons in absentia, which, they contended, denied defendants the
opportunity to cross-examine witnesses or present evidence in their own
defense.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) heard 15 cases involving
Lithuania and found that nine violated the European Convention on Human
Rights. On a number of occasions, the government did not pay damages
awarded by the ECHR within the period stipulated in the court's final
judgments.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Plaintiffs may sue for legal
or injunctive relief based on human rights violations. Apart from
redress within the court system, victims of human rights abuses may
appeal to the parliamentary ombudsman for a determination regarding the
merits of their claims. Once avenues for appeal in the domestic court
system have been exhausted, individuals could file complaints with the
ECHR for alleged violations of the European Convention on Human rights
by the state. Although the ombudsman may only make recommendations to
the offending institution, his findings were generally honored in
practice.
Property Restitution.--The law places significant restrictions on
claims for the restitution of communal property. On June 21, the
parliament passed legislation to compensate for the seizure of Jewish
communal property during the Holocaust. The sum of 128 million litas
($48 million) was scheduled to be disbursed over 10 years to a
foundation managed by the Jewish Community of Lithuania, the country's
main religious community, and other institutions promoting Jewish
religion, health care, culture, and education.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits arbitrary interference in
an individual's personal correspondence or private and family life, but
there were reports that the government did not respect these
prohibitions in practice. The law requires authorities to obtain a
judge's authorization before searching an individual's premises and
prohibits the indiscriminate monitoring by government or other parties
of citizens' correspondence or communications. However, domestic human
rights groups alleged that the government did not properly enforce the
law. During the year the State Data Protection Inspectorate
investigated 256 allegations of arbitrary interference with privacy by
government officials and companies, compared with 270 allegations in
2010. Most complaints involved individuals' assertions that government
agencies and companies violated data safety requirements by collecting
or using their personal data, such as their personal identity numbers,
without a legal basis or justification. During the year the
inspectorate conducted 43 preventive, as opposed to complaint-driven,
investigations of enterprises and government agencies for possible
violations, compared with 80 such audits in 2010.
On September 28, the Constitutional Court ruled that the
parliament's 2008 adoption, by resolution, of a Conceptual Framework
for National Family Policy, violated the constitution. According to
human rights groups, the resolution, which defines ``family'' and
related terms in such a way as to limit them to married heterosexual
couples and their children, failed to observe the requirement, stemming
from the constitution to regulate legal family relations by means of
law, ``rather than a lower-level legal act'' such as a resolution.
Human rights groups criticized the framework for its narrow definition
of family, which they alleged would challenge the legal status of
unmarried couples with children, single-parent families, and homosexual
families and could deny legal protection to children born out of
wedlock.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and the government did not
attempt to impede criticism.
The constitutional definition of freedom of expression does not
protect such ``criminal acts'' as incitement to national, racial,
religious, or social hatred, violence and discrimination, and slander
and disinformation.
The penal code criminalizes denial or ``gross trivialization'' of
international crimes, of Soviet or Nazi German crimes against Lithuania
or its citizens, or trivializing genocide, crimes against humanity, or
war crimes. During the year an investigation continued into statements
by Algirdas Paleckis, the leader of the Frontas Party, who stated
publicly in December 2010 that the 14 civilians who were killed by
Soviet military units during the events of January 13, 1991,
represented a case of ``Lithuanians shooting Lithuanians.'' (Paleckis
is not a member of parliament and thus not protected by parliamentary
immunity). Member of parliament Kestutis Masiulis called on prosecutors
to investigate the statement as a ``derogation of the memory of those
killed'' and ``insulting all supporters of Lithuanian freedom.'' The
prosecution maintained that the 1991 Soviet action against Lithuania
and its citizens constituted a war crime and consequently violated the
penal code. Paleckis maintained that the prosecution was a violation of
his freedom of speech. The court decision was pending at the end of the
year.
It is a crime to incite hatred against persons or groups. According
to the Ministry of Interior, during the year authorities initiated 332
cases involving allegations of incitement to hatred and discrimination,
most of them over the Internet, and sent 98 to the courts for trial.
The courts decided 96 of these. A number of investigations and court
cases from prior years continued. Most allegations of incitement of
hatred involved homophobic, racist, or anti-Semitic expression.
Freedom of Press.--While the independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views, they were subject to the same laws
that criminalize speech that grossly trivializes international and war
crimes and prohibit ``hate speech.'' Radio and television broadcasters
included a mix of independent and public stations. International media
generally operated without restriction..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Although it continued to
attract criticism from international human rights groups, the 2010 law
prohibiting material ``detrimental'' to minors' ``bodies or thought
processes, information promoting the sexual abuse and harassment of
minors or promoting sexual relations by minors or sexual relations in
general'' was not invoked during the year, and there were no reports
that it adversely affected freedom of the media.
Libel Laws/National Security.--It is a crime to disseminate
information that is both untrue and damaging to an individual's honor
and dignity. Libel is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to one
year, or up to two years for libelous material that is disseminated
through the mass media. Journalist Gintaras Visockas was sued for libel
for commentating on a presidential candidate's background and implying
a connection to the secret service. He was found guilty and fined.
Visockas appealed to the ECHR.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally
engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-
mail. Authorities prosecuted persons posting material they considered
to be inciting hatred.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law and constitution provide for the right to assemble
peacefully, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice; however, the government continued to ban the Communist Party
and other organizations associated with the Soviet period.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and laws provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
returning refugees, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Authorities did not permit asylum
seekers coming from ``safe'' countries of transit to enter the country;
they returned them to the country of transit without reviewing the
substantive merits of their applications. According to the Migration
Department, authorities did not have a list of safe countries but
defined such countries as ones in which the person's life or liberty
would not be threatened on account of membership in one of the
categories specified in the 1951 refugee convention and associated
instruments and from which the individual would not be sent to another
country in contravention of his rights under these agreements.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion.
Temporary Protection.--There were two additional forms of
protection in addition to asylum. ``Temporary protection'' may be
granted to groups of persons in the event of a mass influx of aliens,
but an individual alien has no right to apply for this protection. No
grants of temporary protection were issued in the first eight months of
the year. The government may also afford ``subsidiary protection'' to
individuals who do not qualify as refugees but who cannot return to
their countries of origin because of fear of torture or because
violence, military conflict, or systematic violations of human rights
in that country would endanger their basic rights or fundamental
freedoms. During the year the government granted subsidiary protection
to 86 persons.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship can be acquired either by birth in
the country's territory or from one's parents.
According to the UNHCR, there were approximately 3,674 stateless
persons in the country in 2010, a decline from 5,900 in 2008. The
decline was mainly related to high emigration rates driven by the
economic crisis and increased unemployment--the number granted
citizenship annually was low: 240 in 2008, 106 in 2009, and 78 in 2010.
According to the director of the Migration Department, virtually all
the persons classified as stateless were residents of the country at
the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union but did not take
advantage of their right to qualify for citizenship.
Naturalization requires residence in the country for at least 10
years, an unlimited residence permit, a knowledge of the Lithuanian
language and the basic provisions of the constitution, an oath of
allegiance, and the ability to defray one's living costs.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The May
2009 presidential elections and 2008 parliamentary elections were
considered free and fair.
Political Parties.--The government continued to ban the Communist
Party; other political parties could operate without restriction or
outside interference. Citizens could run for municipal councils without
being on party lists.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Both the president and the
speaker of the parliament were women. At year's end there were 26 women
in the 141-seat parliament and two women in the 15-member cabinet of
ministers. Women accounted for 5 percent of mayors, 21 percent of
municipal council members, and 5 percent of local administration
directors. Three members of ethnic minorities served in parliament.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
authorities often did not implement the law effectively, and officials
sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption
remained a problem, as indicated in Transparency International's 2011
assessment.
A number of active and former government officials were
investigated, tried, convicted, or sentenced for corruption during the
year. As of September 1, the trial continued of Alytus mayor Ceslovas
Daugela, arrested in October 2010 for corruption. The mayor, who had
interests in construction businesses, was charged with illegal dealings
in the reconstruction of the city stadium, document falsification, and
embezzlement of more than 500,000 litas ($188,000). The trial continued
at year's end.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
government institutions generally provided access in practice. During
the year the parliamentary ombudsman received 106 complaints of delays
by government offices in providing information and found 68 of them to
be valid. The ombudsman recommended disciplinary action against the
officials involved. Although the ombudsman's recommendations were not
binding, the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Office reported that authorities
took disciplinary action in 10 cases.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the Equal
Opportunities Ombudsman is an independent public institution with
responsibility for implementing and enforcing rights under the Law of
Equal Treatment and for investigating individual complaints. A
Children's Rights Ombudsman Institution oversees observance of
children's rights and their legal interests and may initiate
investigations of a possible violation of children's rights, either
upon receipt of a complaint or on its own initiative. A parliamentary
ombudsman investigates complaints about abuse of office or other
violations of human rights and freedoms in the sphere of public
administration. The ombudsmen institutions received government funding
but maintained that their funds were inadequate. In 2010 the ombudsman
for children's rights resigned after receiving criticism for
ineffective work related to a widely discussed and unsolved case of
suspected pedophilia.
The human rights committee of the parliament prepares and reviews
draft laws and other legal acts related to civil rights and presents
recommendations to state institutions and other organizations about
problems related to the protection of civil rights. It also has
oversight of the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits and penalizes discrimination based on race,
gender, social status, ethnic background, age, sexual orientation,
disability, and religion or beliefs. Despite government programs and
efforts at enforcement, discrimination against women and ethnic and
sexual minorities persisted.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape. Convicted rapists generally received three-to-
five-year prison sentences. During the year 191 rapes were reported,
compared with 208 in 2010.
Societal violence against women remained a serious problem.
Penalties for all types of violence depend on the level of injury in
each case. Penalties for murder range from eight years to life in
prison. There are no specific penalties for domestic violence. During
the first half of the year, police received 25,673 telephone calls
reporting domestic violence and started 471 investigations;
approximately 20 women were killed during the year as a result of
domestic violence.
On December 15, the first domestic violence law went into effect,
providing a legal basis for rapid governmental reaction to instances of
domestic violence as well as for preventive measures and assistance to
victims. The new law permits police and other enforcement officials,
with court approval, to require perpetrators to live apart from their
victims, avoid all contact with them, and surrender any weapons they
may possess. From the entry into effect of the law until the end of the
year, police registered approximately 3,000 domestic violence calls and
started 935 investigations. According to police approximately 80
percent of reported domestic violence cases involved alcohol.
Municipal governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
funded and operated 39 shelters that provided assistance to victims of
domestic violence. The government fully funded two shelters. One of
them, the Shelter for Children and Mothers in Vilnius, provided
assistance to more than 100 victims of domestic violence, forced
prostitution, and human trafficking during the year.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but women
remained reluctant to approach police or other institutions when it
occurred because of the reluctance of police to act and because of the
fear, guilt, and shame associated with going public. The equal
opportunities ombudsman received no complaints of sexual harassment
during the year. According to the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman's
Office, approximately 20 percent of women had experienced sexual
harassment during their lifetimes.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local NGOs
were permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health. There
were no restrictions on access to contraceptives. The government
provided free childbirth services. Women had access to regular prenatal
care, essential obstetric care, and postpartum care. The maternal
mortality rate was low.
Discrimination.--Men and women have the same legal rights in the
judicial system, including in family and property law. Women
nevertheless continued to face discrimination. Government policy
requires equal pay for equal work, but women often earned less than
their male counterparts. According to the Department of Statistics, the
EU gender pay gap (an indicator used in the EU to monitor the
inequality in pay between men and women) in 2010 was 14.6 percent, down
from 15.3 percent in 2009. Women were significantly underrepresented at
the managerial level. The Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsman
is the governmental institution that promotes the legal rights of women
and men.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship can be acquired either
by birth in the country or from one's parents. The government registers
all births immediately.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse, particularly in connection with parental
alcohol abuse, continued to be a problem. According to the Department
of Statistics, in 2009 approximately 24,200 children lived in 11,100
abusive or dysfunctional families. Media sources reported that
incidents of cruelty to children, including sexual abuse, intentional
starvation, and beatings, were common. According to the Ministry of
Interior, seven deaths from child abuse were reported during the year.
The children's rights ombudsman reported approximately 290 complaints
during the year, compared with 315 in 2010 and 407 in 2009. The
ombudsman's office initiated 43 investigations of alleged abuse during
the year, compared with 79 in 2010 and 297 in 2009.
The penalty for violence or cruelty toward minors is one to two
years in prison. Authorities may also remove abused children from their
families and place them in foster care. Despite efforts to combat child
abuse and aid abused children, the ombudsman reported that authorities
provided ineffective assistance. During the year Child Line (a hotline
for children and youth) received 139,204 calls and 1,553 letters from
children concerning problems ranging from relations with their parents
and friends to violence in their families and sexual abuse.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides for up to 13
years in prison for sexual abuse of a child, but this type of abuse
remained a problem. During the year the Interior Ministry registered
104 cases of child sexual abuse (excluding child rape), compared with
93 cases in 2010. The government operated a children's rehabilitation
center to provide special care for sexually abused children.
Laws against child pornography were enforced. Anyone involving a
child in pornographic events or using a child in the production of
pornographic material can be imprisoned for up to five years. According
to the Ministry of Interior, seven criminal cases of child pornography
were opened during the year. In the first nine months of the year, the
children's rights ombudsman received six complaints of sexual
exploitation of children. No information was available about
convictions during the year.
Displaced Children.--Street children were widely scattered among
the country's cities. Most were runaways or from dysfunctional
families. There were a number of free, government-sponsored programs to
assist them. Sixty children's rights protection agencies administered
by regional governments, other institutions, and numerous NGOs
routinely assisted vulnerable children.
There were 102 orphanages and 47 foster homes. Orphanages housed
the vast majority of orphans and other children in need of care. In the
first nine months of the year, the children's rights ombudsman received
31 complaints of possible violations of children's rights in orphanages
and foster homes.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community consists of approximately
4,000 persons. Anti-Semitism was manifest, especially on the Internet,
and acts of vandalism were reported throughout the year.
On April 11, the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, the site of systematic mass
killings of Jews during the Holocaust, was desecrated with 13
swastikas.
On April 20, Adolf Hitler's birthday, a banner with anti-Semitic
slogans, including ``Hitler was right'' and ``Juden Raus'' (Jews Out),
was found near a synagogue in Kaunas. On the same day in Vilnius, three
Nazi-era German flags were found on a hill near the center of the city
and another on the outskirts. Police initiated an investigation into
the incident as a violation of public order. On April 25, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and the speaker of the parliament condemned the
incidents.
On June 2, a wooden dummy with the Lithuanian words used to convey
the sounds of a pig written on its face was discovered outside the
Tolerance Center of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum in Vilnius.
On July 10, an anti-Semitic attack was reported at the Paneriai
Memorial, a tribute to Holocaust victims, mainly Jews. The memorial was
vandalized with red paint and anti-Semitic phrases such as ``Hitler was
right.''
On July 16, in the town of Plunge, a memorial wall was dedicated to
the 2,200 Jews of that town massacred by the Nazis in 1941. A number of
Lithuanian dignitaries participated in the ceremony as did family
members from around the world of Jews killed at Plunge. The monument,
built with bricks from the former Plunge synagogue, was vandalized
before the dedication ceremony.
On November 2, the memorial plaque of the historic Snipiskes Jewish
cemetery was vandalized with red paint.
The government declared 2011 to be the Year of Remembrance for the
Victims of the Holocaust in Lithuania. It sponsored several projects
during the year, including events on September 23 commemorating the
National Memorial Day for the Genocide of the Lithuanian Jews. In
September President Grybauskaite awarded Life Saving Crosses to 55
Lithuanians who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Throughout the year
the government and civil society worked together to promote Holocaust
education in schools and preserve Vilnius' Jewish cemetery. The
government finished preservation of part of the ancient Jewish
Snipiskes cemetery and in June rededicated it.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at: www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Law on Equal Treatment prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities, although it does not
specify what kind of disabilities and there was no proactive
enforcement. During the year the equal opportunities ombudsman
investigated 11 cases of alleged discrimination based on disability.
The law mandates accessibility of buildings for persons with
disabilities. According to 2009 data from the Department of Statistics,
38 percent of housing was accessible to persons with disabilities.
Individuals involuntarily declared incapacitated have no right to
appeal the decision in court.
The mental health system was widely regarded as inadequate.
Although in 2007 the government approved a National Strategy for Mental
Health, this area remained among the least reformed areas in the health
sector.
The Ministry of Social Security and Labor and the Council for the
Affairs of the Disabled are the two primary governmental organizations
responsible for developing equal opportunities in the labor market and
improving government effectiveness in meeting the needs of and
augmenting the social security net for persons with disabilities. The
Ministry of Health is responsible for making health services equally
accessible to all inhabitants of the country.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination against ethnic or national minorities, but intolerance
and societal discrimination persisted. Minority ethnic groups,
including Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Tatars, and Karaite
Jews, constituted approximately 16.5 percent of the population.
During the year the Ministry of Interior reported 332 cases of
alleged discrimination and incitement of racial or ethnic hatred (most
of the instances investigated involved the Internet), compared with 159
in 2010.
There were reports of racially motivated violence during the year.
The country's national day, February 16, continued to be an occasion
for racist and xenophobic manifestations. In Kaunas youth wearing
jackets and paraphernalia similar to those worn by skinheads attacked
and beat a Pakistani national.
On March 11, the 20th anniversary of the reestablishment of
Lithuania after Soviet rule, approximately 1,000 people participated in
a march in downtown Vilnius. The event included some racist and
xenophobic slogans, and the primary organizer was a nationalist
movement widely criticized for its association with skinheads and neo-
Nazis. Some marchers displayed slogans proclaiming ``Lithuania for
Lithuanians'' and ``Thank God I was born white.'' Senior leaders
denounced the demonstration; some criticized the continuing willingness
of the Vilnius city administration to provide permits for this annual
event.
The small Romani community (approximately 3,000 persons) continued
to experience problems, including discrimination in access to such
services as education, housing, and health care; in employment; and in
relations with police. However, there were no official charges of
police abuse. Extreme poverty, illiteracy, perceived high criminality,
and the negative attitudes of mainstream society kept this group locked
in social exclusion, reflected in the fact that 40 percent of Roma did
not know the national language. Many Roma did not have identification
papers; a number of them, although born in the country, were stateless.
The Romani unemployment rate continued to be more than 95 percent.
Minority advocates continued to criticize the Vilnius city government
for focusing on law enforcement in the Romani community but doing
little to integrate Roma into the broader community.
On September 23, the Supreme Administrative Court, in response to a
lawsuit brought by the Vilnius community of Roma, ordered the Vilnius
Municipality to pay nonmaterial damages of 55,000 litas ($21,000) in
compensation for the destruction of Roma housing in 2004. By year's end
the Vilnius Municipality had paid only a small portion of the award.
On March 17, parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Education
that for the first time set minimum requirements for hours and subjects
to be taught in the schools. When fully implemented the revised law
calls for all students to take the same high school graduate exam in
the Lithuanian language and with standardized scoring. Representatives
of the country's Polish minority were critical of the new provisions of
the law and the manner in which they were implemented because they said
it would reduce the emphasis in schools on Polish language and culture.
Lithuanian politicians asserted that comparable requirements exist for
ethnic Lithuanians in Poland and that the new rules do not violate EU
norms or standards.
Some members of the Polish ethnic minority community also argued
that laws which do not allow Polish letters to be written in passports
and on street signs violate their minority rights. On July 11,
following numerous legal challenges by the Polish community, the
Supreme Administrative Court upheld the previously existing law
requiring that street signs be displayed in Lithuanian only. The
European Court of Justice on May 12 also found Lithuania's law
requiring personal names to be written in the state language in
passports to be constitutional.
The Polish ethnic community further complained of a lack of
progress on restitution and compensation for lands owned by Poles
before the Soviet and Nazi occupations. The National Land Service
stated that it makes no distinction between ethnic communities and does
not discriminate against the Polish minority. According to National
Land Service data, 96 percent of outstanding claims in Salcininkai,
which holds the largest Polish minority population, were settled. In
the other center with a large Polish minority population, Vilnius city
and region, 32 percent of outstanding claims in the city and 87 percent
in the region were completed. This compared with 19 percent (city) and
85 percent (region) in 2010.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While there was no official
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT)
persons, society's attitude towards homosexuality remained largely
negative. NGOs focusing on LGBT problems faced no legal impediments,
but the few that functioned kept a low profile because of public
hostility to their aims. The Lithuanian Gay League continued to promote
an inclusive social environment for LGBT persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The NGO community
reported that people with HIV/AIDS were often discriminated against and
treated with fear and loathing. For instance, in the case of a woman in
Klaipeda who was diagnosed with HIV, the doctor publicly announced the
diagnosis at the hospital where she was tested without her permission.
During the year the equal opportunity ombudsman investigated 25
cases of age discrimination. Most concerned discrimination in obtaining
employment, insurance, loans, or leases.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, including members of the police and armed
forces, to form and join independent unions of their choice without
previous authorization or excessive requirements. The law provides for
the right to strike, except for government employees involved in law
enforcement or other security-related activities. The law protects
collective bargaining for all workers with the same exceptions. The law
prohibits employer discrimination against union organizers and members.
In practice workers exercised the right to form unions. Although
most workers had the legal right to strike, labor code procedures made
it difficult for some to exercise this right. The law previously left
the right to strike primarily in the hands of unions or union strike
committees. Following complaints that such provisions deprived nonunion
employees of the ability to call a legal strike, the law was amended to
permit half of the employees of a unit or enterprise, voting by secret
ballot, to call a strike. Collective bargaining was practiced. A
tripartite council consisting of representatives of labor, business,
and government estimated that between 5 and 25 percent of workers were
covered under collective bargaining agreements.
The prohibition against antiunion discrimination was often
ineffective in practice, and there were reports that employers punished
employees for attempting to organize unions. According to the
International Trade Union Confederation, the judicial system was slow
to respond to cases of unfair dismissal, and no employer has ever faced
the penal sanctions for antiunion discrimination envisaged in the law.
There are no labor courts or judges who specialize in labor disputes.
Some large retail stores hired short-term contract labor and sometimes
did not renew the contracts of union members.
Managers often determined wages without regard to union preferences
except in large factories with well-organized unions. The government
periodically issued guidelines for use by state enterprise managements
in setting wage scales.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, but such labor existed. Observers noted
indications of trafficking young children for forced labor, mostly
shoplifting.
See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits exploitation of children in the workplace, and the
government generally enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Statistics from 2009 indicated that 8 percent of children working did
so illegally, mostly in the agricultural sector, where children
sometimes received unlawfully low compensation.
The law sets the minimum employment age at 16 but allows the
employment of persons as young as 14 for light labor with the written
consent of the child's parents and school. The law mandates reduced
work hours for children, allowing up to two hours per day or 12 hours
per week during the school year and up to seven hours per day or 32
hours per week when school is not in session. Persons under the age of
18 are subject to additional restrictions, including a prohibition on
night work.
The State Labor Inspectorate is responsible for receiving
complaints related to employment of persons under 18. During the year
the inspectorate identified 26 cases of illegal child labor, mainly in
the agriculture and catering sectors. Schools administered specific
programs tied to labor safety.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage was 800
litas ($300) per month. According to the National Statistics
Department, the official ``poverty risk level'' in 2010 was 701 litas
($263) per month. The law provides that the maximum time worked in any
seven-day period, including overtime, may not exceed 40 hours for
white-collar work and 48 hours for blue-collar work. Overtime is
allowed only in cases stipulated by law, and both overtime and night
work must be compensated by at least one-and-a-half times the hourly
wage. The labor laws apply to both local and foreign workers.
The State Labor Inspectorate, which is responsible for implementing
labor laws, had a staff of 160 labor inspectors. During the year the
inspectorate reported conducting nearly 12,300 company inspections. The
most numerous abuses it found related to wage arrears, illegal
employment, violation of labor contracts, faulty accounting for time
off and hours worked, inadequate worker safety, and unsatisfactory
investigation of accidents. Training provided by the State Labor
Inspectorate helped reduce the scope of some of these abuses during the
year. Workers dissatisfied with the result of an investigation could
appeal to the court system.
The law gives workers the right to safe and healthy working
conditions, and this provision was generally enforced. During the year
the State Labor Inspection Service recorded 52 fatal accidents at work
and 125 severe work-related injuries, compared with 49 and 126,
respectively, in 2010. These occurred mostly in construction,
transport, processing, and agriculture sectors. To address the problem,
the State Labor Inspectorate increased the qualification requirements
for labor inspectors, engaged in more rigorous screening and training
for inspectors, and organized a series of seminars on technical labor
inspection.
__________
LUXEMBOURG
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is a constitutional monarchy with a
democratic, parliamentary form of government. Legislative authority is
vested in the unicameral Chamber of Deputies (parliament). The prime
minister is the leader of the dominant party in the popularly elected
parliament. In 2009 the country held parliamentary elections that were
considered free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Government delays in adjudication of asylum claims and failure to
provide adequate housing for asylum seekers were notable problems that
arose from the near doubling of asylum requests during the year.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included cases
of domestic violence against women and allegations of human
trafficking, primarily of women for sexual exploitation.
The government remained prepared to prosecute any officials in the
security services and elsewhere in the government who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them. However, the Council
of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) criticized
the local police practice of interrogating suspects considered
dangerous or aggressive in a caged room with floor-to-ceiling bars.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights
observers. However, authorities did not equip cells reserved for the
intoxicated at local police stations with mattresses due to hygienic
considerations.
In August 2010 the government opened a new detention center near
Luxembourg City for asylum seekers whose applications had been
rejected, thereby relieving overcrowding in Schrassig, the country's
sole prison. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and a parliamentary
delegation inspected the new center and raised no fundamental
objections to conditions there. The government transferred to the new
center all refused asylum seekers, reducing the population of Schrassig
Prison (with a maximum capacity of 598) to 558 detainees. As of
November there were 582 prisoners nationwide, consisting of 537 men, 38
women, and 7 juveniles. In 2011 there was one death in Schrassig
Prison, that of a detainee who committed suicide.
Detainees had access to potable water. Alternative sentencing
methods for offenders included community service and electronic
monitoring devices. Prisoners had access to an ombudsman and were
provided opportunities for religious observation, as well as at least
five hours of access by visitors per month. Prison conditions for women
were comparable to those for men.
In response to a CPT report released in October 2010, the
government introduced an hour of outdoor exercise each day for
detainees held at the State Socio-Educational Center at Dreiborn.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the Grand Ducal Police, the judiciary
police, and other law enforcement services, and the government had
adequate mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants
issued by a duly authorized official are required for arrests in most
cases. Within 24 hours of arrest, police must inform detainees of
charges against them and bring them before a judge for a determination
of the detention's legality. There is a functioning bail system, which
judges regularly employed.
Under the law, detainees are supposed to be given immediate access
to an attorney, whose services are provided at government expense for
indigent detainees. However, in its October 2010 report, the CPT
expressed concern that almost no detainees they interviewed had access
to an attorney until their first appearance before an investigating
judge, even when they had requested such access earlier. The CPT also
noted that detainees were denied the right to meet confidentially with
their attorney even after their appearance before the investigating
judge. The government subsequently passed legislation providing
financial assistance for detainees who could not afford an attorney.
Meanwhile the Luxembourg bar association introduced a permanent duty
roster of lawyers for detainees requesting an attorney prior to police
questioning. The bar association distributed updated duty lists to the
police on a regular basis during the year. Detainees were allowed
prompt access to family members.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants have the right to a presumption of innocence. Trials are
public except for those involving sexual or child abuse. There are no
jury trials. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult
with an attorney in a timely manner. Defendants may confront witnesses
against them and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf.
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence
relevant to their cases. Defendants have the right of appeal.
A legal basis exists for the establishment of religious and
military courts under special circumstances, but no such action has
occurred in more than 60 years.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is party to the
European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction of
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The government complied with
court orders to pay compensation in cases it lost.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The magistrate courts
serve as an independent and impartial judiciary in civil and commercial
matters and are available to individuals who wish to bring lawsuits
seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation.
Citizens may appeal cases involving alleged violations of the European
Convention on Human Rights by the state to the ECHR after they had
exhausted all routes for appeal in the country's court system.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government respected this right.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Due to a large increase in requests for asylum, the government
temporarily closed its asylum office from October 4 to 9 and accepted
no new requests for international protection so that it could focus on
improving procedures for processing growing numbers of asylum
applications. The doubling of asylum applications led to a housing
shortage for asylum seekers, forcing authorities to secure additional
housing, which had reached capacity. To ease the shortage, authorities
installed tents at local campsites to provide approximately 200 adult
male asylum seekers with temporary shelter. These individuals were
moved into normal residential housing a few weeks later, after which
the use of tents for this purpose ceased. The new facility was only for
those who had been denied asylum. Most individuals with pending
applications were housed in rented apartments or equivalent quarters.
Iraqi refugee applicants conducted a several-week hunger strike in
September to protest asylum adjudication delays lasting several months.
No asylum seekers have been returned to Iraq.
The government reported that 1,274 asylum requests were filed
between January and August 2011, reflecting a doubling of the caseload
from the previous year. In 2010, 786 people sought asylum; 237 of these
requests were rejected.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Luxembourg applies the safe
country of transit principle. There are no laws permitting the denial
of asylum based on an applicant's country of origin.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. There is no ``black list'' for repatriation; each dossier is
examined on its merits.
Temporary Protection.--The law provides for the possibility of
granting protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees; the
government granted such protection to nine persons as of October.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held elections for the 60 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
that were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 15 women in the
60-member Chamber of Deputies and four women in the 15-member cabinet.
There were 19 women in the 32-member Supreme Court. There was one
parliamentarian of Portuguese descent and one minister of Italian
descent.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of government corruption during the year. The Ministry of
Justice is responsible for combating government corruption. Public
officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
While there is no law providing public access to government
information, in practice the government granted the public access to
such information and placed extensive quantities of government
information on official Web sites.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is an Ombudsman Committee
for the Rights of Children. The committee, although government-funded
and composed of government nominees, was independent. The resources
provided were sufficient to allow for its continuous and unrestricted
operations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced it.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape, and the government enforced the law
effectively. The legal penalties range from five to 10 years'
imprisonment. The law prohibits domestic violence, and the government
effectively enforced the law. The law is gender neutral and provides
for the removal of abusers from their residences for 10 days; this can
be extended an additional three months. Penalties may include fines and
imprisonment. If a person approaches an NGO for assistance in such
cases, the police are required to investigate. In 2010 there were 589
cases of spousal abuse requiring a police response, and 264 of the
abusing spouses were removed from their homes.
The government funded organizations that provided shelter,
counseling, and hotlines. There were three hotlines for abused women.
The government provided financial assistance to domestic violence
victims during the year.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and
requires employers to protect employees from sexual harassment. The law
prohibits gender-based job discrimination and harassment of
subordinates by superiors. Disciplinary measures against offenders are
available, including dismissal. An employer's failure to take measures
to protect employees from sexual harassment is considered a breach of
contract, and an affected employee has the right to paid leave until
the situation is rectified. Sexual harassment in the workplace was not
considered a problem.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception and
skilled attendance during childbirth. According to U.N. statistics, the
2008 rate of maternal mortality was 17 deaths per 100,000 live births.
No barriers existed that limited access to maternal health services.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal rights as men,
including rights under family law, property law, and in the judicial
system. The law mandates equal pay for equal work; however, according
to government reports, women were paid 14 to 16 percent less than men
for comparable work. The Ministry of Equal Opportunities is responsible
for protecting the legal and social rights of women. In November the
Ministry for Equal Opportunities started a campaign, focusing on the
equality of men and women in the personal and professional spheres.
This campaign followed two earlier ones in 2010 that focused on equal
rights for women and men.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is governed by the
principle of descent, according to which a father or mother who is a
citizen automatically conveys citizenship to their offspring at birth.
The government registered all births immediately.
Child Abuse.--A special police unit is responsible for the
protection of minors, and two call centers-one government-run, the
other administered by an NGO-were available to victims of child abuse.
Neither the government nor NGOs published statistics on child abuse
during the year.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The
Jewish community numbered approximately 1,500 persons.
Trafficking in Persons.--Please see the Department of State's
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the
provision of other state services or other areas, and the government
effectively enforced these provisions. The law does not require
government or privately owned buildings to be accessible to persons
with disabilities, but the government subsidized the construction of
``disabled friendly'' structures. The NGO Aid for Handicapped Children
advocated for the protection of the rights of persons with
disabilities.
The law establishes quotas requiring businesses that employ more
than 25 persons to hire workers with disabilities and pay them
prevailing wages, but the government acknowledged that these laws were
not applied or enforced consistently. Reportedly, private companies
with at least 25 workers had to include at least one employee with a
disability. For larger companies, the workforce must consist of between
2 and 4 percent of employees with a disability. For state and all
public companies, at least 5 percent of the workforce must be
classified as disabled.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was one lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender organization, which operated without
impediment. There were no reported incidents of discrimination based on
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of official or societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join independent unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements; the
law also provides for the right to collective bargaining. The law
allows unions to conduct their activities without interference, workers
exercised these rights freely, and the government protected these
rights in practice. There were no reported instances of antiunion
discrimination.
The law provides for the right to strike, except for government
workers who provide essential services. Legal strikes may occur only
after a lengthy conciliation procedure between the parties. For a
strike to be legal, the government's national conciliation office must
certify that conciliation efforts have ended.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports of trafficking
in women for sexual exploitation. See the Department of State's
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
and the government effectively enforced these laws. There were no
reports of illegal child labor.
The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16.
Apprentices who are 16 years old must attend school in addition to
their job training. Workers under the age of 18 have additional legal
protection, including limits on overtime and the number of hours that
can be worked continuously. The Ministries of Labor and Education
effectively enforced the child labor laws.
The Ombudscommittee for Children's Rights (a separate institution
from the ombudsman) carried out a series of inspections including
inspections for child labor.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--As of October 1, the national
minimum wage for a worker over the age of 18 was 1,801 euros ($2,341)
per month for unskilled workers and 2,161 euros ($2,809) for skilled
workers. The poverty income level was 1,650 euros ($2,145) per month in
2011. The Ministry of Labor enforced the minimum wage effectively.
Minimum wage provisions covered foreign and migrant workers.
The law mandates a maximum normal workweek of 40 hours. Premium pay
is required for overtime or unusual hours. Sunday employment is
permitted in continuous-process industries (steel, glass, and
chemicals) and for certain maintenance and security personnel; other
industries must request permission for Sunday work, which the
government considered on a case-by-case basis and generally granted.
Work on Sunday, allowed for some retail employees, must be voluntary
and compensated at double the normal wage or with compensatory time off
on another day, equal to the number of hours worked on Sunday. The law
requires rest breaks for shift workers and limits all workers to a
maximum of 10 hours per day, including overtime. The labor inspection
court and the Superior Court of Justice are responsible for enforcing
these laws. The government conducted investigations and transferred
cases to judicial authorities regularly.
The law mandates a safe working environment. An inspection system
included penalties for infractions. The labor inspectorate of the
Ministry of Labor and the accident insurance agency of the Social
Security Ministry carried out effective inspections. Workers have the
right to ask the labor inspectorate to make a determination regarding
workplace safety, and the inspectorate usually did so expeditiously.
There were 50 inspectors as of 2011. In 2010 there were 19,524 work
related injuries, including 17 work related deaths; figures for 2011
were not available.
__________
MACEDONIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy. A popularly
elected president is head of state and commander in chief of the armed
forces. A unicameral parliament (Sobranie) exercises legislative
authority. On June 5, the country held national parliamentary elections
that international observers assessed as meeting most international
standards for democratic elections. Security forces report to civilian
authorities.
The most important human rights problem was the government's
failure to fully respect the rule of law, which was reflected in its
interference in the judiciary and the media, selective prosecution of
political opponents of the country's leaders, and significant levels of
government corruption and police impunity. Tensions between the ethnic
Albanian and Macedonian communities, as well as societal discrimination
against Roma and other ethnic and religious minorities, constituted
another area of human rights concern.
Other significant human rights problems reported during the year
included poor conditions and overcrowding in some of the country's
prisons, domestic violence, and some discrimination against women and
persons with disabilities. There was societal prejudice against members
of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, who
were the subject of harassment and use of derogatory language,
including in the media. Macedonia was also a source, destination, and
transit country for men, women, and children for sex trafficking and
forced labor.
The government took some steps to punish police officials guilty of
excessive force or impunity and strengthen the internal police
investigation unit, but impunity continued to be a problem. There were
credible claims during the year that the government interfered in high-
profile cases involving abuse of office or misuse of official position
to coerce officials or party members or intimidate key opposition
leaders.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any arbitrary or unlawful killings.
On June 5, Martin Neskovski was beaten to death by a plainclothes
police officer, Igor Spasov, at the celebration of the ruling political
party's election victory. Spasov, a member of the Ministry of
Interior's special police unit, was arrested and put on trial. The
ministry faced heavy media criticism for not moving quickly to identify
and arrest the officer and for lack of transparency and communication
with the public. The killing sparked daily youth protests that lasted
two weeks and drew 500 to 1,500 persons demanding the resignation of
the minister of interior as well as justice for the victim's family.
Spasov pleaded innocent, claiming that he was on duty to provide
security for Prime Minister Gruevski and other ministers. The ministry
denied any responsibility for Spasov's actions. The Skopje Criminal
Court convicted and sentenced Spasov to a 14-year prison sentence for
murdering Neskovski. Following Spasov's arrest, the ``Stop Police
Brutality'' members and Neskovski's family accused the government of a
biased investigation, police impunity, and intimidation and claimed
that Interior Minister Jankulovska had no control over security forces.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, there were
credible reports that police used excessive force during the
apprehension of criminal suspects and abused detainees and prisoners.
During the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of
Interior's Sector for Internal Control and Professional Standards Unit
(PSU) reported receiving 51 complaints against police officers for use
of excessive force. After preliminary investigations the PSU found
grounds for further investigation in three cases. For all three cases
the PSU proposed a mandatory disciplinary procedure against all the
police officers in front of the Disciplinary Commission. However, the
commission did not initiate disciplinary procedures in any of the three
cases because it determined the cases to be obsolete.
In its 2011 annual report, the Office of the Ombudsman reported
some improvements in the investigations of the PSU; however, it
reported that in most cases the PSU did not conduct thorough and
objective investigations. The report also noted that this ``solidarity
with police officers'' was shared by the courts and the public
prosecutor and that court procedures lacked time limits, contributing
to the impunity of police officers.
Between November 2010 and July 2011, the nongovernmental
organization (NGO) All4Fair Trials received 16 complaints from citizens
alleging excessive use of force by police. It referred many of these
complaints to the PSU or ombudsman. It also noted that some alleged
victims did not want to report the incidents to authorities due to fear
of reprisal. The NGO criticized the Prosecutor's Office for not
completing prosecutions of police abuse cases filed in 2007 and 2008.
According to the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture's (CPT) report on its fall 2010 visit to the country, a
significant number of people alleged mistreatment by police officers.
Police officers reportedly used punches and kicks to the body and head
as well as the use of batons on suspects during interrogations, or
during transfer from the place of arrest to a police station.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Inhumane prison conditions
continued to be a concern. Discrepancies in statistics existed between
the data provided by the Ombudsman's Office and by prison officials. As
of November the ombudsman reported that the country housed a total of
2,329 detainees and prisoners, although the designed capacity of all
facilities was only 1,952 inmates. There were no reports of prisoners
serving beyond their maximum sentence. Prisoners had access to potable
water. The ombudsman's 2010 annual report stated that conditions in the
prisons were unchanged and remained substandard and overcrowded. The
report also noted that the opportunity for juvenile detainees to mingle
with adult detainees remained a problem.
The CPT report also stated that fundamental change was required to
address challenges facing the prison system. The lack of a professional
management approach, low staffing ratios, and an absence of
accountability and clear rules were particularly problematic. At
Idrizovo Prison, the country's largest prison facility, a number of
credible allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by staff were
received, and interprisoner violence remained a significant problem.
Many inmates were held in deplorable living conditions, crowded
together in a dilapidated, dangerous, and unhygienic environment, while
most prisoners were offered no activities and locked in their cells for
up to 23 hours a day.
In the remand sections of Skopje and Tetovo Prisons, inmates were
offered no organized activities and less than one hour of daily outdoor
exercise, if any. The CPT report also detailed the overcrowding and
poor material conditions in which remand prisoners were kept. The
report was particularly critical of the treatment of juveniles held in
remand and recommended that action be taken to offer them educational
and recreational activities and to ensure that they were never held in
a situation of de facto solitary confinement.
The national authorities stated that measures were being taken to
improve the conditions of detention in the prisons, particularly at
Idrizovo Prison, with the support of a Council of Europe Development
Bank loan. A new rulebook was adopted aimed at offering all prisoners a
range of activities as well as the legal requirement of two hours of
daily outdoor exercise.
The CPT report noted consistent allegations of mistreatment of
patients by staff as well as of interpatient violence, in particular at
Demir Hisar Psychiatric Hospital. The CPT recommended implementing a
policy of zero tolerance, improving staffing levels and
professionalism, upgrading living conditions, and establishing an
independent system for complaints and inspections. National authorities
reported that procedures were being adopted to ensure proper conduct by
medical staff towards patients and continuing training for orderlies
and nurses. Authorities had plans to upgrade living conditions.
At the Demir Kapija Special Institution for persons with mental
disabilities, the CPT observed relaxed, positive relations between
staff and residents. However, concerns were raised that the health-care
needs of residents were not adequately met. National authorities
responded that the quality of residential care improved following the
recruitment of additional staff.
The country has 11 prisons and two juvenile correctional
institutions. Of the 11 prisons, two are high-security prisons--
Idrizovo in Skopje and the Stip prison. Six of these prisons also
housed detainees. Men and women were held separately in both the
prisons and the detention facilities. According to prison officials,
the maximum capacity of prison facilities was 2,290. Prisons were
designed to house 1,869 prisoners; detention facilities, 421 detainees;
and the Tetovo Juvenile Correction Facility, 44 offenders. The total
number of prisoners, including juveniles and women, was 2,300, of whom
21 were juvenile offenders serving their sentences in the Ohrid
juvenile prison. The total number of all pretrial detainees was 402.
Idrizovo had a separate women's division housing all women offenders--
both adults and juveniles--from the entire country. Juvenile prisoners
were held separately from adults and housed at the low-security
juvenile prison in Ohrid. Pretrial detainees were held separately from
convicted prisoners. Detainees charged with serious crimes punishable
by more than 10-year prison sentences were held at Idrizovo.
According to prison officials, two deaths of detainees were
reported during the year. One detainee held at the Tetovo prison
committed suicide. The second detainee died of natural causes at the
Ohrid prison. Between ten and 12 prisoners died during the year--two in
Skopje Prison, seven in Idrizovo, and one in Strumica prison. Six died
while undergoing hospital treatments, one committed suicide, one died
at home from natural causes while on weekend leave from prison, one
died in a traffic accident while on weekend leave from prison, and one
committed suicide while on weekend leave from prison.
Some media reported that on February 2, an inmate of the Suto
Orizari detention center in Skopje was found dead in his cell. The body
reportedly was sent for examination to the Forensic Medical Institute,
but sources from the institute said they had no record of any such
case. On November 14, a woman reportedly committed suicide while in
detention at the Tetovo Prison Detention Unit. Police, an investigative
judge, and a prosecutor inspected the site and turned the body over to
forensic examiners to verify the cause of death.
The Ministry of Justice's Sanctions Enforcement Administration
conducted a survey of Idrizovo State Prison personnel and the Suto
Orizari Detention Center in Skopje. Results indicated that more than
half of the custodial personnel possessed little to no professional
skills or knowledge of relevant laws. In response the primary prison
employees union complained of lack of adequate equipment and training
and severe understaffing.
In July the government enacted a new rulebook for detention centers
that met EU standards, replacing the socialist-era rulebook. The new
rulebook states that detainees will have access to a television and
telephone and that security will be upgraded with a new modern control
system.
The ombudsman regularly visited the country's prisons and
maintained complaint boxes there. The ombudsman stated that the right
to express religious beliefs and practice religious rites in the
penitentiary and correctional facilities was not hindered. Visitor
access was allowed, but facilities remained insufficient for the number
of prisoners, and conditions were poor.
In its October progress report, the European Commission reported
that the government had adopted an annual program for the construction
and renovation of prisons. Parts of the prisons where degrading
conditions were reported (in particular Idrizovo Prison and its semi-
open ward) were renovated. Conditions in the Tetovo Juvenile
Correctional and Rehabilitation Institute continued to raise serious
concerns, as did the closed ward of Idrizovo. The report noted that
most of the prisons continued to be underfunded and could not cover
their basic maintenance expenses and that the mechanisms for preventing
and combating mistreatment and corruption in prisons remained weak.
During the year the Ministry of Justice refurbished the old
detention unit in the Suto Orizari Detention Center, equipped the
fitness room, repaired the plumbing and sewage infrastructure, and
designated two rooms for confidential meetings of detainees and their
defense counsels.
The government usually granted independent humanitarian
organizations and the ombudsman access to convicted prisoners. The law
allows family members, physicians, diplomatic representatives, and
representatives from the CPT and the International Committee of the Red
Cross access to pretrial detainees with the approval of the
investigative judge. However, during the year the local branch of the
Helsinki Human Rights Committee claimed that the government denied
committee representatives access to prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, arbitrary arrest and detention were
problems.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police,
consisting of uniformed police, criminal (civilian) police, and border
police, are a centralized force under the Ministry of Interior.
International observers and local NGOs cited corruption, lack of
transparency, and political pressure within the ministry as hindering
efforts to fight crime, particularly organized crime.
In addition to investigating alleged police mistreatment, the PSU
conducted all internal investigations into allegations of other forms
of police misconduct. The PSU has authority to impose administrative
sanctions during the course of its investigations, such as temporary
suspension from work, but cannot impose disciplinary actions, which
require a ruling from a disciplinary commission, or more serious
criminal sanctions, which require court action. Although there were
improvements with internal investigations and an active ombudsman,
police impunity remained a problem.
Insufficient funding and staffing hampered the PSU's effectiveness,
and the professional capacity of the PSU remained low. Many observers
considered that the PSU, Prosecutor's Office, and courts did not
provide an effective deterrent to police abuse, contributing to an
atmosphere of impunity. The 2010 ombudsman's report concluded that
responses to complaints against police officers were ``endlessly
delayed'' and that priority was given to complaints accusing citizens
of attacking law enforcement officials, rather than complaints of
police impunity.
Although unit officials showed some improvement in efficiently
conducting internal investigations, concerns remained about the low
number of completed investigations and the lack of charges in
outstanding human rights cases from previous years.
Representatives from a number of international organizations,
including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the EU, and foreign diplomatic missions, continued to monitor
police operations and advise the Ministry of Interior on police
reforms.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires warrants issued by an investigative judge for arrest and
detention, and police generally followed this requirement in practice.
The law states that prosecutors must arraign a detainee within 24
hours of arrest. An investigative judge, at the request of a
prosecutor, may order detention of suspects for up to 72 hours before
arraignment. Police generally adhered to these procedures in practice.
There were reports that police continued to call suspects and witnesses
to police stations for ``informative talks'' without informing them of
their rights. Police did not arrest the individuals or hold them for
extended periods of time. The law permits immediate family members
access to detainees, and authorities generally provided access,
although it was not always prompt. The law states that an investigative
judge must approve access requests.
While judges usually granted permission for attorneys to visit
their clients in detention, legal contacts reported that in some high-
profile cases, defense attorneys were not granted timely and
confidential access.
The Ministry of Interior conducted inspections of the registers of
detained persons and prepared standard procedures for their detention
and treatment. These procedures included designating shift supervisors
who were responsible for the proper processing and treatment of
detained persons.
There is a functioning bail system. After arraignment the law sets
the initial length of pretrial detention to a maximum of 30 days. This
period may be extended up to 180 days in total if a council of three
judges orders a 60-day extension for further investigation and a
superior court orders an additional 90-day extension. The law allows a
90-day extension only in cases for which sentencing guidelines provide
that a person convicted of the crime under investigation serve at least
five years in prison. Following indictment the maximum pretrial
detention is two years.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and laws provide
for an independent judiciary; however, the government exercised
political pressure and intimidation on the judicial branch. Inadequate
funding of the judiciary continued to hamper court operations and
effectiveness. A number of judicial officials accused the government of
using its budgetary authority to exert control over the judiciary.
Political pressure influenced the work of the Judicial Council, the
body responsible for the election, discipline, and removal of judges.
There were reports that the Judicial Council gave preference to outside
candidates for judgeships instead of choosing 50 percent of new judges
from academy graduates as the law requires. Through December the
Judicial Council elected 27 new trial court judges, five of whom were
academy graduates. On November 30, the Judicial Council elected Ana
Gerasimovska, the daughter of the chair judge in the case against the
owner and managers of the opposition-oriented television station A1, to
be a judge on the Administrative Court.
In December 2010 the appellate court released a convicted cigarette
smuggler to house arrest pending appeal. The Supreme Court reversed the
decision on the grounds that the appellate court judges misinterpreted
the law on detention and filed motions with the Judicial Council
against the appellate court judge and the president of the appellate
court for ``unprofessional conduct and malpractice.'' Legal experts and
members of the academic law community stated that neither
interpretation could be considered incorrect, asserted that the motions
before the Judicial Council were extreme, and questioned whether the
Judicial Council should discipline judges for their interpretation of
the law in a ruling. The media opined that the government was
attempting to remove judges who did not succumb to executive pressure.
One of the three judges involved in the appellate ruling resigned from
the bench in December 2010 for unspecified reasons. The president of
the appellate court, Jordan Mitrinovski, resigned his position as
president ``for health reasons'' but said he wanted to remain a judge.
On May 18, the Judicial Council removed Mitrinovski from the bench for
unprofessional and incompetent conduct. On September 14, a Supreme
Court-led panel denied Mitrinovski's appeal and upheld the Judicial
Council's removal decision.
In February 2010 the parliamentary Standing Inquiry Committee on
Human Rights concluded that the human rights of defendants and
witnesses in the 2003 Sopot case had been violated by the ``authorized
bodies and institutions'' of the country. The committee found
violations of prohibitions of torture, inhumane, or degrading
treatment; the right to liberty and security; the right to privacy of
home; and the right to a fair trial. The case involved the killing of
two Polish NATO soldiers and two civilians by an improvised explosive
device along the Kumanovo-Sopot road. Eleven ethnic Albanians were
convicted in three separate trials in 2004, 2006, and 2009 and
sentenced to 10 to 14 years in prison. In September 2010 the appellate
court reversed the decision of the first trial court and ordered a
retrial for all 11 defendants. Retrial started on April 19, before
Basic Court Skopje I, and continued at year's end. At the end of the
year, four defendants remained under house arrest, two remained in
detention pending retrial, and five remained at large.
Throughout the year the government heavily criticized the
Constitutional Court for overturning a number of laws related to
government-sponsored projects. In March the speaker of parliament
demanded that the president of the Constitutional Court, Trendafil
Ivanovski, come to parliament to explain the court's rulings. Ivanovski
refused, citing the independence of the court. Previously, in October
2010, the Verification of Facts (Lustration) Commission found Ivanovski
guilty of collaboration with the secret services during the communist
era. Ivanovski appealed the ruling to the Administrative Court, which
upheld the guilty verdict. Ivanovski was suspended from the
Constitutional Court and appealed to the Supreme Court. On March 22,
the Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict. Ivanovski again refused to
step down from the court, and on April 12, parliament voted to remove
him from office. Ivanovski filed a petition with the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) that was pending at year's end.
During the year the media and legal community criticized the
government for proposing judicial legislation with little or no input
from judicial or legal experts. Parliament also was criticized for
passing a bundle of judicial legislation during its first week in
session after the June 5 election without debate under a fast-track
procedure. For example, the government proposed and parliament passed
measures amending the law on the Judicial Council and the Prosecutorial
Council to remove the minister of justice as a voting member. NGOs, the
media, and legal professionals criticized the system, asserting that it
would not solve major problems with the judiciary, such as chronic
underfunding, political pressure on judges, and inadequate working
conditions.
The trial courts' efficiency improved significantly. Based on
unofficial reports from government authorities, through September 30
the trial courts decided 833,320, or 78.1 percent, of the 1,066,950
cases on their dockets, versus 52.3 percent in the same period of the
previous year. The efficiency of other courts varied. The appellate
courts completed 77.5 percent of their caseload, and the Supreme Court
completed 47.5 percent. The Administrative Court completed only 32.8
percent of its workload. The transfer of backlogged cases involving the
enforcement of civil judgments (mainly cases for collection of utility
bills) from the courts to the private enforcement system began on July
1. This activity, completed on December 31, would relieve trial courts
of a backlog of 466,315 cases.
Trial Procedures.--The law presumes defendants innocent until
proven guilty. Trials are generally open to the public. The country
does not use juries. A single judge hears less serious cases, and a
panel of one or two professional judges and two to three lay judges
hear more serious cases. The judicial panels determine guilt and impose
sentences. The panel usually follows the recommendations of the
presiding judge. Defendants have the right to an attorney in pretrial
and trial proceedings. The law requires that courts provide indigent
defendants an attorney at public expense, and authorities generally
respected this requirement in practice. Defendants may question
witnesses and present evidence on their own behalf. The law entitles
defendants and their attorneys access to government-held evidence. In
practice defendants were not always given access. Both the prosecution
and defendants have the right to appeal verdicts.
The law provides that courts may try defendants in absentia so long
as they retry the convicted individuals if they later become available
for trial.
The courts published civil and criminal judgments online, but
public access to judgments and court decisions remained limited. Most
of these electronically published judgments lacked an indexing function
and were difficult to search due to the large amount of deleted data.
Officials cited privacy and data protection concerns as reasons why the
courts did not publish more information on judgments.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were
claims that authorities detained persons for political reasons.
On June 6, the day after the national election, police arrested
Ljube Boskoski, leader of the United for Macedonia political party, on
charges of illegal election campaign financing and misuse of official
position. Police allowed journalists to film the arrest, including the
seizure of 100,000 euros (approximately $130,000) in cash and a gun
from Boskoski's vehicle. The video was broadcast on YouTube and the
Ministry of Interior's Web site. Boskoski was sent to 30 days of
pretrial detention on the day of his arrest, which was subsequently
renewed. In November Boskoski was found guilty of both charges,
sentenced to seven years in prison, and immediately began to serve his
sentence.
There were claims that officials used pretrial detention as a
punitive measure in the case of the former manager of the Health Fund,
Georgi Trenkoski. Trenkoski was arrested in November 2010 and sent to
15 days of pretrial detention on charges more serious than those for
which he had been indicted. Authorities justified pretrial detention as
necessary to prevent Trenkoski, who had resigned from his position at
the Health Fund three months earlier and had no access to its files,
from tampering with evidence. Trenkoski's supporters claimed that the
media were notified ahead of his arrest to ensure his humiliation.
Trenkoski subsequently was released from detention, although the court
seized his passport as a security measure to ensure his presence at
trial. His trial, which started in June 2010, continued at year's end.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--As of December the ECHR
issued seven decisions that found violations of the European Convention
on Human Rights by the state. While the government enacted a law in
2009 providing for enforcement of ECHR orders, government officials did
not adequately implement the law, and the government complied with only
a small number of the ECHR orders in a timely and adequate manner.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had access to
courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. Individuals may file human rights cases in the
criminal, civil, or administrative courts, depending upon the type of
human rights violation in question and the perpetrator of the alleged
violation. Individuals may also appeal adverse decisions. The law
provides the right to timely adjudication of cases and a legal basis
for raising excessive judicial delays to the Supreme Court. Individuals
could appeal court decisions involving alleged violations of human
rights by the state to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press;
however, the government did not always demonstrate respect for this
right in practice, and government pressure on the media was a growing
problem.
Freedom of Speech.--The law prohibits speech that incites national,
religious, or ethnic hatred, and the law provides penalties for persons
who violate these laws. Individuals may criticize the government
publicly or privately, but there were reports that the government
attempted to impede criticism.
Freedom of Press.--Media outlets were covered by the same laws that
restrict speech inciting national, religious, or ethnic hatred. In
addition there were reports that the government pressured the media and
forced journalists to practice self-censorship. A few independent media
voices were active and expressed a wide variety of views without
restriction, particularly through online outlets. However, after the
closure of opposition-oriented A1 Television and the daily newspapers
Vreme, Shpic, and ``**** e Re,'' the number of media voices critical of
the government declined. Media institutions and reporting continued to
be divided along ethnic and political lines, with the most striking
divisions visible in reporting on controversial political and
interethnic issues.
The government was one of the largest purchasers of advertising in
the country and favored outlets and journalists it perceived as
friendly. During the year the Association of Journalists of Macedonia
(AJM) criticized specific media developments, such as the closing of A1
Television and related print daily newspapers, firing of individual
journalists, and overall decline in media freedom. The AJM called on
authorities to engage publicly with members of the media to address the
crisis. The Independent Trade Union of Journalists was another frequent
voice of alarm over the erosion of media freedom.
The ruling party, various ministries, and the president's cabinet
regularly issued statements that denied any undue pressure on
journalists but at the same time expressed disappointment over
reporting by some media outlets--most frequently A1 Television and its
related daily newspapers--and criticized them for bias and
unprofessionalism.
There were five major privately owned daily newspapers in the
Macedonian language and three in the Albanian language. International
newspapers and magazines were available throughout the country.
Macedonian Radio and Television, whose reporting reflected the
government's views and policies, was the country's sole public
broadcaster. On July 30, authorities revoked the broadcasting license
of A1 Television. Following the revocation, there were four private
television broadcasters with national coverage, 13 national television
stations that broadcast via satellite, and 58 private local and
regional television stations. Most of the stations broadcast news
programs and reflected a narrow segment of viewpoints. There were 80
independent radio stations that broadcast around the country. All major
broadcast and print media offered up-to-date Internet editions. During
the year many online portals opened and provided views and commentaries
that were critical of the government. Internet-based social networks
were available and popular, and a small number of blogs maintained
often critical content.
Violence and Harassment.--On August 8, the head of the Media Labor
Union was fired from her job at Alsat TV, which claimed the dismissal
was based on the consensual termination of her contract. She filed
charges against Alsat TV for wrongful termination, asserting that she
never knowingly signed such a contract and that, by law, the leader of
a trade union cannot be fired. Both domestic and international media
organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, issued statements
criticizing the ``arbitrary dismissal'' of journalists active in labor
unions. While some journalists believed that factors other than her
union position played a role in her termination, they stressed that
Alsat TV failed to respect laws that prohibit companies from firing
union leaders.
In December 2010 Velija Ramkovski, businessman and owner of the
country's most popular station, A1 Television, and several related
print outlets also known for their opposition views, his daughter, and
17 other employees of Ramkovski businesses were arrested on charges of
tax evasion and conspiracy. Four additional suspects evaded arrest.
There were credible reports that while in detention a pregnant detainee
suffered a miscarriage and that another detainee with a serious medical
condition was not provided assistance. Another detainee was rushed to
emergency surgery without family notification. On March 22, prosecutors
indicted all 23 suspects. The trial began on May 23 and continued at
year's end. Eight defendants in the case remained in detention, 11 were
under house arrest or other security measure, and four remained at
large.
With the companies' assets frozen by the Public Revenue Office and
no access to additional funding, the three major daily newspapers with
ties to Ramkovski were forced to stop publishing on July 3. On July 17,
the court began bankruptcy proceedings against A1 Television, and on
July 30, the Agency for Electronic Communication revoked the station's
broadcasting license. Domestic and international media outlets and
organizations, including the International Federation of Journalists,
Reporters Without Borders, the Southeast European Media Organization,
and the OSCE's representative for freedom of the media, criticized the
closing of the outlets, noting that the media in the country was in
crisis. Reporters Without Borders expressed concern over the ``decline
of press freedom'' in the country and noted that the government's
actions posed a threat to media independence.
On July 18, by an emergency procedure, parliament amended the
Broadcasting Law to expand the National Broadcasting Council from nine
to 16 members, with the seven new members being nominated by the
president and other government institutions. The amendment triggered
widespread criticism from journalists and Reporters Without Borders,
which interpreted the move as a government attempt to control the
council.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The AJM announced that nearly 200
charges of defamation, libel, and slander filed by public officials
from 2009 to August 2011 were pending against journalists. After the
AJM dropped slander charges against a progovernment journalist on
January 17, the government withdrew 35 other pending cases brought by
government officials, including 21 brought by members of parliament.
The government claimed that it maintained its right to sue journalists
for defamation in order to defend its credibility from unprofessional
journalists.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--On September 14, the new deputy
prime minister for EU integration, Teuta Arifi, cohosted a roundtable
discussion with the AJM on the future of media in the country.
Participants included journalists, media owners, students, and members
of the international community. Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE's
representative on media freedom, paid a three-day visit to the country
in October to discuss freedom of the media with a variety of
stakeholders. At the end of her visit, she called on the government to
support greater media independence and on the media to show increased
professionalism and a willingness to work with the government on media-
related initiatives. Deputy Prime Minister Arifi held a follow-up
roundtable on December 13, after which Minister of Justice Blerim
Bexheti tasked a ministry-led multidisciplinary committee, including
AJM representatives, to propose amendments for the decriminalization of
slander.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. Political
activists and others critical of the government stated that their e
mail, social media, and other electronic communications were monitored
and/or disrupted by the government, but the extent of these practices
was unknown.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government
generally respected this right in practice. To hold public gatherings
of any kind, organizers must notify the Ministry of Interior so the
venue can be made secure.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
In-country Movement.--Beginning in April 2010, recognized refugees
could no longer travel with the current 1951 Convention Travel Document
(CTD) form, since it had not been upgraded to be a machine-readable
travel document in accordance with the new International Civil Aviation
Organization standards applicable as of that date. The Ministry of
Interior's assessment of technical capacities to issue machine-readable
CTDs or eventually biometric CTDs has been pending since 2010.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The government reported 474
persons remained displaced from the 2001 internal conflict. Of these,
200 persons lived in collective centers, and 274 were lodged with host
families.
IDPs received basic assistance, mostly from the Ministry of Labor
and Social Policy, but had few opportunities for work due to the
country's high unemployment rate. The UNHCR assisted 27 IDPs in
establishing their civil status and obtaining identity documents.
During the year the government encouraged IDPs to return to their
homes of origin in areas the authorities considered safe. Some IDPs
continued to assert that the government did not provide adequate
support for the return process. Romani IDPs faced additional challenges
because they were unable to document their tenancy at properties where
they previously resided.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status both to those
individuals meeting the criteria for refugee status and those meeting
the criteria for subsidiary protection. The government has established
a system for providing protection to refugees. However, the government
did not grant refugee status or subsidiary protection to any asylum
seekers during the year.
The law on asylum meets most international and EU standards;
however, it contains exclusionary provisions for persons under
subsidiary protection that observers asserted do not comply with the
1951 Refugee Convention. In addition the government did not effectively
implement the law. No person has been granted any form of asylum since
mid-2008. Subsidiary protection was terminated for nine Kosovo Romani
cases on the basis of national security, an exclusion not contained in
the 1951 Refugee Convention.
In 2010 the UNHCR submitted friend of the court briefs to the
Administrative Court about two refugee cases in which the Section for
Asylum ceased providing subsidiary protection on exclusion grounds of
constituting a danger to national security. The court accepted the
appeals and returned the cases for re-adjudication. In July, despite
instructions from the court to re-adjudicate, the Section for Asylum
again ceased protection, again citing danger to national security. Of
the 10 similar cases, six involved Roma from Kosovo residing in
Macedonia since 1999 and four involved new asylum seekers. The cases
were appealed to the Administrative Court.
Visa liberalization with the EU introduced in 2009 resulted in an
increased number of Macedonian asylum seekers in the EU. In response to
an EU request to decrease the number of asylum seekers, the authorities
organized a multiagency working group that created a multipronged
strategy including a media campaign, sanctions for travel agencies who
target potential asylum seekers, and profiling at border stations. From
April to October, more than 1,500 Macedonia citizens (mostly Roma) were
refused exit from the country on the basis of being potential asylum
seekers in the EU.
While authorities asserted that the law provides for protection of
refugees and persons under subsidiary protection in accordance with EU
standards, the UNHCR reported that the refugee status determination
mechanism failed to provide basic procedural guarantees and proper
determination as prescribed in the law, i.e., a cancellation of
subsidiary protection status, ex-officio, without a hearing, based on
undisclosed evidence.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government rejected the asylum
applications of persons who arrived in Macedonia via a safe country of
transit. As of August authorities had rejected the applications of 56
asylum seekers--42 from Greece and 17 from Serbia-- on the grounds that
they had arrived through a ``safe third country.'' Advocates voiced
concern about this because the determination if a particular third
country is ``safe'' (for the purpose of returning an asylum seeker)
cannot be answered in a generic fashion for all asylum seekers in all
circumstances, arguing that it must be answered on an individual basis.
The Section for Asylum issued the 56 decisions within a two-month
period, without hearings, thus denying the applicants an effective
opportunity to rebut the presumption of safety in the asylum law.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to the international
community that it would not deport failed asylum seekers from Kosovo,
and no such deportations took place. Such persons were issued
provisional identification documents in order to secure access to
services. The documents were subject to extension as individual
circumstances warranted. By June the Administrative Court accepted one
appeal and returned the case for re-adjudication. It rejected appeals
in two cases, while an estimated 40 cases were pending. The Supreme
Court issued only two verdicts, rejecting the appeals, while 11 were
pending. On June 30, a Higher Administrative Court was established to
hear appeals against Administrative Court decisions. By early December,
14 of the 15 judicial slots were filled, but the court's capacity to
review decisions effectively remained limited due to insufficient
administrative and logistical support. Rejected asylum seekers from
Kosovo continued to be assisted by the UNHCR.
The country continued to experience an increase in arrivals of new
asylum seekers from outside the region, primarily from Central Asia and
the Middle East, but also some from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa,
South Asia, and Russia. There were no qualified interpreters in Pashtu,
Dari, or Arabic, which made identification and conducting interviews
difficult. The government deported most of these persons to unknown
destinations after they applied for asylum. By the end of August, the
number of registered asylum seekers increased from 174 in 2010 to 485.
Of these individuals, 86 were present at the end of August at the
reception center for asylum seekers in Vizbegovo, which has a capacity
of 150 persons.
The government issued identity documents to recognized refugees and
other persons under subsidiary protection. However, authorities
frequently delayed or failed to issue identification documents to new
asylum seekers. The government has a formal system for appointing
guardians. In practice no appointed guardian met an unaccompanied minor
seeking asylum.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion, or in which they would be subjected to torture or
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. However, the UNCHR noted
that only two locations in Skopje reported registrations of new asylum
seekers. No border crossings, police stations, or immigration offices
outside Skopje reported any registrations. The UNHCR raised concerns
that asylum seekers presenting themselves outside of Skopje were not
accounted for and may be informally returned or transported to third
countries.
By the end of August, 1,524 asylum seekers, refugees, persons under
subsidiary protection, and other persons of concern remained in the
country, most of them Roma from the 1999 conflict in Kosovo. The UNHCR
continued to note progress in the return process of Roma to Kosovo,
which it facilitated on the basis of individual voluntary requests. As
of the end of August, 135 individuals had returned to Kosovo, while 213
were awaiting return. The reconstruction of 11 houses in Kosovo was
approved with the support of local authorities and the international
community, pending provision of funds for their reconstruction.
Durable Solutions.--The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is
responsible for the social protection of persons granted asylum. An
office within the ministry worked to provide integrated, durable
solutions with the support of the UNHCR. As of the end of August, 730
persons (183 families) were granted asylum and had applied for
integration in the country. However, the country lacked sufficient
housing for these people. In 2008 the government adopted a seven-year
program for integration of persons granted asylum, including assistance
for public housing. Two years after its adoption, the government
allocated a state-owned plot of land located in Visbegovo, Butel, for
the construction of 30 public housing units for integrating refugees
(to be funded by the UNHCR). The procedure for provision of necessary
documentation for construction of housing units remained pending at
year's end.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, generally free, and fair elections held on the basis
of universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In June
the country held parliamentary elections, with high public turnout and
only minor confirmed incidents. The OSCE's Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights reported that the elections were
``transparent and well administered throughout the country''; however,
insufficient separation between party and state activities and pressure
on public sector employees to support the ruling coalition were
problems. For the first time, citizens residing abroad could vote by
absentee ballot.
Political Parties.--On June 6, the day after the national election,
police arrested Ljube Boskoski, leader of the United for Macedonia
political party, on charges of illegal election campaign financing and
misuse of official position. Boskoski was convicted on November 29 and
sentenced to seven years in prison. Boskoski asserted his arrest was
political retaliation for his preelection antigovernment speeches.
Other sources claimed that his conviction was also retaliation for his
alleged cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor in the 2001 war
crimes cases in which Boskoski received an acquittal, while the second
defendant, Johan Tarculovski, was convicted and received a 12-year
prison sentence.
In August the government demolished the Cosmos apartment building
owned by Fiat Canovski, leader of the opposition Party for European
Future, claiming that it was a few inches above code requirements.
Canovski asserted that the demolition was political retaliation for his
party's having joined the opposition and financing opposition-oriented
A1 Television after its accounts were frozen, allowing it to remain on
the air during the election campaign. The government subsequently filed
four court cases against Canovski and appointed to the case a judge who
was the aunt of the minister of interior. Canovski reported difficulty
in obtaining a firm to assess damages for insurance purposes (not only
to his property, but to equipment belonging to the construction company
as well). Canovski filed a complaint with the ECHR. On November 30, the
government withdrew from parliament a draft amendment to the
Construction Law, the purpose of which, according to the opposition,
was to legalize the Cosmos' demolition retroactively.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 38 women in the
123-seat parliament and three women in the 23-member Council of
Ministers. The law requires gender diversity in each political party's
candidate list; at least one in every three candidates must be of the
gender opposite of the majority gender on the list. Sixty percent of
judges were female. None of the country's 85 mayors was a woman.
There were 24 ethnic Albanians, four ethnic Serbs, two ethnic
Vlachs, two ethnic Turks, two ethnic Roma, and three ethnic Bosniaks in
parliament. There were nine members of nonmajority communities in the
23-member Council of Ministers.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, there were reports that some officials engaged in corruption
with impunity. According to World Bank governance indicators,
government corruption was a problem.
There were credible claims during the year that the government
interfered in high-profile cases involving abuse of office or misuse of
official position to coerce government officials and party members or
to intimidate key opposition leaders. A number of current and former
government officials faced charges of misuse of position or abuse of
office, while other officials and opposition leaders reported threats
that they would face such charges.
Police and judicial corruption were problems. During the year the
Judicial Council removed seven judges for unprofessional and unethical
conduct and initiated disciplinary action against at least eight
others. Of the eight cases, three were dismissed as unfounded.
During the year retrials continued for Vasil Tupurkovski, a former
deputy prime minister and director of the Agency for Reconstruction and
Development, who had been convicted of corruption, and for former prime
minister and former minister of defense Vlado Buckovski, who had been
convicted of abuse of office.
In mid-June 2010 the Anticorruption Commission (ACC) filed
misdemeanor charges against 220 public officials for failing to submit
financial and conflict of interest statements. Of these, as of December
2011, 169 cases were resolved. The court sentenced 128 public officials
to fines ranging between 50 and 1,000 euros ($65-1,300), and 29 public
officials received reprimands. Ten officials were acquitted, and in two
cases the courts dropped the charges.
Following the 2011 amendments to the anticorruption law, the term
of office of the previous commission expired in the spring of 2010. In
April parliament selected seven new members for the ACC. The opposition
accused the ruling majority of politicizing the ACC by electing
government affiliates, some of whom reportedly lacked the qualification
required by law. The new ACC become operational on April 11, and
Vosilav Zafirovski, a retired Ministry of Interior official, was
elected president by a majority vote of the commission's members.
The ACC was responsible for investigating complaints submitted by
citizens. During the year the ACC received 908 complaints--267 of which
referred to citizens' allegations of corruption and/or conflict of
interest in all different areas and 641 related to the June early
parliamentary elections--issued opinions on 641 election-related
motions, and reviewed a total of 1,357 complaints and motions, which
included some from the previous year. The ACC dismissed 2,914
complaints for lack of jurisdiction and 198 complaints as unfounded.
The ACC transferred one complaint to state organs for further
investigation and recommended disciplinary action in three cases.
During 2010 the chairman of the ACC requested that the public
prosecutor charge five current and two former mayors with violating the
law on public procurement. Each mayor was involved in separate events
in which public money was allegedly spent without proper tendering and
open calls for bids. At year's end the prosecutor's offices dismissed
two of the cases as unfounded and another one because the statute of
limitations had run. Four of the cases were remained review by the
Prosecutor's Office.
On October 31, ACC President Zafirovski announced the commission
would request the Prosecutor's Office to press criminal charges against
opposition Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM) and A1
Television for election campaign finance irregularities. Based on the
parties' financial reports, the ACC as a loan it received from
Komercijalna Bank. The ACC also found that A1 Television violated the
allowed donation threshold by giving overly generous advertising
discounts to some parties. In their reaction, the SDSM accused the ACC
of taking a selective approach and acting as an instrument of the
government. The SDSM pointed out that the ACC report stated that the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) had a financial
shortfall.
The ACC also found that the largest television broadcasters--A1,
Kanal 5, and Sitel--were the largest political party election campaign
donors because they granted abnormally generous advertising discounts.
The ACC also found that no budgetary funds were misused for election
campaign purposes.
The law provides for public access to government information.
Implementation of the law lagged, especially in respect to citizens'
access to court judgments and other court decisions.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The ombudsman worked to protect
citizens against infringement of their rights by public institutions,
reduce discrimination against minority communities and persons with
special needs, promote equitable representation in public life, and
address children's rights. The ombudsman has the right to visit all
detained persons and report findings to the U.N. Most of the 3,940
complaints that the ombudsman received as of early December concerned
violations of judicial procedures, police abuse, police services to
citizens, prisons, labor , consumer or property rights. The ombudsman
reported good cooperation and communication with the government but
noted that, while government responses to the ombudsman's inquiries
were usually timely, they were often not substantive and at times
lacked requested information.
The country's seven-member Commission for Protection from
Discrimination has a mandate to review discrimination complaints, issue
recommendations, and promote the implementation of the law. The
commission does not have the power to punish offenders. From January
until November the commission received 58 complaints and resolved 36.
Twenty-two were still in process. The commission did not have a full-
time staff and was located in an office that was not accessible to
persons with physical disabilities. Unlike the ombudsman, the
commission reviews complaints from both the public and the private
sectors. However, the public was largely unaware of the commission's
existence. Citizens who are not satisfied with the outcome of their
complaint can seek remedy in court. The written opinion of the
commission is admitted as evidence. As of mid-December no case was
resolved in court.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on gender,
race, disability, religion, national, social, or political affiliation,
and provides for fines ranging from 400 to 1,000 euros ($520 to $1,300)
on individuals or legal entities found guilty of discrimination. The
government generally enforced these prohibitions. In January the
government implemented the Law on Prevention and Protection from
Discrimination to protect individuals and legal entities against most
forms of discrimination, including from direct and indirect
discrimination based on gender, race, skin color, membership in a
marginalized group, ethnicity, language, nationality, social origin,
religion or religious belief, other beliefs, education, political
affiliation, personal or social status, mental and physical disability,
age, family or marital status, property status, health condition, or
any other discrimination ground provided for by law or a ratified
international agreement. Although sexual orientation is not listed in
the law as a basis of discrimination, the Commission for Protection
from Discrimination handled one case of discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation under the ``other beliefs'' category.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal. The penalties for rape range from one to 15 years'
imprisonment. Due to poor enforcement of the law, the penalties did not
serve as a significant deterrent. As with domestic violence, police and
judicial officials were reluctant to prosecute spousal rape, and many
victims did not come forward due to social stigma.
Domestic and other violence against women was a persistent and
common problem. Cultural norms, including victims' concerns over
possible shame to the family, discouraged the reporting of violence
against women and the filing of criminal charges. Domestic violence is
illegal, but authorities rarely enforced the law in practice. Advocates
reported progress in improving legal structure related to domestic
violence.
There were seven limited-capacity government shelters and one NGO-
operated shelter for women at risk, a national NGO-operated hotline (in
Macedonian and Albanian), and two crisis centers for temporary (24- to
48-hour) shelter for victims of domestic violence. Local NGOs combating
domestic violence relied largely on international donors. The
government sponsored a public campaign against domestic violence that
used well-known women from throughout society to raise public awareness
of the problem.
A joint U.N. Development Program/Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy program to provide training to improve professional skills and
create opportunities for self-employment for victims of domestic
violence was completed and judged successful by advocates. While the
program provided payments for six months to companies that employed
women who were victims of domestic violence, advocates reported that
victims and companies were largely unaware of it.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in the
workplace and provides a sentencing guideline of three months to three
years in prison as punishment for violations. Sexual harassment of
women in the workplace was a problem, particularly in the private
sector. Authorities could prosecute sexual harassment under the law,
but victims generally did not bring cases forward due to fear of
publicity and possible loss of employment.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples have the right to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and means
to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Contraceptives were widely available and affordable but are not covered
under the national health-care system. Obstetric and postpartum care
was available at hospitals throughout the country and was accessible to
expectant and new mothers either through medical coverage provided to
employed persons through their employers or to unemployed persons
through the national welfare systems. Women and men were equally
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections. According to
2008 U.N. estimates, the maternal mortality rate in the country was
nine deaths per 100,000 live births.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal status as men under the
family law, inheritance law, and in the judicial system. Advocates
reported that the number of women who own property and businesses was
minimal and noted some industry-specific gender discrimination. Women
from the Romani community did not have equal opportunities for
employment and education due to traditional or religious restrictions
on their education and role in society. In some Albanian communities,
the practice of men directing voting (or voting on behalf of female
family members) disenfranchised women.
Although women remained underrepresented in the higher levels of
government and the private sector, there were several prominent
professional women in the public sector, including the interior and
culture ministers and the deputy prime minister for EU integration.
Sixty percent of judges in the country were female.
The Department of Gender Equality in the Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy was responsible for ensuring the legal rights of women.
There were also gender equality commissions at the municipal council
level.
Children.--Birth Registration.--The law determines citizenship
primarily by the citizenship of the parents but allows for acquisition
of citizenship by birth in the country's territory for a child found in
the territory of Macedonia with unknown parents, if authorities do not
discover that the parents were foreigners before the child reaches the
age of 18. Births of all children born in hospitals and medical
institutions were registered automatically, and the law requires that
all children, including those born at home or elsewhere, be registered
at magistrate offices within 15 days of birth. Some Romani families
delayed registration of newborns, making it difficult for these
individuals to access educational, medical, and other benefits later in
life because they lacked proper identity documents.
Education.--The country's schools suffered from chronic
underfunding and insufficient classroom space. Many schools offered
classes in shifts, usually divided along ethnic or linguistic lines.
While boys and girls generally had equal access to education, there
were isolated instances of discrimination against girls in some
educational institutions.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem in some areas. Child
welfare advocates asserted that children were reluctant to report abuse
due to fear of being institutionalized. The Center for Social Work of
the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and the Department for Juvenile
Delinquency of the Ministry of Interior are responsible for addressing
child abuse. Advocates and the Ombudsman's Office reported a lack of
accountability with regard to cases of child neglect and abuse in
orphanages, shelters, and detention centers. NGOs were also active in
this area. There were reports that Roma organized their children into
groups to beg for money, clean vehicle windshields, or sell small items
in public places. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy,
approximately 630 vulnerable children received basic education classes
in shelter centers. In September the government opened a transit
shelter for street children. In the first few weeks, 50 children were
brought to the shelter, and the majority of children were returned to
their parents. The government started permanent removal proceedings for
eight children. The physical size of the shelter made it difficult to
provide appropriate social services to the children.
The government operated a hotline for domestic violence, including
child abuse. An NGO-operated a helpline, provided an e mail address for
battered or abused children, and conducted advertising campaigns aimed
at children to promote the helpline.
Child Marriage.--The minimum legal age for marriage is 18. A court
can issue a marriage license to persons between 16 and 18 years of age
if it finds them mentally and physically fit for marriage. Child
marriage occurred in the Romani community and, to a much lesser extent,
in the ethnic Albanian community. It was difficult to estimate the
number of child marriages because they were rarely registered.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Penalties for commercial sexual
exploitation of children are between 10 and 15 years in prison. The
minimum age for consensual sex is 16. The law prohibits child
pornography, and the penalties for it are between five and 15 years in
prison. Child prostitution was considered a problem, but its extent was
not known.
Displaced Children.--According to 2008 data from UNICEF, there were
between 500 and 1,000 street children in the country, most of them
Roma. With international support, the Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy operated four day centers for street children.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community estimated that 250 to 300 Jews
lived in the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Persons with disabilities faced
discrimination in employment, education, and access to health care and
other state services. The law requires persons with physical or mental
disabilities to obtain approval from a medical commission of the
government to serve in supervisory positions in both the private and
public sectors. The law provides incentives to certain ``shelter
companies'' to provide employment for persons with disabilities, but
NGOs reported that restrictions on which companies qualified limited
employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. The new
antidiscrimination law, implemented in January, allows for those who
allege discrimination to submit their complaints to the Commission for
Protection from Discrimination.
The law requires that only new buildings be made accessible to
persons with disabilities. Many public buildings remained inaccessible.
Inconsistent inspection resulted in construction of new facilities that
were not accessible. NGOs reported the situation was improving over
time.
Advocates stated that employers were reluctant to hire persons with
disabilities and that the difficulty of accessing educational and other
opportunities prevented the full integration of persons with
disabilities into society.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
integrating persons with disabilities into economic life and for the
payment of benefits. In practice disability benefits did not cover the
cost of living. Advocates indicated that employment and life-skills
training programs for persons with mental and physical disabilities
were very limited and did not contribute significantly to their
economic integration.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the 2002 census,
the ethnic composition of the population was 64.2 percent Macedonian,
25.2 percent Albanian, 3.9 percent Turkish, 2.7 percent Romani, 1.8
percent Serbian, 0.8 percent Bosniak, and 0.5 percent Vlach.
Relations between the ethnic Macedonian and Albanian communities
often were strained. Ethnic Albanians continued to complain of unequal
representation in government ministries. Ethnic Macedonians claimed
that employers targeted them for reverse discrimination in downsizing,
regardless of performance. Some ethnic Albanians claimed that
discrimination in citizenship decisions by the Ministry of Interior,
which has authority to grant, revoke, interrupt, or confirm a person's
citizenship, effectively disenfranchised them.
The law provides for protection of minority rights and integration
of all sectors of society. The government has a secretariat to hold
accountable those state institutions that do not comply with the
strategy for equitable minority representation, but the organization
lacked enforcement and sanctioning mechanisms. According to the
secretariat, there were 2,500 new public administration jobs advertised
and 560 new jobs offered to ethnic minorities during the year. Data
from July showed that ethnic minorities accounted for approximately 24
percent of the employees of state institutions.
Minorities remained underrepresented in the military, despite
improved and continued efforts to recruit qualified minority
candidates. Ethnic Albanians represented 18 percent of the army, and
minorities as a whole accounted for 25 percent.
The law provides for primary and secondary education in the
Macedonian, Albanian, Romani, Turkish, and Serbian languages. The
number of minority students who received secondary education in their
native languages continued to increase, especially after secondary
education became mandatory.
Ethnic Turks complained of discrimination. Their main concerns were
slow progress in achieving equitable representation in government
institutions, the absence of ethnic Turkish-majority municipalities,
and the inadequacy of Turkish-language education and media.
Roma complained of widespread societal discrimination. NGOs and
international experts reported that employers often denied Roma job
opportunities, and some Roma complained of lack of access to public
welfare funds. Roma NGOs also reported that proprietors occasionally
denied Roma entrance to their establishments. Many Roma lacked identity
cards, which are necessary to obtain government services such as
education, welfare, and health care.
The government funded implementation of the national strategy for
the Roma Decade, including assistance with education, housing,
employment, and infrastructure development. The government also
continued to fund Roma information centers that directed Roma to
educational, health care, and social welfare resources. Increased NGO
and government funding to eliminate barriers to education for Romani
students resulted in a continued increase in school attendance rates.
For the 2010-11 school year, there were 2 percent fewer Romani students
enrolled in primary education and 13 percent fewer in secondary
education than during the previous school year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Activists representing the
rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals
reported incidents of societal prejudice, including harassment and use
of derogatory language, including in the media.
Sexual orientation is not a protected category under the
antidiscrimination law passed in 2010, although the Commission for
Protection from Discrimination created by the law considered complaints
from the LGBT community. The Ministry of Education, in response to a
ruling of the Commission for Protection from Discrimination, agreed to
review textbooks and withdraw parts that have negative LGBT stereotypes
and prejudices.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were isolated
reports of discrimination against persons with HIV or AIDS in
employment and access to health care.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right to form and join independent unions
without previous authorization or excessive requirements. The law
provides for the right to strike, and workers, including civil
servants, exercised this right in practice. Members of the military and
police are granted a restricted right to strike under a separate law.
The law allows unions to operate without interference and protects the
right to bargain collectively but requires that trade unions represent
20 percent of employees in the public or private sector as well as 10
percent of employers in order to negotiate collective agreements.
During a strike the law allows employers to ``exclude'' or temporarily
release up to 2 percent of workers whom they believe are potentially
violent or engaged in ``undemocratic activity'' and are obstructing the
negotiations between the workers and the employer. The law requires
employers to pay the workers' benefits during the exclusion period and
rehire them after the strike. The unions maintained that this provision
allows employers to exclude union leaders from negotiations during a
strike. If authorities declare a strike illegal, employers may dismiss
participants or sue them for damages. The law prohibits antiunion
discrimination and provides for reinstatement of workers fired for
union activity. The government did not always enforce laws against
antiunion interference.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were
respected in practice. Worker organizations were independent of the
government and political parties. Unions may freely register with the
Central Registry of Macedonia. More than 50 percent of the legal
workforce belonged to labor unions, and unions were particularly well
represented in the public sector. There were two major union
federations, the Confederation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) and
the Confederation of Free Trade Unions (KSS). Several unions were not
affiliated with either of the two confederations, including unions of
journalists, police officers, farmers, financial sector workers, and
health-care workers.
Most unions had collective bargaining agreements, and such
agreements covered all legally employed workers for the public or
private sectors. However, studies indicated that a significant number
of employees in the ``gray'' economy were not part of the legal
workforce. Estimates of the size of the gray economy were between 15
percent and 40 percent of gross domestic product.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, forced
labor occurred. Romani children were especially vulnerable to human
trafficking, specifically forced begging in public places, usually by
family members.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, including
forced or compulsory labor, and the government effectively enforced the
law in practice. The law mandates a prison sentence of at least eight
years for anyone who buys, sells, keeps, or takes children or minors
for the purpose of exploitation.
The minimum age for employment is 15. Children who are 14 years of
age can work as apprentices or as part of an official education
program. The law prohibits employing minors under the age of 18 in work
that is detrimental to their physical or psychological health and
morality. The law also prohibits minors from working nights or more
than eight hours per day or 40 hours per week.
There were no official reports of illegal child labor during the
year; however, there was evidence that individuals used such labor in
the gray economy, primarily involving children who begged and sold
cigarettes and other small items in open markets, the streets, bars, or
restaurants at night. The children involved in these activities were
primarily Roma and most often worked for their parents or family
members. Officials did not punish such violations, and children
remained vulnerable to exploitation.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
enforcing laws regulating the employment of children. Government
efforts to eliminate forced begging by children were largely
ineffective. Although the necessary laws were in place, officials
seldom implemented them.
During the year the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy funded
three centers that provided education, medical, and psychological
services to children who beg on the street. NGOs funded two additional
centers for children in Skopje with support from the government.
International donors supported programs to prevent children from
begging on the street and to increase school enrollment of children at
risk for such work.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year a national
minimum wage was established by law for the first time and was set at
8,500 denars ($177) per month. According to official statistics, the
average monthly net wage in September was 20,659 denars ($430). In 2010
the government estimated that the monthly cost of basic goods,
including food, gas, and transportation for a family of four, was 200
euros ($260). The government statistics office estimated that
approximately 30.9 percent of the population lived in poverty in 2010.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek with a minimum 24-hour rest
period, and paid vacation and sick leave benefits. Employees may not
legally work more than eight hours of overtime per week or 190 hours
per year. According to the collective agreement between the government
and the unions, employees in both the public and private sector have a
right to overtime pay at 135 percent of their regular rate. By law
collective agreements apply to all workers whether union members or
not. In addition the law entitles employees who work more than 150
hours of overtime per year to a bonus of one month's salary. However,
many employers hired workers without complying with the law. In
particular small retail businesses often required employees to work
well beyond the legal limits.
During the year the Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy filed complaints against several private businesses for
forcing employees to work long hours without the breaks required by law
and for not legally registering all employees. In the case of such
violations, labor inspectors have the legal authority to close an
establishment until the employer corrects the violations. In cases of
repeated violations, the owners can be fined. During 2010 authorities
temporarily closed more than 1,000 companies due to labor violations
such as the employment of nonregistered workers. No record of the
number of employers fined was available.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy did not strictly enforce
laws and regulations on worker safety. It employed 110 labor
inspectors. While workers have the legal right to remove themselves
from situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy
to their future employment, employers did not always respect this right
in practice. Over the last two years, an average of 44 workers per year
lost their lives in the workplace as a result of lax or nonexistent
protection measures or long hours at construction sites.
__________
MALTA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Malta is a constitutional republic and parliamentary democracy. The
president is the head of state and is appointed by the unicameral
parliament (House of Representatives). The president appoints as prime
minister the leader of the party winning a majority of seats in
parliamentary elections. General elections held in 2008 were judged
free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The government's harsh treatment of detained irregular migrants and
asylum seekers from North Africa was the most serious human rights
problem during the year, with strongest criticism directed at housing
conditions and inadequate government programs for integrating migrants
into Maltese society.
Other significant reported problems included lengthy delays in the
judicial system, which sometimes diminished individuals' access to due
process; restrictions on freedom of speech and of the press; and
criminal prosecution of individuals for public blasphemy. Societal
problems included child abuse, trafficking in persons, and substandard
work conditions for irregular migrants.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in security services or elsewhere in the
government. There were no reports of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and the
government generally honored these prohibitions.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers;
however, reports of poor conditions in government-run detention centers
for irregular migrants persisted.
As of August, the prison population of 580 inmates consisted of 446
men, 30 women, and 104 juveniles (92 men and 12 women). Of the adult
prison population, 238 were foreigners, representing nearly 41 percent
of the total prison population. Approximately 58 percent of these
foreigners were of African descent.
Juveniles were separated from adults in most cases; however, first-
time adult offenders were housed in the same building as juveniles.
Authorities held pretrial detainees with convicted prisoners, albeit
with those incarcerated for lesser crimes and shorter sentences.
Prisoners had access to potable water.
Detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted
religious observance. Authorities allowed prisoners and detainees to
submit uncensored complaints to judicial officials and to request
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
Authorities renovated or built new toilets and kitchens in some of
the closed centers (facilities where irregular migrants were detained
pending adjudication of their cases). However, a temporary surge in
irregular migration during the first quarter of 2011, stemming from the
Libyan crisis, led to an increase in the migrant population. In August
the population in the closed centers rose to 884 persons from
approximately 75 in 2010. Migrants were housed in two closed centers,
with Lyster Barracks reopened due to the new influx. The total
population in the open centers (where migrants reside following
determination of their status) was 2,541 compared with approximately
2,000 in 2010.
The government permitted visits to its detention centers by
independent human rights observers, including foreign diplomats. A
report by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, released in
January 2010, indicated that the detention regime imposed on irregular
migrants arriving by sea was not in line with international human
rights law. Concern continued over migrants deemed vulnerable (e.g.,
minors, pregnant women, and families with children). There were no
notable changes in conditions during the year notwithstanding the
temporary surge in migrants.
During the year the Refugee Commissioner's Office expanded the
number of asylum determination officers and reduced asylum processing
to less than 60 days. Migrants found ineligible for asylum or
subsidiary protection status, or not otherwise deemed vulnerable
because of age, sex, health, mental or other conditions were still
detained in closed centers for up to 18 months. The government
relocated vulnerable migrant populations and provided care appropriate
to their conditions. Authorities moved migrants deemed to be minors to
residential facilities and provided them needed services, such as
education or training.
In August mostly West African migrants held at the Safi closed
center rioted after learning that their claims for asylum had been
denied. Migrants complained of being handcuffed when taken for asylum-
related interviews or medical treatment outside the detention center
and of the country's policy of lengthy migrant detention. Fifteen
police officers, three Armed Forces of Malta soldiers, and one migrant
reportedly were slightly injured. Police used tear gas and rubber
bullets to quell the riot. In September the U.N. Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concern about occasional
riots in detention centers and reports of excessive force in countering
them.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police,
under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs,
maintain internal security. The army falls under the direct
responsibility of the Office of the Prime Minister and is responsible
for external security but also has some domestic security
responsibilities.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the police
force, the security service, and the armed forces, and the government
has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the police
force or security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--With the
exception of irregular migrants, whom authorities usually detained for
two to 18 months pending adjudication of any asylum requests, an arrest
warrant issued by a magistrate is necessary to detain a person for
questioning and may be issued based on reasonable suspicion. Migrants
receive access to legal counsel and are informed of their rights on
arrival at a closed center. According to the constitution, police must
either file charges or release a suspect within 48 hours; in all cases
authorities must inform detainees of the grounds for their arrest.
Police generally respected these requirements in practice. During the
48-hour detention period, which generally included initial
interrogation by police, arrested persons were entitled to access to
legal counsel prior to interrogation, but not to visits by family
members. Once authorities filed charges, pretrial detainees were
entitled access to counsel and family.
Authorities adjudicated applications for bail on a case-by-case
basis and normally granted them in the case of citizens. The U.N.
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted, ``The rules of release on
bail are not applied equally to Maltese citizens and foreigners
alike.'' Foreign criminal defendants who insisted on their right to a
trial by jury occasionally were confined for more than two years
awaiting arraignment and trial.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair and public jury trial, and an independent judiciary generally
enforced this right. Trials are public and defendants must specifically
request jury trials. Defendants have the right to counsel of their
choice or, if they cannot afford counsel, to court-appointed counsel at
public expense. Defendants and their lawyers have access to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants may confront
witnesses and present evidence; defendants enjoy a presumption of
innocence and have the right to appeal. All citizens enjoy these
rights.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Through November the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued nine judgments involving
violations by the state of obligations under the European Convention on
Human Rights. Malta complied with the ECHR judgments.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution provides
for an independent and impartial court in civil matters, including for
the determination of civil rights or obligations and for access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human
rights violation. Persons who have exhausted their right to appeal in
the national court system could apply to bring an alleged breach of
human rights covered by the European Convention on Human Rights before
the ECHR. Civil and judicial procedures for the exercise of this right
exist, and citizens regularly made use of them.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected this prohibition in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The law prohibits ``vilification'' of or ``giving offense'' to the
Roman Catholic Apostolic Religion, the country's official church. Also
illegal, but carrying a lesser punishment, is vilification of or giving
offense to any ``cult tolerated by law.'' It is a criminal offense to
utter publicly any obscene or indecent words, make obscene acts or
gestures, or in any other way offend public morality, propriety, or
decency. From January to July, there were 119 convictions for public
blasphemy, compared with 225 convictions for the same period in 2010.
The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of
views without restriction. International media operated freely, and
there was no indication of reprisals against individuals for either
public or private criticism of the government.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom.
The law restricts cultural activities that publicly vilify the
Catholic Church and other religions tolerated by law.
In July the parliamentary secretary for culture announced that
responsibility for the censorship and classification of films, plays,
and literature would move from the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs
to the Office of the Prime Minister. Censorship and classifications did
not change significantly with this move.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The Libyan
crisis resulted in a surge of migrant arrivals (more than 1,500) during
the first three months of the year; the flow of migrants subsided in
the spring and summer.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--As an EU member state and a member
of the Schengen Zone, the country followed laws and policies
established in those bodies related to safe country of origin and
transit. Malta denied asylum to applicants who arrived from a country
deemed a safe country of origin. In practice, asylum applicants rarely
were repatriated, although they were always offered the option of
voluntary return to their country of origin. Migrants not qualifying
for refugee status, but coming from countries considered unsafe to
return due to war or other conditions, were granted subsidiary
protected status, permitting them to stay in the country on a year-to-
year, renewable basis.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government consistently provided
some protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group, or political opinion. In addition, migrants not qualifying for
refugee status, but coming from countries considered unsafe to return
due to war or other conditions, were granted subsidiary protected
status, permitting them to stay in the country on a year-to-year,
renewable basis. In practical terms, this meant that irregular migrants
were not returned to North African countries during periods of conflict
there. A Maltese court awarded $13,900 to each of two Somali migrants
after finding that their human rights were violated when they were
returned to Libya in 2004. Following their involuntary repatriation,
they both eventually returned to Malta, where they filed the complaint.
Refugee Abuse.--Authorities detained some irregular migrants,
generally in closed detention centers, for up to 18 months after they
arrived in the country, in instances where both their application for
asylum and appeal were rejected. A new temporary humanitarian
protection scheme was introduced to provide for such cases. There were
723 persons in closed centers as of October. The length of the
adjudication procedure experienced by any individual asylum seeker was
reportedly related to the need to establish the migrant's identity,
country of origin, and other vital information, since migrants nearly
always arrived without identity documents. Such migrants could file
asylum claims within two months of detention; however, they remained in
detention while their cases were processed.
According to the UNHCR, migrants spent an average of six months in
detention in 2009. Due to a decrease in arrivals, the average detention
time dropped to two months during 2010. Detainees also included persons
who had not applied for asylum and those whose asylum applications and
appeals were rejected or were under review. Individuals awaiting
decisions on their cases occasionally protested their detention or
attempted to escape from detention centers. Within a matter of days
(usually less than two weeks) after their initial detention,
authorities usually moved ``vulnerable individuals,'' such as children,
pregnant women, elderly persons, and parents with infants, to ``open
centers,'' where they were free to come and go. Migrant children are
eligible for all government social services and are assigned a
caseworker to ensure that their needs are met. The armed forces are
responsible for the management of the closed detention centers and
report directly to the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, while the
Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS), part of the Ministry
of Justice and Home Affairs, has responsibility for the welfare and
accommodation of persons transferred from detention centers to open
centers. Individuals were not required to stay in open centers if they
could find other accommodations. However, authorities monitored
individuals to whom they provided a subsidiary protection stipend.
Authorities released all detainees whose cases were not resolved
within 18 months, whether or not police had arranged to repatriate
them. Authorities permitted them to remain in the country in ``open
centers'' or in the community at large and issued them work permits. EU
law prohibited them from travelling to other EU countries, and they
were not eligible to bring family members to the EU. They were eligible
for voluntary repatriation programs, but only a few chose to
participate. There were no significant changes to this general pattern.
As of year's end, there were approximately 2,541 migrants living in
three open centers.
Overcrowding persisted at the country's largest migrant open-
housing center in Marsa. Friable asbestos was present in one of the
common areas. In other centers, high temperatures in the summer months
and inadequate ventilation in tent housing and prefabricated housing
units contributed to uncomfortable living conditions. In winter months
tent housing had limited heating, and rain could penetrate the fabric
that was not waterproof. Beneficiaries of subsidiary protection were
entitled to remain in the country; move freely; receive personal
identification documents, including one-year renewable residence
permits; and obtain travel documents in emergencies. They could be
employed; receive core social welfare benefits; seek appropriate
accommodations; and benefit from integration programs, public education
and training, and essential medical care. Their dependents enjoyed the
same rights and benefits. However, this status does not provide for
family reunification, a path to citizenship, or other benefits of
refugee status. Most persons granted subsidiary protected status or
other humanitarian protected status were from Somalia--3,743 overall.
Temporary Protection.--From January through December, the
government provided ``temporary humanitarian protection'' to 318
individuals not legally entitled to asylum or subsidiary protection.
The government also provided ``temporary humanitarian protection'' as
an administrative procedure in special and extraordinary cases in which
applicants were found not to be eligible for asylum or subsidiary
protection but were considered to be in need of protection for special
humanitarian reasons. During the year 129 persons received this
protection.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2008
the country held parliamentary elections that observers considered free
and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were six women in the
65-seat parliament and two in the 14-member Cabinet of Ministers.
Approximately 13 percent of senior government officials were women, and
three women held ambassadorial rank. There were two female judges and
10 female magistrates. There were no members of minorities in the
government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption. Authorities pursued bribery
cases involving both a former government official and members of law
enforcement during the year.
There were frequent allegations in the press that the contract for
the extension of the Delimara power plant was awarded to one of the
competitors in a manner contrary to normal competitive bidding
processes. The EU commission engaged the government on the allegation
and requested an explanation of the bidding process. The government
provided its explanation to the commission in July 2010. In January the
EU commission closed the investigation for lack of evidence ``that
Malta had violated specific EU public rules.''
Government officials are subject to financial disclosure laws; the
court has the right to order financial disclosure, depending on its
judgment of the circumstances. The police and the Permanent Commission
against Corruption were responsible for combating official corruption.
According to the Press Act, the government is to establish
procedures to give representatives of the press information to help
them ``fulfill their public tasks.'' However, the government neither
defined the scope of this mandate nor enacted implementing legislation.
Access to government information in certain specified areas, generally
dealing with matters of public interest, security, or ongoing court
proceedings, was excluded from this requirement. For government
activities not subject to disclosure under the Press Act, there is no
legal entitlement to government-held information; nevertheless,
authorities generally provided access. A freedom of information law
enacted in 2008 gradually entered into force. A newly established
Information and Data Protections Commission, the regulatory agency
responsible for implementing the act, began issuing initial directives
establishing the scope of its jurisdiction.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating human
rights cases. Government officials were cooperative and generally
responsive to their views. The government cooperated with U.N. and
other international bodies.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The country has an ombudsman
empowered to investigate complaints about the activities of
governmental bodies, including activities affecting human rights and
problems involving prisoners and detainees. The ombudsman only
investigates complaints when administrative or judicial remedies are
not available. When the ombudsman concludes that a complaint is wholly
or partly justified, he submits recommendations to the public entity
responsible for undoing the harm the complainant suffered. The
ombudsman has no power to force acceptance of any recommended remedy,
but most recommendations were accepted. For example, of the cases
investigated and concluded in 2010, 151 cases were resolved by informal
action, 125 were deemed to be outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, and
179 were found to be justified. The president appoints the ombudsman
with the consent of two-thirds of the members of parliament.
The House of Representatives' Standing Committee on Foreign and
European Affairs and Standing Committee on Social Affairs have
responsibilities for human rights issues. Members from both sides of
the House of Representatives comprise the committee and collaborate
closely on issues related to the committees' respective
responsibilities. The committees normally held open hearings and their
deliberations were usually a matter of public record unless a hearing
was closed for security reasons. There was generally full debate on
issues before the committees. Largely, the committee had a reputation
for integrity and credibility, with legislation enacted in the areas
under their purview enjoying widespread public support.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally
enforced these prohibitions in practice.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a criminal offense, and the government effectively prosecuted such
crimes. The crimes of rape, spousal rape, and indecent assault carry
sentences of up to 10 years in prison. Rape was not perceived to be a
widespread problem. However, through October, there were 15 reported
cases of rape.
Also through October, the police received 725 reports of domestic
violence. The law treats domestic violence as a criminal offense, and
the government generally enforced the laws prohibiting it. Penalties
ranged from three months to 20 years in prison. Some NGOs and victims'
assistance advocates asserted that domestic violence remained
underreported, primarily because of concerns by women that law
enforcement personnel would not believe or protect them.
A special police unit and several voluntary organizations provided
support to victims of domestic violence. A hotline existed to assist
victims of abuse through counseling and shelter referrals. The
government also supported victims through its Ministry for Social
Policy, which held responsibility for a government-supported shelter
for women and children, in operation throughout the year; the
government also provided financial support to other shelters, including
one operated by the Catholic Church.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is unlawful and punishable by
a 2,329-euro ($3,028) fine, six months' imprisonment, or both.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local health
NGOs operated freely in disseminating information on family planning.
There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives. A free and
effective government health program provided for prenatal and postnatal
care and delivery as well as other related medical services. A U.N.
Population Fund report in 2011estimated the 2008 maternal mortality
rate to be six deaths per 100,000 women. Men and women received equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men,
including, but not limited to, family and property law. Redress in the
courts for sexual discrimination was available. The Ministry for Social
Policy and the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality were
responsible for gender equality. They focused on the broader
integration of women into society and advising the government on the
implementation of policies to promote equality of women and men. The
right of divorce was introduced via a referendum held on May 28.
Approved by parliament, the divorce bill went into effect on October 1.
Women constituted a growing proportion of graduates of higher
education and of the workforce. Nonetheless, they remain
underrepresented in management and generally earned less than their
male counterparts. Figures on the wage disparity between women and men
differed moderately. The National Commission for the Promotion of
Equality indicated that, for 2008, men were paid 17 percent more than
women in comparable jobs. The European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions reported in March that the hourly pay
gap was 2.4 percent. According to Eurostat, between the end of 2008 and
the end of 2009, the latest period for which statistics were available,
the female employment rate rose from 36.3 percent to 37.2 percent,
while the male employment rate decreased from 73.5 percent to 71.5
percent.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship generally is derived
from one's parents, although some specific applications of the law may
be complex, allowing for transmission of citizenship by a grandparent
or other relative. While specific data on access to health care and
education for stateless children was not available, according to the
local UNHCR representative, there were no reports that education and
healthcare were denied to children due to their lack of nationality.
Child Abuse.--In 2010 the Child Protection Service of Appogg, the
social welfare services arm of the Ministry for Social Policy, received
1,004 referrals of possibly abused children, compared with 1,053 in
2009. The service's total case turnover for 2010 was 1,399, up from
1,194 the previous year. There were 676 new and reopened cases, down
from 697 in 2009. During the year 32 individuals were arrested and
charged with child abuse. Four convictions were reported from these
cases, the remainder were pending adjudication.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Several individuals claiming that
Catholic clerics had abused them consistently maintained authorities
did not pursue cases of alleged sexual abuse of children by clerics
unless a parent or adult filed a formal complaint. They alleged
authorities instead allowed the church to handle the matter internally.
Once filed, however, authorities followed the same police investigative
and judicial procedures as for other such complaints. In July two
priests received sentences of five and six years' imprisonment,
respectively, after they were found guilty of sexually abusing boys
entrusted to their care several years before. Both appealed their
sentences. One of the priests was acquitted of rape due to an error in
the charge sheet (specifying an inaccurate location of the alleged
rape) although the judge indicated that he found the victim's evidence
credible. The attorney general appealed the acquittal, and the case was
pending at year's end.
Statutory rape is punishable by three to six years in prison. The
minimum age of consent is 18. Rape committed by violence carries a
penalty of imprisonment for three to nine years, with or without
solitary confinement. Creation of child pornography is prohibited and
punishable by imprisonment of one to five years (up to eight years in
special circumstances). Possession of child pornography is also
prohibited and punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during
the year. The Jewish community numbered approximately 120 persons.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits both the public and
private sectors from discriminating against persons with physical,
sensory, intellectual and mental disabilities in employment, education,
health care, physical access, access to goods and services, housing,
and insurance, and the government effectively enforced these
provisions. As of the end of September, the National Commission for
Persons with Disabilities (NCPD), the agency responsible for
enforcement of this law, was working on 158 pending discrimination
complaints from previous years. During 2010-2011, the NCPD opened
investigations into 126 new cases and satisfactorily concluded 64.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The population included more
than 10,000 persons of Arab, African, and East European origin. There
were periodic reports in the media that owners of some bars and discos
discouraged or prohibited darker-skinned persons, particularly of
African or Arab origin, from entering their establishments. The
government took no specific action to discourage these problems.
In March a man was discharged conditionally for two years
(comparable to a suspended sentence) after being found guilty of
inciting racial hatred for posting comments on a newspaper blog. In
September the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination noted with concern the ``discriminatory discourse and
hate speech'' of some Maltese politicians, as well as the ``racial
discourse'' in certain media outlets.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The country's
antidiscrimination laws regarding sexual orientation only extend to the
area of employment. On May 23, an individual who underwent gender
reassignment surgery and was initially granted the right to marry her
partner, returned to court after the attorney general sought an
injunction against an earlier court ruling, which held that the surgery
did not change the reality of gender. The Appeals Court found for the
attorney general. The individual subsequently took her case to the
European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, where it remained pending
at year's end.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution allows workers to form and join unions of their choice
without previous authorization or excessive requirements, as well as to
engage in collective bargaining; workers freely did so in practice. The
law does not allow uniformed military and police personnel to join
unions. However, employees without the right to strike or join unions
participated in associations, such as the police association, through
which they sought to protect their interests. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice. Workers, with the exception of
uniformed military and police personnel, have the right to strike, and
during the year they exercised this right by conducting legal strikes.
The labor law provides for compulsory arbitration; however, arbitration
did not take place during the year.
During the year there were no reports of antiunion discrimination
or other forms of employer interference in union activities. The
Employment and Industrial Relations Act prohibits antiunion
discrimination and provides for reinstatement of workers ``unfairly
dismissed,'' including for legal, nonviolent union activity.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
nevertheless, there were reports that women were subjected to forced
labor, including in restaurants, private households, unskilled and
skilled labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government generally implemented these laws
effectively; however, there were unverified reports that underage
children worked as domestic laborers, restaurant kitchen help, or
vendors, and during the summer in family-owned businesses.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 16. The
director general of the directorate for educational services may grant
an exemption for employment only after determining that it would not
harm the health or normal development of the minor. Such exemptions
were granted in practice. While no legal work was specifically
restricted, children granted an exemption were not allowed to perform
work that could be regarded as harmful, damaging, or dangerous to a
young person.
The Employment Training Corporation (ETC), a government entity
under the Ministry for Social Policy, is responsible for labor and
employment issues. It generally enforced the law effectively in most
formal sectors of the economy but allowed summer employment of underage
youth in businesses operated by their families. No assessment was
available of the effectiveness with which the ETC monitored the often-
unregistered employment of children as domestic employees, restaurant
workers, and street vendors.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national weekly minimum wage
was 153.45 euros ($199); in addition, there was an annual mandatory
bonus of 270 euros ($351) and an annually adjusted cost-of-living
increase of 242 euros ($315). The country's independent National
Statistical Office estimated that approximately 15 percent of the
population lives at or below the poverty income level of 5,961 euros
($7,749). Following consultations with workers and employers, the
government established the minimum wage, which it revises annually
based on changes in the cost of living.
Irregular migrant workers from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and other
sub-Saharan African countries, who comprised a small but unquantifiable
percentage of the workforce, sometimes worked under conditions that did
not meet the government's minimum standards for employment. In 2008 the
General Workers' Union (GWU) issued a report documenting what it termed
the ``exploitation'' of migrant workers. The general secretary of the
GWU stated at a press conference that such workers often were employed
in the most hazardous occupations, such as road construction and
highway refuse cleanup, where traffic and environmental conditions
posed a danger, and in the building construction trades, where
accidents such as collapses might occur. In many cases migrants
received less than the minimum wage. In 2008 AWAS, in coordination with
the ETC, established informational programs to help individuals pursue
employment and obtain work permits. The GWU and AWAS believed that the
programs were beneficial, but there was no data to validate this
assessment. The government operated a program called Restart II,
through which irregular migrants who volunteered to leave the country
could receive free rail or airfare to their country of origin, plus
financial assistance. The program, funded in part by the EU, was to
last until June. As of September, it had provided benefits to 24
returnees.
The standard workweek was 40 hours, but in certain occupations,
such as health care providers, airport workers, and civil protection
services, 43 or 45 hours was the norm. Government regulations provided
for a daily rest period, normally one-hour, and one day of rest per
week. Premium pay is required for overtime, excessive compulsory
overtime prohibited, and workers cannot be obligated to work more than
48 hours, inclusive of overtime. The Ministry of Social Policy
generally enforced these requirements effectively in the formal
economy.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA), a government
entity composed of representatives of the government, unions, and
employers, conducted regular inspections at work sites and cited a
number of offenders. Enforcement of health and safety standards
continued to be uneven; industrial accidents remained frequent,
particularly in the manufacturing, and building and construction
sectors. Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations
that endangered health or safety without jeopardizing their employment,
and OHSA generally enforced this right.
__________
MOLDOVA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Moldova is a republic with a form of parliamentary democracy. The
constitution provides for a multiparty democracy with legislative and
executive branches, as well as an independent judiciary and a clear
separation of powers. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral
parliament (Parliament). The Alliance for European Integration (AIE)
coalition retained its parliamentary majority in November 2010
elections, which international observers stated met most Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe
commitments. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem in the country during the
year was government corruption, which undermined the credibility and
effectiveness of police and the judiciary as well as respect for the
rule of law in general. Police torture and mistreatment of persons in
detention was a second major area of concern. The government also
failed to make progress in holding officials accountable for killings
and other abuses committed by government security forces during the
2009 crackdown on postelection demonstrations.
Other significant problems during the year included harsh and
overcrowded conditions in prisons and detention centers; arbitrary
detention by police; use of libel suits to harass media outlets;
violence against women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against
Roma; harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
individuals; limited enforcement of workers' rights; and child labor.
While authorities investigated reports of official abuse in the
security services and elsewhere, officials accused of human rights
violations, complicity in trafficking, or corruption were rarely
successfully prosecuted and punished. Impunity was a major problem.
In 1990 separatists declared a ``Transdniester Moldovan Republic''
(Transnistria) in the area along the eastern border with Ukraine. A
1992 ceasefire agreement established a peacekeeping force of Moldovan,
Russian, and Transnistrian units. The central government did not
exercise authority in the region, and Transnistrian authorities
governed through parallel administrative structures. Transnistrian
authorities restricted political activity and interfered with the
ability of Moldovan citizens living in Transnistria to vote in Moldovan
elections. Torture, arbitrary arrests, and unlawful detentions were
regularly reported. Transnistrian authorities harassed independent
media and opposition lawmakers, restricted freedom of association,
movement, and religion, and discriminated against Romanian speakers. In
December Transnistria had an ``election'' that resulted in a new
``president,'' Yevgeny Shevchuk.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
The government made little progress during the year in holding
officials accountable for the security force crackdown on postelection
demonstrations in 2009 that resulted in three deaths. Former municipal
police chief Iacob Gumenita, former minister of interior Gheorghe
Papuc, and former municipal commissar Vladimir Botnari were free while
under criminal investigation for negligence on duty. The trial of
Gumenita, who was accused of official misconduct, was postponed 13
times, and officials denied the media access to court proceedings. On
December 29, the Centru Court of Law acquitted Botnari and Papuc. Ion
Perju, a police officer accused of killing protestor Valeriu Boboc, was
free while under investigation for murder.
There were no reports of killings during the year in the separatist
region of Transnistria. However, lack of access to information from
Transnistria prevented Moldovan law enforcement officials or NGOs from
tracking developments.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, police reportedly
used cruel and degrading arrest and interrogation methods, and guards
beat prison inmates. In the report of its visit to the country in June,
the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) noted that a
significant proportion of detained individuals they interviewed
complained of police ill-treatment during the months preceding the
visit.
According to the parliamentary ombudsman, the frequency and
severity of such acts decreased during the year compared with previous
years. In the first six months of the year, the ombudsman received 150
complaints of torture, inhuman, or degrading treatment allegedly
committed by governmental officials in either police stations or
prisons.
Torture was rarely meaningfully punished. Antitorture prosecutors
received 200 complaints of torture during the year and initiated 28
criminal investigations. Of the 11 cases against police officers that
resulted in judgments, two police officers received prison sentences
that were later overturned, two received suspended sentences, and seven
were acquitted.
Investigators also initiated 50 cases of abuse of power. In these
cases 22 police officers received suspended sentences, one was
sentenced to imprisonment, and another received a fine.
An antitorture prosecutor reported that prosecutions were hampered
by the fact that incidents of torture were regularly downgraded to
lesser offenses, such as abuse of power, for which the penalties are
lower and the statute of limitations only three months. This allowed
judges to issue suspended sentences based on the ``good character'' of
the offending police officers or dismiss cases if the statute of
limitations had expired. For example, two police officers accused of
abusing journalists during 2009 events were found guilty of abuse of
power but could not be punished because the statute of limitations had
lapsed.
The government continued to act extremely slowly in prosecuting
abuse cases arising from the security force crackdown on the 2009
postelection demonstrations. Prosecutors initiated 108 investigations
of alleged police torture and other abuses connected to the events.
Following those investigations, prosecutors initiated 58 criminal cases
against police officers, including 28 involving torture, 20 of abuse of
power, one for murder, and nine other charges. Through August,
prosecutors finalized 27 cases against 44 police officers and sent them
to courts; at year's end most were under examination by the courts. In
the remaining cases, the investigations were either terminated because
of insufficient evidence or suspended due to an inability to determine
the identity of the officers involved. Two officers were given
suspended sentences for torture, three received suspended sentences for
abuse of power and falsification of official documents, eight were
acquitted, and one was administratively sanctioned. The five convicted
officers remained on the police force.
In the separatist region of Transnistria, former detainees alleged
they had been subjected to torture and mistreatment in detention
centers. The closed military court system regularly ignored reports of
alleged hazing and abuse of conscripts in the Transnistrian ``army.''
Reports of hazing continued.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in most
prisons, including those in Transnistria, remained harsh. This was
particularly the case in pretrial and presentencing facilities;
overcrowding remained a significant problem.
At year's end the total number of prisoners and pretrial detainees
was 6,476 with 4,000 inmates in prisons and 2,476 individuals in
pretrial detention centers. There were 33 juveniles serving terms in
prison. There were 290 women detained at the Rusca penitentiary for
women at the end of the year. The country lowered its target maximum
prison capacity to 5,310 and its target maximum pretrial detention
center capacity to 2,670.
The ombudsman reported that overcrowding in unventilated spaces,
lack of timely access to health care, and poor sanitation continued to
be the norm in most of the country's prisons. Cell sizes did not
conform to local law or international standards. According to the
government's 2011 plan for financing penal institutions, detainees were
provided meals worth 10.35 lei (less than $1) per day. In all prisons
the ombudsman noted poor relations between prison officials and
prisoners.
Reporting on its June visit to Moldova, the CPT expressed concern
about the behavior of staff at penitentiaries No. 11 in Balti and No.
17 in Rezina towards prisoners segregated for their own safety. Alleged
beatings of inmates by other prisoners belonging to an informal
hierarchy within the prison population were another subject of concern.
According to the ombudsman's 2011 report on the National
Antitorture Mechanism, pretrial facilities, located mostly in the
basements of police stations, generally lacked access to natural light,
and artificial light was described as mediocre or poor. In some
facilities ventilation systems were nonexistent. A number of pretrial
facilities also lacked toilets and sewage systems, and in many cases
reliable sources of potable water. Inmates at the Chisinau General
Police Station complained of a high degree of parasite infestation.
According to the ombudsman, sleeping conditions were inadequate, with
detainees provided insufficient or dirty linens. The government did not
fulfill its pledge to close the isolation cells in Penitentiary No. 13,
which a U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) ambassador identified as
particularly inhumane during a 2010 inspection. On June 15, Minister of
Justice Oleg Efrim fired the director of the Penitentiary Department,
Vadim Cojocaru, citing procedural violations in his appointment.
Several media outlets reported serious irregularities in the
penitentiary facilities.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, one of the problems
faced by detainees was the lack of psychologists in penitentiaries.
Only four out of the 17 existing penitentiaries had specialists who
could provide psychological counseling to the inmates. Five percent of
inmates were prone to suicide or self-mutilation. Six detainees
committed suicide during the year, and there were 500 reported cases of
self-mutilation.
Prisoners and detainees were generally permitted religious
observance. On January 25, the Ministry of Justice concluded a
cooperation agreement with the Moldovan Orthodox Church. The protocol
established a two-year religious assistance program for Moldovan
penitentiaries, whereby the church sent military chaplains for
individual confessions of penitentiary employees and detainees, as well
as for religious services.
According to government regulations, individuals suspected or
suffering from tuberculosis were to be held separately from the other
detainees. However, persons with various diseases were often colocated
with persons with an unconfirmed diagnosis of tuberculosis, potentially
exposing them to infection. A March 2010 CPT report noted World Health
Organization procedures for screening tuberculosis patients and
isolating them from the other inmates were adequately implemented in
the two prisons visited by the CPT. However, the CPT maintained that in
Penitentiary No. 12 in Bender the radiology facility was inadequately
separated from cells, potentially exposing inmates in the surrounding
cells to radiation.
The 2011 CPT report observed that during its mission to Moldova,
various detainees indicated they were familiar with the National
Antitorture Mechanism and the ability to file an official complaint if
their rights were violated but that detention center personnel often
discouraged detainees from doing so, claiming it was not in their best
interest to complain.
According to the Center for Human Rights and the Moldovan Institute
for Human Rights, complaints received from prisoners and detainees did
not show evidence of censorship by prison authorities.
The main alternative sentence used in the country is a conditional
suspension of the sentence, the equivalent of probation. This sentence
is available for juveniles and adults alike, on condition that the
crime is not serious and the offender has no prior convictions.
Probation is for a fixed term of between one and five years. This
penalty was frequently applied inappropriately; for example, one-third
of the human traffickers convicted in 2010 received suspended
sentences. Other alternative sentences include community service and
fines. Community service may not be imposed on convicted juveniles
below age 16.
Authorities made some improvements to prisons and detention
centers. The Department of Penitentiaries reported that in the first
six months of the year approximately 60,000 lei ($5,000) was allocated
for renovation of Penitentiary No. 13 in Chisinau. Other penitentiaries
also underwent minor renovations. During its 2010 mission to Moldova,
the CPT noted that the General Police Directorate had sought the
Council of Europe's expertise to repair and equip pretrial detention
facilities, and several facilities were undergoing renovation.
Notwithstanding the renovations, the CPT observed that conditions were
still inadequate for long term detentions.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights observers, and
prison officials generally allowed observers to interview inmates in
private. The government cooperated with the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) and permitted visits to prisoners in accordance
with the ICRC's standard practices.
During the year the parliamentary ombudsman intensified preventive
visits to police stations and other institutions subordinate to the
ministries of interior, defense, justice, and health in order to
monitor the situation in these institutions regarding the torture of
inmates and patients. In the first six months of the year, 115 such
visits took place, compared with 126 visits in 2010. Based on these
visits, the ombudsman issued seven official complaints to the Ministry
of Justice and the Prosecutor General's Office, and two criminal cases
were initiated against police officers.
Civil society representatives complained of the difficulty in
gaining access to Transnistrian detention facilities. Moldovan lawyers
were denied access to clients in Transnistrian prisons unless
accompanied by a local Transnistrian attorney. Conditions in those
facilities were grave, particularly in the Tiraspol prison. Sick and
contagious prisoners shared quarters with healthy ones. During the year
prisoners in Transnistria reportedly undertook hunger strikes but
gained no concessions from authorities.
Police mistreatment of detainees remained a major problem in
Transnistria. Police transferring prisoners between facilities packed
them in poorly ventilated vans, often holding them in such conditions
for hours. Prisoners with diseases, such as tuberculosis, were
routinely held with healthy prisoners and were not provided appropriate
health care.
The human rights NGO Promo-LEX Association reported a number of
cases of degrading and humiliating treatment in Transnistrian prisons.
In 2008 Transnistrian militia arrested Vitalie Reznicenco on suspicion
of homicide and detained him for two years in allegedly inhuman
conditions in Tiraspol prisons, where he contracted pleurisy but was
not provided medical care. A Grigoriopol court subsequently sentenced
him to eight years' imprisonment. On June 6, Reznicenco died in the
medical facility of Prison No. 3 in Tiraspol. His mother was not
granted access and was told her son died of drug poisoning.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, authorities did not observe these
prohibitions in practice.
A parliamentary ombudsman employed by the government regularly
visited detention sites, including police stations and detention rooms
at psychiatric hospitals. The ombudsman found that many of those
arrested were not registered in logbooks. Most of the individuals
detained at police stations were arrested for petty crimes, insulting
police, or for document checks, despite carrying valid documents.
In Transnistria there were reports that authorities engaged in the
arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals with impunity.
In April 2010 Transnistrian authorities arrested local journalist
Ernest Vardanean and Transnistrian tax official Ilie Cazac on charges
of espionage. On a number of occasions, the OSCE, diplomatic missions,
and other international organizations expressed concern that the two
were denied the right to choose their own legal counsel, be represented
by counsel of their choice at pretrial detention hearings, or contact
their families. In November 2010 the Transnistrian newspaper Novaya
Gazeta quoted a letter from Stella Surkichan, Cazac's mother. She
maintained that during the arrest officers planted papers and a flash
drive on her son, who was severely beaten and subsequently forced to
sign the papers, and that he was questioned for 10 to 15 hours without
food, water, or access to a toilet and threatened by long jail terms
and reprisals against his family. Ilie Cazac sent two letters
requesting a pardon to the Transnistrian ``president'' in August and
was allegedly beaten after sending the first. Transnistrian
``president'' Igor Smirnov pardoned Vardanean on May 5 and Cazac on
October 31.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force is the primary law enforcement body. It is subdivided into
regional and city police commissariats, which are subordinate to the
Ministry of Interior. During the year the Ministry of Interior
completed the first phase of a reform process that included equipping
forensic labs with up-to-date equipment and installing video and GPS
equipment in police patrol cars. The reforms were intended to address
the problems of abuse, corruption, and impunity, but they were not
immediately effective.
The Division to Combat Torture within the Prosecutor General's
Office handled cases of alleged torture by security forces. Under the
system, four prosecutors conducted criminal investigations of torture
cases at the national level. The institutionalization of specialized
antitorture prosecutors was intended to reduce the incidence of torture
due to the continuous monitoring exercised by the prosecutors.
According to the parliamentary ombudsman, moderate progress was
achieved.
During its 2011 assessment visit, the CPT found that police torture
and other forms of ill-treatment, in particular during police
interrogation, remained a serious issue. Antitorture prosecutors faced
a shortage of resources, being unable to call on either consultants or
a specialised corps of independent operational support staff. In
addition the prosecution services they worked for were generally
materially dependent on the police, which put them in a difficult
position when it came to questioning the conduct of police officers.
Torture remained a serious problem in Moldova's prisons, which were
difficult to monitor. In some cases, the ill-treatment was inflicted,
according to the prisoners, during ``fake'' cell searches, the sole
purpose of which was apparently to subject a particular prisoner to
ill-treatment.
The ombudsman's report on the National Antitorture Mechanism,
established pursuant to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Prevention of Torture, stated that authorities with the power to
investigate allegations of police abuse at times failed to do so in
timely fashion. For example, in 2010 an inmate at the No. 13
Penitentiary in Chisinau lodged an official complaint with the
prosecutor after allegedly being beaten by a police officer. The
prosecutor issued an order for a medical examination of the inmate's
injuries, but the penitentiary's medical personnel waited 11 days
before examining him and another 15 days before writing their report,
severely hampering the investigation of the claim. Despite an official
request from the ombudsman, the Department of Penitentiaries refused to
initiate an investigation into the misconduct of its personnel.
The ombudsman reported that prosecutors repeatedly failed to
properly investigate and prosecute cases of torture recorded by the
Moldovan Center for Human Rights. Of eight cases sent to the
prosecutors, only three were investigated and only one resulted in a
prison sentence.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows
judges to issue arrest warrants based on evidence from prosecutors.
Authorities must promptly inform detainees why they were arrested and
describe the charges against them. Suspects may be detained without
charge for 72 hours. In the report of its 2010 mission to Moldova, the
CPT noted that while authorities generally respected the 72-hour limit
on detention, the three-hour limit prescribed by law for the record of
the arrest to be signed and communicated to the detainee was often
disregarded, with the document signed as late as 14 hours after the
arrest.
Once charged, a detainee may be released pending trial. The law
provides for bail, but it was rarely utilized and the system did not
function well. Authorities generally did not authorize bail for
detainees accused of violent or serious crimes.
Detainees have the right to a defense attorney, but at times this
right was restricted. Authorities generally did not grant detainees
access to a lawyer until 24 hours after being detained. Police often
told individuals they were witnesses in a case, questioned them without
a lawyer present, and subsequently detained them as suspects. Detainees
were often informed of the charges against them without a lawyer being
present. The government required the local bar association to provide
representation to indigent defendants but did not reimburse lawyers for
legal fees. Consequently, poor defendants often did not have adequate
counsel.
The CPT report noted that individuals in pretrial detention were at
times denied their right to a phone call. While authorities asserted
that this was done to prevent them from intimidating victims or
witnesses, the practice was arbitrary and without justification or
limits. The CPT also noted receiving information about the deprivation
of pretrial detainees of the right to family visits.
Pretrial Detention.--The law permits pretrial detention for up to
30 days. The courts may extend pretrial detention for up to 12 months,
depending on the severity of the charges. Pretrial detentions lasting
several months were common.
In Transnistria, detentions cannot exceed 18 months during pretrial
criminal investigations and six months during the trial period. In
practice these terms were not observed. Officially 762 people were
detained in pretrial detention units in Transnistria during the year,
although unofficial sources maintained the number may have reached
1,000. The Transnistrian detention system also includes temporary
pretrial detention units subordinated to the local ``interior
ministry.'' The number of detainees in these facilities was unknown.
Promo-LEX Association reported many detainees were held for more than
six months without a court hearing. During 2009-2011 Promo-LEX
Association received more than 100 complaints of unreasonable extension
of pretrial detention. For example, one detainee had been held in
Pretrial Detention Unit No. 2 in Tiraspol for five years without trial.
Relatives were often unable to visit detainees or deliver food
packages.
Amnesty.--The government generally granted amnesty to individuals
sentenced to less than four years in prison; as a result, such persons
often served no jail time for their offenses.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, there were reported instances of
government officials failing to respect judicial independence in
practice. Official pressure on judges and corruption remained serious
problems. There continued to be credible reports that local prosecutors
and judges sought bribes in return for reducing charges or sentences,
and observers asserted that in many cases judges faced political
influence. Political factors also played a role in the reappointment of
judges. According to Freedom House, judges were appointed and promoted
based on subjective and nontransparent factors. Younger judges, with
initial five-year appointments, were particularly vulnerable to
influence by the executive branch.
According to the 2011 EU progress report, the judicial system
suffered from a number of endemic problems, including inadequate
efforts to fight corruption; reform the judiciary, prosecution, and
police; and implement certain human rights commitments, particularly
reforms and mandatory training related to the judiciary.
The country has a judicial code of ethics as well as inspector
judges, responsible for investigating and reporting cases of judicial
misconduct or ethics breaches to the Supreme Council of Magistrates.
Inspector judges referred 69 cases against judges during the year. The
council issued warnings to six judges. No judge was dismissed or
investigated on corruption charges. High state officials stated that a
number of judges compromised justice.
Judges continued to hold hearings related to the 2009 postelection
police abuses in their chambers that were closed to the public.
According to the Moldovan Institute for Human Rights (IDOM), in 39
percent of the cases IDOM monitored between April and July, the
hearings took place in the judge's office. Previously IDOM reported
that almost 50 percent of such hearings were held in chambers. Courts
also failed to publicize hearings. In cases where multiple victims were
assisted by multiple attorneys, there was insufficient space for all
parties to participate in the hearings held in the judge's chambers. A
third of the cases were repeatedly postponed.
According to the American Bar Association's (ABA) 2009 Judicial
Reform Index, the establishment of a judicial administration department
within the Ministry of Justice constituted an attempt by the executive
branch to exert control over the judiciary's finances. The ABA also
described the Judicial Administration Department as understaffed,
ineffective, and lacking the capacity to oversee adequately the
administration of the judiciary.
Prosecutors have discretion to close cases before they reach trial
for lack of sufficient evidence, but the injured party may appeal this
decision to an investigative judge. This discretion gives prosecutors
considerable influence over the judicial process, and NGOs asserted
that political influence continued to play a role in some prosecutions.
During the year the judiciary system underwent reforms intended to
increase society's trust in the judiciary by strengthening the system
and combating corruption. The reforms focused on increasing
transparency, establishing severe measures against corruption, clearly
delineating powers and competencies among judicial institutions, and
eliminating institutions deemed superfluous. Parliament adopted the Law
on the Justice Reform Strategy for 2011-2016 on November 25.
The military court system, which operated independently of the
civilian courts, also suffered from corruption and inefficiency. The
jurisdiction of military courts extends to crimes committed by active
duty, reserve, and retired military personnel. Military courts had the
capacity to try civilians for crimes committed against military
personnel. On July 22, Parliament adopted a law to abolish specialized
courts, including economic and military courts. The competencies of the
military court in Chisinau were transferred to the courts of law of
general jurisdiction.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides that defendants in criminal
cases are presumed innocent; however, in practice, this presumption had
little effect. On some occasions, judges' remarks jeopardized the
presumption of innocence. NGOs expressed concern that the practice of
keeping defendants in handcuffs and metal cages during court
proceedings went beyond what was necessary to secure public order and
failed to ensure the presumption of innocence.
Cases are presented to a judge or to a panel of judges. Defendants
have the right to a lawyer, to attend proceedings, to confront
witnesses, and to present evidence. The law requires the local bar
association to provide an attorney to indigent defendants. The practice
of appointing temporary defense lawyers without allowing them to
prepare adequately was common and infringed upon the right to legal
assistance. Prosecutors occasionally used bureaucratic maneuvers to
restrict lawyers' access to clients, but they generally allowed defense
attorneys access to the evidence. The law provides a right to appeal
convictions to a higher court.
In the final report of the OSCE trial monitoring program
implemented in 2006-2009, the OSCE noted that proceedings were often
not open to the public, court facilities were inadequate, and a large
number of judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers failed to treat
victims and witnesses with respect. Conditions have not changed
substantially since the issuance of this report.
During the year there were cases reported of Transnistrian
authorities disregarding trial procedures and defendants in
Transnistria being denied access to a fair trial (see section 1.d.).
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In Transnistria on July 27, the
secret services arrested Ghenadie Kuzmicev, division chief at the
Transnistrian ``Ministry of Interior,'' on suspicion of ``intimidating
a witness'' in a criminal case. Kuzmicev began a hunger strike on July
28. His case was kept secret, and his lawyer did not have access to
case records. Kuzmicev was detained in allegedly inhuman conditions. He
was released on the eve of the December ``presidential'' elections in
Transnistria.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--As of December there were
4,250 applications against Moldova pending at the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the Court issued 31 judgments
awarding 370,000 euros ($481,000) to individuals for violation of their
rights. Most human rights infringements referred to inhuman or
degrading treatment, nonenforcement of court decisions, and violation
of property rights.
According to the local NGO Lawyers for Human Rights, during the
year national authorities became significantly more likely to execute
ECHR decisions and pay court-ordered awards; the 2011 EU progress
report assessed the country's execution of ECHR judgments as
``improved.'' However, court orders affecting district-level
governments and municipalities frequently remained unexecuted.
In June the Constitutional Court rejected amendments to the law on
the status of judges that would have held Moldovan magistrates
accountable for ECHR rulings against the country. The court held that
ambiguous wording in the law could have resulted in punishment in cases
where judges were not at fault.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law allows citizens to
seek damages in civil courts for human rights violations. Under the
constitution, the government is liable when authorities violate a
person's rights by administrative means, fail to reply in a timely
manner to an application for relief, or commit misconduct during
prosecution. Judgments awarded in such cases were often small and not
enforced. Once all avenues for a remedy in the country's courts had
been exhausted, individuals could appeal cases involving the state's
alleged violation of rights provided under the European Convention on
Human Rights to the ECHR.
NGOs reported that, while courts were somewhat more open to hearing
allegations of torture than in previous years, victims still frequently
lacked access to effective judicial remedies. At times courts declined
to hear their complaints, and long delays in the legal process caused
some petitioners to abandon their claims. Victims carried the burden of
proving they had been mistreated, which was difficult, since prisoners
often remained in detention for months before having access to courts.
By the time they appeared in court, the physical evidence of abuse had
disappeared.
A mediation law establishes an alternative mechanism for
voluntarily resolving civil and criminal cases and sets forth rules for
professional mediators. However, the country lacked an implementation
mechanism.
Property Restitution.--While the law provides for the restitution
of property and compensation for victims of political repression, the
government often failed to provide funds to the commissions established
to receive these petitions. Applicants must prove a direct causal
connection between political repression and the seizure of their
properties to receive restitution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, the government
did not respect these prohibitions in practice.
Law enforcement authorities, including the Ministry of Interior,
prosecutors, the Prosecutor General's Office, and the Security and
Intelligence Service, continued to conduct illegal searches and
wiretaps. The Security and Intelligence Service is the only institution
legally empowered to conduct wiretaps, including those requested by
prosecutors or police. Judges may authorize legal wiretaps only in the
course of investigating a serious crime. In 2009 the ECHR ruled that
the country's criminal procedure law failed to provide a clear and
detailed interpretation of reasonable suspicion required to authorize a
wiretap. The ECHR also noted that the law neither contains safeguards
against the overuse of wiretaps nor provides adequate protection
against the abuse of power by the government due to wiretapping. Courts
continued to accept illegally obtained evidence.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and the press; however,
these rights were not always respected in practice. Individuals could
criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal.
According to the 2011 Freedom House report, the country's press freedom
improved significantly since 2009.
In Transnistria authorities greatly limited freedom of speech and
the press, with alternative viewpoints subject to censorship. It was
difficult to register, maintain, and finance independent newspapers,
radio stations, or television stations in Transnistria, although
several continued to exist. Most newspapers from the rest of Moldova
did not circulate widely in Transnistria, although they were available
in Tiraspol.
Freedom of Press.--The law prohibits the editing and publication of
literature that contains ``denial and defamation of the state and the
people; calls for war or aggression; calls to ethnic, racial, or
religious hatred; [or] incitement of discrimination, territorial
separatism, or public violence.''
While the print media expressed diverse political views and
commentary, a number of the newspapers were owned or subsidized by
political figures and expressed well-defined political views. The
government owned the Moldpress News Agency, and local and city
governments subsidized approximately 22 newspapers, in most cases
influencing their reporting. Political parties and professional
organizations also published newspapers.
In Transnistria both of the region's major newspapers,
Pridnestrovie and Dnestrovskaya Pravda, were official publications of
the separatist administration. Separatist authorities harassed other,
small, independent newspapers for publishing reports critical of the
regime. Transnistrian authorities controlled the majority of television
and radio stations in the region and largely dictated editorial
policies and financial operations.
Transnistria's largest commercial entity, Sheriff Enterprises,
owned some broadcast networks, such as the TSV television station and
the INTER-FM radio station. The company also effectively controlled the
Obnovlenie (Renewal) Party, which held a majority of seats in the
region's legislature. Transnistrian authorities operated the other
major television station, Transnistrian Moldovan Republic Television.
While these outlets on occasion expressed alternative views on social
and economic policy, Transnistrian authorities sharply criticized any
mention of compromise with the central government or any questioning of
the Transnistrian goal of ``independence.''
Observers noted that the public broadcaster (Teleradio Moldova)
maintained its balanced coverage during the year and avoided bias in
favor of the authorities, which was a practice before 2009.
Violence and Harassment.--Political parties and other public
institutions restricted media access to some public events. For
example, in January media were not allowed to attend the Democratic
Party's annual gathering of regional leaders, the security staff of the
Democratic Party denied a journalist access to a public event
celebrating Prosecutors' Day, and several media outlets were not
allowed to attend a press briefing held by a political leader. On July
29, representatives of the Slavonic University's administration
physically assaulted Jurnal TV journalist Oleg Brega, who tried to
enter the institution to complete an investigative report. NGOs
strongly criticized the assault. The journalist appealed to the court,
and a criminal investigation was opened that was pending at the year's
end.
On June 24, after several warnings the Audiovisual Coordinating
Council (ACC) suspended the license of the procommunist television
station NIT for five days for bias during the local election campaign
and for violating election legislation. NIT immediately appealed the
decision, and continued broadcasting while its appeal was examined. NIT
and the communists characterized the ACC decision as government
pressure on opposition media.
Censorship or Content Restriction.--In many cases journalists
practiced self-censorship to avoid conflicts with the sponsors or
owners of their media outlets.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Lawsuits by government officials
during the year had a chilling effect on the willingness of the media
to report corruption and other potentially sensitive subjects. Some
newspapers practiced self-censorship and avoided controversial issues
out of concern that government officials and other public figures could
use civil defamation laws to retaliate against critical news reports.
In April the minister of transportation sued the Unimedia news
portal and the Timpul newspaper after they published a Moldavian
Airlines press release accusing the minister of involvement in various
fraudulent schemes. The case was pending at year's end.
On August 1, a Chisinau court issued a ruling and fined Ziarul de
Garda 500,000 lei (approximately $42,000) for defamation in the case of
two prosecutors from Glodeni, named in a Ziarul de Garda article about
judicial corruption. International organizations and media NGOs
expressed concern over the ruling. Former minister of justice Alexandru
Tanase stated that the judge in the case could be dismissed for
unprofessional conduct. Ziarul de Garda appealed the ruling to the
Court of Appeals, which affirmed the ruling but determined that the
fine would be decreased to 20,000 lei ($1,700). Ziarul de Garda's
appeal of this decision was pending at year's end.
Publishing Restrictions.--In Transnistria authorities controlled
all printing houses and at times threatened to stop the printing of
independent newspapers, including one based in Bender and another in
the northern city of Ribnita.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or chat rooms. In contrast with previous years, the government did
not issue any letters threatening to suspend domain names for
expression of political views.
While there were no reports that the government attempted to
collect personally identifiable information in connection with
individuals' peaceful expression of political, religious, or
ideological opinion, the opposition Communist Party (PCRM) complained
that the Liberal Democratic Party (PLDM) used personally identifiable
data to send personalized election campaign materials to voters.
It was rumored that the Transnistrian authorities monitored the
Internet, but the extent of monitoring was unknown. There were no
reports of Transnistrian authorities restricting access to e-mail or
chat rooms.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--While the law provides for freedom of assembly, at times
authorities limited this right in practice. According to the NGO
GENDERDOC-M, the government denied LGBT individuals permission to hold
small gay pride events, notwithstanding the law on assemblies, which
allows organized rallies involving fewer than 50 participants without a
special permit. To avoid confrontations with police or private
individuals that occurred at LGBT rallies in previous years, during the
year the LGBT community organized its pride parade events in private
clubs or rented halls with limited and controlled access. The Ministry
of Interior reported 14,000 non-LGBT related public assemblies in
during the year.
Transnistrian authorities severely restricted freedom of assembly
and rarely issued requisite permits for public protests. On those
occasions when they issued such permits, authorities often harassed
organizers and participants and required demonstrations to take place
in obscure locations away from city centers. Permits for demonstrations
and public meetings were issued predominantly to organizations and
groups loyal to authorities.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association and states that citizens are free to form parties and other
social and political organizations. However, the constitution prohibits
organizations ``engaged in fighting against political pluralism, the
principles of the rule of law, or the sovereignty and independence or
territorial integrity'' of the country.
In Transnistria authorities severely restricted freedom of
association. Separatist authorities granted the legal right of
association only to those they recognized as citizens of Transnistria.
All nongovernmental activities had to be coordinated with local
authorities. Groups that did not comply faced harassment, including
visits from security officials. Organizations favoring reintegration
with the rest of Moldova were strictly prohibited.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Transnistrian authorities at times restricted travel of
Transnistrian residents and other Moldovans to and from the separatist
region. Transnistrian authorities often stopped and searched vehicles
traveling between the region and the area controlled by the central
government. According to the local Helsinki Committee, delays of up to
two hours at Transnistrian checkpoints occasionally occurred, as did
arbitrary fines and seizures of goods from persons entering or exiting
the region.
Short-term visitors to Transnistria from government-controlled
areas were permitted to remain for 10 hours. A longer stay required an
official letter of invitation and registration at a local passport
office. Transnistrian authorities allowed farmers from government-
controlled villages in the Dubasari region of Transnistria to travel to
areas outside Transnistria to sell their produce. On a number of
occasions during the year, Transnistrian authorities denied Western
diplomats stationed in Chisinau entry into the region for routine
visits but at other times allowed them entry. In late December the
newly elected Transnistrian ``leader'' signed a decree intended to ease
travel procedures for Transnistrian residents only.
Emigration and Repatriation.--Although citizens generally were able
to depart from and return to the country freely, there were some
limitations on emigration. Before individuals are allowed to emigrate,
the law requires that they satisfy all outstanding financial
obligations to other persons or legal entities. This requirement was
not strictly enforced in practice. The law also provides that close
relatives who are financially dependent on a potential emigrant must
give their concurrence before the emigrant is allowed to depart the
country; this law was also not enforced in practice.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government established a system for providing protection to refugees.
There were 148 refugees and 81 asylum seekers in the country during the
year.
Access to Employment.--According to the UNHCR, asylum seekers and
refugees have the legal right to work in the country. Jointly with the
Moldovan Bureau for Migration and Asylum, the UNHCR in March initiated
a program to assist refugees and asylum seekers with housing,
employment, and social integration.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship may be acquired by birth in the
country, inheritance from parents, adoption, recovery, naturalization,
or on the basis of certain international agreements. The law grants
citizenship to persons who resided in the historical regions of
Bessarabia, Northern Bucovina, the Herta region, and the territory of
the Moldovan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic prior to June 1940 as
well as their descendants.
As of December there were 2,073 stateless persons (1,213 women and
860 men) registered. The largest numbers of stateless persons were
ethnic Ukrainians, Russians, Romanians, and Turks. Of this total, 1,598
resided in Transnistria. According to the UNHCR, stateless persons
enjoyed equal rights in terms of employment and education but
frequently were prevented from applying for citizenship because they
lacked certificates showing they had no criminal records.
While the law allows a stateless person who has resided legally in
the country for eight years to seek citizenship, the UNHCR was
unsuccessful in assisting such persons to obtain citizenship during the
year. Residence permits for a period of up to one year are issued to
stateless persons temporarily residing in the country at a cost of
approximately 640 lei ($53).
In line with the country's EU integration commitments, during the
year Moldova joined the U.N. Convention relating to the Status of
Stateless Persons, making it easier for stateless persons to register
and obtain Moldovan identification documents.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
According to international observers, the parliamentary elections held
in November 2010 met most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments. No
parliamentary coalition garnered enough seats to elect a president;
therefore, the election of the president remained unresolved. On
September 20, the Constitutional Court affirmed that the constitutional
requirement of a three-fifths majority to elect a president could not
be altered, except by a constitutional amendment. The first attempt to
elect a president on November 18 was postponed due to the lack of
candidates. The next attempt on December 16 failed and was later
declared invalid by the Constitutional Court because the members of
parliament showed their marked ballots to the press before casting
their supposedly secret votes. Consequently, the election of the
president remained a pending issue, and the speaker of the parliament
served as acting president during the year.
In the June local elections held throughout the country,
international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe's Congress of
Local and Regional Authorities concluded that the elections largely met
OSCE and Council of Europe commitments. Nonetheless, observers noted
that legal, administrative and regulatory problems remained unresolved.
The OSCE election observation mission noted that mechanisms for the
oversight of political financing were insufficiently developed, lacked
precision, and were inadequately enforced.
The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair elections, which also
observed the elections, noted some deficiencies, including changes to
the electoral code that were made after elections were announced. In
addition, the coalition asserted that delays in introducing a
centralized electronic voter register meant that voter lists were
prepared by local authorities, raising concerns about their accuracy.
Unclear residency requirements for determining the proper place of
voting also complicated the election. Promo-LEX Association observers
noted reports of isolated cases of violence and intimidation (22
cases), use of hate speech directed at opponents (13 cases), misuse of
administrative resources (42 cases), and electoral gift-giving (99
cases).
In Transnistria authorities interfered with the right of Moldovan
citizens to vote in Moldovan elections. As in previous years, the
Central Electoral Commission in Chisinau failed to open a polling
station in Corjova village for the June 5 local elections. Corjova was
technically under the central government's authority but was
effectively controlled by Transnistrian authorities. Transnistrian
militia initially blocked the exit from Corjova on the morning of June
5, but later allowed voters from Corjova to travel to nearby Cocieri,
where they voted. Voters from Corjova were intimidated during both the
June 5 elections and runoff elections on June 19.
The Transnistria region conducted two rounds of ``presidential
elections'' in December. Consequently, after 20 years of the Smirnov
regime, Transnistrian residents selected a new leader, former supreme
soviet chairman Yevgeny Shevchuk, who won a landslide victory with
73.88 percent of the votes.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 20 women in the
101-seat parliament elected in November 2010. Members of ethnic
Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Azeri, Jewish, and Gagauz communities
had representation in parliament alongside members of the majority
Moldovan/ethnic Romanian community.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Corruption remained a major problem for the country. While the law
provides criminal penalties for official corruption, the government did
not implement these laws effectively. Government interference and
corruption with the application of laws and regulations impaired the
impartiality of the courts.
Police corruption remained a serious problem. According to
prosecutors, the Ministry of Interior ignored, or only superficially
examined, reports of police corruption.
Corruption reportedly took place at all levels of government from
low-level functionaries to government ministers. According to the
Freedom House Nations in Transit report during the year, lack of
progress in adequately addressing bribery and fraud in the governmental
sphere and wider society left the country's corruption rating unchanged
since 2006. NGOs and international organizations both noted a high
level of corruption in a broad range of institutions.
The head of the Center to Combat Economic Crimes and Corruption
(CCECC), Viorel Chetraru, publicly stated in July that his institution
was subject to political pressure and advocated making law enforcement
independent from political influence. Chetraru alleged that his deputy
directors followed orders from the political parties that nominated
them for their positions and regularly provided damaging information
about political opponents. Chetraru also stated the investigation of
judges in corruption cases was extremely difficult because officers
were required to inform the Supreme Council of Magistrates before
starting a criminal investigation. There were at least two cases in
which the judges under suspicion for corruption were forewarned by
their colleagues on the Supreme Council of Magistrates and thus able to
avoid prosecution. Corruption in the educational system also remained a
problem.
The law provides free public access to official information;
however, the government did not fully implement the law. Court
decisions ordering release of information were not implemented fully or
in a timely manner. In order to improve implementation of the
transparency law, the government amended the regulations related to
consultation and access to information several times during the year.
To increase transparency and efficiency, the government created a
consultative mechanism with civil society, the National Council for
Participation, which included some of the most active NGOs in the
country. Members of the council held regular meetings and offered
recommendations on various government decisions; however, the extent to
which its views were taken into account was unclear. In April the
government's Electronic Governing Center launched a Web site to
publicize its efforts to increase transparency and facilitate the
access of media and the public to government data.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
in the country without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government agencies
were frequently cooperative and responsive to their views.
In Transnistria authorities continued to impede activities of human
rights groups. For example, ``immigration'' officials frequently
blocked entry into the region by representatives of Moldovan NGOs
attempting to meet local human rights groups. Transnistrian authorities
also continued to control and intimidate NGOs by inviting their
representatives to meetings in the presence of security officials and
pressuring landlords not to renew their leases for office space.
Transnistrian authorities required representatives of Moldovan NGOs
wishing to operate in Transnistria to register locally as separate
organizations.
Rodica Pascari, leader of an NGO in Ribnita, reported continuous
harassment by the Tiraspol secret services in response to her NGO's
activities. Pascari was reportedly threatened with arrest if she did
not stop her activities.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The law provides for four
parliamentary ombudsmen who make up the independent Moldovan Human
Rights Center (MHRC). Parliament appoints the ombudsmen to examine
claims of human rights violations, advise parliament on human rights
problems, submit legislation to the Constitutional Court for review,
and oversee MHRC operations. MHRC personnel provided training for
lawyers and journalists, visited prisons and psychiatric hospitals,
made recommendations on legislation, and organized roundtable
discussions. Parliament also had a separate standing committee for
Human Rights and Interethnic Relations.
Between January and July, the MHRC received 860 complaints of human
rights abuses, including 194 that concerned free access to justice, 147
involving violations of personal security and dignity, 81 regarding the
right to free access to information, 80 concerning the right to social
assistance and protection, 49 involving the right to private property,
76 involving interference with the right to family life and the right
to health, and 29 involving the right to work. Fewer complaints
concerned personal freedom, education, citizenship matters, freedom of
movement, and electoral rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
ethnicity, or social status; however, the government did not always
enforce these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape or
forcible sexual assault, and penalties range from three years to life
in prison. The law also criminalizes spousal rape.
Rape remained a problem, but there were no specific government
activities to combat rape. During the year prosecutors initiated 260
criminal cases of rape, which represented 19 percent fewer cases than
in 2010. Of these, 56 were dismissed and 124 were forwarded to courts
for trial. NGOs maintained that many rapes remained unreported.
The law defines domestic violence as a criminal offense, provides
for the punishment of perpetrators, defines mechanisms for obtaining
restraining orders against abusive individuals, and extends protection
to unmarried individuals and children of unmarried individuals.
Seventeen individuals convicted of family violence offenses were
serving sentences in penitentiaries. The maximum punishment for family
violence offenses is 15 years' imprisonment. There were reportedly 340
cases of family violence during the year.
The law provides that an abuser may be excluded from lodgings
shared with the victim, regardless of who owns the property. The law
also provides for psychiatric evaluation and counseling, forbids
abusers from approaching victims either at home or at a place of
business, and restricts child visitation rights pending a criminal
investigation. Courts may apply such protective measures for a period
of three months and can extend them upon the victim's request or
following repeated acts of violence.
Real progress in protecting women and children against domestic
violence was slow. According to various NGOs and UNICEF, the issuance
of protective orders and the effectiveness of their implementation were
heavily dependent on the attitude of the authorities. There were
numerous reports that police officers were not diligent in ensuring
either proper protection of victims or proper execution of the measures
prescribed by the orders.
On March 16, Lilia Eremia, from the village of Valcinet in northern
Moldova, filed a complaint with the ECHR against the government,
accusing it of inhumane treatment and gender discrimination in access
to police protection. Eremia had requested a protection order for
herself and her two daughters, which, although issued, was allegedly
not enforced by police; subsequent requests for protection addressed to
the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Interior were
unanswered, allegedly because the abuser was a police officer.
According to NGOs, problems with the protection of victims of
domestic violence included delays in issuing protective orders,
improper enforcement of protective orders by police, and excessive
reliance by authorities on NGOs to publicize available remedies and
assist victims in requesting protection. NGOs expressed concern that
the prosecutor general was insufficiently proactive in combating
indifferent attitudes towards domestic violence among police,
prosecutors, and social workers.
The law also provides for cooperation between government and civil
society organizations, establishes the protection of the victim as a
human rights principle, and allows third parties to file complaints on
behalf of victims. According to a 2009 report by the local NGO La
Strada, there were no government standards regarding the quality of
victim support services or for the identification, assessment, or
monitoring of domestic violence cases.
A 2010 study by the Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS found that 51.3
percent of women in a relationship had experienced psychological abuse
in their lifetime. A total of 24.2 percent had experienced physical
violence, and 10.3 percent had experienced it in the previous 12
months. Slightly more than 12 percent had experienced sexual violence
(7.1 percent in the preceding year). Rural women experienced violence
in significantly higher proportions than urban women, and younger women
(roughly under 30) experienced more emotional and sexual violence than
older women.
Victims of domestic violence generally suffered in silence, as the
problem received little recognition from government or society as a
whole. Surveys indicated that only 11.2 percent of domestic violence
victims sought medical assistance, only 12.2 percent reported the abuse
to the police, 6.3 percent pursued claims through the justice system,
and 5.1 percent reported abuse to other municipal authorities. NGOs
asserted that one reason women rarely reported domestic violence to
authorities stemmed from the weakness of available legal remedies,
which commonly consisted of fines and brief detentions for convicted
abusers. After their release from detention, abusers commonly returned
to their homes and continued the abuse. Fines often had the effect of
significantly reducing the overall household budget, further harming
the wives and children of abusers. Victims of domestic violence were
also reluctant to come forward because of frequent economic dependence
on their abusers, particularly if the family had children.
According to the Ministry of Interior, between January and July,
authorities registered 310 cases of crimes against family and children.
Women's groups asserted that incidents of spousal abuse were
significantly underreported.
The government supported educational efforts, usually undertaken
with foreign assistance, to increase public awareness of domestic
violence and to instruct the public and law enforcement officials on
how to address the problem. The city of Chisinau operated a women's
shelter for domestic violence victims. Private organizations operated
services for abused spouses, including a hotline for battered women.
Access to such assistance remained difficult for some.
The NGO La Strada operated a hotline to report domestic violence,
offered victims psychological and legal aid, and provided victims with
options for follow-up assistance. During the first nine months of the
year, the hotline received 716 calls related to domestic violence, 333
calls were from victims seeking assistance, and the rest from
neighbors, relatives, community groups, and professionals; five calls
from abusers were also reported. Despite the hotline's success, La
Strada representatives noted that few victims requested follow-up
assistance, and in only 40 cases did the victims ultimately receive
either counseling or a protective order.
In Transnistria the law does not prohibit violence against women,
and domestic violence was a serious problem although the extent was
difficult to estimate. According to a study during the year, 35.7
percent of women in Transnistria experienced physical domestic
violence, 22 percent were beaten by their current husband/partner, 10.7
percent were beaten publicly, and 5.2 percent were sexually abused by
their partner.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment remained a common problem.
The law provides criminal penalties for sexual harassment ranging from
a fine to a maximum of two years' imprisonment. The law prohibits
sexual advances that affect a person's dignity or create an unpleasant,
hostile, degrading, or humiliating environment in a workplace or
educational institution. However, there were no reports that
authorities conducted any criminal investigations or prosecutions under
this provision of the law.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals could decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
had the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. The government adopted laws and implemented
policies to ensure free obstetric and postpartum care to all citizens.
Mandatory government medical insurance covered all expenses related to
pregnancy, birth, and postpartum care. During pregnancy the government
provided essential medicines free of charge. Most medical institutions,
both state and private, had free booklets and leaflets about family
planning and contraception. IDOM reported instances of discrimination
against HIV-positive women, as well as the disclosure of their status
by medical personnel. Six cases of maternal mortality were registered
during the year. In four cases, the women did not avail themselves of
government-provided prenatal care.
There were no reports of Romani women being denied obstetrical,
childbirth, or postpartum care. However, many Romani women failed to
take advantage of free government-administered medical care during
pregnancy. There was no reliable information on their access to
contraception.
Discrimination.--The law provides for gender equality. The National
Bureau of Statistics reported that women experienced higher levels of
employment than men. According to one foreign government-sponsored
assessment during the year, women's earnings were 73.3 percent those of
men, and the earnings gap persisted even in economic sectors in which
women predominated.
In some cases, especially in rural areas, women encountered
attitudes and stereotypes that perpetuated the subordinate position of
women in the family and in society.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship may be acquired by
birth in the country, inheritance from parents, adoption, recovery,
naturalization, or on the basis of certain international agreements.
Registration of birth is free of charge for all citizens. Civil
registration offices within maternity hospitals issued birth
certificates before the mother and newborn were discharged from the
hospital. Registration offices issue birth certificates for all births,
including home births. NGOs noted the lack of registration certificates
for a number of children, especially in the rural areas, including in
the Romani families. According to the Ministry of Labor, Social
Protection, and Family, it was the parents' responsibility to register
their children's births.
Education.--While primary education was free and compulsory until
the ninth grade, many inadequately funded schools, particularly in
rural areas, charged parents for school supplies and textbooks.
Although not illegal, such fees contradicted the government's policies
and resulted in some parents keeping their children home. Government
and local authorities provided 300 lei ($29) for school supplies
annually to children from vulnerable families.
Romani NGO Vocea Romilor reported that more than 2,000 Romani
children were unable to attend school due to poverty. According to the
Romani NGO Ograda Noastra, approximately 50 percent of Romani children
attended school, but the group acknowledged that such estimates were
often unreliable.
Child Abuse.--The law prohibits child neglect and specific forms of
abuse, such as forced begging; however, child abuse was believed to be
widespread. During the year law enforcement agencies opened 576 cases
of crimes against family and children, compared with 197 cases opened
in 2010, including 24 cases of trafficking of children compared to 23
cases in 2010, and 13 cases of illegally taking a child out of country
compared to 11 cases in 2010. A special unit for minors and human
rights was responsible for ensuring that cases involving child victims
or child offenders were handled with specialized expertise and
attention. According to UNICEF, however, the section faced
organizational difficulties, as its investigations and prosecutions
often overlapped with those of other sections, thus creating conflicts
of competencies.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection, and Family,
inadequate victims' services, lack of reliable methods to track cases,
and insufficient legal mechanisms to prevent such abuse or to provide
special protection to victims hampered efforts to protect children from
abuse. According to the ministry, more than 25 percent of minors
reported being beaten by their parents, and 15 percent said they lacked
food and care. Approximately 10 percent of parents admitted to abusing
their children emotionally or physically.
Child Marriage.--There were no official statistics regarding child
marriages, but they were believed to be rare.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The Prosecutor General's Office
was responsible for investigating and prosecuting child sexual abuse
cases. Commercial sex with minors is punished as statutory rape. The
minimum age for consensual sex is 16 years. The law prohibits
production, distribution, broadcasting, import, export, sale, exchange,
use, or possession of child pornography, and violators face one to
three years' imprisonment.
During the year there were reported cases of child prostitution. An
international pedophile ring was uncovered in Chisinau and its
leaders--an Italian and a Norwegian--were prosecuted in March. The
first responder to receive a distress call from a victim's grandmother,
the NGO La Strada, offered support to the victims. According to La
Strada, authorities handled the case well, and the victims were not
forced to confront their abusers directly or subjected to repeated
interrogation and were allowed to be accompanied by a psychologist in
court. However, in August an independent journalistic investigation
discovered that one of the former pedophile victims had reorganized the
ring and continued to recruit young boys for sexual exploitation.
Police and prosecutors pursued this investigation.
Due to inadequate laws dealing with cybercrimes, crimes such as the
grooming of a child for future exploitation or bullying via the
Internet were not properly investigated or prosecuted, leaving children
exposed to cyber-abuse that at times led to abuse in the real world.
Institutionalized Children.--Conditions for children in orphanages
and other institutions generally remained very poor. Major problems
included inadequate food, ``warehousing'' of children, lack of heat in
winter, and disease. NGOs estimated that approximately 25 percent of
the children in orphanages had one or two living parents but had been
abandoned when their parents left the country in search of employment.
Children abandoned by parents often lived in poverty and were
particularly vulnerable to trafficking and labor exploitation. UNICEF
estimated that 50 percent of the children who were institutionalized
had disabilities.
Various government ministries ran orphanages and boarding schools.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection, and Family maintained two
boarding schools for 675 children with disabilities and three asylums
providing temporary (to one year) shelter, counseling, and other
assistance to up to 110 children from socially vulnerable families. The
Ministry of Education oversaw 53 boarding schools with 5,813 students.
The ministry reported that 35 percent of these children were orphans or
had been abandoned. The other 65 percent came from socially vulnerable
families whose parents could not maintain even basic living conditions.
During the year the Ministry of Education announced that the number
of children in residential institutions had dropped by 40 percent since
2007, following implementation of a National Action Plan for the Reform
of the Residential Care System for Children.
International Child Abductions.--Moldova is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Moldova's Jewish community numbered between 15,000
and 25,000, including 2,600 living in Transnistria. Jewish community
representatives did not report any violent anti-Semitic incidents
during the year.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to public facilities,
health care, or the provision of other state services, but the law was
rarely enforced.
During the year the government adopted a strategy and action plan
on the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. In July the
Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family presented a roadmap
designed to improve social inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Under the roadmap and with financial support from international donors,
the ministry undertook a number of actions, including bringing the
legislative framework in line with EU standards, reforming the
residential system, deinstitutionalizing children with disabilities and
placing them with foster families, building community houses, and
improving skills of social workers.
There were approximately 176,000 persons with disabilities,
including 16,000 children, in the country, a large number of whom often
faced discrimination, social exclusion, poverty, unemployment, and lack
of access to public services.
Official regulations mandate access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, and most government buildings provided such access. While
many newly built or reconstructed private buildings were accessible,
older buildings often were not. The government provided few resources
to train those with disabilities. The Social Assistance Division in the
Ministry of Labor, Social Protection, and Family and the National Labor
Force Agency were responsible for protecting the rights of individuals
with disabilities.
In 2010 authorities approved a framework regulation on
organization, operation, and quality standards of ``community houses''
for persons with mental disabilities. Such community houses were
designed and established to take the place of boarding facilities for
children with mental disabilities.
There were 9,500 persons nationwide with visual impairments, of
whom 3,500 were fully blind. Ballots were not available in Braille.
Voters unable to complete a ballot on their own have the right to ask
another person to help them vote, although this jeopardized their right
to a secret ballot. During the November 2010 parliamentary election,
authorities tested a new method of direct, secret voting for persons
with visual impairments at one Chisinau polling station.
In Transnistria, children with disabilities and special educational
requirements rarely attended school and lacked access to specialized
resources.
Although the law provides for equal employment opportunities and
prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities (with the
exception of jobs requiring specific health standards), in practice
many employers either failed to accommodate or avoided employing such
persons.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Roma continued to be subject to
social marginalization and societal discrimination and often lacked
proper access to education and other government services. While the
government adopted a Roma Action Plan for 2011-2015, in practice its
social inclusion policy did not target Roma. According to the 2004
census, there were 12,271 Roma in Moldova. However, Romani NGOs
estimate this number to be as high as 250,000, including 100,000
persons of voting age. NGOs asserted that government census forms
allowed persons to identify with only one ethnic group and that many
Roma declined to identify themselves as Roma.
A 2011 U.N. report on the implementation of the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in
the country noted that the Roma Action Plan was primarily a medium for
cultural events. Roma policy was supervised by the Bureau on
Interethnic Relations, a Soviet-era institution which focused primarily
on cultural events, hosting roundtables and conferences but lacking the
authority to exercise oversight of ministries with regard to social
inclusion.
The literacy level of the Roma was well below the national average.
Officially 25 percent of Roma could not read or write. Romani NGOs
estimated that 80 percent of Romani children were illiterate. Many
Romani children--estimated to be as high as 50 percent--did not attend
school. Very few Roma received a secondary education, and only 4
percent of Roma had a higher education degree, compared with 38 percent
of non-Roma.
The reasons for school nonattendance by Romani children included
the lack of financial means to buy clothing and books for school;
unofficial school fees required for repairs, supplies, and other school
expenses; and the discrimination that Romani children faced when
attending school. According to Romani families, their children were
subject to hazing and discrimination from both fellow students and
teachers. The government did not provide education in the Romani
language.
Surveys indicated that 30 percent of Roma in Moldova lived in
housing in a high state of disrepair, as opposed to 7 percent for the
general population.
Other concerns with respect to the Roma included denial of
emergency health care services to Roma in secluded Romani settlements,
unfair or arbitrary treatment by health practitioners, a gap between
Roma and non-Roma in rates of coverage by health insurance, and
discrimination against Roma in the job market. There were no Roma in
elected office and an extremely limited number worked in any capacity
in public administration. The Ministry of Labor, Social Protection, and
Family opposed regarding Roma as a vulnerable group for the purpose of
social inclusion policy.
In Transnistria, authorities continued to discriminate against
Romanian speakers. While the use of the Latin alphabet is forbidden by
the Transnistrian ``constitution,'' and reading/writing in the Latin
script is punishable by a fine of approximately 480 lei ($40.50), the
extent of enforcement of this rule was unknown. However, as part of the
1992 ceasefire agreement, Transnistrian authorities allowed eight
Latin-script Romanian-language schools (five high schools and three
elementary schools) under the Moldovan Ministry of Education to operate
in Transnistria. Approximately 7,700 children in the region attended
these eight schools. According to media reports, Transnistrian
authorities claimed--without presenting evidence--that the figure was
much lower and that attendance levels dropped in recent years.
Students and teachers from Grigoriopol commuted daily to the
Romanian script school Stefan cel Mare's temporary premises in
Dorotcaia. Aside from the difficult commute, since the start of the
school year, Transnistrian authorities regularly stopped buses with
teachers and 200 pupils at the ``border'' for lengthy identification
checks, resulting in delays in the school program and stress to
children and staff.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not prohibit
discrimination against sexual minorities, and governmental and societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
continued during the year. According to the gay rights NGO GENDERDOC-M,
lack of community recognition, negative media portrayals, and
condemnation by the Moldovan Orthodox Church often led to social
ostracism of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) persons and
their families.
The Moldovan Orthodox Church strongly opposed amending the
antidiscrimination law to include LGBT persons as a protected class.
The Association of Orthodox Organizations, religious groups, and NGOs
rallied throughout the year in Chisinau and other cities in Moldova to
protest against adoption of the antidiscrimination bill, withdrawn in
March by the Ministry of Justice for further review and consultations.
In addition to regular bans on public LGBT gatherings, civil
society organizations reported other discriminatory practices, such as
regular harassment of LGBT individuals by police and border
authorities, the inability of transgender or transsexual persons to
change personal documents during or following gender reassignment, and
employment discrimination. A 2011 survey indicated that 40 percent of
LGBT individuals were reluctant to speak openly with doctors because of
their discriminatory attitude and behavior.
On February 14, the Nondiscrimination Coalition, supported by
Amnesty International, organized a flash mob in downtown Chisinau. Gay,
lesbian, and heterosexual couples kissed and waved St. Valentine's Day
cards with the text, ``Love can be different.'' In response a number of
organizations declared their discontent with the event, which one group
characterized as having ``directly attacked the fundamental values of
the Moldovan society.'' Noua Dreapta (the New Right) published an open
letter requesting public apologies from Amnesty International and the
Nondiscrimination Coalition.
While authorities allowed individuals to change their names (for
example, from a male name to a female name), the government did not
allow persons to change the gender listed on their identity cards or
passports.
In Transnistria consensual same-sex activity is illegal, and LGBT
persons were subject to governmental and societal discrimination.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--NGOs including IDOM,
the League of People living with HIV, the Regional Center for Community
Policies, and New Life reported that persons living with HIV continued
to face frequent societal and official discrimination, particularly
from medical workers.
While various laws enshrine patient confidentiality as an inherent
right and prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of personal medical
information, NGOs reported numerous cases of an individual's HIV status
being disclosed by physicians or nurses. Such instances occurred
primarily in rural areas and smaller communities with relatively few
patients. No measures were taken to prevent such abuses. Disclosure of
a person's HIV status often resulted in the individual's children being
ostracized in kindergartens and schools, and employers found reasons
for dismissal. Patients whose HIV status had been disclosed publicly
avoided taking action against medical workers for fear of further
discrimination. In one case of a husband of a deceased HIV-positive
woman, the wife's HIV status was disclosed by medical personnel after
her death from tuberculosis. Once her HIV status became public
knowledge in their village, the husband and his young son were
ostracized, and they were forced to leave the village.
The government requires persons immigrating into the country to
have a health certificate with the results of an HIV test. In three
cases during the year, the Ministry of Interior's Bureau of Asylum and
Migration refused to issue immigration certificates to HIV-positive
individuals because they allegedly suffered diseases presenting a
danger to public health.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers the right to form and join independent unions
and conduct their activities without government interference. The law
also provides for collective bargaining and the right to organize but
forbids police and members of the armed forces from joining unions. The
law provides for the right to strike, except for government workers and
workers in essential services such as law enforcement. Health-care
providers and public utility employees are not allowed to strike during
duty hours. Political strikes are prohibited. Compulsory arbitration
may be imposed at the request of only one party to the conflict.
The law does not provide sanctions for violations of freedom of
association or stipulate penalties for violating trade union rights.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination but does not provide for the
reinstatement of workers fired for antiunion activity. According to the
Prosecutor General's Office, thus far there were no cases reported of
criminal investigations initiated by prosecutors for infringement of
the right to organize and bargain collectively.
The right to bargain and the right to organize were not always
respected in practice, and unions could acquire legal status only if
they were members of national, sectoral, or intersectoral
organizations. Labor organizations reported that labor inspectorates
and prosecutors' offices failed to monitor and enforce the right to
organize effectively. Prosecutors may reject appeals by trade unions
alleging antiunion behavior, and alleged violations of the trade union
law remained unpunished during the year. Workers exercised the right to
strike by conducting legal strikes during the year.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, with exceptions. The law and a government
decision allow central and local authorities, as well as military
bodies, to mobilize the adult population under certain conditions, such
as national disasters, and to employ such labor to develop the national
economy. The government did not invoke this provision during the year.
Men, women, and children were trafficked for forced labor, although
the number of cases has reportedly declined. Also see the Department of
State's Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets standards for child labor, including the minimum age for
employment, hours of work, and working conditions, and prohibits the
worst forms of child labor. However, these protections were not
effectively enforced, and child labor was a problem. Parents who owned
or worked on farms often sent children to work in fields or to find
other work.
According to a UNICEF study of working children, 18.3 percent of
children fell into the category of child laborers, 63 percent of these
were between five and 14 years of age, with 91 percent from rural
areas.
Farms and agricultural cooperatives reportedly signed contracts
with school directors to allow students to work during the harvest high
season. While children were paid for the work, they were pressured to
participate. On several occasions during the autumn harvest in the
southern regions of the country, the ombudsman responsible for children
investigated allegations of children working in fields and vineyards
and identified and returned children to their schools, threatening
school authorities with fines. During inspections between January and
November, the Labor Inspectorate Office (LIO) identified 222 persons
under the age of 18 working for 27 economic entities, including 68
children under the age of 17. As a result of inspections, 46 children
were recommended for removal from forms of labor prohibited for minors,
including several forms of agricultural activities. In 16 of the
aforementioned cases, LIO initiated the administrative procedure and
sent the case file to court. Of the 16 cases, four were terminated by
the court and one case was ongoing. As part of the convictions obtained
in 11 cases, the economic agents were sanctioned with fines.
According to the National Federation of Employees in Agriculture
and Food Industry, school attendance in rural areas declined by 20
percent during the harvest season, with children forced to lift heavy
weights and deal with hazardous chemicals.
The minimum age for unrestricted employment is 18. Juveniles
between the ages of 16 and 18 are permitted to work under special
conditions, including shorter workdays, but are prohibited from night,
weekend, or holiday shifts and are not permitted to work overtime.
Fifteen-year-old children may work only with written permission from a
parent or guardian.
Children were reportedly trafficked within and outside the country
for labor, and begging. The Prosecutor General's Office prosecuted six
cases of trafficking of children for labor exploitation during the
year, five cases of forced labor and one case of begging. All cases
were ongoing in the courts. Girls were mostly trafficked to Turkey,
Russia, Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates; boys were trafficked to
work in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors of Russia
and the region. NGOs suspected that only a small number of cases of
human trafficking were officially registered and assisted. The actual
number of victims was unknown. The law provides for 10 to 15 years'
imprisonment for persons engaging children in the worst forms of child
labor, and under aggravated circumstances the sentence could be life
imprisonment.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum monthly wage for the
private sector of the economy was amended in February 2010 and set at
1,100 lei ($94) per month. The amount was established after lengthy
negotiations with unions and company owners. During the year trade
unions unsuccessfully petitioned the government to increase the minimum
monthly wage to 1,500 lei ($128) and adjust it to the minimum
subsistence level. The minimum monthly wage for the public sector was
set by the government in June at 700 lei ($60) per month. In November
the National Bureau of Statistics reported that the average monthly
salary was 3,231 lei ($275). The average salary in the public sector
was 2,905 lei ($245), and in the production sector 3,383 lei ($285).
According to official data, the minimum subsistence level was 1,471 lei
($125) in the first quarter, 1,503 lei ($126.79) in the second, and
1,386 lei ($116.92) in the third. According to the most recent data
released by Prime Minister Filat, the percentage of the population
below the absolute poverty line was 21.9 percent in 2010, which was 4.4
percent lower than 2009. According to official statistics, some 46
percent of the population lived on less than the minimum subsistence
level. Unions maintain that 760,000 residents receive wages or pensions
under the minimum subsistence level.
The law sets the maximum workweek at 40 hours with extra
compensation for overtime and provides for at least one day off per
week. The law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. LIO field visits
led to the sanctioning of violators when discovered, but staff and
funding deficiencies limited the frequency of such visits. While the
country had few foreign or migrant workers, the law gives them equal
status to domestic workers.
A thriving informal economy and black market accounted for a
significant portion of the country's economic activity. Union
representatives believed that the shadow economy employed approximately
30 to 40 percent of the workforce. Informal economy workers did not
have the same legal protections as formal employees.
Under the labor code, work contracts are required for all
employment. Registration of contracts with local officials is required,
and the copies are sent to the local labor inspectorate. Through June
the LIO reported 360 persons employed at 99 enterprises without such
contracts. There were no reports of such contracts offered in the
agricultural sector, and the central government did not have a
mechanism to monitor compliance with the requirement.
The government is required to establish and monitor safety
standards in the workplace, and the LIO was responsible for enforcing
health and safety standards. During the first six months of the year,
the LIO performed 3,326 inspections, 1,625 of which were health and
safety inspections and 1,701 in the field of labor relations/
legislation. The LIO inspected 2,600 companies employing 117,000
persons. It documented 40,662 infringements, including 21,924 of health
and safety standards and 18,738 of labor legislation.
Poor economic conditions led enterprises to economize on safety
equipment and provide inadequate attention to worker safety. LIO
representatives noted severe financial and legal constraints on
inspectors' activities, ranging from lack of Internet access, training,
and fuel for inspectors to a system of incentives that drives employers
to pay minimal fines for violations rather than address underlying
problems. In 2010 there were 569 labor injuries reported. From January
to June, there were 200 labor injuries reported that resulted in 29
extremely severe injuries and eight deaths.
__________
MONACO
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Principality of Monaco is a constitutional monarchy in which
the sovereign prince plays the leading governmental role. The prince
appoints the government consisting of a minister of state and five
counselors. The prince shares the country's legislative power with the
popularly elected 24-member National Council. In 2008 the country held
multiparty elections for the National Council that were considered free
and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
There were no reports of widespread or systemic human rights
abuses.
The electoral system allows citizens to change many aspects of
their government, but there is no constitutional provision to allow the
citizens to change the monarchical nature of the government.
The government punished officials who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The country's one
detention center/penitentiary generally met international standards,
and the government permitted monitoring by independent human rights
observers. Non-Monegasques sentenced to long prison terms generally
were sent to France to serve their terms. As of September 2009, the
most recent data available, there were 23 prisoners and detainees in
Monaco. Of these, 10 were juveniles, and four were women. The detention
center had a capacity of 81 persons. The prisoners had access to
potable water in both the detention center and the prison.
Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors. However, the U.N.
Committee against Torture observed that there is no mechanism with
France to ensure visitation rights for prisoners convicted by a
Monegasque court and imprisoned in France. Prisoners were permitted
religious observance and could submit complaints to judicial
authorities without censorship. Authorities investigated credible
allegations of inhumane conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the national police and the
Carabiniers du Prince, a ceremonial military unit that guards the
prince's palace. The government has effective mechanisms to investigate
and punish abuse and corruption. However, in February the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) reported that the
General Inspectorate of Police worked under the instructions of the
Directorate General of Public Safety and lacked the necessary
independence to investigate complaints of human rights violations by
police. There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces
during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrest
warrants are required, except when a suspect is arrested while
committing an offense. The detainee must appear before an investigating
magistrate within 24 hours to be informed of the charges against him
and of his rights under the law. Most detainees were released without
bail, but the investigating magistrate may order detention on grounds
that the suspect might flee or interfere with the investigation of the
case. Monaco and France worked cooperatively to return any fugitive who
fled Monaco into France. The investigating magistrate may extend the
initial two-month detention for additional two-month periods
indefinitely. Detainees generally had prompt access to a lawyer, and
the state provided one to indigent defendants. The investigating
magistrate customarily permitted family members to see detainees.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The laws provide for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Except for those involving minors,
trials are public and usually held before a judge or tribunal of
judges. In cases where the potential punishment exceeds 10 years'
imprisonment, a panel of professional and lay judges hears the case.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner. An attorney is provided at public expense if needed
when defendants face serious criminal charges. Defendants are able to
question the testimony of prosecution witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence in their defense. Defendants and their
attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their
cases. Defendants have a right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the court
made no rulings involving Monaco.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, and residents
have access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, a human rights violation. Plaintiffs may appeal rulings
to the ECHR. Plaintiffs regularly use available administrative remedies
to seek redress for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--The penal code prohibits public
``denunciations'' of the ruling family and provides for punishment of
six months' to five years' imprisonment. The media followed the law in
practice. No one was charged with violating these statutes during the
year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department's International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--In June the U.N.
Committee against Torture noted that the granting of refugee status in
the country is subject to approval by the French Office for the
Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons. Monaco is not a refugee-
receiving country.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The authority to change the government and to initiate laws rests
solely with the prince. The constitution can be revised by common
agreement between the prince and the elected National Council.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 2008
National Council elections were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were six women in the
24-member National Council and two women in the seven-member Crown
Council. One government counselor was a woman. There were no members of
minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of governmental corruption alleged during the year but
no formal proceedings against government officials for corruption.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice for citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
While the government did not restrict the establishment or
operation of groups devoted to monitoring human rights, none existed in
the country during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all nationals are equal before the
law. It differentiates between rights accorded to nationals (including
preference in employment, free education, and assistance to the ill or
unemployed) and those accorded to all residents (including
inviolability of the home). The law prohibits discrimination based on
race, gender, disability, language, or social status, and the
government generally enforced it.
Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a criminal offense. There
were no arrests or prosecutions for any form of rape during the year.
Spousal abuse is prohibited by law, and victims may bring criminal
charges against abusive spouses. Reports of violence against women were
rare.
Sexual harassment is illegal. There were no reports of sexual
harassment during the year.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Easy access to contraception,
skilled attendance during childbirth, diagnosis, and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, were accessible to both
women and men.
Discrimination.--Although the law provides for the equality of men
and women, no institution has a mandate to monitor gender inequalities.
Women were well represented in the professions but less well in
business and finance. While no data was available, observers believed
that there was a small and gradually diminishing gender pay
discrepancy.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship may be transmitted by a
Monegasque parent. The government registers births immediately.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was generally not thought to be a serious
problem. The government sponsored public service programs against child
abuse, and the country's helpline service provided a means of reporting
and addressing child abuse.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbers approximately 1,000
persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic societal acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--During the year there were no confirmed
reports that persons were trafficked to, from, or within Monaco.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and the law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced these provisions. The government has enacted and
effectively implemented laws ensuring access to public buildings for
persons with disabilities, and the country has a handicapped-equipped
beach. According to government statistics, the Social Welfare Services
provided assistance to approximately 2 percent of minors (persons under
18) who were considered either to have disabilities or to be in danger.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of acts
against persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
By law workers are free to form and join independent trade unions of
their choice. Non-Monegasque workers, who constituted approximately 97
percent of the workforce, have the right to join unions; however, the
ECRI noted restrictions on the eligibility of workers who are neither
Monegasque nor French to sit in the bureaus of trade union federations.
The constitution and law provide for the right to strike. Government
workers may not strike. Failure to respect this right is punishable by
a fine or imprisonment from three months to a year. Collective
bargaining is protected by law. Antiunion discrimination is prohibited.
Union representatives may be fired only with the agreement of a
commission that includes two members from the employers' association
and two from the labor movement. The law provides for the free exercise
of union activity.
Workers exercised these rights in practice. Strike actions were
infrequent. Employer organizations and trade unions negotiated
agreements on working conditions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and
there were no reports that such practices occurred.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment is 16 years. Those employing children under
that age may be subject to a fine under criminal law. Employment
between the ages of 16 and 18 is subject to severely restricted
conditions. The government effectively enforced the child labor law.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage for full-
time work is the French minimum wage, 9.00 euros per hour ($11.64),
plus a 5-percent adjustment to compensate for the travel costs of the
three quarters of the workforce who commute daily. Most workers
received more than the minimum wage.
The legal workweek is 39 hours. The government allows companies to
reduce the workweek to 35 hours if they so choose, but this option was
rarely chosen. Regulations provide for a minimum number of rest periods
and premium pay for overtime.
Law and government decree fix health and safety standards, which
workplace health and safety committees and the government labor
inspectors enforced. There were no reports of labor law violations. The
Department of Employment (Ministry for Health and Social Affairs) had
several labor inspectors, but the number was unknown. The chief
inspector answers directly to the director of the labor department.
Labor inspectors inform employers and employees of all matters related
to labor laws, and health and safety standards, reconcile--when
possible--parties involved in disputes; and carry out onsite
inspections to make sure all requirements of the above are respected in
practice.
__________
MONTENEGRO
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Montenegro is a mixed parliamentary and presidential republic. Both
the president and the unicameral parliament (the Assembly) are
popularly elected. The president nominates, and the Assembly approves,
the prime minister. According to international observers, Assembly
elections held in 2009 met international standards but underscored the
need for further democratic development. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
One of the most important human rights problems facing the country
was the mistreatment of refugees and other persons displaced as a
consequence of conflicts in the 1990s and the absence of a resolution
of their legal status. Another was societal discrimination based on
gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, and disability. Corruption
continued to be a serious problem, despite some improvements in the
government's battle against it. It was fostered by extensive cronyism
and nepotism, weak controls over conflicts of interest, and the failure
of the executive and judicial branches to identify and prosecute
corrupt high-ranking officials.
Other human rights problems included police mistreatment of
suspects under arrest; substandard prison conditions; lengthy pretrial
detention and protracted and inefficient trials; inadequate
independence of the judiciary; physical attacks on journalists and
politicization of the media that weakened the effectiveness of the
press; denial of public access to information; domestic and other
violence against women; child marriage among the Roma; and trafficking
in persons. Roma lacked adequate access to employment, education, and
housing. Infringement of workers' rights and child labor were also
reported.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government. Nevertheless, impunity remained a problem in some areas.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On May 30, in Podgorica, off-duty policeman Zoran Bulatovic killed
Aleksandar Pejanovic, a former boxer and police officer, following a
quarrel between the two. Bulatovic's trial for murder began in
September. Pejanovic, an outspoken advocate of maintaining the Serbia-
Montenegro union, received widespread press attention when he charged
police with beating him after he participated in a protest against
Montenegro's recognition of Kosovo's independence in 2008. At year's
end police officers were being retried in connection with Pejanovic's
2008 and 2011 charges.
During the year authorities continued the slow process of pursuing,
through the courts and in cooperation with neighboring governments,
allegations of war crimes against persons associated with various sides
during the Balkan wars of 1991-99. Only low- and middle-ranked police
and military officers have been charged for these alleged crimes. The
courts pronounced judgements in three cases, which were later appealed,
leading to new trials or investigations. The case of six former
Yugoslav People's Army soldiers and reservists accused of war crimes in
1991 and 1992 in the Morinj prisoner of war camp ended with
convictions. However, the seven individuals charged with atrocities
against Bosnian Muslims in the Bukovica region in 1992 and 1993, as
well as nine former police officers accused of deporting 83 Bosnian
refugees who were then killed, presumably by Bosnian Serb troops, were
acquitted. There was considerable societal pressure on a former police
officer, Slobodan Pejovic, who testified in one of the cases. He was
physically attacked several times, suffered damage to his personal
property, and was sued. There were also allegations that Pejovic was
actually one of the perpetrators of the crime. The often delayed trial
of eight officers and soldiers from the Podgorica Corps of the former
Federal Republic Yugoslav Army, who were accused of the 1999 killing of
23 Albanian civilians in Kaludjerski Laz near Rozaje, continued at
year's end.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of disappearances or
politically motivated abductions or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but
police at times beat and harassed suspects, particularly during arrest
or custodial interrogation.
In June the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Youth Initiative for
Human Rights (YIHR) expressed concern about the government's slow pace
in processing cases of alleged torture and other forms of inhuman
treatment and pointed to the small number of resolved cases. They also
highlighted reported allegations of torture by police officers in
prisons.
Authorities continued measures to implement the recommendations of
the Council of Europe's Committee to Prevent Torture (CPT), published
in 2010. The recommendations stemmed from a 2008 mission that inspected
the country's prisons. According to the CPT's report, inmates made
numerous accusations of torture and mistreatment, including beatings
with sticks, at the hands of officials. In the latter half of 2010, the
ombudsman made unannounced, after-hours visits to all 21 police
detention units. In a special report on detention units, which was
forwarded to the Assembly, he stated that many deficiencies related to
the mistreatment of persons in custody had been rectified, especially
in the conditions of detention cells (including physical enlargement,
better equipment, lighting, hygiene, ventilation, and air
conditioning).
During the first eight months of the year, the Department for
Internal Control of Police Operations received 63 complaints of police
misconduct. It found 14 cases justified and 49 unjustified. The police
stated that they took disciplinary actions in response to those
complaints they considered justified.
On February 23, according to the media, police director Veselin
Veljovic denied Internal Control Department personnel access to the
police electronic database, blocking their investigations. In response
to the Interior Ministry's objection, Veljovic cited the law protecting
data privacy.
Citizens may address complaints of police abuse to a legally
mandated agency, the Council for Civilian Control of Police Operations,
but the council can only make recommendations for action to the Office
of Internal Police Control or the state prosecutor. In the first six
months of the year, the council reviewed and forwarded approximately 50
such complaints to the police and judiciary. Information on follow-up
by those institutions was not available. Some members of the Assembly
claimed that the council's monitoring of the police was inadequate.
Observers noted that police continued the practice of filing
countercharges against individuals who reported police abuse. It was
widely believed that this practice contributed to the reluctance of
citizens to report police mistreatment.
On June 3, police stated that prosecutors brought criminal charges
against 235 police officers during the previous five years, but there
were no reliable statistics on the conviction rate. Courts at times
dismissed allegations of police abuse because they had not been filed
or processed in a timely manner.
During the year prosecutors charged, and courts convicted, a number
of officials of mistreating individuals in their custody. On May 25,
for example, the Podgorica Basic Court sentenced police officer Djordje
Papic to 10 months in prison for mistreating Danijel Batrovic and
Zlatko Gosovic in 2007.
On June 15, the media reported that the High Court confirmed a
lower court's acquittal of five special police antiterrorism unit
officers (Marko Kalezic, Darko Sekularac, Nenad Scekic, Branko
Radickovic, and Milorad Mitrovic) of mistreating Pjetar Sinistaj and
his sons Anton and Viktor while arresting the elder Sinistaj. The case
involved one of the country's largest police actions, in which a group
of 18 ethnic Albanians from Malesija, a predominantly Albanian region
near Podgorica, were arrested one day before the 2006 Assembly
elections for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks.
Courts and prosecutors continued to wrestle with allegations of
complicity by officials in the mistreatment of Aleksandar Pejanovic,
who was brutally beaten while incarcerated, leading to a renewed trial
against the alleged perpetrators within the police force. Pejanovic's
trial gained wide media attention. On April 15, the Podgorica High
Court overruled the 2010 decision of the Podgorica Basic Court that had
sentenced police officers Milan Kljajevic and Milanko Lekovic to five
months in prison, and Ivica Paunovic to three months, for complicity in
Pejanovic's mistreatment (the lower court had acquitted two other
alleged participants). A new trial was pending at the year's end.
Following this lengthy legal imbroglio, the High Court overruled the
decision of the basic prosecutor to indict Goran Stankovic, who was
another one of the police officers accused of mistreating Pejanovic and
who testified against the others. During the trial, Stankovic alleged
that several of his colleagues, mostly supervising and higher-ranking
officers, committed a series of offenses involving the ordering,
enabling, and cover-up of Pejanovic's torture. At year's end a special
antiterrorist unit policeman, Zoran Bulatovic, was on trial for the May
killing of Pejanovic.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and facilities for
holding pretrial detainees were generally dilapidated, overcrowded, and
according to the Ministry of Justice, a threat to the safety of
prisoners, although there were some improvements over previous years.
In its report to the Assembly committee responsible for monitoring
prison conditions, the Ministry of Justice cited a shortage of
facilities as a significant problem that reduced the government's
ability to carry out prison sentences according to prescribed
standards.
In September observers visiting Spuz Prison, the country's largest
penitentiary, described continued problems of overcrowded facilities in
need of enlargement and renovation. The inadequacy of facilities for
treating alcoholics and drug addicts led the administration of the Spuz
facility, which is near Podgorica, to place many such patients in a
psychiatric hospital that was poorly equipped to handle criminal
patients.
On June 11, prisoner Radojko Jurisevic died after overdosing on
medications. His family accused prison authorities of failing to
provide adequate medical care following the overdose. On November 14,
Milivoje Terzic from Pljevlja, who was in detention on suspicion that
he swindled the mother of the fugitive drug lord Darko Saric out of
300,000 euros ($390,000), was found dead in a prison cell. While prison
authorities and one forensic expert claimed that Terzic died by hanging
himself, another forensic expert said that the detainee could have been
strangled. Due to the conflicting autopsy reports, no conclusion about
the cause of death was reached by year's end.
During the year 12 inmates went on hunger strikes protesting
alleged abuses, including protracted criminal proceedings, overly
severe sentences, physical abuse by guards, poor medical conditions,
and a ban on personal visits. Prison administrators denied those
accusations. During the year 12 women serving sentences in a partially
open section of the Spuz Prison described to the media conditions there
that they considered inhumane.
In September the country's prison population of 1,350 exceeded the
maximum capacity of 1,050, despite the implementation of an amnesty
program in July 2010 that slightly reduced the prison population. Of
the 1,350 inmates, 414 were convicts and 936 were detainees. During the
year three deaths were reported in prisons.
In the first nine months of the year, prison authorities
disciplined 11 prison wardens for violating various work rules and
protocols. In 2010 they fined 33 wardens and fired three.
Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors, were permitted
religious observance, and were given appropriate and sufficient food.
Individual prisons did not have ombudsmen, but authorities permitted
both visitors and detainees to submit complaints to judicial
authorities and the national ombudsman without censorship and to
request that authorities investigate credible allegations of inhumane
conditions. In 2010 the ombudsman received 44 complaints of inhumane
treatment in prison. For example, in Spuz Prison there were special
boxes where inmates could submit grievances directly to the ombudsman,
but the boxes were located in the corridors under video surveillance
and keys were kept by prison administrators, which discouraged inmates
from submitting grievances. Several families of imprisoned or detained
persons claimed during the year that serious violations of inmates'
rights occurred despite existing safeguards. Conditions for women were
equal to those of men. Inmates had access to potable water.
Authorities often investigated credible allegations of inhumane
conditions, but at times did so only in reaction to media campaigns or
upon the ombudsman's recommendation. NGOs and human rights activists
often criticized the results of those investigations. The ombudsman
expressed the view that more guards should have been held responsible
for the 2009 beating of inmates Dalibor Nikezic and Igor Milic, a
violation of prison procedures that was filmed by the security camera.
The Ministry of Justice, responsible for operating the national
prisons, monitored prison and detention conditions.
According to the law, authorities may allow certain convicted
persons to serve their sentences through voluntary service in a state
institution or agency, but this alternative, which observers noted
could reduce overcrowding, was used only in a few cases. The practice
of detaining suspects pending trial was almost universal. In June the
Assembly amended the law to empower a newly founded Department for
Suspended Sentences in the Ministry of Justice to grant conditional
release to prisoners who served two-thirds of their sentence and to
monitor furloughed convicts. A new criminal procedure code, whose full
implementation began in the second half of the year, envisages a number
of noncustodial supervision measures. Enabling legislation on
supervisory monitoring by electronic device was not adopted during the
year.
Authorities continued to make improvements in the prison system. In
2010 new space was added to prisons in Spuz and Bijelo Polje. Units in
these prisons for prisoners serving shorter sentences and suspects
awaiting trial were under repair. Repairs were made on the electric and
water supplies, as well as sewage facilities, in both prisons, and
existing facilities were renovated. In the Spuz Prison, authorities
built a new cafeteria and an administration building.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent
nongovernmental observers, including human rights groups, the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the media, in
accordance with their standard modalities. Visits by domestic NGOs, the
European Commission, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) also took place during the year. Some of the visits
were undertaken on short notice, and monitors were allowed to speak
with the prisoners without the presence of a guard. Representatives of
the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman routinely visited prisons
without prior notice, meeting with detainees and inmates.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force, which includes the border police, is responsible for law and
order. They were generally effective. The Agency for National Security
(ANB), a self-standing entity within the government, is responsible for
intelligence and counterintelligence. Military and security affairs are
the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense. In July the ANB and
Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding that mandates
that several members of the ANB be seconded to the Defense Ministry to
collect and process defense intelligence, a decision which led some
opposition leaders to accuse the ANB, which they assert has abused its
authority on behalf of the governing coalition, of seeking to exert
inappropriate influence on the Defense Ministry in the area of
cooperation with NATO. The Assembly is responsible for overseeing
democratic and civilian control of the army, police, and security
services. Assembly members sitting on that body's Committee for Defense
and Security had access to classified documents without prior approval
or security clearances. The NGO Alternativa accused the Assembly of
insufficient enforcement of control mechanisms envisaged by the Law on
Parliamentary Oversight of Security Services.
Some problems of impunity in the security forces remained, and
opposition parties described such oversight mechanisms as the Council
for Civilian Control of Police Operations as ineffective. Criminal
proceedings against police for mistreatment of persons in their
custody, obtaining evidence by means of extortion, and other violations
of office were rare. Investigations of alleged abuses were ineffective
and penalties were lenient. In its report for 2009-2010, the Council
for Civilian Oversight of Police Operations stated that prosecutors
initiated criminal proceedings in only four of the 17 cases of alleged
police mistreatment of civilians that it forwarded to them.
Whistleblowers among the police were not well protected, as shown by
the case of Goran Stankovic, a policeman who testified in the beating
of Aleksandar Pejanovic (see section 1.c.). Human rights observers
claimed that citizens were reluctant to report police misconduct for
fear of reprisals. The Prosecutor's Office is responsible for
initiating criminal investigations into allegations of torture and
mistreatment. In such cases the courts usually found that police use of
force was reasonable.
In its September 2010 report on police reform, the OSCE, while
noting that problems remained, stated that ``encountering police in
2010 one cannot help but realize that police reform is immediately
visible.'' The report called for further training, noting that ``only a
tiny percentage of police officers have been fully trained at the
Academy . . . [;] the majority . . . remained products of the short in-
service training courses.''
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests
require a judicial warrant or a ``strong suspicion that the suspect
committed an offense.'' Police generally made arrests with warrants
based on sufficient evidence. The law provides that police must inform
arrested persons immediately of their rights, and authorities respected
this right in practice. Authorities have a maximum of 24 hours to
inform the family, common law partner, or responsible social
institution of an arrest. They may detain suspects for up to 48 hours
before bringing them before a judge and charging them. At arraignment
the judge makes an initial determination about the legality of the
detention. In practice, arraignment generally occurred within the
prescribed period. The law permits a detainee to have an attorney
present during police and court proceedings. Detainees generally had
prompt access to a lawyer and family members. There is a system of
bail, but it was not widely used because citizens could rarely raise
money for bail.
Trials themselves were subject to frequent interruptions.
Police continued to summon suspects and witnesses to police
stations for ``informative talks,'' usually without holding them for
extended periods. In principle those who have been summoned have the
right not to respond.
The law forbids the use of force, threats, or coercion by police to
obtain evidence, but police at times beat and harassed suspects while
arresting them or detaining them for questioning. NGOs and human rights
observers noted that the incidence of such practices had greatly
declined in the previous two years.
In August a new criminal procedure code entered into force. The
deputy prime minister, who also serves as the minister of justice,
stated that the judiciary was prepared to apply the entire code. The
new code specifies that verdicts may not be based on evidence that has
been obtained by violating human and fundamental rights guaranteed by
the constitution or by ratified international treaties. It includes the
right of detainees to be visited by the ICRC and other international
organizations and requires authorities to reopen cases when the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) or any other court established by
an internationally ratified treaty finds that a conviction was achieved
by methods or procedures that violate human rights and freedoms.
Pretrial Detention.--The law sets the initial length of pretrial
detention at 30 days but provides for the possibility of an extension
to five more months and allows a defendant to be detained for up to
three years before a trial court verdict is issued. Pretrial detainees
on average accounted for 44 percent of the prison population. According
to authorities, the average length of pretrial detention was
approximately three months and 19 days in the Spuz Prison and two
months and 15 days in the Bijelo Polje Prison.
Extensive backlogs in the justice system contributed to numerous
instances of lengthy pretrial detention. A 2007 law on the right to
trial within a reasonable time was not effective. Courts rejected
almost all defendants' complaints of delays but did not give parties
concrete legal grounds for doing so, making it difficult to challenge
the decisions. Relatively few defendants tried to make use of the law
to challenge delays. According to a March analysis conducted by the NGO
Human Right Action, defendants filed only 214 complaints since adoption
of the law, despite a backlog of 10,853 cases, some from 2008 and
earlier.
Amnesty.--During the first eight months of the year, the president
pardoned 65 convicts.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, but some observers asserted that the
judiciary was not always independent. They claimed that government
officials influenced prosecutors for political and personal reasons.
Nevertheless, progress continued to be made on judicial reform,
strengthening the independence, responsibility, and capacity of judges
and prosecutors.
Some observers contended that the process by which the executive
and legislative branches proposed and adopted the courts' budgets could
influence the independence of the judiciary. There were also aspects of
the legal framework that provided space for political influence. For
example, in the view of some observers, the manner of appointment of
judicial and prosecutorial officials, including the absence of a merit-
based career system, did not adequately shield them from political
influence. While cases are ostensibly assigned to judges at random,
concerns over the transparency of the process were raised. The
government and politicians at times sought to influence the judiciary
by commenting on the cases--for example, in some trials for slander or
corruption involving prominent persons or senior officials--and thereby
contributed to continued public distrust of the judiciary. A large
backlog of cases, primitive courtroom facilities, inadequate
administrative support for judges and prosecutors, shortage of skills,
cumbersome procedures, and judicial corruption also remained problems.
On September 28, the NGO Center for Democracy and Human Rights
published a report indicating that the principles of a fair trial were
violated in nearly one-half of the 35 cases the group followed during a
five-month period. The most common violations involved the right to a
speedy trial, but there were also instances in which police failed to
comply with court orders. The implementation of civil and criminal
court decisions frequently remained weak.
A law on free legal aid, adopted on April 5 and scheduled to take
effect on January 1, 2012, was designed to apply to all citizens,
foreigners with permanent residence, and persons with approved
temporary residence. At year's end authorities were in the process of
establishing legal aid offices in basic courts throughout the country.
The U.N. Development Program (UNDP) supported the establishment of
three pilot offices in Podgorica.
Courts continued to reduce their backlogs of civil and criminal
cases, but concerns remained about the reliability of statistics as an
indicator of the qualitative progress. On September 1, a law took
effect designed to make the administration of misdemeanor penalties
more efficient. In its October 12 enlargement report, the European
Commission noted judicial reform as one area in which the country had
made significant progress; however, other reports suggested that the
commission may have been too generous in its praise of the judicial
system.
A Judicial Council is responsible for the election, discipline, and
removal of judges. Since the existing council was established in 2008,
several judges have been fired, suspended, or sanctioned for
unprofessional behavior.
In July the Assembly amended the laws affecting the courts, the
Judicial Council, and the Office of the State Prosecutor, in an attempt
to limit political influence and broaden judicial independence. The
amendments changed the manner of appointment of members of the Judicial
Council, giving judiciary an increased role, providing for greater
transparency, and introducing higher standards for members. There were
changes in the composition of the Prosecutorial Council, and it was
given a broader scope of action in disciplinary proceedings.
Authorities stated that courts completed 76.7 percent of their
cases in 2010, processing 127,197, or 1.6 percent, more cases than in
2009. To make the work of the courts more transparent, the Supreme
Court's Web site, established in October, began posting the decisions
of the courts.
Trial Procedures.--Criminal trials are generally public, but
sessions may be closed during the testimony of state-protected
witnesses. Juries are not used. Professional judges preside over
trials. Lay judges assist them in determining verdicts, but the judges
generally determine the sentences. Defendants have the right to be
present at their trials and to consult with an attorney in a timely
manner in pretrial and trial proceedings. Defendants have a right to an
attorney and an attorney is provided at public expense when a defendant
is a disabled person, in detention, destitute, or indicted on a charge
carrying a possible sentence greater than 10 years. These rights were
generally respected. Defendants and their attorneys have the right to
access government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants
enjoy a legal presumption of innocence. Courts may try defendants in
absentia but must repeat the trials if the convicted individuals are
later apprehended. Both the defense and the prosecution have the right
of appeal. Defendants' rights were generally respected and extended to
all citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Once national remedies are
exhausted, citizens may appeal alleged violations of human rights by
the state to the ECHR. At year's end 885 cases involving the country
were pending before the ECHR, most relating to the right to a speedy
trial, alleged failure to implement court decisions, property
restitution, property rights, length of pretrial detention, media
freedom, treatment by police, and slander. Since 2004 the ECHR has
issued six rulings against the government for violations of the
European Convention on Human Rights. Authorities immediately
implemented the first ruling, handed down in 2009. Implementation of
the remaining rulings was pending.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law
provide for an independent judiciary in civil matters, and citizens had
access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation
of, human rights violations. Although parties have brought suits
alleging human rights violations and at times prevailed, there was
widespread public distrust in the independence of the judiciary.
Citizens may appeal violations of their human rights to the
Constitutional Court, which is often publicly criticized for its
inefficiency and lack of transparency. In 2010 the Constitutional Court
accepted three appeals and rejected 184. The Constitutional Court does
not judge, but only examines the alleged human rights violations
committed in the case or procedure. If the court finds a human rights
violation, it will revoke the decision and refer it to the appropriate
authority or court to rectify its decision.
Courts continued to deliberate on a series of claims filed on
behalf of 54 plaintiffs seeking 1.4 million euros ($1.82 million) in
damages arising from the 1992 deportation of Muslims and Bosniaks to
Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where they subsequently were
killed or disappeared. In five cases plaintiffs were awarded 435,000
euros ($566,000) total, while other cases were pending at year's end.
In earlier cases 196 plaintiffs were awarded 4.1 million euros ($5.3
million).
Property Restitution.--Although the return of private property
seized since 1945 continued during the year, many applicants complained
that the process was slow and lacking in transparency, and that the
appropriated funds were insufficient. The 2010 report of the
ombudsman's office contained similar criticism and noted that it had
received a significant number of complaints about the restitution
commissions the government established to handle claims. The report
noted that compensation proceedings heard by the commission in
Podgorica were significantly less protracted than those adjudicated by
the commissions in Bijelo Polje and Bar.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such interference
without court approval or legal necessity and prohibit police from
searching a residence or conducting undercover or monitoring operations
without a warrant. The government generally respected these
prohibitions.
During the year Vasilije Milickovic from Podgorica accused the
police and the mayor of Podgorica of illegally arresting him and
expropriating his land. On May 4 and 5, Milickovic tried to prevent the
workers of the Tehnoput Company from building a detour of a Podgorica
road on his land. He tried to block the construction, claiming that his
property rights were violated because the city decided to construct the
road while his court appeals were pending. In two separate trials, the
Podgorica Basic Court sentenced Milickovic to 20 days in prison and a
1,100 euros ($1,430) fine for violating public peace and order when he
refused to allow the construction crews on his property. Subsequently
the Administrative Court revoked the decision and ordered a new trial.
The law requires the ANB to obtain court authorization for
wiretaps, but some observers believed that authorities selectively used
wiretapping and surveillance against opposition parties and other
groups without court authorization. Many individuals and organizations
operated on the assumption that they could be under surveillance.
In April the Agency for Protection of Personal Data (APPD), an
independent government organization with the responsibility for
protecting personal data, voided an agreement according to which
telephone service providers were giving police extensive data about
citizens, including direct access to the listings of mobile telephone
services, without a court order. Both the agency and the Prosecutor's
Office subsequently reported that they found no irregularities in
police use of information from mobile phone service providers. Police
forwarded new agreements to the APPD for assessment.
On November 4, the Podgorica Basic Court voided an agreement
between police and the service provider M:tel giving police access to
the databases and telephone records of M:tel's subscribers. The court
acted in response to a complaint by the NGO Network for Affirmation of
the NGO Sector (MANS), which contended that police should not have the
legal right to access the databases and telephone records of the
country's three mobile phone providers without a court authorization.
MANS additionally claimed that police violated citizens' privacy by
warrantless monitoring of more than 20,000 private telephone
conversations since 2007. Police director Veselin Veljovic rejected
this charge.
The APPD stated that the most common violation of privacy was
excessive use of public video surveillance. The agency claimed that
illegal use of video cameras by both public institutions and private
businesses was a big problem, emphasizing that surveillance was used
contrary to regulations and without the APDS's approval.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, but there were some restrictions in law and practice. The
constitution and law criminalize the incitement of national, racial,
and religious hatred and intolerance and there were some prosecutions
during the year (see section 6).
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and there were no reports that
the authorities monitored political meetings or otherwise attempted to
impede criticism.
On January 20, prosecutors charged Bishop Amfilohije Radovic of the
Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro (SPC) with engaging in hate
speech. Responding to government plans to demolish a church whose
location they regarded as illegal, the bishop said ``anyone who
demolishes the church, may God demolish him.'' The prosecutors claimed
that Radovic's words caused offense to Montenegrins. The trial before
the Podgorica Court of Offense continued at year's end.
Freedom of Press.--Although the independent media were active and
generally expressed a wide variety of political and social views, there
were reports of threats against journalists as well as of political and
economic pressure placed on the media. The government did not restrict
the distribution of foreign publications. The print media included
private newspapers and a state-owned newspaper with a national
circulation.
Authorities were again unsuccessful in their efforts to sell the
government's 86 percent holding in the national daily newspaper
Pobjeda, as required by a 2002 law. They supported the newspaper
financially with the stated aim of avoiding bankruptcy. Opposition
politicians continued to criticize the newspaper's reporting, which
they claimed favored the government and was used to discredit
government opponents, including opposition politicians, some private
media owners, and some NGOs. A new tender issued on September 27 for
privatization of the state-owned publisher resulted in one bid, but
authorities had not started talks with the bidder at year's end.
Private media claimed that the placement of advertising in the
media by state-owned companies was not transparent or free of political
influence, pointing out that such companies advertised mainly with the
state-owned newspaper, even though it had a smaller circulation and
less influence than its private competitors.
Government opponents continued to criticize the functioning of the
country's public radio and television broadcaster, Radio and Television
of Montenegro (RTCG). They claimed that, instead of serving the public
interest, RTCG was controlled by the ruling political structures and
that the public broadcaster clearly favored the government in its
programming and reporting.
Violence and Harassment.--Representatives of the independent
newspaper Vijesti continued to be the main targets of anonymous
attacks. On three occasions in July and August, vandals set fire to
vehicles belonging to the newspaper. On July 25, the OSCE media
representative wrote to the foreign and interior ministers that these
crimes ``seriously undermine media freedom in Montenegro and create a
chilling effect for the entire media community.'' On November 28, media
reported that Daily Press, Vijesti's publisher, sued the state for
60,000 euros ($78,000) in compensation for the authorities' failure to
prevent the ``terror attacks on the newspaper's property'' and their
failure to protect the company's rights and interests. There were no
reports on the court's actions in this case at year's end.
On November 18, a journalist and a cameraman from Vijesti
Television and a photo reporter from the daily Vijesti newspaper were
physically assaulted while filming at a location in Niksic. Police
arrested three persons following the attack. The prosecutor of Niksic
Basic Court filed criminal charges against one of the attackers, the
Court of Offense fined another 560 euros ($728) for insulting the
reporters, and the third person was acquitted. Prime Minister Igor
Luksic and the resident OSCE mission condemned the attacks. The
assaulted reporters said they did not know why they were attacked. The
editor in chief of Vijesti Television warned that the attacks on
journalists would continue as long as the perpetrators of previous
attacks on journalists went unpunished.
Investigations or trials related to several earlier attacks
continued. Legal wrangling continued in connection with an alleged
physical assault in 2009 by the mayor of Podgorica and his son of
Vijesti's deputy editor in chief and a photo reporter for the
newspaper.
Journalists and other media professionals continued to receive
threats. For example, authorities indicted Marko Piper and Slavko
Music, two workers at a factory in Mojkovac, on allegations that they
threatened Vijesti reporter Olivera Lakic over several articles she
wrote about the illegal production of cigarettes that allegedly was
taking place there. Their trial was underway at year's end.
Libel Laws/National Security.--On June 22, the Assembly eliminated
legal provisions that made defamation and insult criminal acts. In the
past, officials used these provisions to discourage journalists from
writing negative articles about them and to punish journalists for
stories that accused them of wrongdoing.
On December 20, the Podgorica High Court overturned the four-month
prison sentence for libel levied by the Podgorica Basic Court against
journalist Petar Komnenic. The high court recommended community service
instead. The basic court initially levied a penalty of 3,000 euros
($3,900), because of an article by Komnenic in Monitor in 2007 in which
he claimed that a number of judges of the Podgorica Higher Court were
kept under secret government surveillance. Komnenic refused to pay the
fine, and it was converted into a four-month prison sentence.
On November 22, the ECHR found that authorities violated the free
speech rights of Veseljko Koprivica, editor of the magazine Liberal,
when they fined him for claiming in a 2004 article that 16 Montenegrin
journalists were facing trial by the International Criminal Tribunal
for Yugoslavia. The Tribunal stated that the information was false.
Even though the ECHR agreed that Koprivica had made insufficient
efforts to confirm his information, it found the damages levied upon
him--25 times greater than his monthly pension--were disproportionate.
The constitution and law criminalize the incitement of national,
racial, and religious hatred and intolerance. On April 7, the Agency
for Electronic Media, the supervisory body in the field of broadcast
media, issued an official warning to Radio Svetigora because of a
statement by the SPC priest and abbot of Dajbabe Monastery Nikodim
broadcast on March 27 that ``the Montenegrin nation was created by the
devil, not by God.'' The agency noted that the Radio Svetigora
journalist who interviewed the priest failed to take issue with the
statement, and warned the radio not to incite, spread, or enable hate
speech or other forms of discrimination. On October 25, local media
reported that Podgorica's Court of Offense found the priest guilty of
hate speech and fined him 900 euros ($1,170).
Despite these developments, some media outlets demonstrated a
willingness to criticize the government. The prominence of articles and
television programs critical of the authorities suggested that self-
censorship was not a major problem. Some observers noted that
journalists were susceptible to bias due to their lack of expertise,
pressure from their employers, or their political affiliations. The
observers noted that a deep division between progovernment and
opposition media, manifested by mutual accusations in the public
sphere, prevented the establishment of a functional self-regulation
mechanism for journalists.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--In addition to legislation
enacted by the Assembly eliminating criminal libel, authorities
appropriated a 4.5 million euro ($5.8 million) subsidy to broadcast
media to cover their debts to government agencies for unpaid license
fees and signal transfer taxes for 2009-10. The government also helped
the private newspaper distributing company Bega Press to emerge from
its 2009 bankruptcy. The cost of the rescue attempt was 880,000 euros
($1.14 million). The funding allowed the three dailies Dan, Vijesti,
and Pobjeda and the weekly publication Monitor to offset 800,000 euros
($1.04 million) owed them by Bega Press. The three included both state-
owned and privately owned publications, but government opponents
questioned the legitimacy of the decision to use taxpayer money to aid
the bankrupted private company.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet, but until ordered to cease doing so in March, one of
the country's principal Internet service providers gave police direct
and warrantless access to all forms of communications carried on its
servers. It was unknown whether authorities made use of this access to
monitor e-mail or Internet Web sites or chat rooms.
MANS, an NGO, used the freedom of information law to obtain a 2007
government agreement with the communications company M:tel giving
police around-the-clock access to all forms of communication it
provided. In response to a civil suit by MANS representatives on March
28, the Agency for Personal Data Protection ordered M:tel to cease
giving police personal data, stating that the agreement violated the
law and constitution. On November 3, Podgorica's basic court annulled
the agreement between the police and the communication company for
violating the citizens' rights to privacy; it found the agreement
contradictory to the constitution and the European Convention on Human
Rights. The court also ordered the police and M:tel to pay a total sum
of 1,000 euros ($1,300) for trial expenses.
There was no evidence that the government collected or disclosed
personally identifiable information about persons based on that
person's peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological
opinion or belief.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and laws provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice. A wide range
of social, cultural, and political organizations functioned without
interference, but authorities denied disgruntled workers the right to
assemble and express their grievances on several occasions.
Freedom of Assembly.--According to the media, police rejected more
than 200 applications for permission to assemble in 2010-2011, most of
them organized by disgruntled workers. The police justified their
actions by contending that the assemblies would cause a public
hindrance, and in some cases authorities offered the protesters other
locations for their demonstrations. On April 11, the YIHR applied to
the Constitutional Court for an assessment of parts of the Law on
Public Assemblies. The YIHR claimed that certain provisions that
permitted government bodies to prohibit peaceful assemblies violated
the constitution. The court did not respond to this request by year's
end.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice.
For the most part, the government cooperated with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to displaced
persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Data released in October by
the Bureau for the Care of Refugees categorized 9,367 persons who fled
Kosovo during the 1999 conflict as IDPs, since at the time of their
flight, the territories of present-day Montenegro and Kosovo were part
of the same country--the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Another
3,776 persons were categorized as ``displaced persons'' or DPs. Most of
them were ethnic Serbs from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia who fled
those areas in 1991-95 during the conflict that attended the breakup of
Yugoslavia. Authorities asserted that these persons had not crossed
recognized borders at the time of their flight and could not be
considered refugees. The UNHCR, on the other hand, regards both groups
as having been ``refugees'' at the time of their arrival.
The status of both DPs and IDPs was temporary and their rights were
limited, increasing their economic and social vulnerability.
The treatment of DPs and IDPs was not equal. The law recognizes DPs
as lawful residents, a designation that could lead to citizenship
through satisfaction of a length-of-residence requirement or through
marriage to a citizen. However, the law denies these privileges to IDPs
on the grounds that the Government of Serbia, the ``succeeding state''
following the breakup of Serbia-Montenegro, was responsible for them.
A number of DPs and IDPs continued to live in substandard
dwellings, struggle with rental payments in private accommodation, and
fear eviction from illegally occupied facilities known as informal
collective centers. Besides these centers, there remained two camps for
displaced persons, populated mainly by Roma IDPs from Kosovo, in the
suburbs of Podgorica. Restricted access to employment pushed many DPs
and IDPs into gray-market activities. Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian
IDPs from Kosovo were particularly affected and continued to form the
most marginalized and vulnerable segment of the displaced/refugee
population. In 2010 legislation was enacted that restored to DPs and
IDPs the right to work, of which they had been deprived by law in 2000.
Amendments enacted in 2009 to the Law on Foreigners required all
DPs and IDPs to register; successful registration would confer the
status of ``permanent foreign resident'' and give them the right to
seek work and access health care on an equal basis with Montenegrin
nationals. The initial deadline for registration was November 7. The
government worked with the UNHCR to implement a program of outreach to
acquaint the target populations with the benefits. The UNHCR recognized
the government's commitment but stated that additional measures, such
as assistance with documentation, were needed to facilitate the
registration process.
The registration was only partly successful. In the first 11 months
of the year, approximately 6,700 DPs and IDPs, fewer than 40 percent of
the target population, applied for the status of foreign resident under
the amended law. Slightly fewer than half of the applicants had been
successful by year's end; some were still in the application process.
After extensive lobbying from the UNHCR and EU, the government extended
the deadline to December 31, 2012. There were a number of obstacles to
registration. Despite government efforts to cooperate with neighboring
countries to facilitate access to documents, it remained difficult to
obtain the necessary documents from the country of origin because of
the bureaucratic and financial constraints on travel to those
countries. The documentation requirement was a particularly difficult
hurdle for Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians, both those born on the
territory of present-day Montenegro and elsewhere. Many had no birth
records, either because their births were never registered or because
their records were destroyed during the conflicts in the region. Those
DPs and IDPs who were unable to overcome the documentary or other
hurdles to registration as foreign residents could apply for the status
of ``temporary'' foreign resident, valid for up to three years, while
they tried to obtain the necessary documentation for permanent foreign
resident status.
By law persons with the status of permanent foreign resident have
access to the same rights as citizens except the right to vote. In
practice they did not have such rights as ownership of real estate, and
their access to employment and education was limited. Further,
temporary foreign residents, who should have the same rights as
permanent foreign residents, did not in practice, especially when it
came to employment and health care.
In July the government adopted a new multiyear strategy to deal
with the problems of DPs and IDPs. It was developed in cooperation with
UNHCR and EU, and adopted through their strong advocacy. A Coordination
Board, chaired by the deputy prime minister, was established to lead
and monitor its implementation. The government agreed to incorporate
all the outstanding refugee issues raised by the EU and the UNHCR,
which were outlined in the accompanying action plan. It was too early
to evaluate the effectiveness of the new strategy.
The government continued to encourage DPs to return to their places
of origin, but repatriation slowed to a trickle. By contrast more than
600 refugees from Bosnia and Croatia acquired Montenegrin citizenship
between May 2008 and August 2011, in many cases through marriage to
citizens.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. A path to citizenship was available only to a limited number
of refugees holding DP status.
Access to Basic Services.--Conditions for refugees varied. Those
with relatives or property in the country were able to find housing,
and in some cases, to rejoin family members. Exceptions were
approximately 2,000 refugees holding DP status, who remained in barely
habitable facilities that had been privatized. On July 4, the executive
service of the Kotor Basic Court, with police assistance, evicted six
IDP families from a holiday resort in Kamenovo owned by the company
Recreatours. In April Recreatours paid damages to 13 IDP families. All
tenants moved out without further claims.
According to a joint survey conducted in May by the government,
OSCE, and UNHCR, most of the vulnerable DPs lived in family
settlements, while others lived in settlements with substandard housing
designed as temporary accommodation.
A total of 235 persons sought asylum in the country during the
year, a very large increase over 2010. The government did not have
adequate facilities to handle this influx, but a reception center
designed to house approximately 65 asylum seekers was under
construction.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents.
According to the UNHCR, there were no legally stateless persons in the
country, but there were individuals who were de facto stateless. The
most common problem confronting stateless persons, especially Roma,
Ashkali, and Egyptians born on the territory of Montenegro or in
Kosovo, was a lack of personal documentation. The UNHCR reported that
there were 2,712 refugees at risk of statelessness. As of year's end,
the government had not developed a procedure for systematically
identifying, documenting, and registering stateless persons or persons
at risk of statelessness.
According to the UNHCR, before 2010, when municipalities were
responsible for registering births, they registered some Montenegro-
born children of parents with DP or IDP status, but when the Ministry
of Interior took over this responsibility it deleted these children
from the citizenship registry book, claiming that their registration
had no legal basis. Families were not formally informed of the Ministry
of Interior's actions. There were no reports that authorities were
seeking to review the ministry's decisions.
In the course of developing a new multiyear strategy toward the
country's DPs and IDPs during the year, the authorities recognized that
there might be some persons with no status. They announced that they
would review any such cases to ensure all concerned individuals are
granted the status of their parents, without additional requirements
for documents. At year's end there were reports that authorities were
reviewing such cases.
During the year amendments to the law took effect that made
citizens of the former Yugoslav republics eligible to apply for
Montenegrin citizenship until January 31, 2012, provided they had
identity cards and had resided in the country for at least two years
prior to June 2006. They were not required to renounce their other
citizenship.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
According to the OSCE election observation mission, the 2009 Assembly
elections met almost all OSCE and Council of Europe commitments.
Nonetheless the mission's statement noted frequent allegations of
electoral fraud and a blurring of state and party structures that
created a negative atmosphere among many voters. As in previous
elections, most opposition parties raised concerns regarding campaign
and party financing and the overlap of state and political party
structures. Allegations of pressure on voters and the purchase of voter
identification documents were again reported by some opposition
parties, the media, and certain individuals.
On September 8, legislation went into effect that brought electoral
procedures into line with the 2007 constitution, one of the EU's seven
key requirements for initiating negotiations for EU membership. The new
law limits the suffrage to citizens, and would deprive permanent
residents of this right beginning on January 31, 2012. However,
amendments to legislation on citizenship, which entitled permanent
residents to apply for citizenship, provided they did so by January 31,
2012, also preserved their eligibility to vote until that date. The
number of persons affected was unknown, but the opposition Socialists
People's Party claimed that it could be approximately 40,000.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women remained
underrepresented in higher levels of government. The president of the
Supreme Court and the chief state prosecutor were women. Nine women
served in the 81-seat Assembly and one in the cabinet. There were no
women in four out of nine standing Assembly committees. One of the
country's 21 municipalities had a female mayor. One of 10 Assembly
parties had a female leader. The election law that took effect on
September did not establish any quotas for women in Assembly, but
instead mandated that at least 30 percent of the candidates on each
party list be women.
There were 20 members of ethnic minorities in the Assembly and
three in the 17-member cabinet. Almost all minority groups except Roma,
Ashkali, and Egyptians were represented in the Assembly. In connection
with the with the new election law, the Assembly abolished the five
seats set aside for ethnic Albanians, effective with the next Assembly
elections. The right of affirmative action, which sets forth the right
of representation in the Assembly for ethnic minority groups that win
fewer than 3 percent of the votes or constituted less than 15 percent
of the population, was extended to all minority groups.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials at
times engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The perception of the
public sector as corrupt, particularly the executive and judicial
branches, was widespread. On July 26, the Ministry of Finance published
an assessment of public sector corruption, which concluded that the
privatization process, public procurement, urban development, local
administration, and the education and health care systems were the
activities and sectors most vulnerable to corruption. Both the World
Bank's worldwide governance indicators and Transparency International's
2010 report reflected the seriousness of the problem.
While many of the legal prerequisites for effective anticorruption
policies were in place, implementation lagged. Efforts to investigate,
prosecute, and convict officials, particularly those at high levels,
for corruption remained ineffective. During the first six months of the
year, the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor investigated nine
individuals for corruption. It also issued indictments of six
individuals. During the same period, the High Court tried 199 persons
for corruption, reached verdicts in corruption trials involving 40
persons, and convicted 19 persons on corruption charges.
Internal controls carried out within institutions or by responsible
agencies seldom resulted in efficient prosecution of the perpetrators.
State employees often had several functions and were permitted to be
presidents or members of managing boards of public companies or state
institutions.
On July 29, the Assembly adopted amendments to the Conflict of
Interest Law depriving Assembly members of the right to serve as mayors
or directors of public companies and administrative bodies.
In October MANS reported that of the 266 measures adopted by the
government 18 months earlier and described as necessary to combat
corruption and organized crime, only 25 percent had been fully
implemented, 45 percent had been partly implemented, and the government
had taken no action on 30 percent. The report noted that the Assembly
failed to harmonize many laws with international conventions on
organized crime.
Several high-ranking officials faced corruption charges during the
year. On March 22, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office indicted Budva
Mayor Rajko Kuljaca, Deputy Mayor Dragan Markovic, and 10 associates on
charges of abuse of power. Kuljaca was believed to have enabled the
firm Zavala Invest to start construction of a hotel complex illegally
on the protected Zavala peninsula. On August 8, the special public
prosecutor for organized crime, Djurdjina Ivanovic, confirmed that her
office was investigating the Bar Municipal Assembly and the mayor of
Bar, Zarko Pavicevic, on criminal charges filed by MANS. According to
media reports, the prosecutor was reviewing contracts between the City
of Bar and the Bar Development Institute, a company owned by the mayor,
as well as a number of other contracts between the city and private
companies. The Office of the State Prosecutor was also collecting
information about the former mayor of Ulcinj, Gzim Hajdinaga, related
to alleged wrongdoing by the local parliament in the course of granting
construction permits.
On March 2, the opposition party Movement for Change (PzP) filed
criminal corruption charges against Uros Cukic, the party's former
municipal representative in the northern town of Andrijevica, and the
ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS). PzP leader Nebojsa
Medojevic told the press that the charges involved incentives offered
by the DPS to Cukic to switch his allegiance from the PzP to the DPS
and tip the balance in the local assembly.
Police corruption and inappropriate government influence on police
behavior remained problems; the small, close-knit nature of Montenegrin
society discouraged the reporting of corruption and made it easy for
criminals, using family or social connections, to gain access to law
enforcement officers.
During the year the Ministry of Interior and Public
Administration's Internal Affairs Unit took disciplinary measures to
address corruption. Internal investigations, combined with the work of
the Council for the Civilian Control of Police Operations, the
ombudsman, and human rights activists, reduced, but did not eliminate,
impunity. NGOs noted that police officers found responsible for
violating rules of service, as well as senior officers implicated in
cases of torture, remained on duty. The OSCE and resident diplomatic
missions continued to provide training for police, security, and border
and customs officers on combating terrorism, corruption, and financial
crimes.
Government officials were subject to financial disclosure
legislation, and most complied in a timely fashion. During the year the
Commission for the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest initiated
proceedings against 473 officials and forwarded 248 of these to the
misdemeanor courts. In the same period, the commission issued a total
of 576 decisions concerning alleged violations of the law and called
for the dismissal of 43 state officials for failing to comply with
disclosure requirements. While the law provides for maximum fines of
825 to 1,100 euros ($1,072 to $1,430), the highest fine imposed by a
court was 400 euros ($520). The courts rejected most of the cases.
During the first half of the year, the commission lacked the authority
to verify disclosures by public officials. It also had weak enforcement
powers.
In July amendments to the law on conflict of interest were enacted
to strengthen the authority of the commission. It acquired the power to
investigate the truthfulness of officials' disclosures about their
property and income. The commission's chairman, Slobodan Lekovic,
complained that its yearly budget of 240,000 euros ($312,000) was
insufficient to meet the new responsibilities of the commission.
Excessive discretion granted to officials in the disposition of
public property likely encouraged corruption. For example, on February
18, media reported that the City of Podgorica gave city-owned
apartments to several judges based on their ``significant contributions
to the city.'' According to data published online, since 2003, 216
apartments were given to municipal employees, persons in need, and
persons Podgorica authorities deemed worthy.
The law provides some protection for whistleblowers, but it was
inadequate in practice. For example, three former police officers--
Enver Dacic, Mithad Nurkovic, and Suad Muratbasic--claimed they had to
leave the country because of threats they received when they spoke
publicly about police complicity in transborder smuggling. Military
authorities initiated two disciplinary procedures (on April 19 and May
26) against Nenad Cobeljic, president of the military trade union, for
disclosing to the media information about corruption and abuses in the
military. On December 29, the Ministry of Defense suspended Cobeljic
``because of violations at work'' but claimed that this action had
nothing to do with trade union activities.
While open bidding was the most commonly used procedure for public
procurement, many auditing reports identified inconsistent or irregular
application of legal provisions or circumvention of the law in
practice. On July 29, the Assembly adopted the Law on Public
Procurement. Some observers, including the NGO Alternativa, complained
that the new law failed to include important measures to strengthen
transparency.
The constitution and law provide for public access to government
information, but implementation was weak and inconsistent, in
particular regarding some parts of privatization agreements. Some
ministries were supportive of information requests, while others at
times publicly criticized them. According to MANS, the ministries of
sustainable development and tourism, defense, and economy had the least
capacity to implement the law. The level of access did not differ for
noncitizens or the foreign or domestic press.
NGOs reported that their requests for government-held information
frequently went unanswered. In the case of MANS, which was well known
for contesting government inaction, authorities provided timely
responses to approximately 38 percent of its requests. In May the
Administrative Court overruled the denial by the chief state prosecutor
and the Ministry of Justice of Human Rights Action's request for
information about measures the prosecutor took in connection with 14
cases involving allegations of official malfeasance. According to MANS,
agencies usually refused to give information that could reveal
corruption or illegal activity, particularly involving the
privatization process. MANS reported that citizens preferred to submit
requests through NGOs rather directly to government offices.
Authorities usually provided reasons for their denials (such as
threats to state interests or to the business interests of the
contracting parties), and these could be appealed to the higher-level
state bodies or courts. The courts usually supported such appeals: the
Administrative Court ruled favorably on 77 percent of the 4,879
complaints filed by MANS from 2005 to 2010. However, court orders to
the ministries to comply with specific requests were often ambiguous
and, consequently, sometimes ignored. During the first six months of
the year, MANS sent 129 complaints to the ombudsman regarding cases in
which it alleged the courts' decisions were not enforced.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to the views of international
groups, but some of the many domestic NGOs regarded cooperation as only
nominal.
Almost 4,500 domestic registered NGOs operated in the country,
including those specializing in human and minority rights and women's
rights. According to NGOs, authorities provided minimal assistance. On
January 25, a Council for Cooperation between the government and NGOs
was established, and on July 22, the Assembly adopted the Law on NGOs.
The new law, which was scheduled to enter into force on January 1,
2012, established criteria for establishing an NGO, provided details of
bookkeeping, centralized the distribution of budgetary resources from
public funds appropriated for NGOs, specified criteria for funding
NGOs, and stipulated the auditing of donated funds.
During the year human rights activist Aleksandar Zekovic told the
media that the Office of the Basic Prosecutor had acknowledged that
during its four-year investigation of his allegations that police
threatened him, they had not listened to an audio recording of the
threats, which he had sent them when he initially reported the
incident. Zekovic contended that the audio recording would enable
authorities, as it had enabled him, to identify the person who made the
threats. The statute of limitations led to the termination of the
investigation during the year.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--There is an ombudsman for human
rights, who operated without government or party interference, but
received inadequate resources. The public awareness of the ombudsman's
role increased. The ombudsman was active and established good
cooperation with NGOs. Upon finding a violation of human rights or
freedoms by a state agency or institution, the ombudsman can take
disciplinary measures, including dismissal, against the violator.
Failure to comply with the ombudsman's request for corrective action
within a defined period of time is punishable by fines of 500 to 2,000
euros ($650 to $2,600).
The ombudsman may investigate alleged human rights violations by
government authorities and take measures to remedy them; inspect,
without prior notification, all spaces in prisons and other premises
where detained persons are held; propose new laws; request from the
Constitutional Court an assessment of whether a law violates the
constitution or international treaty obligations; provide an evaluation
of human rights issues, upon request of a competent body; address
general issues that are important for the protection and promotion of
human rights and freedoms; and cooperate with other organizations and
institutions dealing with human rights and freedoms. The ombudsman may
act upon complaints about ongoing judicial proceedings only when the
complaints involve delays, obvious procedural violations, or
authorities' failure to carry out court decisions.
A law adopted on July 9 permits the ombudsman to represent citizens
who complain of discrimination, but not those who allege torture or
cruelty. Critics asserted that it failed to define with sufficient
precision the ombudsman's responsibilities for protecting personal data
and personal documents. The majority of complaints submitted to the
ombudsman concerned lengthy procedures before competent state and local
authorities and inconsistent or unfounded decisions by local government
institutions. The government and the courts generally implemented the
ombudsman's recommendations, although with delay.
Although the Assembly's Standing Committee for Human Rights and
Freedoms increased its activities and met several times during the
year, its contribution was perceived by many observers as
insignificant.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and laws prohibit discrimination based on race,
sexual orientation, gender, disability, language, or social status. The
government did not effectively enforce these prohibitions. Although the
Assembly in July 2010 adopted a comprehensive law prohibiting
discrimination based on these and other grounds, the Office of the
Ombudsman, which is responsible for the law's implementation, lacked
the human, technical, and financial resources for its enforcement.
Government efforts to combat discrimination were modest. At the end
of May, the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights launched a 75,000
euro ($97,500) campaign to prevent discrimination based on gender,
sexual orientation, and disability. A group of NGOs called
unsuccessfully for an end to the campaign, claiming that it was
superficial, stilted, not focused on actual challenges, and not
delivering positive results. In November the government made a final
decision to establish an Antidiscrimination Council chaired by the
prime minister.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The penalty for most forms of
rape, including spousal rape, is one to 10 years in prison. In cases
where the victim is younger than 14, suffered serious bodily injury, or
was the victim of several perpetrators, punishment could be more
severe. In practice sentences were generally much more lenient.
Deeply ingrained societal attitudes hampered the prosecution of
rape cases. Victims were reluctant to report crimes due to the cultural
stigma that attaches to victims and their families. Judges frequently
allowed aspersions to be cast upon a victim's character in court
proceedings. Three cases of rape and four cases of attempted rape were
reported to police during the year. There were no arrests or
convictions for spousal rape during the year.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a
persistent and common problem. NGOs working with abused women plausibly
claimed that a significant number of incidents were unreported due to
fear of reprisals from attackers or lack of measures to prevent
reoccurrence. Official agencies, including police and to some extent
the judiciary, appeared to be more responsive to complaints about
domestic violence, but observers considered their efforts inadequate.
Domestic violence is punishable by fine or imprisonment, depending
on the seriousness of the offense. In 2010, according to judicial
authorities, courts convicted 206 persons of domestic violence, of whom
54 received prison sentences, 131 were given suspended sentences, 20
were fined, and one was sentenced to mandatory supervision. During the
first six months of the year, police received accusations of family
violence involving 151 victims, 142 of them women; police filed
criminal charges against 131 individuals, 127 of them men.
Lengthy trials, economic dependence, and lack of alternative places
to live often led victims and perpetrators to continue to live
together, resulting at times in additional assaults and greater
hesitation of victims to report them. NGOs were concerned by the
statements of some local politicians that family violence was a private
problem in which competent institutions should not interfere. Local
NGOs working to combat domestic violence relied to a large extent on
international donor assistance. State efforts to protect victims of
domestic violence were inadequate. According to NGOs and the ombudsman,
female victims of domestic violence often complained that government-
run social welfare centers did not respond adequately to their appeals
for help. The ombudsman requested that the work of the social welfare
centers be improved. Children who were victims of domestic violence
were sometimes accommodated in the children's correctional facility in
Ljubovic or the orphanage in Bijela.
Authorities generally acknowledged the importance of combating
family violence and enacted legislation and introduced administrative
measures to this end, but they did not allocate adequate resources and
effort necessary to achieve their goals. NGOs operated two shelters for
victims of domestic violence in the central part of the country but did
not address the needs of victims in the north and other rural areas.
Women's advocacy groups worked to combat domestic violence through
awareness campaigns and sought to improve women's access to legal
services and workshops.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal but remained a
problem, and society generally tolerated it. Victims were hesitant to
report harassment, although police were usually effective in
intervening when asked to do so. Although 7.5 percent of employed
persons who participated in surveys conducted by the Social Council in
March 2010 stated that they had been victims of workplace harassment,
no instances of such harassment were reported during the year to Labor
Inspection Unit of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of
Health. There was free access to contraceptives and to skilled
attendance during childbirth, including essential obstetric and
postpartum care. The government provided free childbirth services.
Women and men received equal treatment in the diagnosis of, and
care for, sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--The constitution provides for gender equality.
Women have the same legal rights as men in property law, family law,
and the judicial system. In practice women did not enjoy equal legal,
economic, or social status with men. Traditionally, women rarely
inherit property. The NGO SOS pointed out that it was difficult for
women to defend their property rights in divorce suits. According to a
survey conducted by the NGO, 58 percent of divorced women initiated
proceedings for the division of marital property, but only 3 percent of
them received property after proceedings, which lasted six years on
average. One emerging trend involved husbands in divorce proceedings
titling their property in the name of other family members or friends
rather than their wives. Traditional patriarchal ideas of gender,
according to which women should be subservient to male members of their
families, resulted in continued discrimination against women in the
home. For example, 84 percent of illiterate persons were women. In
rural areas women could not always exercise their right to control
property, and husbands occasionally directed their wives' voting.
Widespread, albeit mostly tacit, discriminatory cultural norms
prevented women from equal participation in all areas of social
development and generally discouraged them from seeking work outside
the home. When they did so, they faced discriminatory treatment in the
labor market, particularly in the trade and service sectors. Employers
frequently violated women's legal entitlement to a 40-hour workweek,
overtime, paid leave, and maternity leave. Expectations regarding
women's obligations toward the family adversely affected their
opportunities for advancement. Harassment at work was often unreported
due to the victim's fear of being fired and a lack of information on
legal remedies. No all-inclusive statistics were available regarding
women in managerial positions, but few women held senior management
positions in government or commerce. Men far outnumbered women in
senior positions, even though more women had college degrees. Some job
announcements openly specified such discriminatory employment criteria
for women as age and physical appearance. In the police department,
women accounted for only 13.4 percent of the staff and in the army, 8.6
percent. But an increasing number of women served as judges, and there
were many women in such professional fields as law, science, and
medicine.
Educational opportunities for women from the Romani, Ashkali, and
Egyptian communities were limited due to traditional values and
societal prejudice. Due to poor education and harsh living conditions,
Romani women seldom visited gynecologists or obstetricians, with
negative consequences for their health and for infant mortality rates.
Although the law incorporates the general principle of
nondiscrimination against women, it does not explicitly address the
principle of equal pay for equal work. In practice, women's wages were
lower than those of men for comparable work. A distinction between
``male'' and ``female'' professions was entrenched. In 2010, according
to a February report by the NGO European Movement in Montenegro, women
earned an average of 14 percent less than men.
A standing Assembly committee for gender equality, which has 11
members, held nine meetings during the first nine months of the year
and proposed various measures for advancing policies and strategies
aimed at enhancing gender equality.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents, by birth in the country's territory, through naturalization,
or as otherwise specified by international treaties governing the
acquisition of citizenship. Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians registered the
births of their children at lower rates than other groups, mostly due
to the lack of awareness of the importance of civil registration and a
lack of documentation of the parents' identities. Consequently some
children in these communities continued to lack birth or registration
documentation. Their children were not well integrated into the broader
community and discrimination against them remained widespread.
Education.--By law primary education is free and compulsory.
Nonetheless human rights observers reported that the government did not
undertake adequate efforts to monitor the education of Romani children.
In May 2010, according to government data, only 47 percent of the 2,587
children in these communities between the ages of six and 15 were
attending primary school. A much smaller proportion continued to
secondary and higher education. Impediments often included a lack of
knowledge of the language of instruction, poverty, and tradition. Many
parents did not want their children, particularly girls, to go to
school, preferring that they stay at home and marry at an early age.
There were no textbooks in the Romani language.
Tuition for primary education was free, but except for those whose
families who benefited from social welfare programs, students' families
had to provide books and school supplies. The government provided books
for children without parents, those with disabilities, special social
cases, and children in the Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian communities.
The ombudsman noted, however, that the government failed to provide
sufficient books in a timely fashion to such pupils in higher grades.
NGO programs and grants helped provide books and other school resources
for Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian children.
Child Abuse.--There were few reported cases of child abuse. The
government took little action to investigate the issue, and the legal
requirement that a parent or guardian be present in order for a
juvenile to make an allegation of a crime was a particular disincentive
to reporting family-related abuse. The country lacked proper facilities
for children who suffered from family violence. The ombudsman has noted
that social welfare centers failed to provide adequate child protection
in a number of cases. During the first nine months of 2010, social
welfare centers received complaints about the mistreatment of 72
children belonging to 27 families. A shelter for victims of family
violence run by the NGO Safe Woman's House during 2010 accommodated 17
children. In December the Assembly adopted a juvenile justice law which
gathered all the provisions on juvenile justice into one law and
separated legislation on juveniles from the law for adults. This was
intended to improve the treatment of juvenile offenders and provide
adequate treatment to underage victims of crime.
Media coverage of crime stories continued to violate the privacy
rights of children by publishing details about them, including personal
information.
Many Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian children began to work both at
home and in the streets at an early age, typically around age seven, to
contribute to the family income. Often, the parents and relatives of
Romani children forced them to beg at busy intersections, on street
corners, from door to door, and in restaurants and cafes. Many children
were from nearby countries. According to the ombudsman's report on
child begging in 2010, authorities registered 332 persons aged 10 to
16, begging in the streets, most of whom were non-Montenegrin
nationals. But competent authorities failed to report adequately the
incidence of child begging, especially in the cities of Berane and
Andrijevica, whose officials reported no instances of child begging in
the year.
The deputy ombudsman investigated alleged violations of children's
rights. The office of the ombudsman received 59 complaints in 2010 and
made 11 recommendations to the appropriate authorities, mainly
involving socially vulnerable children who had disabilities or were
poor, orphaned, or living in institutions. A survey by the NGO Center
for Children's Rights in cooperation with 19 other NGOs noted an
increase of juvenile delinquency, drug use, and begging, and violence
against minors. Romani children remained a particularly vulnerable
group, and many problems involving refugee children were still not
resolved. Mid-2009 estimates of the number of children with
disabilities ranged between 6,000 and 7,000.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for legal marriage is generally
18, but an individual may legally marry at the age of 16 if a court
consents. Child marriage was a problem, particularly in Romani
communities, where boys and girls generally married at approximately
age 14. These marriages are considered illegal and not officially
recognized.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The age of consent is 18. There
is a statutory rape law. The penalties for rape are higher if the
victim is a minor. Child pornography is illegal, and punishment ranged
from six months' imprisonment for displaying child pornography to five
years for using a child in the production of pornography.
Institutionalized Children.--A March report by the ombudsman,
regarding the status of persons with disabilities in the orphanage in
Bijela, described conditions for children with mental disabilities as
inadequate. Problems included overcrowding, and a shortage of
professional staff. Accessibility for persons with physical
disabilities was also inadequate. In a report on its 2008 visit to the
country released in March 2010, the CPT criticized the treatment of 15
children in the Komanski Most Institution for Persons with Special
Needs, where children with mental disabilities were held together with
adults in unsanitary conditions and without sufficient supervision to
prevent their mistreatment. Since the visit, authorities have taken a
number of steps to respond to these criticisms (see Persons with
Disabilities).
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish population was small--
approximately 18 households--and widely distributed across the country.
On July 31, the Jewish Community, an NGO, was established in Herceg
Novi with the aim of preserving the traditions and customs of Jewish
people. Most of the country's Jewish inhabitants were descendants of
persons who fled to the country from Bosnia and Serbia after the
beginning of World War II. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the State Department's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, pensions, allowances, family care and support, buildings,
information and communication. The constitution also provides persons
with mental disabilities with the right to be placed in adequate
residential institutions and the right to foster care and support or
other state services. However, societal discrimination against persons
with disabilities effectively limited their access to these benefits,
and authorities did not actively prosecute infractions. While
authorities generally enforced the requirement that new public
buildings include access for persons with disabilities, a continuing
lack of access to older public buildings, hospitals, and public
transportation was a problem.
Although there were some improvements in government efforts to
address the rights of persons with disabilities, they remained one of
the most vulnerable population groups, often abandoned and
marginalized. According to the 2011 census, 11 percent of the
population had difficulty performing everyday activities due to
illness, disability, or age. The ministries of health, labor and social
welfare, education and sports, science, culture, and human and minority
rights have responsibilities for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
On May 19, the government adopted a law on discrimination against
persons with disabilities that complemented the legal framework by
specifying the forms of discriminatory actions that were illegal.
Authorities improved facilities available to persons with disabilities
confined in the Komanski Most Institution for Children with
Disabilities. Nevertheless the government announced during the year
that a legal deadline requiring all public facilities to be accessible
by 2013 would likely be extended.
Discriminatory treatment persisted. Regulations providing
protection, encouraging employment, and securing housing for persons
with disabilities were not consistently implemented. Although persons
with disabilities are entitled to health care within the general health
care system, often it was not delivered in a satisfactory manner. For
example, a student in the ``June 1'' center for children and youth
complained to the ombudsman that the dentist in the Podgorica clinical
center refused to provide her with medical help because the dentist was
frightened by her handicap. Disability allowances were inadequate.
Education for children with mental and physical disabilities remained
inadequate. Many parents turned to the ombudsman because their children
had problems in schools; the ombudsman recommended that assistants be
introduced as a mandatory requirement for the education of children
with special needs. The government continued to implement its plan to
construct daycare centers for children with disabilities in all 21
municipalities; six centers were in operation by year's end.
Unemployment remained a serious problem for persons with
disabilities. Authorities provide incentives to employers who hire
persons with disabilities and penalties for those who do not meet a
quota system for employing them. Employers who do not abide by the law
must contribute to a fund for helping persons with disabilities, but
they often chose this option in the belief that employees with
disabilities would be unable to meet the requirements of the job. NGOs
claimed that the fund dispensed little money with few visible results
and objected to its practice of returning unused funds to the state
budget at the end of the budgetary year. The nontransparent use of
these funds garnered significant public concern.
NGOs contended that the government was significantly behind in
implementing its plan to integrate persons with disabilities.
According to the Association of Young Persons with Disabilities, 10
persons with disabilities were studying at local universities during
the year, compared with three in 2001.
Despite laws entitling persons with mental disabilities to
accommodation and education in institutions appropriate to their needs,
mental health care remained inadequate. Institutionalized persons often
become wards of the state and live in isolation in outdated and
underfunded treatment facilities. Institutionalization perpetuated
stigmatization of the mentally ill. A December 1 NGO report on
psychiatric and mental hospitals in Kotor, Podgorica, and Niksic cited
many of these deficiencies. At the same time it noted that the authors
had observed no instances of the mistreatment of patients.
Partly in response to the CPT's March 2010 report, which detailed
the ``appalling'' mistreatment of residents of the Komanski Most
Institution for Persons with Special Needs, authorities initiated or
continued a number of improvements in that institution during the year.
Physical conditions remained substandard in some respects and staff
shortages persisted, but there were improvements in the women's section
and cafeteria. A central heating system and video surveillance were
installed. Children were separated from adults and men from women.
Educational opportunities outside the institution were made available,
and more flexible daily activity plans were developed. Use of the
isolation room was discontinued and use of leather restraints was
strictly limited and recorded in a log.
In June authorities reached an agreement with six NGOs that permits
them to make unannounced visits to Komanski Most and the Ljubovic
Center for Children and Youth, a correctional facility for juvenile
offenders. On November 15, the NGOs presented a report on Komanski Most
that noted a significant improvement in the residents' living
conditions, primarily due to a change in managing directors (in 2010),
as well as additional investment in refurbishment. However, the report
found that recent increases in personnel were insufficient to resolve a
considerable shortage in staff and health services needed further
improvement.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution and law on
minority rights provide both individual and collective rights for
minorities, and these provisions were generally observed for most
groups, but Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians were disadvantaged in access
to social services and continued to experience societal discrimination.
According to government statistics, in 2009 more than 50 percent of
school-age children from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities
were not integrated into the obligatory primary education system. Those
school systems that are integrated often maintain institutional and
geographic segregation. For example, the Bozidar Vukovic primary school
continued to maintain a remote facility in the Konik refugee camp in
Podgorica that was attended only by Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian
students. During the year Romani NGO leaders renewed their request that
authorities eliminate this type of de facto school segregation. During
an assessment of the country in February, the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance warned that the continued separation of
Romani children from children of other ethnic groups would seriously
impede the integration of Roma into society.
According to the Fund for Providing Roma Scholarships, an NGO, the
primary-school dropout rate for students belonging to these minorities
was approximately 50 percent in the 2010-11 academic year. There was
some progress enrolling students from these communities in secondary
school. The number rose from 37 students in 2009 10 to 65 in 2011-12.
Only eight individuals attended university in 2010-11.
According to 2011 census, Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians constituted
approximately 1 percent of the population. According to 2009 U.N. data,
approximately 40 percent of them lacked birth or citizenship
certificates. Many, including IDPs from Kosovo, lived illegally in
squatter settlements, often widely scattered, and lacked such basic
services as public utilities, medical care, and sewage disposal. The
2008 Law on Citizenship and its accompanying regulations made obtaining
citizenship very difficult for persons without personal identity
documents (see section 2 d.). According to the UNDP, approximately 70
percent of Roma were illiterate, 50 percent were unemployed, and 36
percent lived below the poverty level.
Societal prejudice against Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians was
widespread, and local authorities often ignored or tacitly condoned it.
Members of these minorities lacked political representation and
generally stayed out of politics. They occasionally lacked access to
advanced medical professionals, such as surgeons and other specialists,
that was available to other residents. According to a study carried out
by three NGOs, the Monitoring Center, Juventas, and Cazas, the greatest
barriers facing Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians in the labor sector were
inability to speak the national language, lack of education, and
employer discrimination. In August the government introduced tax
incentives aimed at encouraging private entrepreneurs to hire Roma,
Ashkali, and Egyptians.
The government has a formal strategy and action plan for improving
the situation of Roma in 2008-12 but took no significant measures to
advance it during the year. Authorities appropriated 325,000 euros
($423,000) during the year to implement the action plan, a much smaller
amount than envisaged by the strategy. A group of human rights NGOs
accused the government of failing to establish the proper mechanisms to
monitor funding for projects aimed at the country's Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptian communities.
The Albanian National Council requested new textbooks for Albanian
students and more involvement of Albanian authors in writing them.
The leaders of ethnic minority communities continued to allege that
the government did not comply with the constitutional requirement of
affirmative action for minorities. They asserted that these rights
included ethnic representation in the National Assembly and in local
self-government assemblies in areas where a minority group forms a
significant share of the populations. They also complained that
minorities were underrepresented in the government administration, the
judiciary, and state-owned economic enterprises. A study conducted in
June by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights showed a large
imbalance in the ethnic distribution of public sector jobs. Ethnic
Montenegrins, who constituted less than half of the population, held 79
percent of public administration positions. At year's end, there were
two Roma in the central administration and none in local government
bodies. Nevertheless, amendments to the election law enacted on
September 8 to enhance affirmative action gave minorities additional
representation in the National Assembly. It applies to minorities that
win less than 3 percent of votes and those that constitute 15 percent
or less of the population. This law has received mixed reactions from
minority communities; ethnic Albanians were displeased that their set-
aside Assembly seats were eliminated, while others welcomed the
opportunity to have representation in the government.
A government Fund for Minorities financed national councils
intended to represent the interests of minority groups. There were
national councils for Serbs, Bosniaks, Albanians, Muslims, Croats, and
Roma. The fund continued to be the focus of public attention for
alleged misappropriation of funds. Authorities provided 800,000 euros
($1.04 million) to the councils during the year to implement specific
projects. In March the State Auditing Office reviewed the work of the
fund and concluded that its internal auditing system was imprecise and
inefficient. Auditors also reported that the fund failed to monitor the
implementation of approved projects and did not evaluate their results.
The authorities decided to allocate 2011 funds to the councils on
October 31, one day before a ban took effect prohibiting participation
by members of the Assembly in institutions like the fund (see section
4). On November 10, the NGOs Montenegrin Legal Committee for Human
Rights Protection and Civic Alliance sued the members of the fund for
embezzlement, claiming that they acted to advance their own personal
interests.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons continued to experience discrimination,
ostracism, and social exclusion. The authorities introduced a number of
antidiscrimination regulations and showed a better understanding for
their rights, but societal antipathy led most LGBT persons to conceal
their orientation.
During the year a number of NGOs continued to demand the dismissal
of the minority and human rights minister, Ferhat Dinosa, because of
his ``incompetent, intolerant, and homophobic statements.'' On March
28, the minister rejected an invitation by LGBT activists to be
involved in organizing a gay pride parade and indicated that he opposed
the holding of such an event. In a June 14 radio interview, he stated
that the government was ``ready to protect, but not to promote'' the
country's LGBT population. Dinosa resigned on November 26 to become
ambassador to Albania.
LGBT Forum Progress is the only NGO focused solely on LGBT rights.
Another NGO, Juventas, made these rights one of its focus issues. In
April, with the support of the UNDP and the Global Network for Funding
of LGBT Rights, Juventas opened a counseling center in Podgorica for
the LGBT community.
On May 17, organizers of an inaugural pride parade, scheduled for
May 31, announced that it would be postponed due to a perceived lack of
support from state authorities. They asserted that the government was
reluctant to appoint a representative to the event's organization board
and to designate an official to march in the parade. The government
asked the organizers to reconsider the postponement, asserting that its
support for the parade was more significant than its actual
participation in it.
A group of NGOs refused to participate in a government-sponsored
international conference on LGBT rights on September 2-5 on the grounds
that the government had failed to adopt an anti-homophobia action plan
or dismiss Ferhat Dinosa from his ministerial position for alleged
homophobic remarks.
There were several reports of LGBT-related hate crimes and
discrimination. On May 17, a concert organized in support of LGBT
rights was halted when an unidentified person threw tear gas, which
caused the crowd to disperse. Afterwards a group of hooligans assaulted
two individuals they believed to be gay in the center of Podgorica. On
August 9, several foreign tourists reported that they were expelled
from the beach at Ratac, near Bar, because of their sexual orientation.
Observers asserted that many incidents were not reported because
victims were reluctant to come forward in light of the lack of
understanding by police and other officials. LGBT Forum Progress filed
three discrimination complaints during the course of the year. Juventas
filed a lawsuit against unknown persons for writing threatening
graffiti against the LGBT population on various places in Podgorica in
June, July, and August. While the lawsuit lacked names of the
perpetrators, the NGO wanted to raise public awareness of these issues.
On November 24, the NGO Center for Civic Education sponsored the
first television spot promoting LGBT rights. It included the first
publically displayed kiss between two men and triggered sharp
reactions, including death threats against one of the actors.
LGBT Forum Progress opened the first LGBT shelter in December with
assistance by the Dutch government. To date, it has housed four
individuals. The NGO Juventas opened the first online service for
reporting homophobic violence.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence against persons with AIDS. The NGO Juventas stated that
persons with HIV/AIDS were stigmatized and experienced discrimination.
Observers believed that fear of discrimination prevented many persons
from seeking HIV testing. The NGO Cazas runs the only center for
psychological support to assist persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The labor law permits workers the freedom to organize a trade union and
to conduct trade union activities without prior consent. The Law on
Trade Union Representatives allows unions to engage in collective
bargaining and other activities without government interference. The
law provides workers the right to strike, except for the military,
police personnel, and public servants if they would jeopardize general
public interest, national security, safety of people and property, or
functioning of the authorities. The law prohibits employer
discrimination against union members or those seeking to organize a
union, and employers may be fined or sentenced to one year of prison
for violating the law. Workers dismissed for union activity have the
right to reinstatement. The law provides for the right to bargain
collectively.
Under the law collective bargaining agreements cover only the
registered workforce. In November 2010 representatives of the
government's Social Council, the Union of Employers, and the
Confederation of Trade Unions of Montenegro signed amendments to the
general collective agreement to align the agreement with the labor law,
introducing a minimum wage and other rules regulating collective
bargaining. The new collective agreement entered into force on January
1. The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro described the
amendments as detrimental to workers, but the Constitutional Court
declined its request to review the issue. A December 21 agreement that
included both the Confederation of Trade Unions and the Union of Free
Trade Unions extended the validity of the General Collective Agreement
through June 2012.
The law provides for out-of-court settlements of individual and
collective labor disputes. Between September 2010 and December 2011,
the agency created to arbitrate such disputes reviewed 356 cases
involving 6,000 parties. It decided 296 cases, but in many instances
employers failed to abide by the agency's decisions.
None of the protections available to legally registered workers
applied to unregistered workers, many of whom came from abroad and did
not have employment contracts. According to the national employment
agency, between 15,000 and 50,000 unregistered workers (30,000 domestic
and 20,000 foreign) were employed during the summer season primarily in
construction, trade, tourism, agriculture and catering.
In practice workers frequently exercised the right to strike.
Collective bargaining remained at a rudimentary level and was hampered
by the fact that only the unions with the largest membership in a given
plant could be parties to collective agreements. There were reports
from both private and public sector employees that employers threatened
or otherwise intimidated workers engaged in union organizing or other
legal union activities. In some cases employees' salaries were cut and
some were dismissed. In the case of dismissals, years could pass before
workers regained employment due to extensive court delays. The
government's efforts to enforce labor law were inconsistent.
In February a trade union protested a decision by the management of
Tei Mon Company to fire five workers for their participation in a
strike and to hire two workers to replace them. In June the trade union
from the Podgorica Aluminum Plant (KAP) complained to the Ministry of
Labor and Social Welfare and to the Labor Inspectorate that KAP's
management had illegally docked the salaries of employees who were
union members. In September a contract soldier was fired from the
military forces, allegedly due to his membership in a union.
Many workers in privatized or bankrupt companies had outstanding
claims for back payment of salaries and severance pay. Several local
governments failed to pay their staff for months on end. Unpaid wages
and factory closures led to large-scale strikes. The law provides some
recourse, and parties have reached settlements in the past involving
some compensation, but these were exceptions. The law requires
employers to make substantial contributions to pension, social, and
health-care funds. To avoid these payments, employers often did not
officially register their employees.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, but there were reports that
individuals were trafficked to, from, and within the country for labor,
particularly sex trafficking and work in construction. Forced begging
by Romani children remained far the most prevalent form of compulsory
labor.
Also see the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and the government generally enforced these laws and
regulations effectively in the formal economy. While the official
minimum age for employment is 15, it was common in farming communities
to find younger children assisting their families. Children under 18
may not work in jobs that involve particularly difficult physical work,
overtime and night work, or underground or underwater work or in jobs
that ``may have a harmful effect or involve increased risk for their
health and lives.'' The law specifies monetary penalties for violation
of these provisions, with fines ranging from 10 to 300 times the
minimum wage.
Romani children worked in a variety of unofficial retail jobs,
typically washing car windows, collecting items such as scrap metal, or
selling old newspapers. Many Romani children engaged in begging. Police
asserted that the practice constituted isolated family begging rather
than organized begging. In Podgorica and the coastal areas, police
continued an initiative aimed at suppressing begging. They arrested and
charged several adults with organizing and forcing their relatives,
mostly young Romani children, to beg. Police pressed charges against
the perpetrators while the children were sent to their families.
Observers believed that authorities had insufficient information on the
scope and nature of the begging and lacked serious support systems for
this operation.
Inspectors from the State Labor Inspector's Office were responsible
for enforcing the child labor laws within the formal economy. Apart
from begging, which is not considered ``work'' under the law,
inspectors reported no violations of child labor laws during the year.
The ministry has 37 inspectors in eight branch offices covering all
labor issues. No resources were devoted exclusively to investigating
child labor.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--According to the National
Statistics Office, in May the average monthly wage, without taxes and
contributions, was 479 euros ($ 623), a decrease of 1.6 percent from
2010. The national minimum wage in May was 143.7 euros ($187) per
month. The government statistics office estimated that approximately
6.8 percent of the population lived below the absolute poverty line,
set at 170 euros ($221) per person per month in 2010, compared with 4.9
percent in 2008. Significant portions of the workforce, particularly in
rural areas and the informal sector, earned less than the minimum wage.
The law establishes a 40-hour workweek (except in specified unusual
circumstances) and requires an unspecified premium for work in excess
of 40 hours. It prescribes a 30-minute daily rest period. Overtime is
limited by the Labor Law to 10 hours per week, but seasonal workers
often worked much longer. Many workers, particularly in commerce, were
deprived of their rights to weekly and annual leave but often did not
report the violations of their rights for fear of repercussions.
The use of ``temporary'' workers was a major issue between trade
unions and employers, since employers had considerable leverage over
the terms of employment of temporary workers, particularly women, older
workers, and those with disabilities. Amendments to the Labor Law
adopted on November 24, restricted ``temporary'' employment to two
years. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and the Union of Free
Trade Unions of Montenegro had various interpretations about the date
when the amendments were to enter into force.
The government establishes health and safety regulations in the
workplace. It requires employers to supply and enforce the use of
safety equipment and to report any serious workplace deaths or injuries
within 24 hours. Authorities did not strictly enforce the requirements,
and both employers and workers violated health and safety rules,
particularly in the construction industry. The machinery and tools used
at construction sites were often not maintained properly, which
increased the risk of injuries. The Ministry of Labor and its
inspection department lacked adequate resources to enforce workplace
safety. Training was provided for labor inspectors, and awareness-
raising activities increased during the year. In practice workers often
lacked safety equipment, especially in the construction and wood-
processing industries. During the year there were five deaths and 24
serious injuries at work, mostly at construction sites and wood-
processing facilities. During the year authorities conducted 3,169
inspections of safety at workplaces and found 3,128 violations of
safety regulations. The most frequent reasons cited for injuries were
lack of work-related training, inadequate medical care for workers, and
old equipment.
Despite these shortcomings, enforcement efforts continued. Labor
inspectors have legal authority to close an establishment until
violations are corrected. In cases of repeated violations, the owners
can be fined. Inspectors found violations involving labor permits and
contracts, worker compensation, employee contributions to social
insurance, and payment of severance. During the year inspectors
conducted 13,215 inspections, found 8,069 irregularities, closed
workplaces in 708 cases, levied 2,582 on-the-spot fines for lesser
violations, and filed 215 misdemeanor charges and criminal charges in
six cases.
__________
NETHERLANDS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes the Netherlands,
Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten, is a constitutional monarchy. The
Netherlands (the term used to designate the European part of the
kingdom and the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius)
has a bicameral parliament; a first chamber (the Senate) is elected by
the country's 12 provincial councils and a second chamber (the House of
Representatives) by popular vote. A prime minister and a cabinet
representing the governing political parties exercise executive
authority. General elections held in June 2010 were free and fair.
Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten have unicameral parliamentary systems
and are largely autonomous, except in foreign policy and defense. The
Kingdom of the Netherlands is responsible for safeguarding fundamental
human rights and freedoms in its territories.
In a country with no widespread or systemic abuses, the most
salient human rights problem was societal animosity toward certain
ethnic and religious groups, particularly Muslim immigrants from North
Africa and the Middle East. In Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten, prison
conditions remained substandard in some respects.
In the Netherlands, authorities prosecuted individuals during the
year for violations of a law prohibiting public speech that incites
hatred or discrimination, although there were no reported convictions.
There were reports of violence against women and children, anti-Semitic
incidents, societal discrimination and violence against some religious
and ethnic minorities, and trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation and forced labor.
The government took steps to prosecute officials who committed
abuses, and there were no indications that impunity existed.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In the Netherlands, prison
and detention conditions generally met international standards; in
Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten, prison conditions remained substandard
in some respects. The government permitted visits by independent human
rights observers but none occurred during the year.
In the Netherlands, as of September 2009, 11,682 adults were in
detention, approximately 7 percent of them women. These figures exclude
2,000 persons undergoing treatment at Forensic Psychiatric Centers and
about 1,500 persons held in alien detention. In 2009 a daily average of
713 juveniles were in detention. The occupancy rate in prisons was
approximately 86 percent. The capacity of prisons and detention centers
was 12,600 for adults and 1,310 for juveniles. No figures were
available on the prevalence of deaths of detainees in prisons or
pretrial detention centers.
As of October, 246 persons, approximately 6 percent of them women,
were in detention in Aruba; the occupancy rate was an estimated 65
percent.
In St. Maarten 138 persons were in detention, approximately 3
percent of them women; the occupancy rate was 96 percent. In Curacao,
502 persons were in detention, approximately 5 percent of them women;
the occupancy rate was about 71 percent.
In all territories prisoners had access to potable water. A
``supervisory committee'' was available to hear the complaints of any
prisoner. There were no reports of inadequate recordkeeping or that
female prisoners were treated worse than males. In the Netherlands,
alternative punishments such as fines, community service, or electronic
house arrest were common for less serious offenses. There was no
available information on alternative sentencing possibilities in Aruba.
In Curacao there was a small-scale program to place selected
individuals under house arrest and monitor them electronically.
Authorities in St. Maarten had the option of imposing community service
and fines as punishment for nonviolent offenders, and they made use of
this option during the year.
In all territories authorities monitored prison and detention
center conditions. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to
receive visitors. Prisoners were permitted religious observance. They
could submit complaints to a supervisory committee, to the penitentiary
institution's official who decides on the placement of prisoners, or to
the prison system's complaint commission. In many cases complainants
had the option to appeal. Authorities addressed complaints adequately
with respect for due process of law.
Authorities permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
No visits occurred during the year.
In Curacao and St. Maarten, authorities did not increase prison
capacity sufficiently to allow separate facilities for juvenile
offenders. Judges may sentence juveniles under the age of 16 who have
committed serious offenses to prisons where they serve time together
with adults. However, there was one cell block at the prison in Curacao
reserved for youth offenders.
In St. Maarten, inmates struck briefly in April over a Public
Prosecutor's Office decision to send two inmates to prison in Bonaire.
In 2009 the U.N. Human Rights Committee cited reports describing
prison conditions in Bon Futuro Prison and Bonaire Remand Prison as
``extremely harsh.'' However, improvements continued as a result of a
2008 allocation of eight million euros ($10 million) by the Netherlands
government. The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture's (CPT's) 2009 report cited improvements in the prisons in
Curacao and St. Maarten, including the opening of a youth section in
St. Maarten. Authorities completed the renovation of the Bonaire
detention center in 2009 in accordance with CPT standards. A $2 million
renovation of Bon Futuro Prison continued during the year. Curacao
authorities completed work on a construction and renovation project for
separate holding facilities for undocumented foreign nationals in
Curacao. Also in Curacao construction of new entry and exit facilities
was nearing completion. Construction of a workshop for prisoner
activities continued, and some equipment from the Netherlands was
already on site. Staffing at the Curacao prison remained insufficient.
The prison director in St. Maarten indicated that prison staffing there
was sufficient.
In February inmates from the KIA Prison in Aruba sued the prison
authorities because of overcrowding. The Aruba Court of First Instance
ruled in favor of 150 prisoners, but the judge gave prison management
six months to improve the health and hygiene deficiencies that led to
prisoner unrest.
The Aruba Public Prosecutor's Office announced an investigation
into possible use of excessive violence by police during their
intervention in a prisoners' protest in February. One prisoner was
injured and taken to the hospital.
In June the St. Maarten Inmates Association demanded improvement in
inmates' living conditions and the availability of health care. They
based their demands in part on two court orders dating from 2007
requiring authorities to renovate the prison at Pointe Blanche.
Nonetheless, there were reports that authorities did not implement the
renovations, even though funds were allocated. In April the government
allocated funds to finance staff recruitment at the prison.
Construction was completed during the year on separate holding
facilities for undocumented foreign nationals.
The Dutch government agreed to finance staff recruitment to
strengthen St. Maarten's government. New personnel were being hired to
fill vacancies in the Police Force, Detectives Bureau, Pointe Blanche
Prison, and Immigration Services among others.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--In the Netherlands, the
Ministry of Security and Justice oversees law enforcement, as do the
justice ministries in the Caribbean territories. Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the regional police forces, which
have responsibility in law and practice for law enforcement, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A prosecutor
or senior police officer must order the arrest of any person, other
than one apprehended on the spot for alleged transgressions. Police may
question suspects for a maximum of 12 hours (six hours in Aruba,
Curacao, and St. Maarten) and detain them for up to three days (two
days in Aruba, Curacao, and St. Maarten), with the possibility of an
additional three-day extension in cases of ``urgent necessity,'' by
order of the public prosecutor without the permission of a magistrate.
By the fourth day (the third day in Aruba, Curacao, and St Maarten),
the prosecutor must bring detainees before an examining magistrate for
questioning and a decision whether to extend detention for another 14
days. The court subsequently reviews the validity of continued
detention every 90 days. Extensions depend on progress in the
preliminary investigation. Authorities must promptly inform detainees
of the charges against them.
In the Netherlands, in terrorism-related cases, the examining
magistrate may order detention for the first 14 days on the lesser
charge of ``reasonable suspicion'' rather than ``serious suspicion''
required for other crimes.
By law suspects have the right to consult an attorney. Nonetheless,
in the Netherlands lawyers were not commonly present during the
questioning of an adult suspect. The Justice Department established
pilot projects to test the practice of having an attorney present
during the initial detention and questioning of an adult suspect. In
the Caribbean territories a system existed to provide legal aid to
indigent detainees, but lawyers did not always appear before
questioning began. Authorities in Aruba indicated that if a detainee
requested a lawyer, no interrogation would take place without one
unless the seriousness of the case dictated otherwise.
There is no provision for bail, but authorities avoided lengthy
detention before trial unless there were compelling reasons to keep a
person in custody. In Aruba the law requires trials to begin no later
than three months after arrest. There was no information on the average
length of detention, but as of October, 44 percent of the prison
population in Aruba consisted of pretrial detainees.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are
public. Juries are not used. The law requires that authorities fully
inform defendants about the proceedings at every stage. In criminal
trials the law provides for prompt access to counsel (inexpensively for
persons with low incomes), the presumption of innocence, and the right
to appeal. The accused is not present when the examining magistrate
examines witnesses, but an attorney for the accused has the right to
question them. In most instances defendants and their attorneys have
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases, but in
certain cases involving national security, special procedures permit an
examining judge to assess the reliability of official intelligence
reports without exposing the identities of intelligence officers or
releasing confidential intelligence information to the public or the
defendant. In such cases the defense has the right to submit written
questions to these witnesses through the examining judge. The law
extends the above rights to all citizens.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The government was
responsive to ECHR decisions. During the year the ECHR issued six
judgments in cases involving the Netherlands and found violations in
four of them.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Individuals may bring
lawsuits for damages related to a possible human rights violation
before the regular court system or specific appeal boards. Once
individuals exhaust national remedies, they may appeal to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech including for members of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--While freedom of expression was generally
respected, it is a crime to engage in public speech that incites
hatred, discrimination, or violence against persons because of their
race, religion, convictions, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
There were no reports of successful prosecutions during the year.
Convictions were rare because courts were reluctant to restrict freedom
of expression, especially when it took place within the context of a
public debate.
On June 23, the Amsterdam District Court acquitted Freedom Party
leader Geert Wilders of offending, inciting hatred toward, and
discriminating against, Muslims. Although the court found some of
Wilders' anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant statements ``rude and
disparaging,'' it did not regard them as ``inflammatory'' or inciting
to hatred and discrimination, given the political context in which they
were made. The court noted that prevailing jurisprudence permitted
criticism of a religion and the behavior of supporters of a religion.
Freedom of Press.--Disputes occasionally arose over journalists'
right to protect their sources. As of year's end, the government had
not brought Dutch law into compliance with a 2010 ECHR ruling that it
should strengthen the legal protections of journalistic sources by
providing for an obligatory review by a judge or other independent and
impartial decision-making authority, rather than a less independent
examining magistrate, before police or the public prosecutor could
compel the journalist to reveal their sources.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. However,
authorities continued to pursue policies to prevent what they
considered to be incitement to discrimination on the Internet. There
were a number of convictions on these grounds. For example, on January
11, the Utrecht District Court convicted an 18-year-old for offending
Jews on the Internet and sentenced him to 80 hours of community
service, partly at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Police maintained a list of Web sites they judged to be purveyors
of child pornography and reviewed the list periodically. All major
domestic Internet service providers have agreed not to permit access to
those sites.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government generally
respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Authorities denied asylum to
persons who came from so-called safe countries of origin or who had
resided for some time in safe countries of transit. They used EU
guidelines to define such countries. Applicants had the right to appeal
the denials. The government did not return asylum seekers under the
Dublin II Regulation to Greece following a January 21 ruling by the
ECHR against Belgium and Greece. Instead, these applications, numbering
approximately 1,950, were processed in the Dutch asylum procedure.
Nonrefoulement.--Authorities gave serious attention to the
prohibition of refoulement. Decisions on deportations to countries or
localities where, in the opinion of some specialists in refugee
matters, safety from persecution was not assured were made in close
consultation with the Foreign Ministry and international human rights
organizations. At times the UNHCR and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs), including Amnesty International, objected to government efforts
to return persons to countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia,
where, in the opinion of those organizations, they might be at risk. In
response to objections authorities imposed a moratorium on deportations
to parts of Somalia.
During the year the government twice forcibly returned groups of
unsuccessful Iraqi asylum seekers to Baghdad in defiance of a ruling by
the ECHR and the opinion of the UNHCR. The Immigration Service declined
to disclose exact numbers, but the Dutch Refugee Foundation estimated
their number at 30 to 50. The government stated that it carefully
considered in a lengthy review process whether there were reasons to
believe that the selected individuals to be deported faced any personal
risk if returned. The immigration minister acknowledged that Iraq was
not a safe country for all, but he asserted that it was not unsafe for
everyone who is sent back. The Dutch have no mechanism to monitor those
who are repatriated to Baghdad. In November the government of Iraq
imposed new documentary requirements that held up a third group of
involuntary deportations from the Netherlands.
In the year ending in November, authorities deported approximately
40 persons to Afghanistan, despite UNHCR objections to such
deportations. The government relied upon a memorandum of understanding
with Afghanistan that permitted involuntary deportation provided
relevant humanitarian issues were taken into consideration. Authorities
indicated that they deported no one who they believed would be
incarcerated upon return.
Access to Basic Services.--Asylum seekers awaiting a decision on
their application are granted access to basic services, including
education, health care, and legal assistance. They are also permitted
to work a maximum of 24 weeks a year. Persons with refugee status have
full access to all public services.
Durable Solutions.--There is a policy of accepting up to 500
refugees from third countries each year for permanent settlement. The
number of such refugees accepted during the year was not available.
Temporary Protection.--Following criticism by NGOs and the UNHCR,
the government made an exception to its 2010 decision not to grant
protection to categories of aliens based on country conditions, gender,
and other factors. For example, it imposed a moratorium on deportations
to Mogadishu, Puntland, and Somaliland and reportedly took ``extra
care'' before deporting persons to southern and central Somalia. In
April the minister for immigration temporarily suspended the
repatriation of failed asylum applicants from Libya. This was believed
to affect approximately 70 Libyans.
Stateless Persons.--According to UNHCR statistics, there were
2,061stateless persons in the Netherlands at the end of 2010, including
about 1,000 immigrant Roma and an unspecified number of Malaccans, who
decline the citizenship either of the Netherlands or any other country
of possible allegiance for historical political reasons.
Citizenship is based primarily on the mother's citizenship. The
parliament has revised the law governing citizenship on several
occasions in an effort to resolve and prevent statelessness, including
by providing the opportunity to gain Dutch citizenship.
Stateless persons have no access to public services except
emergency health care.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens in all parts of the kingdom exercised this
right in practice through periodic free and fair elections based on
universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the
Netherlands, elections for provincial legislative bodies took place on
March 2, and the provincial legislatures subsequently chose a new upper
house of parliament on May 23. The members of the lower house were
elected by popular vote in June 2010. These elections were all
considered to be free and fair. The most recent governmental elections
in the Caribbean portions of the kingdom were also free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 61 women in the
150-seat Second Chamber of parliament. Of the 20 cabinet members, four
were women. Seventeen members of the second chamber of parliament were
of immigrant descent, including six of Turkish and five of Moroccan
descent. Women also held positions in the parliaments and cabinets of
the Dutch Caribbean Islands, including the position of prime minister
of St. Maarten.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The laws provide criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented the laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
The government pursued an active anticorruption policy coordinated
by the Internal Affairs Ministry's Bureau for Promotion of Integrity of
the Public Sector. The National Criminal Investigation Service
coordinated investigations under the supervision of the national
prosecutor for corruption. There are no laws requiring financial
disclosure; however, for most senior positions, every organization has
its own regulations to avoid conflicts of interest.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
authorities generally respected that right. When authorities denied
information requests, they provided reasons based on the law. Those
seeking information could appeal any refusal to the regular courts.
Disputes occasionally arose in court over the scope of the government's
right to withhold information in the public interest.
Following public allegations of corruption in Curacao, a special
Dutch investigator produced a report suggesting the possible
involvement of several cabinet members in corrupt activities. The
Curacao government refused to pursue a Dutch request for further
investigation into these allegations and asserted that the Dutch
investigator's report included unfounded accusations and ``useless
information.'' This response contributed to heightened concern among
many citizens about the quality of governance. The kingdom's government
retains oversight over some areas, including aspects of the judiciary
(such as the Supreme Court), and ``kingdom matters,'' including human
rights, the rule of law, and good governance. However, the Dutch see
intervention as a last resort, while the Curacao government suggested
that the Dutch right to intervene should be drastically changed in ways
that would both simplify and minimize outside oversight.
There were no reports of corruption on other Dutch Caribbean
islands, although unsubstantiated claims and presumptions of corruption
persist on some islands.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--A citizen may bring any complaint
before the national ombudsman, the Equal Opportunity Commission (CGB),
Commercial Code Council, or the Council of Journalism, depending on the
circumstances. In April the parliament agreed to the establishment of
an independent human rights institute as principal contact for domestic
and international human rights organizations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on age, race,
gender, disability, language, political preference, sexual orientation,
and social status, and the government generally enforced these
prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation
(FGM), and sexual harassment, and the government effectively prosecuted
such crimes. The penalty for rape is imprisonment not exceeding 15
years, a fine, or both. The maximum sentence for marital rape is eight
years in prison. Spousal abuse carries a penalty that is one-third more
severe than ordinary battery. Police records indicated that
approximately 3 percent of spousal abuse cases reported to police
resulted in arrests.
In 2009, according to a joint report on crime and law enforcement
published by the Research and Documentation Center of the Ministry of
Justice and the governmental Statistics Netherlands (CBS), there were
7,438 registered cases of rape, sexual assault, and other sexual
crimes. During the same year, courts reached verdicts in 1,040 cases,
of which 831 were convictions. The average prison sentence for
convicted rapists was one year.
The government continued to implement a 2008-11 national action
plan to intensify the fight against household violence that included
increased funding for shelters; the introduction of temporary
restraining orders on perpetrators; the development of a mandatory code
for professionals working in health and child care, education, and
other welfare sectors to report possible signals of domestic violence
and child abuse; and the launching of public awareness campaigns. In
Aruba, the criminal code specifies additional penalties for violent
offenses when committed against family members.
The government provided support to the national organization
Movisie, which assisted victims of domestic and sexual violence and
trained police and prosecutors in investigating and prosecuting related
crimes. The government subsidized shelters for battered women. Mayors
may impose temporary restraining orders on perpetrators of household
violence; police figures indicated that mayors nationwide issued 2,935
restraining orders in 2010. There was a national hotline for people
directly or indirectly affected by domestic violence.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--This procedure reportedly was
practiced in some immigrant communities (see section 6, Children).
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--The government has addressed
the problem of honor-related violence vigorously and continued a five-
year program started in 2006 to combat honor violence that focused on
prevention, protection, and criminal prosecution. In 2008 the
government set up a center within the regional police department in The
Hague. Accessible seven days a week and 24 hours a day, the center
developed a checklist to help the police and other professionals
identify honor violence cases.
Sexual Harassment.--The government continued a public-awareness
campaign and took measures to counter sexual harassment among civil
servants; no information was available on their effectiveness. The
Working Conditions Act commits employers to protect employees against
aggression, violence, and sexual intimidation. Complaints against
employers who fail to provide sufficient protection can be submitted to
the CGB. Victims of sexual assault or rape in the workplace must report
the incidents to police, since they are criminal offenses.
Sex Tourism.--There was sex tourism both in the Netherlands and the
Dutch Caribbean islands. Authorities monitored legal sex tourism to
minimize health risks to both tourists and prostitutes.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide the number, spacing, and timing of
their children and to have the information and means to do so. There
were no restrictions on the right to access contraceptives. The
government provided skilled attendance during childbirth, including
obstetric and postpartum care. Men and women received equal access to
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Under the law women have the same rights as men,
including rights in family law, property law, and the judicial system.
Female and male unemployment rates were 6 and 5 percent, respectively.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment reported that the higher
rate of unemployment among women, their reduced chances for promotion,
and their generally lower-ranking positions resulted primarily from
their engagement in part-time employment. According to the CBS, the
average hourly wage of female employees was 81 percent that of their
male colleagues in 2009.
The government provided affirmative action programs for women, and
collective labor agreements usually included provisions to strengthen
the position of women. In 2010 the CGB received 406 complaints of
discrimination, 16 percent of which related to gender.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Children obtain citizenship
primarily through their mothers. There were no reports that significant
numbers of newborns were not registered in a timely fashion.
Child Abuse.--The Ministry for Youth and Family estimated in
September 2010 that 107,000 children were abused annually, but fewer
than 50 percent were known to professional organizations. Experts
estimated that approximately 50 to 80 children died each year from some
form of abuse. The requirement that physicians report child abuse
overrides professional confidentiality. In 2009 the government launched
a two-year publicity campaign to encourage the public to report signs
of possible child abuse; in 2010 the Child Abuse Center received almost
62,000 reports of possible child abuse, compared to 60,000 in 2009.
Despite increased government funding for the Council for the Protection
of Children, there still were long waiting lists for assistance.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law prohibits FGM. The
maximum penalty is 12 years in prison. Its prevalence among women and
girls from high-risk countries was high. A study published by the
Ministry of Health indicated that in 2008, 470 of the 1,200 pregnant
women and girls from Somalia, Ethiopia, and Egypt examined by midwives
had undergone FGM. Most FGM procedures take place in the native
countries of the parents of victims. Under a long-term strategy to
combat FGM, the Health Ministry has committed more than one million
euros (approximately $1.3 million) annually to information campaigns
aimed at at-risk groups and at professionals whose occupations bring
them into contact with immigrant girls. These funds were also used for
projects designed to engage key individuals in communities where FGM
occurred. For example, in March the state secretary for health and
welfare released a statement emphasizing the 12-year prison sentence
for FGM. It was cosigned by immigrant organizations, medical
authorities who treat children, and local public health authorities and
was intended for distribution among affected communities and medical
authorities in hope of countering social pressures to undergo FGM.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penalty for forcing a minor
to engage in prostitution is imprisonment for up to eight years or up
to 12 years if the victim is under 16. The minimum age of consent is 16
in the European Netherlands and 15 in St. Maarten and Curacao. The
penalty for statutory rape is imprisonment not exceeding 15 years, a
fine, or both.
Throughout the kingdom the law prohibits production, possession,
and distribution of child pornography. In the Netherlands, the maximum
penalty for these offenses is eight years' imprisonment, while the
penalty for accessing child pornography on the Internet is four years
in prison.
International Child Abductions.--The Netherlands is a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction, but the convention does not apply to Aruba, St. Maarten, or
Curacao.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population in the Netherlands numbered
approximately 50,000.
Anti-Semitic incidents, including threats, verbal abuse, and the
desecration of monuments and cemeteries, continued to occur and to be
widely reported in the media. The Hague-based NGO Center for
Information and Documentation on Israel, which reported 124 incidents
in 2010, qualified the number as substantial. However, serious
incidents remained rare. The frequency of incidents appeared to be
correlated partly with the political situation in the Middle East.
Explicitly anti-Semitic sentiments were widely expressed among certain
segments of the Muslim community, pro-Palestinian groups, and fringe
nationalist and neo-Nazi groups.
In its report covering 2010, the government-sponsored, but
editorially independent, Registration Center for Discrimination on the
Internet (MDI) stated that it received 414 reports of anti-Semitism on
the Internet, of which it considered 212 to be punishable, including 68
instances of Holocaust denial. The MDI forwarded the most egregious
cases to the prosecutor's office. Authorities prosecuted a number of
cases during the year. The MDI noted that, although the Web sites of
right-wing extremists were well represented, the majority of instances
of punishable anti-Semitic expressions were on mainstream, interactive
sites. Some of the sites were located outside the country.
Expressions of anti-Semitism also occurred throughout the year
during soccer matches. In March fans in the ADO soccer club chanted,
``Hamas, Hamas, all Jews be gassed,'' and other anti-Semitic slogans
during a match. As a result the ADO soccer club was censured by a court
in The Hague following a suit brought on by the Combat Anti-Semitism
Foundation.
Authorities continued to implement an action plan ``Combating
Discrimination,'' adopted in 2010 to combat discrimination in general
and anti-Semitism in particular. The plan underlined the importance of
cooperation between authorities and Jewish and non-Jewish organizations
at the local level. The government continued to sponsor the Jewish
Moroccan Network Amsterdam, which sought to reduce tensions between
Jews and Moroccans.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic incidents in the Caribbean
parts of the kingdom.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Discrimination against persons with
physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services is illegal in all parts of the kingdom. The law requires that
persons with disabilities have access to public buildings, information,
and communications, but public buildings and public transport often
were not easily accessible in practice. The law provides penalties for
discrimination, but government enforcement was inadequate, and there
were some reports that such discrimination occurred. Of the 406
complaints of discrimination the CGB received in 2010, 17 percent
related to persons with disabilities. Almost 30 percent of these
concerned insufficient facilities for children with disabilities at
schools. Although CGB rulings are not binding, authorities usually
implemented them.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The kingdom's constitution
prohibits racial, national, or ethnic discrimination in all kingdom
territories.
In the Netherlands, members of minority groups experienced verbal
abuse and intimidation and were at times denied access to public
venues, such as discotheques.
A Muslim community of approximately 850,000 persons faced frequent
discrimination. Members of immigrant groups also faced discrimination
in housing and employment. According to the CBS, in 2010 the minority
unemployment rate (11 percent) remained roughly three times that of the
ethnic Dutch workforce (4 percent), while the unemployment rate among
minority youths was 26 percent compared to 11 percent for native Dutch
youths.
The government pursued an active campaign to increase public
awareness of racism and discrimination and conducted a national
campaign to counter discrimination and improve the reporting of hate
crimes, including hate speech, through a special Web site.
Both the government and NGOs actively documented instances of
discrimination, and the government's National Diversity Expertise
Center (LECD) worked to register, evaluate, and prosecute cases.
Organizations involved in combating discrimination voiced concern about
the reluctance of victims to report incidents. In 2010 the LECD
registered 170 offenses of discrimination. Of these, 43 percent related
to race and 43 percent to religion (36 percent against Jews, 7 percent
against Muslims). During the same year officials dealt with 171
offenses, brought 121 indictments, obtained 90 convictions, and entered
into 17 out-of-court settlements.
In 2010 the MDI recorded 684 instances of ``punishable''
discrimination on the Internet, a significant increase from 2009. Of
these, 296 qualified as racial, ethnic, or both. Those responsible
removed most (89 percent) of the offending sites voluntarily when
requested by the MDI to do so. The MDI reported three cases to the
prosecutor's office; prosecutors obtained several convictions.
Most defamation cases filed in criminal courts involved race.
Persons who were not ethnically Dutch also filed civil lawsuits
alleging discrimination in the supply of such services as cell phones
and access to clubs. The CGB focused on discrimination in the labor
market, including discrimination in the workplace, unequal pay,
termination of labor contracts, and preferential treatment of
ethnically Dutch employees.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--In the Netherlands, there was
no legal or governmental discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) persons, and no legal or governmental
impediments to the organization of gay events. During the year the
Justice Ministry reported a rise in harassment, mostly verbal abuse, of
LGBT individuals, partly as a result of government campaigns urging
victims to report incidents. Police placed a high priority on combating
violence against gay men.
There were no laws in the Caribbean portions of the kingdom that
discriminate against LGBT persons; however, Caribbean society has
remained much less tolerant of the LGBT community. There were no known
cases of abuse or violence against LGBT persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. The government
sponsored a national campaign against societal stigmatization of
persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form or join independent unions of their own
choosing without prior governmental authorization or excessive
requirements. It permits them to conduct legal strikes and engage in
collective bargaining, and allows unions to conduct their activities
without interference. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and
regulations prohibit retaliation against legal strikers. Public-sector
workers generally have the right to strike, but a magistrate may forbid
a strike that threatens the public welfare or safety. For example,
magistrates have often prohibited police strikes because of the
essential services police perform. Authorities effectively enforced the
rights to organize and strike, and workers exercised them in practice.
There were no reports that employers frequently refused to bargain.
Worker organizations are independent of the government and political
parties. There were no reports of antiunion discrimination or other
forms of employer interference in union functions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government enforced
such laws. The Netherlands Labor Inspectorate conducted approximately
11,000 inspections at many high-risk workplaces during the year.
However, there were reports that such practices occurred. In the
Netherlands men and boys from abroad were forced to work in domestic
service, temporary employment agencies, agriculture and horticulture,
restaurants, catering, food processing, hotels, and construction. In
Curacao authorities believed that migrant laborers may have been forced
to work in construction, landscaping, and shops. In Aruba forced
laborers included men and women working in supermarkets, Indian men in
the jewelry sector, and Caribbean and South American women in domestic
service.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace. The minimum age for employment is
16 years. Special rules apply to schoolchildren 16 and 17 years of age.
For example, the law prohibits persons under the age of 18 from working
overtime, at night, or in activities dangerous to their physical or
mental well-being. A tripartite labor commission composed of
representatives from the government, enterprises, and unions monitored
hiring practices and conducted inspections. The commission enforced the
laws effectively.
Holiday work and after-school employment are subject to very strict
rules set by law. The Ministry of Labor's inspection office, which is
responsible for enforcement, found during the year that 75 percent of
companies employing holiday workers and children younger than 18
complied with regulations.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In the Netherlands, the minimum
wage for an adult was 1,435 euros ($1,857) a month. The official
poverty level in 2009 was 1,750 euros ($2,264) a month for a family of
four. In Aruba, the monthly minimum wage was 1,543 Aruba florins
($862). The official poverty level was 1,295Aruba florins ($724). In
Curacao the minimum wage was 1,304 Antillean florins ($729), and the
official poverty level was 4,169 Antillean florins ($2,330). The
official minimum wage in St. Maarten was 1,378 Antillean florins
($770). No poverty-rate information was available for St. Maarten.
Poverty levels are based on a family of four with two children under
the age of 16.
Dutch law establishes a 40-hour workweek. Persons who work more
than five hours a day are entitled to a paid 30-minute rest period.
Overtime is regulated. The labor inspectorate effectively enforced the
labor laws. Compulsory overtime is not permitted by law. There are six
national holidays. A tripartite labor commission actively monitored and
effectively enforced working conditions, including comprehensive
occupational safety and health standards set by law. The Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs also monitored standards. The Social
Intelligence and Inspection Service had 1,179 full-time positions.
Workers in the significant underground economy enjoyed neither the
minimum wage, nor any of the other legal, administrative, or safety
protections available to other workers. The underground economy was
primarily based on the horticultural and agricultural sectors and
consisted primarily of undocumented workers from Eastern Europe.
__________
NORWAY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Norway is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy.
The country is governed by a prime minister, a cabinet, and a 169-seat
parliament (Storting) that is elected every four years and cannot be
dissolved. Free and fair elections to the multiparty parliament were
held in 2009. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
In a country where there were few abuses, violence against women
was a continuing societal problem.
Other problems reported during the year included use of police
holding cells to detain arrestees for longer periods than permitted by
law and occasional incarceration of juveniles in adult prisons. There
were also reports of some anti-Semitism, as well as stigmatizing
rhetoric against immigrants and Muslims, particularly on the Internet.
There were no reports of officials committing abuses in the
security services or elsewhere in the government during the year.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances, abductions, or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions mostly
met international standards. Prisoners had access to potable water, and
the government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
Research from the Correctional Services Academy indicated that 56 men
and three women committed suicide in pretrial detention or prison
between 1990 and 2007. More recent figures were not available.
In December the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) found seven juveniles being held in adults' prisons. It
noted the efforts by authorities to ameliorate the juveniles'
conditions and the construction of new, separate detention facilities
in some places, but called the situation of a juvenile in Bjorgvin
Prison in Bergen ``still far from satisfactory.'' The bar association
estimated that nearly half of persons arrested in 2010 were kept in
holding cells for longer than the 48 hours permitted by law. Police
holding cells were austere and designed for short stays and a transient
inmate population. Authorities did not maintain comprehensive
statistics of the use of police holding cells nationwide, a fact that
the parliamentary ombudsman, the Norwegian Bar Association, the
Norwegian Center for Human Rights, and the Children's Ombudsman
criticized.
As of May 1, there were 3,602 prisoners in the country, 5.8 percent
of whom were women and 0.2 percent juveniles. The combined total prison
capacity in the country is 3,826. The country had 44 prisons, of which
three were separate prisons for women. In addition, eight other prisons
had women's departments with a total of 71 places. A number of other
prisons in the country could accommodate women as needed.
Most prisons in the country contained separate cells for pretrial
detainees. The Trandum detention center for foreign nationals awaiting
deportation had space to house 150 detainees, but since mid-2010
authorities maintained a maximum limit of 70 detainees. Other than
Trandum center and police station holding cells, the country had no
separate detention facilities. Authorities reported electronically
monitoring 1,001 offenders in 2010, of which 47 were transferred to
detention centers after breaching the rules.
An ombudsman, who could visit at a prisoner's request or at the
ombudsman's own initiative, represented prisoners. The ombudsman does
not act on behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters
as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders; only the
courts handle sentencing. The ombudsman may conduct investigations and
express a legal, nonbinding opinion on whether public authorities have
erred or committed any injustice. The ombudsman also may serve on
behalf of prisoners and detainees concerning the status and
circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders but received few
complaints on this issue.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights groups, the media, and the International Committee of the Red
Cross. The CPT conducted a periodic visit on May 18-27, during which it
inspected six prisons and four police headquarters, including Trandum.
Its report, released on December 21, noted that there was a relaxed
atmosphere in the country's prisons, and that prison staff appeared to
be well trained and very professional. Committee members spoke with
arrestees and convicts and received no allegations of ill treatment or
unnecessary use of force. The CPT recommended that the government
increase its effort to stop detaining persons in police holding cells
after they had been remanded in custody and to provide timely access to
a lawyer to all arrestees. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions; there were no such complaints or allegations
during the year through December.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and there were no reports
during the year that the government failed to observe these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
have primary responsibility for internal security. The police may call
on the armed forces for assistance in crises. In such circumstances the
armed forces are under police authority. The Ministry of Justice and
Police oversees the police force.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the national
police, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires warrants authorized by a prosecutor for arrests except when
the perpetrator is caught while committing a crime, and police usually
arrested a person based on a warrant. Police are required to file a
justification to hold detained persons in custody within four hours of
their arrest and must inform detainees of the charges against them
within three days. Authorities must arraign an arrested suspect within
24 hours (not including Saturday and Sunday), at which time the
arraigning judge determines whether the accused should be held in
custody or released pending trial. There is no bail system. All
defendants accused of minor crimes, including nonresident foreigners,
were routinely released pending trial. Defendants accused of serious or
violent crimes usually remained in custody until trial. Arrested
persons were allowed access to a lawyer of their choice before
interrogation or, if they could not afford one, to an attorney
appointed by the government. Authorities usually allowed arrested
persons access to family members. The law mandates that detainees be
transferred from a temporary police holding cell to a regular prison
cell within 48 hours.
The law provides that a court must supervise whether and how long a
detainee may be held in solitary confinement, but a regulation provides
an exemption where necessary because of building or staff conditions.
Ila, the country's highest-security prison, admitted to using the
loophole during the year, and defense attorneys reported that several
other prisons did so as well. The media reported on August 10 that a
20-year-old suspect sentenced to four weeks in prison without special
restrictions nonetheless was held in isolation for 12 days in Ila
Prison and in administrative detention due to space constraints. The
Court of Appeal ordered the prison to transfer him to regular custody.
The law permits detention of aliens to establish identity or to
effect their removal from the country if it is deemed likely they will
evade an order to leave. The CPT reported that it received no
allegations and found no other evidence of mistreatment of immigration
detainees by staff at the Trandum Detention Center for foreign
nationals during its May visit.
Pretrial Detention.--The CPT, the Bar Association, and Amnesty
International criticized the government's pretrial detention, including
conditions in holding cells.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and there were no reports during the year
that the government interfered with judicial independence.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
Trials are public. In criminal cases involving a maximum prison
sentence of at least six years, a court of appeal sits with a jury of
10 civilian members; there is no right to a jury trial in other
instances. Defendants have the right to have counsel, at public expense
if necessary, to be present at their trial, to confront and question
witnesses, to present evidence and witnesses, and to appeal. Defendants
and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases. The law extends these rights to all citizens.
The constitution and law provide for the right to a fair trial, and
an independent judiciary effectively enforced this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the court
made one ruling against Norway. The government complied with the
court's judgment.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters that can adjudicate cases
involving human rights violations; individuals and organizations could
appeal decisions to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government usually respected these prohibitions in practice. A
government-appointed working group for communications control reported
that police were abusing the emergency loophole in the law to use
wiretaps and listening devices without court oversight.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of
the press.
The law prohibits ``threatening or insulting anyone, or inciting
hatred or persecution of or contempt for anyone because of his or her:
a) skin color or national or ethnic origin, b) religion or life stance,
or c) homosexuality, lifestyle, or orientation.'' Violators are subject
to a fine or imprisonment not to exceed three years. There were no
reported charges or convictions for violating the hate speech law
during the year.
Violence and Harassment.--In two instances public speakers
scheduled to address topics that were sensitive to some in the
community canceled their appearances after receiving threats. On April
14, an author withdrew from her planned participation in a panel to
discuss oppression of women in developing countries. In September, Kurt
Westergaard, the Danish cartoonist who had drawn caricatures of the
prophet Mohammed in 2005, canceled his appearance at a planned book
launch in Oslo following alleged threats against him.
Nongovernmental Impact.--On June 20, the offices of the publishing
company Cappelen Damm were under police protection following threatened
violence related to its decision to publish a Norwegian edition of the
book The Tyranny of Silence by Flemming Rose, the cultural editor of
Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, in which he explained why he printed
the Mohammed caricatures in 2005. Eleven men with covered faces turned
up to demonstrate against the book's publication, but the protest
dissolved before reaching the publishing house.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms other than as permitted by law.
Particularly following the July 22 terrorist attacks in and near Oslo,
the Center against Racism and others encouraged the Police Security
Service (PST) to monitor extremist Internet chat rooms. On August 24, a
PST representative reportedly stated to the media that the PST was
cooperating with local police and government to review extremist
websites.
Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via
the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the annual International Religious
Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The country is party to the Dublin
II regulation, which allows the government to return refugees and
asylum seekers to the first country they entered that is also a party
to the regulation.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion. On October 31, the Police Immigration Unit reported
that it had forcibly returned 3,697 persons to Iraq during the year to
date, a 6.7 percent decrease from 2010. UNHCR questioned whether an
unspecified number of these returns were to areas of Iraq it deemed
unsafe.
Durable Solutions.--The government has several programs for
voluntary return of refugees through the International Organization for
Migration, such as the Voluntary Assisted Return program, the
Information, Return, and Reintegration of Afghan Nationals to
Afghanistan Program, and the Information, Return, and Reintegration of
Iraqi Nationals to Iraq program. These voluntary programs offered
financial and logistical support for repatriation, including assistance
with travel arrangements and funding.
Temporary Protection.--According to the Norwegian Directorate for
Immigration, the government provided temporary protection to
individuals who might not qualify as refugees and provided it to 757
persons as of August 31.
Stateless Persons.--According to UNHCR statistics, there were 3,118
stateless persons in the country as of January; they are not counted as
refugees. Citizenship is derived from one's parents; children born in
the country do not automatically become citizens. The law authorizes
revocation of citizenship granted based on false identity information.
Because the law requires applicants for Norwegian citizenship to
renounce their original citizenship, revoking Norwegian citizenship can
result in statelessness if the person's original citizenship is not
reinstated. The government effectively implemented laws and policies to
provide stateless persons the opportunity to gain nationality on a
nondiscriminatory basis.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held parliamentary elections that were considered free and
fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Following the 2009
elections, there were 67 women in the 169-seat parliament (nearly 40
percent). There were nine women among the 19 Supreme Court justices,
and women headed half of the 20 government ministries. Women led five
of the seven political parties represented in parliament. There was one
member of parliament and one alternate member from a minority group.
There were no minority ministers or Supreme Court justices. Most major
political parties in the country voluntarily apply a gender quota
system for purposes of nominations and the composition of party-
governing bodies at all levels.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no confirmed reports of government or police corruption during the
year.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Ministry of Justice and Police and the Ministry of Finance are
responsible for combating corruption.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access in practice to both citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated
with the May 18-27 visit of a delegation from the CPT to monitor
conditions in detention centers, prisons, and other facilities for
persons incarcerated.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The country has parliamentary
ombudsmen for public administration, for children, and for equality and
antidiscrimination. All ombudsmen enjoyed the government's cooperation
and operated without government interference. The ombudsmen hear
complaints against actions by government officials, but their offices
did not issue any reports specifically on human rights problems during
the year. Although the ombudsmen's recommendations are not legally
binding, in practice government authorities usually complied with those
from the ombudsmen for children and public administration.
Parliament's Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional
Affairs reviews the reports of the parliamentary ombudsmen. Its
Standing Committee on Justice is responsible for matters relating to
the judicial system, police, the penal code, and the civil and criminal
code.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced this
prohibition in practice, although there were reports of violence
against women and children, some anti-Semitism, and stigmatizing
statements against immigrants and Muslims.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
including spousal rape, and the government generally enforced the law.
According to police, 497 rapes were reported nationwide through the
second quarter of the year, a 14.7- percent increase from the same
period in 2010 and an 84.8- percent increase from 2001. There were 55
attempted rapes reported to police nationwide through the second
quarter of the year, eight more than through the same period in 2010.
The penalty for rape is generally two to 21 years in prison,
depending on the severity of the assault, the age of the victim, and
the circumstances under which the crime occurred. Very few cases,
however, resulted in a sentence higher than three years and four
months. A report issued in 2007 by the director of public prosecutions
indicated that 84 percent of rape cases reported to police between 2001
and 2005 had been dismissed; authorities believed this was usually due
to the victim's reluctance to press charges, while Amnesty
International asserted that systemic inadequacies played a role. The
same report noted that approximately 36 percent of rape trials ended in
acquittal. Authorities have not presented a similar national analysis
since 2007. The Statistics Bureau registered 998 rape reports and 78
convictions in 2009, the latest date for which national figures are
available. Because the 78 convictions may include cases reported before
2009, the conviction rate cannot be accurately established through
publicly available statistics.
During the year authorities strengthened the eight-person sexual
violence unit in the National Criminal Investigation Service (KRIPOS)
with10 additional positions and stated that rape victims would be
offered up to three hours of free attorney assistance. Oslo police
presented a strategic plan to prevent rape.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The
law provides higher penalties for domestic violence than for simple
assault, generally one to three years in prison, with an increased term
of up to six years in more severe cases and up to 21 years for
aggravated rape. The government generally enforced the law in practice,
although the Oslo Crisis Center criticized the conviction rate
(approximately 15 percent in 2010) as too low and attributed this to
insufficient investigation and a backlog in the courts, rather than a
lack of evidence. Through the second quarter of the year, police
received 1,314 reports of domestic violence, seven more than during the
same period in 2010.
The government had programs to prevent rape and domestic violence
and to counsel victims. The action plan required each of the country's
27 police districts to have a domestic violence coordinator to assist
victims. According to nongovernmental organizations, however, only
eight police districts had a full-time domestic violence coordinator,
and four districts had no domestic violence coordinator. Public and
private organizations operated 51 government-funded shelters and
managed five 24-hour crisis hotlines. The shelters provided support and
counseling for victims and helped them gain access to social services,
doctors, lawyers, and housing authorities. Victims of domestic violence
have a right to consult a lawyer free of charge before deciding whether
to make a formal complaint. If criminal proceedings are instituted, the
victim is entitled to free assistance from a victim's advocate.
Sexual Harassment.--The law provides that ``employees shall not be
subjected to harassment or other unseemly behavior,'' and the
government effectively enforced this provision. Employers who violate
this law are subject to fines or prison sentences of up to two years,
depending on the seriousness of the offense.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was easy access to
contraception, skilled attendance during childbirth, and essential
prenatal and postpartum care. Women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections equally with men.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal status as men and enjoy
identical rights under family and property laws and in the judicial
system. The Ombudsman for Equality and Antidiscrimination (LDO) was
generally effective in processing and investigating complaints of
gender discrimination. As of September 2010, the latest date for which
figures were available, the LDO received 287 information requests and
36 complaints, eight of which resulted in a finding of illegal gender
discrimination.
The law provides that women and men engaged in the same activity
shall receive equal wages for work of equal value. According to
Statistics Norway, women received largely the same pay and benefits as
men for equal work but earned on average 15 percent less than what men
earned per month. The government attributed this to differences in the
professions chosen and the predominance of women in part-time or public
sector work. The LDO's office expressed concern that many women were in
part-time positions involuntarily because of a tendency in certain
industries to provide no meaningful full-time alternative.
The law mandates that 40 percent of the boards of directors of
publicly listed companies be women; virtually all public companies
complied with the law.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents; children born in the country do not automatically become
citizens. All birth clinics in the country reported childbirths to a
central birth register, which included names, birth certificates, and
social security numbers, including those of the parents.
Child Abuse.--In 2010 childcare services initiated 32,858
investigations of alleged abuse, nearly 8.5 percent more than in the
previous year and a record high. The minister of justice stated that he
considered it positive that more cases were reported and not kept
secret. Childcare services completed 32,692 investigations in 2010 and
took action in 15,904 cases, while dropping or providing counseling in
16,673 cases. An independent children's ombudsman office within the
Ministry of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion (MCESI) is
responsible for the protection of children under the law. The
directorate for children, youth, and family affairs provides assistance
and support services. With five regional offices and 26 professional
teams, the directorate is the government's principal agency for the
welfare and protection of children and families. If criminal
proceedings are instituted, the child victim who was subjected to
violence, sexual abuse, or genital mutilation is entitled to free
assistance from a victim's advocate.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is illegal. In connection
with an indictment of six people from three families for violence
against 11 of their children, the court of appeal ruled during a
detention hearing during the year that there was a danger of FGM.
Whether this referred to FGM that had already taken place or concerns
that it would take place absent intervention was unclear. Police
investigated no other reports of FGM during the year.
On July 1, the media reported the government would extend
nationwide the pilot project, offering counseling and voluntary genital
examination to girls at risk of FGM. The leader of a Somali association
reportedly welcomed the initiative, noting that he was concerned that
girls could be forced to undergo FGM during ``vacations'' outside of
the country. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racism and
Discrimination (CERD) welcomed the country's Action Plan against FGM,
which included the pilot project, but expressed concern that the
perceived excessive focus on the topic could stigmatize women and girls
from particular minority groups.
Child Marriage.--Forced marriage, and aiding and abetting a forced
marriage are punishable under the law. As part of the government's
Action Plan against Forced Marriage (2008-2011), the Directorate of
Integration and Diversity placed minority counselors in upper secondary
schools throughout the country and integration attaches in the
country's diplomatic and consular missions abroad to prevent, identify,
and address cases of forced marriage. In 2010 the Expert Team for the
Prevention of Forced Marriage in the Directorate for Children, Youth,
and Family Affairs reported 73 forced marriages and 309 threats of
forced marriage, a significant increase from 2009. The expert team was
responsible for providing accommodation and support for young people
over 18 who were subjected to forced marriage or the threat of forced
marriage, while Child Protection Services was responsible for minors.
Police supervised the shelter services and provided security as needed.
In contrast to 2010 there were no reports of children ending up in
shelters for drug addicts due to slow case processing.
During the year a court convicted a 24-year-old man of forcibly
marrying, raping, and sexually abusing his then 13-year-old first
cousin. In September the court of appeal increased his sentence from
five years and six months to six years. The offender's mother and the
victim's parents also were convicted on all the same charges except
rape. The offender's mother did not appeal the trial court's sentence
of three years and six months, while the victim's mother was acquitted
on appeal. The victim's father was sentenced to three years and four
months in prison. Police feared that the victim could be killed as
punishment for disgracing the family. The girl, who was 18 and a high
school senior in 2011, lived in an undisclosed location as part of a
police protection program.
On December 16, four people were convicted of arranging a forced
marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 23-year-old man in 2009. The
man's uncle and aunt were each sentenced to eight months in prison,
while the victim's mother and brother received 240 hours of community
service each.
International Child Abduction.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population is relatively small,
consisting of between 1,500 to 2,000 persons, approximately 750 of whom
were registered with the Jewish community.
On March 11, a deputy representative for the indigenous Sami
parliament in the northern part of the country contended on Facebook
that there was no evidence the Holocaust happened and that Jews were
responsible for war crimes in Russia. Government leaders from across
the political and geographic spectrum condemned his statements,
although the law did not permit excluding him from serving as an
independent deputy representative in the Sami parliament before his
term as an elected official ended. In an unrelated incident during the
year, one caricature appearing in a major newspaper minimized the
Holocaust by depicting Gaza as a Nazi concentration camp.
On April 20, in an op-ed in the country's leading newspaper,
prominent Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder apologized for his
controversial 2006 article entitled ``God's Chosen People.'' He
acknowledged the article could have been interpreted as anti-Semitic,
although that had not been his intention, he said. In his apology,
Gaarder emphasized that ``We must never express ourselves so that
legitimate criticism of the government of Israel's policies can in any
way be confused with an illegitimate and in every way intolerable
hatred of Jews or Judaism.'' Before publishing the April piece, Gaarder
engaged in a dialogue with Jewish community leaders, who said they
welcomed his initiative and apology.
On June 7, the Oslo municipality reported that one out of every
three Jewish pupils in secondary schools (grades 8-10) has experienced
anti-Semitism in Oslo secondary schools, while more than half of the
students surveyed (52 percent) said they had heard the word ``Jew''
used as an insult at school. The impetus for the survey was a March
2010 NRK news program, which highlighted increasing anti-Semitic
attitudes and incidents of harassment or bullying of Jewish students in
Norway's schools. The Oslo study determined that the extent of bullying
appeared to relate to the quality of the individual teacher's
leadership and the learning environment. In response to the findings,
the federal minister of education pledged six million kroner (one
million dollars) to train teachers to combat anti-Semitism in schools
nationwide and to include anti-Semitism as a stand-alone topic in
national and local school curricula. In the fall, the Oslo municipality
began including anti-Semitism in its school curriculum.
There were some reports of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in
mainstream newspapers, both in a feature article and in letters to the
editor, either suggesting (the article) or alleging outright (the
letters) that Jews control the U.S. government.
The government continued to support organizations working to combat
racism, discrimination, and anti-Semitism, including the White Buses
foundation, which took students from Norway to the Auschwitz
extermination camp in Poland and other Nazi concentration camps to
educate them about the Holocaust. In January the government pledged
three million kroner ($500,000) to the Center for Studies of the
Holocaust and Religious Minorities in Oslo to conduct a national survey
on anti-Semitism. The study was scheduled to be completed in 2012.
During the year, the government also announced a grant of 200,000
kroner ($33,300) to the Jewish community in Oslo to document members'
experiences with anti-Semitism in the country and to survey membership
trends. The government also granted 50,000 kroner ($8,300) toward a
teaching project at the Oslo Jewish Museum.
On June 14-15, the Norwegian Jewish community hosted a conference
on anti-Semitism entitled, ``Norway, Israel and the Jews: Myths and
Realities.'' The conference consisted of roundtable discussions with
Norwegian editors, journalists, politicians, religious and minority
leaders, and academics, and included a debate on when anti-Israel
comments cross the line to anti-Semitism. The Norwegian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs supported the conference, both financially and through
active participation.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's annual
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services, and the government effectively enforced these provisions. The
law applies generally to all persons with disabilities without
enumerating specific types of disabilities. It mandates access to
public buildings, information, and communications for persons with
disabilities. The MCESI and the State Council on Disability share the
responsibility to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The
State Council served as an advisory body for the MCESI, which
coordinated national policy, and managed the social benefits system for
persons with disabilities. All educational institutions are required to
have an appointed contact person for students with disabilities as well
as a plan of action to include this group of students.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--On July 22, rightwing extremist
Anders Behring Breivik detonated a large improvised explosive device
(IED) next to government buildings that housed many ministries and the
prime minister's office, killing eight persons and injuring scores.
After detonating the IED, Breivik drove to a Labor Party youth camp on
the island of Utoya outside of Oslo and shot and killed 69 persons
(mostly youths) and injured many others. Shortly before the attack,
Breivik posted a manifesto on the Internet in which he accused the
Labor Party of treason for, among other things, encouraging
multiculturalism, feminism, and Muslim immigration.
The Center against Racism reported that, in the hours after the
attack and before the perpetrator's identity was established, some
immigrants and Muslims in Oslo reported being harassed, spat upon,
yelled at, or chased. The government responded to the July 22 attacks
by calling for ``more democracy, more openness, and more humanity.''
Commentators noted that, in the months following the attack, there was
a greater feeling of inclusiveness towards all members of society.
In a year in which there were few reports of racial profiling by
police, media reported that a Ugandan researcher with the International
Panel on Climate Change was stopped and searched by Oslo police in
October. The police officer reportedly apologized on the spot, saying
he searched the man because his behavior was suspicious, not because he
was African. The Oslo Police District subsequently sent a letter of
apology. There were increasing instances of stigmatizing and hostile
rhetoric against immigrants and Muslims during the year, particularly
on the Internet. KRIPOS maintained a Web page for the public to contact
police regarding online hate speech. In 2008, the latest date for which
figures were available, KRIPOS reportedly received 160 complaints about
racism and racist expressions on the Internet, but none led to further
investigation or action by authorities.
In its concluding report on the country this year, CERD expressed
concern over racist views by extremist groups on the Internet and by
some representatives of political parties, ``which constitute hate
speech and may lead to acts of hostility against certain minority
groups.'' CERD also expressed concern over the lack of judicial
statistics on the number of complaints, investigations, prosecutions,
and condemnations regarding racist acts. After a Congolese-Norwegian
woman was attacked violently December 12 and told to ``go back to where
she came from,'' there were calls for police to do more to monitor and
address hate crimes.
Immigrants and their children sometimes had more difficulty finding
employment than equally qualified ethnic Norwegians. As of August 30,
the unemployment rate among immigrants was 6.5 percent, compared with
3.3 percent among nonimmigrants, according to government statistics.
African immigrants had the highest unemployment rate at 12.4 percent,
followed by Asians at 8.2 percent, immigrants from eastern EU countries
at 7.4 percent, and Central Americans at 6.3 percent.
Indigenous People.--The 38,470 Sami living in the northern part of
the country are Norway's indigenous people. According to media reports,
on August 28, a study by the University of Tromso and Victorian Health
Promotion Foundation concluded that 35 percent of Norwegian Sami have
experienced race-based discrimination.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no impediments to
organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
persons, and the police and other government agents did not perpetrate
or condone violence against the LGBT community or individuals.
After launching an information campaign in December to encourage
registration of hate-crime incidents against LGBT persons, the National
Association for LGBT persons received 20 reports of incidents on its
Web site in one month, compared with 36 hate-crime incidents against
LGBT persons registered in all of 2009.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no media
reports of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. In contrast
to 2010, there were no media reports of persons with HIV/AIDS facing
discrimination by some dentists and medical personnel.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers to form and join independent unions of their
choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. The
law allows unions to conduct their activities without government
interference. All workers, including government employees and military
personnel, have the right to organize and to bargain collectively. The
law provides for the right to strike, except for military forces and
senior civil servants, and workers exercised this right in practice.
However, with the approval of parliament, the government may compel
arbitration in all industrial sectors under certain circumstances, such
as when a strike threatens the quality of health care or endangers
public safety. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination.
The government respected workers' freedoms of association,
collective bargaining, and striking, and the workers exercised these
rights in practice. The Labor Party, which leads the country's
governing coalition, and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
have common historical roots but are independent of each other. There
were no reports that antiunion discrimination occurred during the year.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the government
enforced these provisions in practice. However, there were reports that
persons were subjected to forced labor in the domestic service and
construction sectors and that foreign children are subjected to forced
begging and forced criminal activity, such as shoplifting and selling
drugs. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report
at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Children 13 to 15 years of age may be employed up to 12 hours per week
in light work that does not adversely affect their health, development,
or schooling. Between the ages of 15 and 18, persons not in school may
work up to 40 hours per week, while persons who remain in school may
only work a number of hours that does not adversely affect their
schooling, in fact substantially less than 40 hours.
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the
workplace, and the government effectively enforced these laws. The
Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority (NLIA), which is part of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Inclusion, is the enforcement agency. In
practice minimum age rules were observed, but children were trafficked
for forced labor. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislated or
administratively set minimum wage, although in practice there was a
minimum wage in certain sectors. Wages are set in collective bargaining
agreements negotiated by labor unions, employers, and the government.
The usually biennial agreements may include minimum wage levels for
specific sectors.
The law limits the normal workweek to 37.5 hours and provides for
25 working days of paid leave per year (31 days for workers over age
60). The law mandates a 28-hour rest period on weekends and holidays.
The law provides for premium pay of 40 percent of salary for overtime
and prohibits compulsory overtime in excess of 10 hours per week. The
law provides the same benefits for citizens and foreign or migrant
workers with residency permits. The law forbids employment of foreign
or migrant workers who do not have residency permits.
The law provides for safe and physically acceptable working
conditions for all employed persons. The NLIA, in consultation with
nongovernment experts, set specific standards. Under the law,
enterprises with 50 or more workers must establish environment
committees composed of management, workers, and health personnel. All
enterprises with 10 or more workers must have safety delegates, who are
elected by the employees. Workers have the right to remove themselves
from situations that endanger their health.
The NLIA effectively monitored compliance with labor legislation
and standards. There were reports, especially in the cleaning industry,
of foreign workers' being underpaid or overworked beyond legally
permissible limits. No data was available on whether workers exercised
the right to remove themselves from situations that endanger their
health in practice.
__________
POLAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Poland is a republic with a multiparty democracy. The bicameral
National Assembly consists of an upper house, the Senate (Senat), and a
lower house (Sejm). The president, the prime minister, the Council of
Ministers, and the Sejm share executive power. The national assembly
elections in October were considered free and fair. Prime Minister
Donald Tusk, leader of the ruling Civic Platform Party, governed in a
coalition with a smaller political party. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
Among the country's principal human rights problems were an
inefficient judicial system and lengthy court procedures, which impeded
the delivery of justice. During the year unknown persons carried out a
number of attacks of symbolic vandalism against sites tied to the
Holocaust or the German and Lithuanian ethnic minorities. There was
also a substantial increase in government monitoring of phone locations
and call logs without judicial review.
Other human rights problems included government delays complying
with decisions of the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) and
delayed restitution of private property. Defamation laws restricted
freedom of speech and press by criminalizing speech, publications, and
material on the Internet that insulted or defamed public officials.
Societal problems included discrimination against women in the labor
market; sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; and
discrimination and violence against ethnic minorities and lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. Violations of workers' rights
to organize and join unions and to strike and antiunion discrimination
also occurred.
The government generally enforced human rights and took steps to
prosecute officials who committed abuses, whether in the security
services or elsewhere in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and the
government generally respected these provisions. There were problems,
however, with police misconduct and abuse of prisoners. The criminal
code lacks a clear, legal definition of torture, which authorities did
not report as a separate crime. The law outlines disciplinary actions
for police, which include reprimand, demotion in rank, and dismissal.
On July 12, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of
Torture (CPT) issued a report on its visit to the country in 2009.
During that visit the committee received a number of allegations of
excessive use of force by police at the time of apprehension (e.g.,
kicks, punches, tight handcuffing). The mistreatment during questioning
alleged by two detained persons was of such severity that it could be
considered as amounting to torture (e.g., blows on the soles of the
feet, the infliction of electric shocks on the genitals). The CPT
stated that the investigations of such incidents were sometimes slow or
delayed.
On May 19, the trial court in Kwidzyn sentenced two police officers
for police brutality in Prabuty in 2008. The officers received
suspended two-year terms. Three other police officers and one civilian
employee were sentenced to several months in prison (also suspended).
The case against one police officer was dismissed.
On August 1, the first medical unit for carrying out the forced
chemical castration of convicted pedophiles opened in the town of
Choroszcze near Bialystok. Under the law courts can decide whether
offenders should undergo such treatment six months before their
expected parole. Chemical castration is mandatory for an offender
involved in incest or the rape of a person less than age 15. As of the
end of September, there were no reports that judges ordered the
chemical castration of any prisoners.
On November 22, police suspended a police officer for kicking a
participant in the November 11 Independence Day demonstrations. While
there was no report of injury, prosecutors began an investigation into
the case, and the police officer was under suspension at the end of the
year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards; however,
prison medical staff vacancies and limited access to specialized
medical treatment continued to be a problem. The government permitted
monitoring visits by independent human rights observers. By the end of
September, 95 prisoners, including 12 who committed suicide, had died
in prison. Prisoners had access to potable water. Prisoners may file
complaints with a prison ombudsman or the human rights ombudsman. Media
report that authorities have expanded the use of electronic monitoring
for nonviolent offenders. As of November 15, 1,556 people were serving
sentences electronically monitored.
As of November 30, government statistics indicated 81,991 persons,
including pretrial detainees, were incarcerated in prisons and
detention facilities with a capacity for 82,364 persons.
As of November 30, approximately 2,598 prisoners (3 percent of the
prison population) were women. Female prisoners were held either in
dedicated detention facilities or in separate parts of joint
facilities. As of October 20, there were 552 persons 18 years of age or
younger (including three men who were age 16). While authorities
generally separated juveniles from adults, in exceptional cases the law
allows them to share housing in prisons and detention centers.
Authorities usually sent juveniles (persons between the ages of 17 and
21) accused of serious crimes to pretrial detention.
As of November 30, according to the Central Prison Authority, there
were 8,586 pretrial detainees, a decrease of almost 400 from November
2010. The number of pretrial detainees has gradually decreased since
2007.
Pretrial detainees were often held in prisons pending trial, but in
areas separate from convicts. Conditions for pretrial detainees were
generally similar to those for prisoners but on occasion were worse due
to overcrowding and poorer facilities resulting from court-mandated
restrictions on where a prisoner should be located while awaiting
trial.
The country's criminal code sets the minimum cell size at 32 square
feet per person, but prisoners may occupy smaller cells for a limited
time. In the second quarter of the year, 30 detainees were in cells
smaller than the legally mandated minimum, according to government
statistics. On October 19, the Supreme Court decided that failure to
provide the minimum cell size violates prisoners' rights.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and could
participate in religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners
and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigations of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. Prisoners exercised this right either directly
with prison officials and the Justice Ministry, or indirectly through
local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or the human rights
ombudsman.
The human rights ombudsman received 6,462 complaints from prisoners
and relatives during the year, compared with 7,233 in 2010. Of these,
21 percent dealt with treatment by prison authorities, 18 percent with
prison conditions, 17 percent with medical treatment, and 12 percent
with contact with the outside world.
Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane
conditions and documented the results of such investigations in a
publicly accessible manner. At the request of the justice ministry, the
human rights ombudsman administers the national preventive mechanism to
investigate and monitor prison and detention center conditions. The
office of the ombudsman publishes its findings and a summary of the
recommendations it made to relevant authorities in an annual report.
The government allowed independent monitoring of prison conditions
and detention centers on a regular basis by the human rights ombudsman.
The ombudsman can join proceedings in civil and administrative courts
on behalf of prisoners and detainees, either when they have filed a
complaint or when information otherwise leads to an allegation of
inhumane conditions. During the year the ombudsman visited 29 prison
and detention facilities, including pretrial and juvenile detention
centers, as well as guarded centers for asylum seekers. The CPT listed
prison overcrowding, poor medical care, mistreatment of prisoners by
police officers, and the lack of a developed system of legal aid as the
main problems affecting the country's prisons and detention facilities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police force is a
national law enforcement body with regional and municipal units
overseen by the Minister of Internal Affairs. The Internal Security
Agency (ABW) has responsibility for investigating and combating
organized crime, terrorist threats, and proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. The Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) is
responsible for combating government, business, and financial
corruption. Both agencies report directly to the prime minister. The
military has law enforcement responsibilities only for its own
facilities.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security
forces, and the government had effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In most cases
the constitution and the law require authorities to obtain a court
warrant based on evidence to make an arrest, and authorities generally
complied with the law in practice. The constitution and the law allow a
person to be detained 48 hours before authorities must file charges and
an additional 24 hours for the court to decide whether to order
pretrial detention. Authorities must promptly inform detainees of the
charges against them. Detained persons may appeal the legality of their
arrest, and this right was respected in practice. There was a
functioning bail system, and most detainees were released on bail.
Detainees have the right to counsel; the government provided free
counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants and detainees have the right
to consult an attorney at any time.
Pretrial Detention.--The constitution prohibits detention for
longer than 48 hours without specification of charges by a court. The
law permits authorities to detain persons charged with a crime for up
to three months. The CPT reported most juveniles were transferred to a
remand facility within 72 hours of detention. A court may extend
pretrial detention every six to 12 months, but the law specifies that
the total time in detention may not exceed two years (in certain
complex cases, the court may petition the Supreme Court for an
extension beyond two years); however, in practice detention was
frequently extended beyond two years.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice; however, the judiciary remained inefficient
and did not enjoy public confidence.
Military courts, supervised by the minister of justice, have
jurisdiction over crimes committed by military personnel while on duty.
Military defendants enjoy the same rights as civilians.
The court system remained cumbersome, poorly administered, and
inadequately staffed. The NGO Helsinki Human Rights Foundation
described the judicial system as improperly structured and inefficient,
with a poor division of labor between different courts. In addition
cumbersome hiring procedures have created many vacancies among judges
and support staff, further slowing the justice system. According to the
General Prosecutor's Office, while the overall number of prosecutors
was large (5,964), the number of prosecutors dealing with criminal
offenses was inadequate. Some progress was reported in the
computerization of the court system, but a continuing backlog of cases
and the high cost of legal action deterred many citizens from using the
justice system.
E courts exist to adjudicate simple cases, which typically involve
unpaid utility bills. A party files a claim on the e court's Web site
for civil pecuniary claims, and a judge can issue a writ of payment
based on this electronic submission. Commercial and labor claims are
eligible for adjudication by an e court although nonpecuniary and
family law claims are not. Defendants who dispute the judgment are
referred to a regular court for trial. On April 6, Justice Minister
Krzysztof Kwiatkowski reported that, after 15 months of operation, the
e court had dealt with more than 900,000 cases of the one million
submitted. However, according to media reports, the e court was
thereafter flooded with additional cases, and as of September 21, as
many as 350,000 cases were pending.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and must be present during
trial. Trials are usually public; however, the courts reserve the right
to close a trial in some circumstances, including divorce proceedings,
cases involving state secrets, and cases whose content may offend
public morality. The law provides for juries, usually composed of two
or three individuals appointed by local officials. In regional and
provincial courts, a panel of one judge and two lay assessors try
cases. Defendants may consult an attorney provided to the indigent
without cost, confront and question witnesses, present witnesses and
evidence, and have access to government-held evidence. Prosecutors can
grant witnesses anonymity if they express fear of retribution from
defendants.
After a court issues a verdict, a defendant has seven days to
request a written statement of the judgment; courts must respond within
seven days. A defendant has the right to appeal a verdict within 14
days of the response. A two-level appeal process is available in most
civil and criminal matters.
Individuals can and did file complaints against the government with
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding trial delays, the
right to a fair trial, and the lack of due process.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On January 26, the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe cited nine states,
including Poland, for ``worrying delays'' in implementing ECHR orders.
In the nine countries, the ECHR repeatedly found violations of the
European Convention for Human Rights that seriously undermined the rule
of law. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe registered
760 complaints against Poland regarding improper implementation in the
national legal system of the ECHR's judgments.
According to the Helsinki Human Rights Foundation, the government
mostly complied with ECHR judgments in cases that affected a large
number of persons and in cases of particular legal importance in which
systematic or legislative changes were required. The foundation claimed
the government complied less often with decisions that did not attract
media attention or were difficult to implement for political reasons,
for example, ones involving reproductive rights or teaching ethics in
schools.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals or
organizations may seek civil remedies for human rights violations. They
can and did appeal to the ECHR decisions involving alleged violations
by the state of the European Convention on Human Rights after they had
exhausted avenues of appeal through domestic courts. However, the
government's implementation of court orders, particularly for payment
of damages, remained slow, cumbersome, and ineffective. Changes to
civil procedures placed speed and efficiency ahead of individual
rights, and the limited number of attorneys made it expensive to
exercise the right to legal counsel.
The primary objective of the Justice Ministry's Human Rights
Department is to promote human rights standards throughout the justice
system. The department also responds administratively to allegations of
human rights violations, including excessively long trials, excessive
use of pretrial detention, and prison overcrowding. According to the
Helsinki Human Rights Foundation, the department was particularly
successful in promoting knowledge about ECHR verdicts by translating
them into Polish, posting them on the ministry's Web site, and
distributing them to domestic courts.
Property Restitution.--The law provides for restitution of communal
property seized during the Communist and Nazi eras, although the
process proceeded very slowly during the year. There is no
comprehensive law on returning or compensating for privately held
property confiscated during those periods. Although President Bronislaw
Komorowski publicly called for passage of private property restitution
legislation early in the year, the government announced on March 10
that it would not pursue such a bill for budgetary reasons.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits most such actions; however, the
government did not always respect these prohibitions in practice.
The law allows electronic surveillance for crime prevention and
investigation. There was neither independent judicial review of
surveillance activities nor any control over the use of information
obtained by monitoring private communications. A number of government
agencies had access to wiretap information. In 2010, the last year for
which statistics were available, the Office for Electronic
Communications reported that law enforcement agencies requested access
to telecommunication data 1.3 million times, 300,000 more than in 2009.
Legislation gives agencies broad access to such data without requiring
specific grounds for it. On January 17, the ombudsman appealed to the
prime minister to revise the law, arguing that such easy access to
telecommunications data violates the constitution and the European
Convention for Human Rights. On June 29, in a complaint to the
Constitutional Court, the ombudsman questioned the legality of the
vague provisions that give nine special services a broad right to
wiretap individuals' telephone conversations. On August 1, the
ombudsman questioned the legality of provisions which give law
enforcement agencies and special services broad access to phone
records. On December 11, the Prosecutor General agreed with the
ombudsman's complaint that the powers granted to law enforcement and
special services violate the rule of law and infringe upon
constitutional guarantees of individual rights. At the end of the year
the case remained before the Constitutional Court.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press;
however, in practice laws restricted these freedoms. The government and
courts have either upheld or instituted laws that criminalize
defamation by individuals and the media, and limit editorial
independence.
Freedom of Speech.--Defamation includes publicly insulting,
slandering, or libeling members of parliament, government ministers, or
other public officials, as well as private entities and persons.
Defamation outside the media is punishable by a fine and community
service. On July 7, the Constitutional Court ruled that the maximum
sentence of three years' imprisonment for insulting the president was
constitutional. Maximum penalties were rarely applied; persons found
guilty of defamation generally only faced fines. According to Ministry
of Justice statistics for 2010, the last year for which statistics are
available, no one was convicted for defamation of the president, but
three persons were convicted for insulting constitutional organs of the
state. Of the 187 people convicted of public defamation in 2010, 143 of
them committed defamation outside the media.
On September 8, the appeals court in Wloclawek sentenced a 19-year-
old student to 20 hours of community service for writing a vulgar
antigovernment slogan on his school building.
On May 17, police detained soccer fans for hanging an offensive
poster that criticized Prime Minister Donald Tusk and shouting insults
about him. The fans were protesting Tusk's decision to respond to
soccer hooligan violence by closing some stadiums in May. The fans were
required to pay administrative fines ranging from 500 to 1,000 zloty
($155 to $320).
The law prohibits hate speech, including dissemination of anti-
Semitic literature and the public promotion of fascist, communist, or
other totalitarian systems. On July 19, however, the Constitutional
Court ruled that the parts of the provision dealing specifically with
the production and storing of Communist materials for distribution were
unconstitutional.
Freedom of Press.--Defamation carried out through the mass media is
punishable by imprisonment for up to one year. In 2010, the last year
for which statistics were available, 44 persons were convicted of
committing criminal defamation in the mass media and fined. Available
information indicated this number included politicians pressing charges
against each other, academics and experts who gave interviews or wrote
articles for the media, and a few journalists. In May investigative
journalist Jerzy Jachowicz was fined 16,000 zloty ($5,000) for an
article he published in 2007 about a former Communist secret service
agent and his alleged connections with a Polish-American. In February
journalist Dorota Kania was fined for publishing an article in 2007
about the same person. Both journalists filed suits in the ECHR..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The constitution provides for
freedom of the press and social communication, and the right to acquire
and disseminate information. It prohibits censorship of the press or
social communication. The law prohibits, under penalty of fines, the
promotion of activities that are against government policy, morality,
or the common good; and requires that all broadcasts ``respect the
religious feelings of the audiences and, in particular, respect the
Christian system of values.'' In practice the government rarely
enforced this provision. The law also places some limits on editorial
independence, for example, by specifying that journalists must verify
quotes and statements with the person who made them before publication.
The National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council, a five-
member body appointed by the National Assembly and the president, is
responsible for protecting freedom of speech and has broad power to
monitor and regulate programming, allocate broadcasting frequencies and
licenses, apportion subscription revenues to public media, and impose
financial penalties on broadcasters. While council members are required
to suspend their membership in political parties and public
associations, critics asserted that the council remained politicized.
The president and the Sejm each select two members, and the Senate
selects one member.
On October 4, the district prosecutor in Gdynia appealed the August
18 acquittal of heavy metal singer Adam Darski by the Gdynia district
court. He was charged with offending religious feelings for tearing up
a Bible and referring to the Roman Catholic Church as a ``criminal
sect'' during a 2007 concert.
On August 11, the Warsaw Appeals Court upheld the 2009 decision of
the National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council to fine the
private television station TVN 471,000 zloty ($147,000) for
broadcasting a talk show in 2008 during which participants placed the
national flag in dog excrement. The court stated that the show promoted
the desecration of the national flag.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could usually engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. However, the
law against defamation, which restricts freedom of speech, applies to
the Internet as well.
On May 20, ABW agents raided the apartment of a student who ran the
satirical Web site www.antykomor.pl based on charges of publicly
insulting the president. The Web site mocked President Komorowski and
allowed visitors to throw virtual objects like hammers or dog excrement
at the president's image. The agents searched the student's house and
seized his laptop and hard drives. On June 9, a court in Tomaszow
Mazowiecki ruled that the prosecutor's decision to order ABW to search
the apartment was legal. On July 11, the district prosecutor in Sieradz
refused to initiate an investigation into the abuse of powers by ABW
and the local prosecutor.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The law permits denial of refugee
status based on safe country of origin or safe country of transit;
however, the law also includes provisions to consider the protection
needs of individuals with exceptional cases.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--There were occasional reports of problems in the
country's 13 detention centers for asylum seekers, which were located
in the Warsaw, Bialystok, and Lublin areas and had a capacity of
approximately 2,600 persons. The UNHCR reported no major or persistent
problems in the centers, but asylum seekers complained about lack of
access to medical specialists.
Employment.--Persons granted asylum or refugee status had the right
to work. However, Amnesty International reported they experienced
difficulties finding jobs, due in part to poor integration programs.
Access to Basic Services.--According to UNHCR, conditions in
refugee centers were modest but met necessary requirements. Access to
basic medical care was satisfactory, although asylum seekers complained
about access to specialist medical care. Refugees also experienced
language and cultural barriers and had limited access to higher
education.
Temporary Protection.--Until November 24, the government provided
temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees and
provided it to 282 persons, compared with 439 persons in 2010. Persons
with temporary status also had the right to work, received social
assistance, and participated in the government's integration programs.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
parliamentary elections held on October 9 were considered free and
fair. On December 14, the Supreme Court declared the elections valid,
finding that the isolated cases of violations did not influence the
outcome of the elections. The Office of Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe wrote in its report that the elections were pluralistic and
democratic, with a high degree of public confidence in all stages of
the election process.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--On March 3, a new gender-
parity law which mandates that one gender represent no more than 65
percent of the spots on political parties' election lists entered into
force; it was applied for the first time during the October 9
parliamentary elections.
Following the October 9 elections, there were 111 women in the 460-
seat Sejm and 13 in the 100-seat Senate. There were four women in the
20-member Council of Ministers. In addition, 16 women held ministerial-
level positions. Eleven of the country's 51 members of the European
Parliament were women.
In the October 9 elections, the second member of parliament of
African descent, as well as the first transgender and first openly gay
member of parliament won seats in the Sejm. There were no members of
minorities in the cabinet. The law exempts parties of historic ethnic
minorities, including Belarusian, Czech, Lithuanian, German, Armenian,
Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Jewish parties from the requirement
that they must receive 5 percent of the vote nationwide to qualify for
seats in individual districts. Based on this exemption, there was one
member of the Sejm (representing the German minority in Silesia) and
none in the Senate.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement these laws
effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices.
Several government bodies, including the prime minister's
plenipotentiary for the prevention of irregularities in public
institutions and the CBA, were responsible for combating corruption.
The CBA has broad powers to audit the financial holdings of public
officials and fight corruption in public procurement. It also has
authority to conduct searches, secretly videotape, and tap telephone
conversations as well as to make arrests.
According to local and international NGOs, the level of corruption
has decreased. World Bank governance indicators showed that, although
corruption was remained a problem, indicators have improved since 2007.
Citizens continued to believe that political parties and members of the
legislative branch, the health care system, and the judiciary were the
most corrupt.
There were no new, high-profile cases of government corruption,
although there were developments in cases from previous years. On May
9, Walbrzych mayor Piotr Kruczkowski resigned following the decision of
the district court in Swidnica on April 28 to annul the second round of
the 2010 local government elections in Walbrzych because of vote
buying. On September 2, a new trial began in the case of two
individuals charged with attempting to bribe a former agriculture
minister and deputy prime minister. The new trial came after an appeals
court overturned the 2009 Warsaw Circuit Court's conviction of the two.
Financial disclosure laws oblige public officials to submit
financial statements about financial assets, real property, stocks and
bonds owned by the person and his or her spouse.
The constitution and the law provide for public access to
government information, and in practice the government generally
provided access to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
By law government refusal of information requests must be based on
exceptional circumstances related to government secrets, personal
privacy, and proprietary business data. Refusals may be appealed.
On September 25, the president signed a new law restricting public
access to certain government information. The law allows the government
to restrict access to protect ``important economic interests of the
state,'' including the country's negotiating positions in the
international arena. The revision of the law was strongly criticized by
local human rights NGOs and opposition parties, which argued that the
new provisions are so general and imprecise that they may lead to
unjustified limitation of access to public information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The country's independent human
rights ombudsman presents an annual report to the Sejm on the state of
human rights and civic freedom in the country. The ombudsman generally
had adequate resources, enjoyed the government's cooperation, and was
considered effective. In 2010, the most recent year for which
statistics were available, the human rights ombudsman reported
receiving 56,641 cases, a decrease of 8,567 from 2009.
Both chambers of the National Assembly have committees on human
rights and the rule of law. The committees serve a primarily
legislative function and are composed of representatives from multiple
political parties.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination in political, social, and
economic life ``for any reason whatsoever.'' The law prohibits
discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social
status, and the government generally enforced these prohibitions. On
January 1, a new antidiscrimination law entered into force that
prohibits discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin,
nationality, religion, belief, opinion, disability, age, or sexual
orientation. The new law requires the ombudsman to monitor
implementation of the principles of equal treatment, support victims of
discrimination, and carry out independent research. Ombudsman Irena
Lipowicz publicly stated, however, that her office did not have enough
funding to monitor discrimination and would struggle to fulfill its
additional duties.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal and punishable by up to 12 years in prison. According to
national police statistics, during the first half of the year there
were 688 reported cases of rape. However, NGOs estimated that the
actual number of rapes was much higher because women often were
unwilling to report rape due to social stigma. During the same period,
police forwarded 509 possible rape cases to prosecutors and 55 to
family court (for underage offenders) for indictment.
On March 25, the president signed into law a revision of the
criminal code that introduced a punishment for stalking, with a term of
up to 10 years in prison.
In March the Lodz Appeals Court reduced the sentence for former
Sejm deputy Stanislaw Lyzwinski from five years' imprisonment to three
years and six months for rape, repeatedly forcing four women to have
sex, abetting a kidnapping, and extortion.
On October 21, the regional court in Ostroda began the trial of
former Olsztyn mayor Czeslaw Malkowski on charges of rape, attempted
rape, and sexual harassment of his female employees. The charges
resulted from an almost three-year-long investigation of Malkowski, who
was charged in 2008 with the sexual harassment of two female employees
and the rape of a third.
Domestic violence against women continued to be a serious problem.
Observers attributed an increase in the number of reported cases to
heightened police awareness, particularly in urban areas, as a result
of media campaigns and NGO efforts. While courts can sentence a person
convicted of domestic violence to a maximum of five years in prison,
most convictions resulted in suspended sentences. The law provides for
restraining orders on spouses to protect against abuse; prosecutors
have the authority to issue restraining orders without a court's prior
approval, but police do not have the authority to issue immediate
restraining orders at the scene of an incident.
During the first half of the year, police identified 9,401 cases of
domestic violence. Of these, 8,446 were forwarded for prosecution.
During the first six months of the year, police reported that officers
conducted 38,779 interventions related to domestic violence. According
to prison authorities, at the end of the year, 5,191 individuals were
serving prison sentences for domestic violence crimes.
According to some women's organizations, the number of women
affected by domestic abuse was underreported, particularly in small
towns and villages. The Women's Rights Center reported that police were
occasionally reluctant to intervene in domestic violence incidents if
the perpetrator was a member of police or if victims were unwilling to
cooperate.
Centers for domestic violence victims operated by NGOs provided
counseling for offenders and training for personnel who worked with
victims. The government provided victims and families with legal and
psychological assistance and operated 220 crisis centers and nine
shelters for pregnant women and mothers with small children. In
addition, 35 specialized centers were operated by local governments and
funded by the government's National Program for Combating Domestic
Violence. The centers provided social, medical, psychological, and
legal assistance to victims and ``corrective education'' programs for
abusers. In 2010, the last year for which statistics were available,
the government allocated approximately 12.2 million zloty ($3.8
million) for the centers' operating costs.
The government also spent 3.9 million zloty ($1.2 million) during
the year on programs to combat domestic violence. They were primarily
corrective-education programs for abusers and training for social
workers, police officers, and specialists who were the first contacts
for victims of domestic violence. In addition the Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy spent 330,000 zloty ($105,000) to organize a conference
on domestic violence, a national public awareness campaign, and
research on the problem of domestic violence. Regional governments
spent almost 2.6 million zloty ($825,000) on training for first
responders.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment. Persons
convicted of sexual harassment may be sentenced up to three years in
prison. The labor code defines sexual harassment as discriminatory
behavior in the workplace, including physical, verbal, and nonverbal
acts, violating an employee's dignity.
According to the Women's Rights Center, sexual harassment continued
to be a serious and underreported problem. Many victims did not report
abuse or withdrew harassment claims in the course of police
investigations due to shame or fear of losing their job. However, the
media reported on certain high profile cases of sexual harassment.
During the first six months of the year, police reported 32 cases of
sexual harassment, compared with 52 cases during the first six months
of 2010.
Reproductive Rights.--Although the government generally recognized
the basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, some
restrictions existed. While there were no restrictions on the right to
obtain contraceptives, religious, social, and economic factors limited
their use, according to a local NGO, the Federation for Women and
Family Planning. Prescription contraceptives were not included on the
government list of subsidized medicines, which made them cost-
prohibitive relative to average household income. The law does not
permit voluntary sterilization. Health clinics and local health NGOs
were permitted to provide information on family planning, including
information about contraception, under the guidance of the Ministry of
Health.
In June 2010 the U.N. special rapporteur on health issues, Anand
Grover, cited serious impediments to women's access to certain
reproductive health services, such as contraception and prenatal
testing. Grover called for the provision of unbiased sexual education
and better funding for contraceptives.
Discrimination.--The constitution provides for equal rights for men
and women in family law, property law, and in the judicial system;
however, in practice there were few laws to implement this provision.
Women held lower-level positions, frequently received lower pay than
men for equivalent work, were fired more readily, and were less likely
to be promoted.
On January 26, the Web site www.wynagrodzenia.pl reported a large
discrepancy in the average salaries of men and women in a national
survey of 2010. The survey found that women's salaries were on average
approximately 33 percent lower than men's salaries.
The prime minister maintains a plenipotentiary for equal treatment
with a mandate to counter discrimination and promote equal
opportunities for all. Some women's rights groups and international
organizations complained, however, that the position was neither
sufficiently resourced nor sufficiently independent from government
influence to fulfill its mandate. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Policy continued to promote gender mainstreaming in the labor market,
including providing support for the Polish Women's Congress and funding
public awareness campaigns.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired at birth if
at least one parent is a citizen regardless of where the birth took
place. Children born or found in the country with parents of unknown or
stateless origin are also citizens. The government has in place a
system of universal birth registration immediately after birth.
Child Abuse.--Incidents of child abuse were reported; however,
convictions for abuse were rare. The constitution and the law prohibit
violence against children and provides for prison sentences ranging
from three months to five years.
A government ombudsman for children's rights issued periodic
reports on problems affecting children, such as pedophilia on the
Internet, improving access to public schools for children with
disabilities, and providing better medical care for children with
chronic diseases. The ombudsman's office also operated a 24-hour
hotline for abused children. In 2010, the last year for which
statistics were available, the ombudsman received 19,665 complaints of
infringements of children's rights under the country's laws, an
increase of 5,205 from 2009. Of that number, almost 40 percent related
to the right to be brought up in a family and cited such factors as:
limitation of parental rights because of a divorce and the need for
better support for foster families, 23 percent to the right to
protection against abuse and exploitation, 11 percent to the right to
education, and 9 percent to the right to adequate social conditions.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits sexual
intercourse with minors younger than 15. The penalty for a conviction
of statutory rape ranges from two to 12 years' imprisonment. Child
pornography is also illegal. The production, possession, storage, or
importation of child pornography is punishable by imprisonment for a
period of three months to 10 years. According to the Ministry of
Justice, 728 persons were convicted in 2010 of sexual intercourse with
persons younger than age 15, and 25 persons were convicted of pimping
with the involvement of a minor.
During the year police arrested 251 persons and confiscated
computers and pornographic materials in two large, nationwide
operations against child pornography and pedophiles. However,
difficulty in meeting legal evidentiary standards led to few
convictions in these cases.
According to the government and the Nobody's Children Foundation, a
leading NGO dealing with trafficking in children, trafficking in
children for sexual exploitation remained a problem.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Union of Jewish Communities estimated that the
Jewish population numbered approximately 20,000. During the year a
series of anti-Semitic incidents occurred in the northeastern and
eastern parts of Poland, often involving desecration of symbolically
significant property or places tied to the Holocaust. Synagogues and
Jewish cemeteries were also targets of vandalism.
On August 31, the monument in the town of Jedwabne commemorating
the mass killing of Jews burned alive by their Polish neighbors during
World War II was defaced with Nazi swastikas and SS signs. The wall
around the monument was covered with the words, ``I don't apologize for
Jedwabne!'' and ``They were easy to burn.'' On September 18,
unidentified persons painted a swastika on the car of a historian
specializing in Holocaust issues who worked at the Majdanek
concentration camp museum near Lublin.
High-level government officials, including President Komorowski and
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, denounced anti-Semitic acts and
supported tolerance, education, and interfaith dialogue. On September
8, the Prosecutor General's Office announced that it would monitor
investigations into the anti-Semitic and xenophobic incidents that took
place in the northeastern Podlaskie region. The governor of the region
also denounced the incidents. Investigations into these incidents
continued.
On May 10, the Warsaw prosecutor's office initiated a criminal
investigation into the defamation of Foreign Minister Sikorski
involving anti-Semitic comments posted on the Internet about his
family.
During the year anti-Semitic behavior sometimes occurred at
sporting events. In April the Polish antiracism ``Never Again''
Association and the Ukrainian Football without Prejudices organization
issued a report documenting 36 anti-Semitic incidents during soccer
games between September 2009 and March 2011. On September 30, soccer
fans of the Warsaw Legia team displayed a large ``Jihad Legia'' banner
during a match against the Israeli Hapoel Tel Aviv team. The Warsaw
prosecutor's office subsequently declined to investigate the case on
the grounds that displaying the banner was not a crime.
On May 30, the district prosecutor in Rzeszow indicted four soccer
fans on charges of slandering Jewish persons in connection with the May
2010 incident involving fans' holding up a large banner with a Jewish
caricature and an anti-Semitic slogan during a match in Rzeszow. On
March 14, a trial opened against two other fans in the District Court
of Rzeszow. The trials continued at year's end; each of the fans faced
up to three years' imprisonment if convicted.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services. The government restricts the right
of persons with certain mental disabilities to vote or participate in
civic affairs. The government effectively enforced these provisions;
however, there were reports of some societal discrimination against
persons with disabilities.
The law states that buildings should be accessible for persons with
disabilities, and at least three laws require retrofitting of existing
buildings to provide accessibility. Public buildings and transportation
generally were accessible.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is responsible for
disability-related matters. During the year the government
plenipotentiary for persons with disabilities organized training
sessions for central and local government officials to encourage them
to hire persons with disabilities. The state fund for rehabilitation of
persons with disabilities continued a nationwide campaign encouraging
companies to employ them. The fund granted money to NGOs to organize
media campaigns on the rights of disabled persons.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution gives ethnic
groups who have been living on the territory of present-day Poland for
more than 100 years additional rights to preserve their own language,
customs, and culture. The law defines nine as so-called ``national
minorities'' (Belarusian, Czech, Lithuanian, German, Armenian, Russian,
Slovak, Ukrainian, and Jewish) and four ``ethnic minorities'' (Karaim,
Lemka, Roma, and Tatar). The law also contains several provisions
against hate crimes and incitement to violence based on ethnic origin;
however, government enforcement efforts were sometimes ineffective.
Government agencies reported that their statistics did not show a
rise in the total number of hate crimes. However, during the year there
was a series of high-profile xenophobic incidents, including a number
directed against symbolic places tied to Lithuanians and other minority
groups. According to local NGOs, including Never Again, Open Republic,
and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the incidents were more
high profile and symbolic than in past years, but not necessarily more
numerous. The government, while generally quick to denounce them on the
national and sometimes local level, was generally unable to find the
perpetrators of the incidents.
NGOs, media, and academic experts believed that the incidents were
likely linked to a rise in the numbers and activities of extreme
nationalist groups. Extremist groups, while still small in number,
maintained a public presence in high-profile marches and on the
Internet. The neofascist group Red Watch updated its Web site several
times with the names and contact information of persons it considered
traitors to the white race, including politicians and journalists.
On August 22, an unidentified arsonist set fire to the apartment of
a Pakistani-Polish couple in the Podlaskie region's capital of
Bialystok. The couple escaped unharmed. Media and NGOs classified the
attack as a xenophobic act, but the government believed it was
committed as part of a nonxenophobic neighbors' dispute.
Ethnic Lithuanians and Germans were the targets of symbolic acts of
vandalism. On August 22, unknown perpetrators covered 28 Lithuanian-
language signs in the Podlaskie region with the colors of the Polish
flag and painted the insignia of the nationalist organization Falanga
on a Lithuanian monument in a park. A day later, a monument to a
Lithuanian poet was damaged. The governor of the Podlaskie province set
up a special taskforce of police, the border guards, and the ABW to
investigate the incidents. On October 14, vandals defaced a German
community cultural center in Opole, one of a series of such incidents
aimed against the German minority there.
There were also scattered incidents of racially motivated violence
including verbal and physical abuse directed at Roma and persons of
African, Asian, or Arab descent. The Ukrainian and Belarusian
minorities continued to experience petty harassment and discrimination.
Societal discrimination against Roma continued. The 2002 national
census recorded approximately 12,700 Roma, although the Romani
community estimated the number to be much higher.
There were reports that some local officials discriminated against
Roma by denying them adequate social services. Romani leaders
complained of widespread discrimination in employment, housing,
banking, the justice system, the media, and education.
In December 2010 some restaurants and clubs in Poznan denied entry
to members of the Romani community. On February 22, the Poznan
prosecutor refused to initiate a criminal investigation into these
complaints, but two security guards who did not admit the Roma to a
restaurant were charged with a petty offense and fined 1,000 zloty
($310) each. The Roma Association appealed the case, and the prosecutor
reopened it on April 14. The Roma Association reported that, despite
government assistance programs, many Romani children did not attend
public school. This was because of either financial constraints or
fears that teachers would encourage assimilation and discourage
traditional practices. However, according to the Ministry of the
Interior and Administration, 2,764 of the 3,369 Romani children between
the ages of six and 16 were enrolled in school in the 2009-10 school
year, the latest data available. The association stated that
inadequacies in Romani children's education made it impossible for Roma
to escape their poverty. In October the association reported that many
Romani children were placed in schools for children with mental
disabilities, even though two-thirds were intellectually able to study
in regular schools. Research by the Jagiellonian University in Krakow
showed that the improper placement might have resulted from improper
testing by psychologists. On May 31, the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Administration reported that in 2010, 16.8 percent of Romani
children were placed in schools for children with mental disabilities.
Approximately 80 percent of Roma were unemployed nationally, but
levels of unemployment in some regions reached nearly 100 percent.
The government allocated approximately 10 million zloty ($3.1
million) to the annual program for Roma, which included educational and
other projects to improve health and living conditions and reduce
unemployment. The program also focused on civic education and provided
grants for university and high school students.
On July 29, the Sejm established August 2 as the official Roma and
Sinti Genocide Remembrance Day. On the day, the Sejm joined the Romani
and Sinti communities in commemorating the extermination of the Romani
camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in August 1944.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--NGOs, including the Helsinki
Foundation for Human Rights, reported increasing acceptance of LGBT
persons by society and the government. However, they stated that
discrimination was still common in schools, the workplace, hospitals,
and clinics. For example, LGBT persons were sometimes prevented from
donating blood. During the year there were some reports of skinhead
violence and societal discrimination against LGBT persons.
NGOs maintained that few cases of discrimination against LGBT
persons were actually reported. A survey conducted by the Campaign
against Homophobia for the 2010 Hate Crime Report of ODIHR concluded
that 92 percent of hate crime incidents against LGBT persons were not
reported to police.
On May 21, an estimated 400 persons took part in Krakow's seventh
annual Equality March (formerly called the March for Tolerance) to call
for an end to prejudice against gay men and lesbians. Police were
unable to prevent scuffles between the marchers and approximately 100
members of the nationalist group National Rebirth of Poland. Several
journalists were caught in a scuffle involving tear gas and batons, and
at least three participants were assaulted on the streets of the city
center. Police detained 13 persons on charges of public disorder and
one for attacking a police officer.
On June 11, between 4,000 and 6,000 persons participated in
Warsaw's 10th Equality Parade. A group of 500 counterdemonstrators from
the National Radical Camp, the All-Poland Youth association, and fans
of the Legia soccer team attempted to interrupt the event by shouting
discriminatory slogans and throwing firecrackers at police officers and
participants. According to police the parade and counterdemonstrations
proceeded without any major incidents and no one was hurt.
The prime minister's plenipotentiary for equal treatment monitors
LGBT problems. LGBT groups criticized the plenipotentiary for making
controversial statements about these problems and for not doing enough
to combat discrimination against LGBT persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--During the first six
months of the year, the government's AIDS Center reported one official
incident of discrimination against a person with HIV/AIDS and a mental
illness. The person was refused readmission to a state-funded home for
persons with mental disabilities. The patients' rights ombudsman
intervened and ordered the patient admitted to the home.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and the law provide that all workers, including
civilian employees of the armed forces, police, and border guards, have
the right to establish and join independent trade unions without
previous authorization or excessive requirements. Foreign and migrant
workers also have the right to unionize. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference. The constitution
guarantees the right to organize workers' strikes or other forms of
protest for trade unions, but specifies that for protection of public
interest, specific laws may limit or forbid the conduct of strikes by
specified categories of employees or in specific areas. Workers deemed
to be in essential services, such as security forces, the Supreme
Chamber of Audit, police, border guard, and fire brigades, do not have
the right to strike. These workers have the right to protest and seek
resolution of their grievances through mediation and the court system.
The constitution guarantees freedom of association in trade unions,
occupational organizations of farmers, and employers' organizations.
The law obligates employers to notify the district inspection
office in their region about a group dispute in the workplace. The law
places some conditions on strikes: 50 percent of employees at the
company and industry level need to vote in favor, and a strike cannot
be called earlier than 14 days after the workers present their demands
to the employer.
The constitution and the law provide for and protect enterprise-
level collective bargaining over wages and working conditions, although
some civil servants are restricted in this right. A tripartite
commission composed of unions, employers, and government
representatives was the main forum that determined minimum national
wage and benefit increases in sectors such as social services. Key
public-sector employers may not negotiate with labor without the
extensive involvement of the ministries to which they are subordinate.
The constitution guarantees trade unions the right to bargain,
particularly for the purpose of resolving collective disputes and to
conclude collective labor agreements and other arrangements. The law
provides for parties to take group disputes to formal mediation, then
to the Board of Social Arbitration in either the district court or
Supreme Court depending on the number of employers involved, and, as a
last resort, to strike. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination,
although the constitution only guarantees the freedom of association in
trade unions. Trade unions report that the law does not provide
adequate means of protection against discrimination.
Cumbersome procedures made it difficult to meet all of the legal
technical requirements for strikes in many cases. Labor courts acted
slowly in deciding the legality of strikes, while sanctions against
unions for calling illegal strikes and against employers for provoking
them were minimal. Unions alleged that laws prohibiting retribution
against strikers were not enforced consistently and that the small
fines imposed as punishment were ineffective deterrents to employers.
In 2010 the State Labor Inspection Office registered 342 disputes,
compared with 433 disputes in 2009.
While many workers exercised the right to organize and join unions,
in practice many small- and medium-sized firms discriminated against
those who attempted to organize. The government sometimes failed to
protect the right to union activity without interference at small- and
medium-sized companies. Newly established small- and medium-sized firms
were generally nonunion, while privatized, formerly state-owned
enterprises frequently continued union activity. Self-employed workers
cannot form a union, and some categories of government workers are
limited to a single union or from holding office.
Labor leaders reported that employers frequently discriminated
against workers who attempted to organize or join unions, particularly
in the private sector. Discrimination typically took the forms of
intimidation, termination of work contracts without notice, and closing
the workplace. The law did not prevent employer harassment of union
members for trade union activity; there were unconfirmed reports that
some employers sanctioned employees who tried to organize unions.
Managers also asked workers in the presence of a notary public to
declare whether they were union members.
In July the Solidarity Trade Union filed a new complaint against
the government with the International Labor Organization (ILO),
alleging infringement of workers' freedom of association. Solidarity
asserted that the 1991 law on trade unions does not comply with ILO
Convention No. 87, as it limits the rights of self-employed persons,
telecommuters, and others to establish and join trade unions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, there were reports that that men and boys were increasingly
subjected to forced labor in the agricultural, manufacturing, and food
processing sectors. Also, see the Department of State's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
constitution and law prohibit the employment of children under the age
of 16, with exceptions in the cultural, artistic, sporting, and
advertising fields when parents or guardians and the local labor
inspector give their permission. Persons between the ages of 16 and 18
may work only if they have completed middle school, the proposed
employment constitutes vocational training, and the work is not harmful
to their health.
The State Labor Inspectorate reported that increasing numbers of
minors worked, and many employers underpaid them or paid them late.
During the first half of the year, the inspectorate conducted 538
inspections involving 2,502 underage employees (16 to 18 years of age),
compared with 325 inspections involving 2,222 underage employees during
the same period in 2010. Fines totaling 123,000 zloty ($38,438) were
levied in 108 cases.
The majority of the 2,502 employees found to be underage worked in
commercial enterprises, repair shops, processing industries,
restaurants, and construction.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum
wage, which took effect in January, was 1,386 zloty (approximately
$433). According to the Institute of Labor and Social Studies, the
social minimum income level for one person was 926 zloty ($289) and
3,016 zloty ($943) for a family of four in 2010. The subsistence level
was 472 zloty ($148) for one person and 1,607zloty ($502) for a family
of four. The large size of the informal economy and the low number of
government labor inspectors made enforcement of the minimum wage
difficult. A large percentage of construction workers and seasonal
agricultural laborers from Ukraine and Belarus earned less than the
minimum wage.
The constitution provides for every employee to have the right to
statutorily specified days free from work, as well as annual paid
holidays. The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours, with an
upper limit of 48 hours including overtime. The law requires premium
pay for overtime hours, but there were reports that this requirement
was often ignored. The law provided for workers to receive at least 11
hours of uninterrupted rest per day and 35 hours of uninterrupted rest
per week. The law also provides for 20 days of paid annual holidays for
employees with less than 10 years of work experience and 26 days for
those who have been employed for at least 10 years.
The law defines strict and extensive minimum conditions to protect
worker health and safety. It empowers the State Labor Inspectorate to
supervise and monitor implementation of worker health and safety laws
and to close workplaces with unsafe conditions. In 2010, the last year
for which data were available, there were approximately 1,700 labor
inspectors. However, the inspectorate was unable to monitor workplace
safety adequately. In the first half of the year, the Government
Statistics Office reported 44,161 victims of workplace accidents, an
increase of more than 3,000 from the same period of time in 2010. In
2010 the inspectorate investigated 2,251 accidents, in which there were
2,768 injuries, including 538 workers killed and 898 persons seriously
injured.
Employers routinely exceeded standards for exposure to chemicals,
dust, and noise. According to the inspectorate, the lack of
professional experience, necessary safety precautions, and organization
were the leading causes of workplace accidents. The majority of
accidents occurred in mining, trade, and services.
__________
PORTUGAL
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Portugal, which includes the archipelagos of the Azores and
Madeira, is a constitutional democracy with a president, a prime
minister, and a parliament elected in multiparty elections. National
parliamentary elections on June 5 were free and fair. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
There were no reports of widespread or systemic abuses. The most
important human rights problems included excessive use of force and
abuse of detainees and prisoners by police and prison guards, poor and
unhealthy prison conditions, and the incarceration of juveniles with
adults and pretrial detainees with convicted criminals.
Other problems included violence against women and children,
discrimination against women, and trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation and forced labor.
The government usually prosecuted and punished officials who
committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents did not commit any arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the constitution and law prohibit such practices,
there were credible reports of excessive use of force by police and of
mistreatment and other forms of abuse of detainees by prison guards.
During the year the Inspectorate General of Internal Administration
(IGAI) investigated reports of mistreatment and abuse by police and
prison guards. Complaints included physical abuse, threatening use of
firearms, excessive use of force, illegal detention, and abuse of
power. The majority of the complaints were against the Public Security
Police (PSP) and the Republican National Guard (GNR)-392 and 257
complaints, respectively, in 2010, the most recent year for which
statistics were available. The IGAI investigated each complaint, and
punishments for officers found to have committed abuses ranged from
temporary suspension to prison sentences. During 2010, 738
investigations of members of the security forces were conducted.
Punishment included letters of reprimand, temporary suspension from
duty, prison sentences, mandatory retirement with pension cuts, and
discharge from duty.
In its most recent visit to detention centers and prisons in the
country in 2008, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) received numerous complaints of mistreatment by law
enforcement officials, mainly concerning slaps, punches, and blows with
objects such as batons and telephone books. The committee also received
one specific complaint of threat with a firearm.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--There were reports guards
mistreated prisoners at some prisons. Other problems included
overcrowding, inadequate facilities, poor health conditions, and
violence among inmates. Approximately 10 percent of the prison
population had HIV/AIDS, and more than half of these (57 percent) were
also infected with hepatitis C.
In 2010, the latest year for which data are available, there were
64 deaths in the country's prisons. According to the Directorate-
General of Prison Services, 45 were caused by illness and 19 by
suicide. The majority of deaths due to illness were caused by
infectious diseases associated with drug abuse.
According to the Directorate-General of Prison Services, on
December 30 there were 12,548 prisoners and detainees in the country's
prisons (94.6 percent male inmates and 5.4 percent female inmates), 76
of whom were youths between 16 and 18 years old (74 boys and two
girls). The maximum number of prisoners facilities were designed to
accommodate was 12,077. During the year the prison system operated at
103.9 percent of capacity. There was a youth prison in Leiria, but
elsewhere in the prison system juveniles were sometimes held with
adults. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted criminals.
Under the government's ``open regime'' system, prisoners may earn
the right to work outside of the prison and to see their families at
home on a regular basis.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of
inhumane conditions and documented the results of such investigations
in a publicly accessible manner. The government investigated and
monitored prison and detention center conditions. Prisoners had access
to potable water.
An ombudsman can serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees to
consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent
offenders to alleviate overcrowding; address the status and
circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders; and improve
pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to assure that
prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged
offense.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers and the CPT. During the year university researchers and news
media visited prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--There were
approximately 50,000 law enforcement officials, including police and
prison guards. The ministries of internal administration and justice
are primarily responsible for internal security. The Ministry of
Internal Administration oversees the GNR, the Foreigners and Borders
Service (SEF), and the PSP. The SEF has jurisdiction over immigration
and border problems. The PSP has jurisdiction in cities, and the GNR
has jurisdiction outside cities. The Judiciary Police are responsible
for criminal investigations and report to the Ministry of Justice.
An independent ombudsman chosen by parliament and the IGAI
investigates complaints of abuse or mistreatment by police. However,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) criticized the slow pace of
investigations and the lack of an independent oversight agency to
monitor the IGAI and the Ministry of Internal Administration.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and law provide detailed guidelines covering all aspects
of arrest and custody, and authorities generally followed the
guidelines. Persons can be arrested only on a judicial warrant, except
that law enforcement officials and citizens may make warrantless
arrests when there is probable cause that a crime has just been or is
being committed, or that the person to be arrested is an escaped
convict or a suspect who escaped from police custody.
Under the law an investigating judge determines whether an arrested
person should be detained, released on bail, or released outright.
A suspect may not be held for more than 48 hours without appearing
before an investigating judge. Investigative detention for most crimes
is a maximum of four months; if a formal charge is not filed within
that period, the detainee must be released. In cases of serious crimes,
such as murder, armed robbery, terrorism, violent or organized crime,
and of crimes involving more than one suspect, the investigating judge
may decide to hold a suspect in detention while the investigation is
underway for up to 18 months and up to three years in extraordinary
circumstances.
Bail exists, but detainees are not released on their own
recognizance. Depending on the severity of the crime, a detainee's
release may be subject to various legal conditions.
Detainees have the right to legal counsel from the time of arrest,
but police did not always inform detainees of their rights. In the
report on its 2008 visit, the CPT stated that ``facts found during the
visit.clearly indicate that few detained persons have an effective
right of access to a lawyer during police custody.'' The government
assumed legal costs for indigent detainees.
A suspect in investigative detention must be brought to trial
within 14 months of being charged formally. If a suspect is not in
detention, there is no specified deadline for going to trial.
Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem.
As of October 15, 2,412 individuals (19.6 percent of the prison
population) were in pretrial detention, a decrease from the previous
year. The average detention time was eight months; approximately 20
percent of pretrial detainees spent more than one year in
incarceration. Lengthy pretrial detention was usually due to lengthy
investigations and legal procedures, judicial inefficiency, or staff
shortages. If a detainee is convicted, pretrial detention counts
against his prison sentence. If found innocent, a detainee has the
right to request compensation.
Amnesty.--In December the president granted one reduction of prison
sentence and one revocation of the penalty of expulsion from the
country for one foreigner. There were 225 requests.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Observers, including the media, business corporations, and legal
observers, estimated the backlog of cases awaiting trial to be at least
a year.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
All defendants are presumed innocent. Jury trials are rare in criminal
cases. When the crime in question is punishable by a prison sentence
whose maximum limit is more than eight years, either the public
prosecutor or the defendant may request a jury trial. Juries consist of
three judges and four public members.
Trials are public. Defendants have the right to be present at their
trial and to consult with an attorney upon arrest, at government
expense if necessary. They can confront and question witnesses against
them, present evidence on their own behalf, and have access to
government-held evidence. Those convicted have the right of appeal. The
law extends these rights to all citizens and foreign residents.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is subject to
the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) under the European Convention
on Human Rights. It complied with the court's decisions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. All persons, both citizens
and foreign residents, have access to a court to bring lawsuits seeking
damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation, and they could
appeal decisions to the ECHR. Civil cases do not have jury trials.
There are administrative as well as judicial remedies for alleged
wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of
the press.
Freedom of Press.--According to the European Federation of
Journalists, the law requires journalists to surrender confidential
information and to disclose sources in criminal cases. However, the
statute has been neither invoked nor tested.
Internet Freedom.--There were neither government restrictions on
access to the Internet nor reports that the government monitored e mail
or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In 2010 the country granted asylum to six people and
resettlement status to an additional 30 persons.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government considers other EU
countries to be safe countries of origin and returned asylum seekers to
their country of entry into the EU for adjudication of their
applications.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom might be threatened.
Temporary Protection.--In addition to refugees and applicants for
political asylum, the government also provided temporary protection to
individuals who may not qualify as refugees. The country granted
humanitarian protection to 49 persons in 2010.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On June
5, the country held national parliamentary elections that were
considered free and fair. Madeira last held elections on October 9
while the most recent elections in the Azores were in 2008; both were
considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The law reserves to each
gender a minimum of one-third of the places on electoral lists in
national, local, and European parliamentary elections. There were 65
women in the 230-member parliament and two women in the 12-seat
cabinet. There was one member of a minority group in parliament; there
was none in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
no reports of corruption in the executive or legislative branches of
the central government during the year. However, the media reported
corruption involving local government officials.
Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Central Directorate for Combating Corruption, Fraud, and Economic and
Financial Crime is the government agency responsible for combating
corruption.
The constitution and law provide for public access to government
information, and the government provided access in practice for
citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The country has an independent
human rights ombudsman appointed by parliament who is responsible for
defending the human rights, freedom, and legal rights of all citizens.
The ombudsman's office operated independently and with the cooperation
of the government.
The ombudsman had adequate resources and published mandatory annual
reports as well as special reports such as on problems regarding
women's rights, prisons, health, and the rights of children and senior
citizens.
Parliament's First Committee for Constitutional Issues, Rights,
Liberties, and Privileges exercises oversight over human rights
problems. It drafts and submits bills and petitions for parliamentary
approval. During the year new laws went into effect in areas including
the reinforcement of protection of victims of crime, the right to
compensation for work-related illnesses such as those contracted by
uranium extraction workers, and measures to discourage violent hazing
practices in schools.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, and social status, and the government
effectively enforced these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law makes rape, including
spousal rape, illegal, and the government generally enforced the law
when the victim chose to press charges and the cases were not settled
out of court through mediation by both parties' lawyers. During 2010,
the latest year for which data is available, 90 cases of rape were
reported to the Association for Victim Support (APAV), a nonprofit
organization that provides confidential and free services nationwide to
victims of any type of crime.
Violence against women, including domestic violence, continued to
be a problem. Penalties for violence against women range up to 10
years' imprisonment. During 2010, 13,866 domestic violence crimes were
reported to the APAV, including 237 cases of sexual offense and 87
cases of sexual violence. According to NGOs and media reports, there
were 23 deaths related to domestic violence during the year.
The law provides for criminal penalties in cases of violence by a
spouse, and the judicial system prosecuted persons accused of abusing
women; however, traditional societal attitudes discouraged many abused
women from using the judicial system. According to data from the
Ministry of Justice, in 2008, the last year for which data was
available, 1,157 individuals were convicted of domestic violence
crimes, of a total of 2,430 domestic violence court cases.
The government encouraged abused women to file complaints with the
appropriate authorities and offered the victim protection against the
abuser. In addition, legislation allows third parties to file domestic
violence reports. The government's Commission for Equality and Women's
Rights operated 14 safe houses for victims of domestic violence and
maintained an around-the-clock telephone service. Safe house services
included food, shelter, and health and legal assistance. The
government-sponsored Mission Against Domestic Violence conducted an
awareness campaign against domestic violence, trained health
professionals, proposed legislation to improve legal assistance to
victims, and signed protocols with local authorities to assist victims.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is a crime. Penalties for
sexual harassment range from one to eight years in prison. If
perpetrated by a superior in the workplace, the penalty is up to two
years in prison, or more in cases of aggravated coercion.
The Commission on Equality in the Workplace and in Employment,
composed of representatives of the government, employers'
organizations, and labor unions, examines, but does not adjudicate,
complaints of sexual harassment. During the year reporting of sexual
harassment rose. In 2010, 50 cases of sexual harassment were reported
to the APAV.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. There was easy access to contraception. Skilled
attendants assisted all childbirths in the country in 2009, the last
year for which data is available. Women were diagnosed and treated for
sexually transmitted infections on an equal basis with men.
Discrimination.--The civil code provides women full legal equality
with men; however, in practice women experienced economic and other
forms of discrimination. According to 2010 data from the National
Statistics Institute, women made up 47 percent of the working
population and were increasingly represented in business, science,
academia, and the professions. However, according to the Ministry of
Solidarity and Social Security, women's average salaries were
approximately 27 percent lower than men's, and the gap was widening.
The state secretary for parliamentary affairs and equality
addresses, among other topics, problems such as economic discrimination
and integration of women into the mainstream of society.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth
within the country's territory and from one's parents. Authorities
registered all births.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem. The APAV reported 580
crimes against children under the age of 18 during 2010, the latest
year for which data was available. There were reports that Romani
parents used minor children for street begging.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Statutory rape is a crime. The
minimum age for legal consensual sex is 16 years of age. Penalties for
statutory rape range up to 10 years in prison. The law prohibits child
pornography; penalties range up to eight years in prison.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was estimated at 3,000. There
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during the year. The government
does not collect such statistics, and none was reported to the
ombudsman.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, and the provision of other state services. The government
effectively enforced the law. The law also mandates access to public
buildings for persons with disabilities, and the government implemented
these provisions in practice; however, no such legislation covers
private businesses or other facilities.
The Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security oversees the
National Bureau for the Rehabilitation and Integration of Persons with
Disabilities, which is responsible for the protection, professional
training, rehabilitation, and social integration of persons with
disabilities, as well as for the enforcement of related legislation.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The government estimated the
Romani population at between 40,000 and 50,000 persons. On February 9,
the European Roma Rights Center alleged the government had cut off
water to an informal Romani settlement in Vidigueira; the water service
was restored by May 26.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no official or
other reports of societal discrimination based on sexual orientation in
employment, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health
care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law recognizes workers' right to form and join independent unions
of their choice without previous authorization or excessive
requirements; members of the armed forces are excluded from this
provision. The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference. The constitution and the labor code recognize and protect
the right to bargain collectively. The law provides for the right to
strike. If a long strike occurs in an essential sector such as justice,
health, energy, or transportation, the government may order strikers
back to work for a specified period. Police may join unions and have
recourse within the legal system, but they may not strike. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination.
The government respected these rights in practice. There were few
reports that antiunion discrimination occurred. The country's labor
confederations are independent of the government and political parties,
although some historical ties exist.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor, including by children. However, the
government did not effectively enforce these laws, and such practices
reportedly occurred. Women, men, and children were trafficked for
forced labor. Men from Eastern Europe (typically from Ukraine, Moldova,
Russia, and Romania) and African Portuguese-speaking countries were
subjected through fraud, coercion, and debt bondage to conditions of
forced labor in the farming and construction industries. Police and
NGOs also have reported that family networks brought approximately 50
to 100 Romani children to the country and forced them to work as street
beggars. Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum working age is 16 years. The Labor Conditions Authority (ACT)
of the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security enforced the law
effectively and registered cases during the last two years (one or two
per year). In recent years there has been a greater social
consciousness of child labor problems, increased awareness through
government campaigns, and a reinforcement of investigations. However,
there were reports that Romani parents used children for street
begging.
The government's principal entity to investigate and respond to
reports of illegal child labor is the ACT. The ACT sponsors and
finances the Integrated Program for Education and Professional
Training, which attempts to return to school minors who are victims or
at risk of child labor. During the 2010-11 school year the program
worked with 183 groups of students throughout the country.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage, which covers
full-time workers, rural workers, and domestic employees who are 18
years of age and older, was 485 euros ($631) per month. The legal
workday may not exceed 10 hours, and the maximum workweek is 40 hours.
There is a maximum of two hours of paid overtime per day and 200 hours
of overtime per year, with a minimum of 12 hours' rest between
workdays. Premium pay for overtime worked on a rest day or public
holiday is 100 percent; overtime performed on a normal working day is
paid at a premium of 50 percent for the first hour and 75 percent for
subsequent time worked. The Ministry of Solidarity and Social Security
effectively monitored compliance through its regional inspectors.
Employers are legally responsible for accidents at work and are
required by law to carry accident insurance. The ACT develops safety
standards and is responsible for their enforcement. The ACT's
inspectors sufficiently and regularly monitored these standards both
proactively according to regulations and advanced scheduling, and
reactively in response to complaints filed. Inspection findings were
generally effectively enforced. Workers injured on the job rarely
initiated lawsuits, as insurance policies covering medical and
compensation costs covered the majority of workers. Workers have the
right to remove themselves from situations that endanger health or
safety without jeopardy to their employment, and authorities
effectively enforced this right. According to the ACT, there were 130
deaths from work-related accidents in 2010.
__________
ROMANIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Romania is a constitutional republic with a democratic, multiparty,
parliamentary system. The bicameral parliament (Parlament) consists of
the Senate (Senat) and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputatilor),
both elected by popular vote. The 2009 presidential elections were
considered generally free and fair. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
Major human rights problems included trafficking of persons for
labor, sexual exploitation, and forced begging. Significant societal
discrimination against Roma continued. Government corruption remained a
widespread problem that affected all sections of society.
During the year there were reports that police and gendarmes
mistreated and harassed detainees and Roma. Prison conditions remained
poor. The judiciary lacked impartiality and was sometimes subject to
political influence. Property restitution remained extremely slow, and
the government failed to take effective action to return Greek Catholic
churches confiscated by the former Communist government in 1948. A
restrictive law on religion remained in effect. There were continued
reports of violence and discrimination against women as well as child
abuse. Anti-Semitic articles continued to be published and anti-
Semitic, racist, xenophobic, and nationalistic views continued to be
disseminated via the Internet. Government agencies provided inadequate
assistance to persons with disabilities and neglected persons with
disabilities who were institutionalized. Societal discrimination
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons and
individuals with HIV/AIDS, particularly children, remained problems. A
new labor code eliminated the legal basis for collective bargaining at
the national level, reduced protections against antiunion
discrimination, and generally weakened workers' position vis-a-vis
employers.
The government took hesitant steps to prosecute and punish
officials who committed abuses. Lawsuits alleging police abuse were
repeatedly delayed and in many cases ended in acquittals.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were reports from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the
media that police mistreated and abused prisoners, pretrial detainees,
and Roma, primarily through excessive force and beatings. There were
also reports that some personnel in state institutions mistreated
abandoned children with physical disabilities and subjected children in
state orphanages to lengthy incarceration as punishment for misbehavior
(see section 6, Children).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
somewhat harsh and at times did not meet international standards. The
media and human rights organizations reported that the abuse of
prisoners by authorities and other prisoners continued to be a problem.
According to media and NGO reports, prisoners at times assaulted and
abused their fellow inmates, and prison authorities tried to cover up
such incidents. Prisoners had access to potable water. A judge-delegate
handles prisoner complaints. For nonviolent offenders the law provides
for alternative sentences to prison, such as suspended sentences,
sentences executed at the workplace, or penal fines. The government
continued efforts, including through partnerships with NGOs, to
alleviate harsh conditions; improve the condition of detention rooms;
provide more daily activities, training courses, and educational
programs; and deter the spread of HIV and tuberculosis.
According to the National Administration of Penitentiaries of the
Ministry of Justice, at year's end there were 30,694 persons, including
1,376 women and 447 minors, in prison or juvenile detention facilities
in a system with a stated capacity of 36,229 beds. Although according
to the official figures overcrowding did not represent a serious
problem overall, in some prisons the standard of 43 square feet per
prisoner recommended by the Council of Europe's Committee for the
Prevention of Torture (CPT) was not observed.
According to human rights NGOs, authorities made some progress in
implementing the four detention regimes: closed, semiclosed, semiopen,
and open. Prisoners assigned to semiopen and open regimes reportedly
began to benefit from placement in the type of prison appropriate to
their sentence. However, the NGO Association for the Defense of Human
Rights in Romania-the Helsinki Committee (APADOR-CH) criticized the
placement of some prisoners in prisons far from their hometowns.
The regulations allow all religious groups unrestricted access to
prisoners.
The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year. On November
24, the CPT released a report on its September 2010 visit to the
country. The CPT reviewed conditions in police detention facilities and
various issues related to prisons. It urged authorities, inter alia, to
prevent mistreatment by adopting a ``zero tolerance'' policy and ensure
minimum standards are met for individual space, lightning, hygiene, and
food quality.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
respected these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the
Administration and Interior (MAI) is responsible for the national
police, the gendarmerie, the border police, the Office for Immigration,
the General Directorate of Information and Internal Protection (which
oversees the collection of intelligence on organized crime and
corruption), and the General Anticorruption Directorate. The national
police agency is the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, which
is divided into functional directorates and 42 regional directorates
for each county and the city of Bucharest. The Romanian Intelligence
Service (SRI) collects information on major organized crime, major
economic crime, and corruption. Complaints of police misconduct are
handled by the internal disciplinary councils where the accused
officers work.
During 2010, 1,089 police officers received disciplinary sanctions
as a result of internal council investigations.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that only judges may issue detention and search warrants, and
the government mostly respected this provision in practice. The law
requires authorities to inform detainees at the time of arrest of the
charges against them and their legal rights, including that they have
the right to remain silent until a lawyer is present. Police must
notify detainees of their rights in a language they understand before
obtaining a statement. Detainees must be brought before a court within
24 hours of arrest. There was no information to suggest that the
authorities did not respect these requirements in practice. The law
provides for pretrial release at the discretion of the court. A bail
system also exists but was seldom used in practice. Every detainee has
the right to counsel and in most cases had prompt access to a lawyer of
his choice. Indigent detainees were provided legal counsel at public
expense. The arresting officer is also responsible for contacting the
detainee's lawyer or, alternatively, the local bar association to
arrange for a lawyer. The detainee has the right to meet privately with
counsel before the first police interview. The lawyer may be present
during the interview or interrogation. Detainees also had prompt access
to their families.
The law allows police to take into custody any person who endangers
the public or other individuals, or disrupts public order. There were
allegations that police often used this provision to hold persons for
up to 24 hours. Since those held in such cases were not formally
detained or arrested, their right to counsel was not observed. APADOR-
CH criticized this provision as leaving room for abuse.
A judge may order pretrial detention for periods of up to 30 days,
depending on the status of the case. The court may extend these time
periods; however, pretrial detention may not exceed 180 days. Courts
and prosecutors may be held liable for unjustifiable, illegal, or
abusive measures.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice. However, the system does not provide a
corresponding level of judicial accountability. There was a lack of
public confidence that judges were fair, unbiased, and not subject to
outside political or financial influence.
In July the European Commission's annual report on the Cooperation
and Verification Mechanism (CVM) for judicial reform and anticorruption
in the country stated that ``only limited progress has been achieved
since the commission's last report in terms of improving the efficiency
of the judicial process and the consistency of judicial decisions.''
However, it acknowledged some progress during the year on such issues
as the adoption of new civil and criminal procedure codes and the
development of a multiyear strategy for reforming the judiciary.
NGOs and public officials frequently criticized the judicial system
during the year. The judiciary's self-governing oversight body, the
Superior Council of Magistrates, increased the transparency of its
operations and adopted a strategy and action plan for strengthening
integrity within the judiciary but failed to create procedures for
addressing potential conflicts of interest among judges. It also failed
to consistently identify and discipline judicial or prosecutorial
misconduct, a significant part of its mandate. The practice of the High
Court of Cassation and Justice (ICCJ) of returning case files to
prosecutors for additional investigation contributed to frequent delays
in court proceedings However, the speed of high-level corruption trials
increased toward year's end as the ICCJ's Criminal Section prioritized
these files in order to avoid the expiration of the statutes of
limitations.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and the law provide a
presumption of innocence until a final judgment by a court. Trials are
open to the public. The law does not provide for trial by jury.
Defendants have the right to be present at trial. The law provides for
the right to counsel and the right to consult an attorney in a timely
manner. The law requires that the government provide an attorney to
juveniles in criminal cases; in practice local bar associations
provided attorneys to indigents and received compensation from the
Ministry of Justice. Defendants may confront or question witnesses
against them, present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf, and
have a court-appointed interpreter. Defendants and their attorneys have
the right of access to all prosecution evidence relevant to their
cases. Both prosecutors and defendants have a right of appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued 59 judgments against the
government for violations of one or more rights under the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The government complied with court orders to pay compensation in cases
it lost, but in January the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of
Europe cited Romania for ``extremely worrying delays'' in implementing
judgments of the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil courts functioned in
every jurisdiction and operated with the same degree of judicial
independence as criminal courts. Judicial and administrative remedies
were available to individuals and organizations for violations of human
rights by government agencies. Plaintiffs against the government may
appeal to the ECHR.
Litigants sometimes encountered difficulties enforcing civil
verdicts because the procedures for enforcing court orders were
impractical and caused delays.
Property Restitution.--Under the law, claims for property seized by
the Communist-era government had to be filed with the National
Restitution Agency in 2001-03. Of the 202,267 claims filed for
restitution of buildings, 123,122 (2,383 in 2011) were considered by
the agency to have been resolved as of the end of August. Of the claims
resolved, 44,697 were rejected; 52,426 qualified for restitution with
equivalent property; 5,609 resulted in restitution in kind and
compensation; 286 qualified for combined measures (i.e., restitution in
kind plus compensation with other assets); 1,001 qualified for
allocation of other assets and compensation; 1,893 qualified for
compensation with other assets or services; and 17,210 were resolved by
return of the properties in their current condition.
At the end of August, a vice president of the National Authority
for Property Restitution was arrested for receiving a bribe to expedite
the resolution of restitution cases. The arrest led to the quick
replacement of the authority's president as well as further delays in
adjudicating cases.
Organizations representing restitution claimants continued to
assert that inertia at the local level hindered the process. In many
cases local government officials delayed or refused to provide
necessary documents requested by claimants. They also refused to return
properties in which county or municipal governments had an interest.
There were numerous disputes over churches the Orthodox Church did
not return to the Greek Catholic Church in violation of valid court
orders to do so.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the government for the most part respected these prohibitions in
practice. Nevertheless, there was a widespread perception that illegal
surveillance still occurred, and there were credible media reports that
authorities engaged in electronic eavesdropping in violation of these
prohibitions.
The law permits the use of electronic eavesdropping in both
criminal and national security cases. Under the criminal code, the
investigating prosecutor must first obtain a warrant from a judge. In
exceptional circumstances, when delays in getting the warrant would
seriously affect a criminal investigation, prosecutors may begin
interception without a judicial warrant, but they must then submit a
request within 48 hours for retroactive authorization. When there is a
threat to national security, the national security law permits
prosecutors to authorize the issuance of a warrant for an initial
period of six months, which can be extended indefinitely in three-month
increments without judicial approval. Some human rights NGOs noted the
contradiction between the two sets of laws with regard to the
requirement for judicial approval of wiretaps.
On February 18, the ICCJ rejected an appeal by the SRI in a lawsuit
filed by businessman Dinu Patriciu against SRI for illegally tapping
his telephones. The court ordered the SRI to pay Patriciu 50,000 lei
($14,950) in damages.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, a largely independent judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of
the press. Journalists and private citizens could criticize government
authorities, including those at senior levels.
Freedom of Speech.--Laws restricting freedom of speech continued to
cause concern among the media and NGOs. Insulting the state insignia
(the coat of arms, national flag, or national anthem) is an offense
punishable by imprisonment.
The religion law forbids acts of ``religious defamation'' and
``public offense to religious symbols.'' The law also prohibits public
denial of the Holocaust. There were no prosecutions or convictions
under any of these statutes during the year.
Freedom of Press.--While the independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views without overt restriction,
politicians and persons with close ties to politicians and political
groups either owned or indirectly controlled numerous media outlets at
the national and local levels, and the news and editorial tone of these
outlets frequently reflected the views of the owners. The tendency
towards the concentration of national news outlets in the hands of a
few wealthy individuals continued.
During the year there were isolated instances when public officials
and politicians insulted or harassed journalists.
On May 31, Gheorghe Bunea Stancu, president of Braila County
Council, verbally insulted several journalists who criticized his work,
threatening to revoke their accreditations to cover the county council.
Media NGOs characterized these actions as ``nondemocratic abuses.''
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of
assembly, and the government generally respected this right in
practice. The law provides that unarmed citizens may assemble
peacefully but also stipulates that meetings must not interfere with
other economic or social activities and may not be held near such
locations as hospitals, airports, or military installations. Organizers
of public assemblies must request permits in writing three days in
advance from the mayor's office of the locality where the gathering
would occur. Requests for permits were generally approved. Delays or
changes of location of the assembly sometimes occurred, although it was
often impossible to determine whether they were politically motivated.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice. However, the law prohibits fascist, communist,
racist, or xenophobic ideologies, organizations, and symbols (such as
statues of war criminals on public land). Political parties are
required to have at least 25,000 members to have legal status.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom
Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation. The government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The law on
asylum, based on EU legislation, prohibits the expulsion, extradition,
or forced return of any asylum seeker at the country's border or from
within the country's territory but does not extend these protections to
aliens and stateless persons who planned, facilitated, or participated
in terrorist activities as defined by international instruments to
which the country is a party. In July amended legislation on the status
of foreigners in the country brought the law into line with the EU's
Schengen rules and the Dublin II regulation. The UNHCR expressed
concern that the provisions regarding the removal of unaccompanied
children do not make specific reference to the child's best interest.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The law provides for the concept
of safe countries of origin, and asylum seekers coming from such
countries have their asylum applications processed in an accelerated
procedure. EU member states are considered safe countries of origin, as
are other countries specified by an order of the minister of interior
proposed by the National Office for Refugees. Criteria defining safe
countries of origin are the number of asylum applicants granted
protection; observance of human rights; observance of democratic
principles, political pluralism, and free elections; and the existence
of operational democratic institutions to monitor human rights.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened based on their race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group or political opinion. However,
there were still concerns that the law does not give rejected
applicants enough time to prepare appeals and pursue them through the
courts.
Access to Basic Services.--While conditions improved somewhat from
prior years, according to the UNHCR, refugees still faced integration
difficulties accessing public housing, vocational training adapted to
their specific needs, counseling programs, and information for
citizenship interviews. Refugees reportedly complained about
restrictive procedures for the recognition of their diplomas and the
lack of mechanisms for the assessment of the refugee's prior education
and experience. The UNHCR also expressed concern about the inadequate
monthly allowance--equivalent to approximately $30--that was provided
to asylum seekers.
Durable Solutions.--Under a 2008 government decision, authorities
resettle 40 persons yearly. The UNHCR added a reception center with 100
beds in Giurgiu in addition to the 250 beds it maintained at the
emergency transit center in Timisoara.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held national elections for president. Despite
irregularities, including numerous allegations of vote buying and of
multiple voting, the elections were judged free and fair. These
irregularities did not appear to favor one political party over
another. The report of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) on the elections found them to be ``generally conducted
in conformity with OSCE commitments and international standards for
democratic elections, as well as with national law.''
Parliamentary elections, last held in 2008, are based on a complex
single-representative district voting system for both the Senate and
the Chamber of Deputies. The media, NGOs, and government officials
criticized the voting system, which employs a complicated formula to
assign parliamentary seats to party representatives, as too difficult
for most voters to understand and for awarding seats to party members
who finished second or third in their district.
Political Parties.--The law requires political parties to register
with the Bucharest Tribunal and to submit their statutes, program, and
a roster of at least 25,000 signatures. Among these 25,000 ``founding
members,'' there must be individuals from at least 18 counties,
including Bucharest, with a minimum of 700 persons from each county.
The party statutes and program must not include ideas that incite war,
discrimination, hatred of a national, racist, or religious nature, or
territorial separatism.
Organizations representing ethnic minorities may also field
candidates in elections. If the minorities in question are ``national
minorities,'' defined as those ethnic groups represented in the Council
of National Minorities, their organizations must meet requirements
similar to those for political parties. For organizations representing
minorities not represented in parliament, the law sets more stringent
requirements than those for minority groups already represented in
parliament. They must provide the Central Electoral Bureau with a list
of members equal to at least 15 percent of the total number of persons
belonging to that ethnic group as determined by the most recent census.
If 15 percent of the ethnic group amounts to more than 20,000 persons,
the organization must submit a list with at least 20,000 names
distributed among at least 15 counties plus the city of Bucharest, with
no fewer than 300 persons from each county.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--While the law does not
restrict women's participation in government or politics, societal
attitudes presented a significant barrier. There were 37 women in the
334-seat Chamber of Deputies, including the speaker, and eight women in
the 137-seat Senate. At the end of September there were three women in
the 18-member cabinet and no female prefects (governors appointed by
the central government) of the 42 counties.
Under the constitution, each recognized ethnic minority is entitled
to have one representative in the Chamber of Deputies even if the
minority's organization cannot obtain the 5 percent of the vote needed
to elect a deputy outright. However, this entitlement is qualified by
the requirement that the organization receives votes equal to 10
percent of the average number of votes nationwide necessary for a
deputy to be elected. Organizations representing 18 minority groups
received deputies under this provision in the 2008 elections. There
were 47 members of minorities in the 471-seat parliament: nine in the
Senate and 38 in the Chamber of Deputies. At the end of the year there
were four members of minorities (all ethnic Hungarians) in the 17-
member cabinet. Ethnicity data was not available for members of the
Supreme Court.
Ethnic Hungarians, represented by the Democratic Union of
Hungarians in Romania, an umbrella party, were the sole ethnic minority
to gain parliamentary representation by passing the 5 percent
threshold. Only one Romani organization, the Roma Party-Pro Europe, was
represented in the parliament with one member. Low Romani voter turnout
likely resulted from a lack of awareness, inability to demonstrate an
established domicile, and/or absence of identity documents.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the law was not implemented effectively, largely because of
problems within the judicial branch, and officials sometimes engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's corruption indicators
highlighted corruption as a problem. In 2007, as part of the country's
agreement on accession to the European Union, the European Commission
established the CVM to monitor the country's progress in reforming the
judicial branch and fighting corruption.
The National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) continued its
investigation of medium- and high-level corruption cases at a steady
pace throughout the year. A preliminary assessment showed that 2011
produced the highest number of final convictions in DNA cases since the
agency's creation in 2002. The DNA sent 1,091 persons to trial
(compared with 937 in 2010), of whom 536 held executive, oversight or
senior positions. These included two members of parliament, one of whom
was also a cabinet minister; one secretary general in the Health
Ministry; the president of the National Employment Agency; one vice
president of the National Property Restitution Agency; one chairman and
one vice chairman of county councils; two judges; three prosecutors;
231 police officers; 63 customs workers; 11 Financial Guard inspectors;
29 mayors; six vice mayors; one president of the National Drug Agency;
one union leader; four army generals; and 38 directors from other
public institutions. Of the 1,091 persons sent to trial during the
year, 29 were sentenced and the other cases were pending at year's end.
Courts handed down final convictions in 297 DNA cases, up from 154 in
2010. Persons receiving final convictions on corruption charges
included one former member of parliament, two sitting members of
parliament, two judges, two prosecutors, five mayors, three vice
mayors, 24 police officers, eight customs officials, and 11 tax
inspectors. Courts handed down nonfinal convictions in the cases of 881
defendants, compared with 786 defendants in 2010. These included two
former ministers, a former deputy minister, two sitting deputies, two
army generals, one judge and two prosecutors, 32 Interior Ministry
officers, seven SRI officers (of whom two were generals), 40 customs
workers, a former prefect, and a national union leader. Courts handed
down final acquittal decisions in the cases of 38 defendants, including
a former minister and a current deputy. Of 11 defendants who served as
former or current members of parliament or cabinet ministers, eight
were convicted and only three acquitted during the year. Between 2006
and 2011 the average conviction rate in DNA cases was 89 percent of the
total final court rulings.
Significant delays generally persisted in high-level corruption
trials, but towards the end of the year the pace of some of these
trials started to accelerate. Verdicts in corruption offenses were
often inconsistent. In December the ICCJ handed down a nonfinal
acquittal in the high-profile corruption case of a former prime
minister. In October the DNA started an investigation into alleged
corruption offenses by two ICCJ judges.
Police corruption contributed to citizens' lack of respect for the
police and a corresponding disregard for police authority. Low salaries
and the absence of incentives and bonuses led to personnel shortages
and contributed to the susceptibility of individual law enforcement
officials to bribery. Instances of high-level corruption were referred
to the General Anticorruption Directorate (DGA) within the MAI, which
continued to publicize its anticorruption telephone hotline to generate
prosecutorial leads for corruption within the police force. However,
some local police departments (``inspectorates'') did not adequately
publicize the anticorruption hotline. A report by the DGA found an 81
percent increase in the number of MAI officials charged in corruption
cases over the first six months of the year, while the number of
indictments increased by 200 percent over the same period of 2010. The
increase was due in part to several large-scale sweeps conducted by the
DNA in cooperation with DGA on Romanian border checkpoints that
resulted in hundreds of police and customs workers being investigated.
Conflicts of interest remained a concern for all three branches of
government. In April a minister resigned over a conflict of interest.
In December the prime minister dismissed a cabinet member for a
conflict of interest. Individual executive agencies were slow in
enforcing sanctions for such cases and agencies' own inspection bodies
were generally inactive. In November the Constitutional Court dismissed
a challenge that would have forbidden lawyers from representing clients
in courts and prosecutors' offices where the lawyer has a relative
serving as judge or prosecutor. In December the National Integrity
Agency (ANI) found six members of parliament with conflicts of interest
for having hired their relatives at their constituency offices.
The law empowers the ANI to administer and audit financial
disclosure statements for all public officials and to monitor conflicts
of interest. The ANI law stipulates that the agency can identify
``significant discrepancies'' (more than 10,000 euros, or $13,000)
between an official's income and his assets, and allows for the seizure
and forfeiture of these ``unjustified assets.'' The mechanism for
initiating the confiscation of ``unjustified assets'' was cumbersome.
In September the ICCJ handed down the first-ever final sentence
concerning the confiscation of unjustified assets of a former minister.
The law provides for public access to government information
related to official decision making; however, human rights NGOs and the
media reported that the law was inadequately and unevenly applied.
Procedures for releasing information were arduous and varied greatly by
public institution. Many agencies did not make public the annual
performance reports required by law. NGOs and journalists continued to
sue regularly in court to gain access to official government
information.
Although the intelligence services transferred the majority of the
files of the Communist-era Securitate intelligence service to the
National College for the Study of the Securitate Archives, the powers
of the latter remained limited because the law does not permit the
college to issue binding decisions on naming Securitate collaborators.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated
during the year with international governmental organizations and
permitted visits by U.N. representatives and other organizations. In
May the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and
lawyers visited the country; at the end of the year no report was yet
released on this visit. EU Commission representatives also visited the
country under the CVM to assess the situation of the judiciary and
released two reports (see section 1.e.).
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the Ombudsman had
limited power and no authority to protect citizens' constitutional
rights in cases requiring judicial action. The office handled 3,909
complaints during the first six months of the year. The NGO Romani
CRISS criticized the Office of the Ombudsman for failing to address the
cases the NGO brought to its attention.
The National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) is an
independent governmental agency under parliamentary control. During the
year the CNCD received 465 public complaints of discrimination. Of the
complaints, 95 involved alleged discrimination on the basis of
nationality and ethnicity, eight involved discrimination because of
sexual orientation, and five involved discrimination on religious
grounds. The CNCD received 62 complaints regarding discrimination
against Roma. Romani CRISS criticized the CNCD's delays in ruling on
some of its complaints. In June the Center for Legal Resources and
Romani CRISS expressed concern about the CNCD's alleged preferential
and politicized approach to cases involving high officials.
The Ombudsman's Office and the CNCD operated with the government's
cooperation and, for the most part, without government or party
interference. Neither agency received adequate resources, although both
enjoyed public trust. The CNCD was generally regarded as effective,
while most observers regarded the Office of the Ombudsman as much less
effective. Both the CNCD and the Ombudsman's Office issued yearly
activity reports.
Each chamber of the parliament has a human rights committee. Their
task is to draft reports on bills that pertain to human-rights-related
issues. The members of these committees, however, usually expressed the
views of their political parties, rather than addressing the issues
objectively.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law forbids discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, social status, beliefs,
sexual orientation, age, noncontagious chronic disease, HIV infection,
or belonging to an underprivileged category. However, the government
did not enforce these prohibitions effectively, and women, as well as
Roma and other minorities, were often subjected to discrimination and
violence.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal. The successful prosecution of rape cases is difficult
because the law requires a medical certificate in rape cases and, as in
all criminal cases, requires either the active cooperation of the
victim or a third-party witness to the crime. Police and prosecutors
cannot pursue a case on their own, even with independent physical
evidence. As a result a rapist could avoid punishment if the victim
withdrew the complaint. The successful prosecution of spousal rape
cases was more difficult because the law requires the victim personally
to file a criminal complaint against the abusive spouse and does not
permit third parties to file a complaint on the victim's behalf. The
law provides for three to 10 years' imprisonment for rape; the sentence
increases to five to 18 years if there are aggravated circumstances.
According to police statistics, during the year 2,320 cases of rape
were reported, of which 714 cases were prosecuted. Of these
prosecutions, 672 cases resulted in convictions, acquittals or other
verdicts while 42 cases were ongoing. Prosecutors dropped 1,606 cases
without trial.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, continued to be a
serious problem, according to NGOs and other sources. The government
did not effectively address it. The law prohibits domestic violence and
allows police intervention in such cases. However, the law on domestic
violence was difficult to apply because it contradicts the criminal
procedures code and does not provide for the issuance of restraining
orders. While the criminal code imposes stronger sanctions for violent
offenses committed against family members than for similar offenses
committed against others, the courts prosecuted very few cases of
domestic abuse. Many cases were resolved before or during trial when
alleged victims dropped their charges or reconciled with the alleged
abusers. In cases with strong evidence of physical abuse, the court can
prohibit the abusive spouse from returning home. The law also permits
police to penalize spouses with fines of 100 lei to 3,000 lei ($29.90
to $897) for various abusive acts.
At the end of the year, 53 government and privately run shelters
for victims of abuse provided free accommodation and food, assistance
and counseling. The centers were too few and unevenly distributed, and
some parts of the country lacked any kind of assistance. During the
year the General Directorate for Child Protection (DGPC) in the
Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Protection, in partnership with
NGOs, implemented programs to prevent and curb domestic violence and to
provide better conditions for domestic violence victims.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment. Penalties
vary significantly depending on whether the act is criminal or not and
range from fines between 400 lei and 8,000 lei ($120 and $2,392) to
imprisonment for three months to two years. Although the problem
existed, public awareness of it continued to be low. No effective
programs existed to educate the public about sexual harassment.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals had the right to
decide on the number, spacing, and timing of children and had the
information and means to do so free from discrimination. The law
provides for the right to information, education, and services for
reproductive health without any discrimination, as well as the right to
access modern family planning methods. The Ministry of Health provided
free contraceptives to many women, including rural residents, students,
and the unemployed. In 2009, according to the National Center for
Statistics and Informatics in Public Health, 98.5 percent of mothers
received skilled medical assistance during childbirth. According to the
same source, in 2009, 82.5 percent of pregnant women were registered
for prenatal care, and of those registered, 65.5 percent initially
registered in the first quarter of pregnancy. Some women, especially
Roma, had difficulty accessing reproductive health services for various
reasons including lack of information, ethnic discrimination, lack of
health insurance, and poverty. NGOs also noted the absence of a
national strategy regarding reproductive rights, the lack of sexual
education in schools, and the high number of teenage pregnancies (39
per 1,000 live births for girls aged 15 to 19).
HIV-positive women reported to the Euroregional Center for Public
Initiatives (ECPI) that they had difficulty accessing maternal health
care in maternity hospitals due to discrimination by medical personnel.
They asserted they experienced degrading treatment, breaches of
confidentiality, segregation, and denial of cesarean sections. The ECPI
noted that the medical staffs of obstetrics and gynecology units did
not appear to understand and apply the Ministry of Health's clinical
guidelines for the management of pregnancy in HIV-positive women. The
center received information that in some hospitals pregnant women were
automatically tested for HIV prior to giving birth without informed
consent and prior counseling, although HIV testing is voluntary under
the law.
While the law provides female employees reentering the workforce
after maternity leave the right to return to their previous or a
similar job, pregnant women could still suffer unacknowledged
discrimination in the labor market.
Discrimination.--Under the law women and men enjoy equal rights,
including under family law, property law, and in the judicial system.
In practice the government did not enforce these provisions, and
authorities did not devote significant attention or resources to
women's problems. Women occupied few influential positions in the
private sector, and differences between the salaries of women and men
continued to exist in most sectors of the economy. According to several
surveys, including one from the National Statistics Institute and one
from the World Bank, women were paid approximately 10-15 percent less
than men doing the same work. According to the Ministry of Labor,
Family, and Social Protection, women faced disadvantages in education;
access to the labor market; social, political, and cultural life; and
participation in decision-making. According to the ministry, many of
these differences stemmed from segregation of labor (i.e., women work
mostly in fields where salaries are lower, such as the service or
public sector), traditions, and stereotypes.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth
from at least one citizen parent. Birth registration was not universal,
and some children were denied public services as a result. The most
common reason that children were not registered at birth was that
parents did not declare the child's birth to authorities, sometimes
because the parents lacked identity documents or residence papers, or
because the birth took place abroad in countries where parents were
present illegally. Most such children had access to schools, and
authorities assisted in obtaining birth documents for unregistered
children. However, the education of unregistered children depended on
the decision of school authorities. Undocumented children also faced
difficulties in getting access to health care.
Education.--There were reports that Romani children were
effectively segregated from non-Romani students and subject to
discriminatory treatment (see section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic
Minorities).
Child Abuse.--Child abuse and neglect continued to be serious
problems, and public awareness of them remained poor. The media
reported several severe cases of abuse or neglect in family homes,
foster care, and child welfare institutions. According to the DGPC,
during the first nine months of the year, child welfare services
identified 8,431 cases of child abuse, of which 829 were cases of
physical abuse; 953, emotional abuse; 388, sexual abuse; 170, work
exploitation; 38, sexual exploitation; 51, exploitation to commit
criminal offenses; and 5,912, neglect. The Ministry of Labor, Family,
and Social Protection implemented a project costing 14.3 million euros
(approximately $18.6 million) jointly funded by the government and the
Development Bank of the Council of Europe. The project's goal is to
develop a community-based services network at local levels to prevent
the separation of children from their families and to reunite children
already separated from their families.
In the first nine months of the year, according to official
statistics, parents abandoned 1,092 children in maternity hospitals.
NGOs claimed that the official statistics did not accurately account
for many abandoned children and that many children living in state
institutions were never officially recognized as abandoned.
The government has not established a mechanism to identify and
treat abused and neglected children and their families.
Child Marriage.--In most cases the legal age of marriage is 18,
although girls as young as 15 may legally marry in certain
circumstances. Illegal child marriage was reportedly common within
certain social groups, particularly the Roma. There were no statistical
data regarding the extent of the practice, and information about
individual cases surfaced only from time to time in the media.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The criminal code stipulates
three- to 10-year jail sentences for sexual acts with minors under 15
years of age, the age of consent. The display, selling, dissemination,
renting, distribution, and production of child pornography is
punishable by five to 10 years in jail and, if coercion is used, by 15
to 20 years in jail.
Displaced Children.--According to DGPC, at the end of September
there were 730 homeless children nationwide. NGOs working with homeless
children believed there were actually two or three times that number.
They noted that the number of homeless children technically declined
because many of them reached adulthood while remaining on the streets.
Institutionalized Children.--According to Hope and Homes for
Children Romania, the country's branch of a British NGO which works in
partnership with the government to close orphanages, 256 orphanages in
the country housed 11,000 children at the end of 2010. The NGO noted
that conditions in the orphanages improved with the support of EU
funding and assistance from NGOs working in the field of child
protection. However, staffing in orphanages remained insufficient, and
the self-financing of such institutions was limited. Media reported
instances in which children from orphanages were reportedly victims of
pedophilia or kidnapped and sold to human traffickers, who then forced
them to steal and beg abroad.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to the 2002 census, the Jewish population
numbered 5,785. Acts of anti-Semitism continued during the year. Unlike
in previous years, there were not any reports of acts of vandalism
against Jewish sites.
The NGO Center for Monitoring Anti-Semitism in Romania (MCA
Romania) criticized authorities for playing down anti-Semitic
vandalism, usually attributing the acts to children, drunks, or persons
with mental disorders. The NGO asserted that police investigations of
such acts were not thorough and criticized the lack of prosecutions
that might deter future acts.
The law prohibits public denial of the Holocaust and includes the
oppression of Roma as well as Jews in its definition of Holocaust.
There were no prosecutions under the statute during the year.
In January the prosecutor's office of the Constanta Court of
Appeals reopened for the third time the case against Constanta mayor
Radu Mazare for marching onto a public stage in Mamaia in 2009 dressed
as a Nazi officer, accompanied by his 15-year-old son dressed as a Nazi
soldier. On March 23, the prosecutors closed the case once again,
exonerating Mazare from any criminal offense.
Extremist organizations occasionally held high-profile public
events with anti-Semitic themes and continued to sponsor events,
including religious services, symposia, and marches, commemorating
leaders of the pre-World War II fascist Legionnaire Movement. Such
events took place during the year in Bucharest and Piatra Neamt, where
posters with former Legionnaire leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu appeared
in the streets.
MCA Romania repeatedly warned that anti-Semitic, racist,
xenophobic, and nationalistic views continued to be distributed via the
Internet. Extremists such as Ion Coja, a former professor at the
University of Bucharest, continued to deny in public, in the
publications of the extreme nationalist Greater Romania Party (PRM),
and on the Internet that the Holocaust occurred in the country. He also
denied that the country's leader during World War II, Marshal Ion
Antonescu, participated in Holocaust atrocities in territory
administered by the country.
During the year the extremist press continued to publish anti-
Semitic articles. The New Right movement and similar organizations and
associations continued to promote the ideas of the Iron Guard (an
extreme nationalist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi group that existed in the
country during the interwar period) in the media and on the Internet.
Organizations with extreme right-wing views also republished
inflammatory books from the interwar period.
During the year the publications of the PRM, headed by Corneliu
Vadim Tudor, continued to carry statements and articles containing
strong anti-Semitic attacks.
The government continued to make progress in its effort to expand
education on the history of the Holocaust in Romania. The study of the
Holocaust is included in history courses in the seventh, ninth, 11th,
and 12th grades. The Elie Wiesel Institute for the Study of the
Holocaust in Romania is also very active in educating the general
public. On various occasions throughout the year, high-level officials
continued to make public statements against extremism, anti-Semitism,
xenophobia, and Holocaust denial.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against all persons with disabilities in employment, education, access
to health care, and the provision of other services. However, the
government did not fully implement the law, and discrimination against
persons with disabilities remained a problem.
The law mandates accessibility for persons with disabilities to
buildings and public transportation. In practice the country had few
facilities specifically designed to accommodate persons with
disabilities, and persons with disabilities could have extreme
difficulty navigating city streets or gaining access to public
buildings. However, the number of buildings with facilities for persons
with disabilities increased during the year.
According to the Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Protection,
690,496 persons with disabilities were registered at the end of June,
and only 12.04 percent were employed.
According to reports in previous years by the Center for Legal
Resources, a human rights NGO, the procedures for commitment, living
conditions, and treatment of patients in many psychiatric wards and
hospitals did not meet international human rights standards and were
below professional norms.
In many cases people with disabilities face institutional and
societal discrimination, such as an occurrence during the year of a
person being denied access to a club because he was in a wheelchair.
In August the CNCD fined a member of the European Parliament, Gigi
Becali, for using the word ``handicapped'' in a derogatory sense for
people with disabilities by calling a journalist ``handicapped'' in
order to insult him.
Some minors were sent to psychiatric hospitals without the consent
of their legal guardians. According to human rights NGOs, there was no
system to ensure that government-run care institutions observed the
rights of children with mental disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Discrimination against Roma
continued to be a major problem. Romani groups complained that police
brutality, including beatings, and harassment, was routine. Both
domestic and international media and observers widely reported societal
discrimination against Roma. At the end of the year, the parliament
enacted a National Roma Strategy aimed at improving the lives of Roma.
The NGO and diplomatic communities were widely critical of the strategy
for not having measurable goals for progress or adequate funding.
Observers estimated that there were between 1.8 and 2.5 million
Roma in the country, approximately 10 percent of the total population.
However, the most recent official census, taken in 2002, counted
535,000 Roma, or 3 percent of the population. According to NGOs,
earlier government figures were low because many Roma did not reveal
their ethnicity, were mistakenly assumed to be Romanian, or lacked any
form of identification.
On April 8, following a violent incident between the family of the
mayor of Racos, Brasov County, and a group of Roma, four Roma and the
mayor's son needed medical care. Approximately 300-400 ethnic
Hungarians prepared to go to an area inhabited by Roma with stones,
axes, and other weapons in hand. Significant police forces arrived in
time to prevent violent clashes, and police started an investigation of
the incident. The city hall subsequently hired a private security
company to help defuse tensions in the locality. Both the mayor and the
Roma filed complaints. The prosecutor's decision to send the Roma to
court for disturbance of public order was appealed, and a decision was
pending at year's end. Police were investigating the Romani complaint
at the end of the year.
Stereotypes and discriminatory language regarding Roma were
widespread; journalists and several senior government officials made
statements that were viewed as discriminatory by members of the Romani
community.
The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies rejected separately, on
February 9 and April 5, a draft bill submitted by Chamber of Deputies
member Silviu Prigoana that proposed replacing the word ``Rom'' with
``Gypsy'' in official documents. The initiative generated heated
debates, with a broad range of state institutions, including the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Agency for Roma, the Ministry
of Culture, the Interethnic Relations Department, the government's
Secretariat General, and the CNCD, opposing the bill. However, the
Romanian Academy supported the bill, arguing that the term ``Gypsy''
represented the ``correct name of this transnational population.''
On October 17, the CNCD admonished President Basescu for a
September statement blaming Finland's opposition to Romania's accession
to the Schengen area on the ``Gypsies,'' who ``aggressively beg and
steal'' in Finland.
According to media reports, evictions of Roma continued in
Bucharest, Buzau, Cluj Napoca, and other localities during the year. In
a report released in June, Amnesty International criticized Romania for
failing to observe the right of Roma to decent housing and urged the
government to stop the evictions. Amnesty International noted that the
alternative housing offered to the evicted Roma did not meet minimum
living standards, lacking water, heating, and electricity.
On November 15, the CNCD decided that the forced relocation of 40
Romani families to an area next to a garbage dump in the Pata Rat
neighborhood, on the outskirts of Cluj-Napoca, represented a
discriminatory act and fined the local authorities 8,000 lei ($2,392).
It further recommended that local authorities identify an adequate
solution for these Roma. Amnesty International called on the local
authorities of Cluj-Napoca and the national government to provide
effective remedies and reparations to the victims of the forced
eviction.
A similar crisis was averted by domestic and international pressure
from Amnesty International, and with the assistance of the Soros
Foundation, when the mayor of Baia Mare canceled the removal of four
Romani neighborhoods and demolition of the houses there. However, on
November 15, the CNCD fined the mayor 6,000 lei ($1,794) for erecting a
large concrete wall that separated the housing of Roma and their
neighbors in a highly symbolic way. At year's end the wall remained in
place, and negotiations continued concerning alternative housing for
the affected Roma.
NGOs reported that Roma were denied access to, or refused service
in, many public places. Roma also experienced persistent poverty, poor
access to government services, a shortage of employment opportunities,
high rates of school attrition, inadequate health care, and pervasive
discrimination. According to the Barometer for Social Inclusion 2010,
45 percent of Roma who worked did not have a stable job. NGOs and the
media reported that discrimination by teachers and other students
against Romani students was a disincentive for Romani children to
complete their studies.
Despite an order by the Ministry of Education forbidding
segregation of Romani students, there were anecdotal reports of Romani
children being placed in the back of classrooms, teachers ignoring
Romani students, and unimpeded bullying of Romani students by other
schoolchildren. In some communities, authorities placed Romani students
in separate classrooms or even in separate schools. The NGO Ovidiu Rom
worked to assist and encourage Romani children in the school enrollment
process. The NGO also continued its national public awareness campaign
``scoala te face mare'' (``school makes you great'') to promote the
importance of school enrollment, particularly kindergarten enrollment,
to Romani parents and children.
A research project by the Impreuna Agency for Community Development
conducted in April-May 2010 in 100 schools revealed that Romani
children were segregated, received lower quality education, experienced
discrimination from non-Romani peers and teachers, and had a higher
dropout rate than non-Romani students (6.7 percent of Romani children,
compared to 4.3 percent of non-Romani). The main reasons for dropping
out of school were material shortages such as lack of school supplies
and clothes (44 percent), poor grades (16 percent), lack of parental
interest in schooling their children (9 percent), and early marriage (4
percent).
According to a survey conducted by Romani CRISS as part of a
project funded by the U.N. Children's Fund entitled ``Dimensions of
Early Childhood Education and School Participation of Roma in
Romania,'' segregation is more often encountered in primary school,
where 64.5 percent of Romani students learned in segregated classes,
whereas in secondary school 53 percent were in such classes.
On December 21, Romani CRISS and ECPI filed a complaint with the
CNCD regarding the segregation of Romani children in Marie Sklodowska
Curie Emergency Hospital for Children in Bucharest.
Romani communities were largely excluded from the administrative
and legal systems. According to surveys in 2007 and 2008, between 1.9
and 6 percent of Roma lacked identity cards, compared to 1.5 percent of
non-Roma. The lack of identity documents excluded Roma from
participating in elections, receiving social benefits, accessing health
insurance, securing property documents, and participating in the labor
market. Roma were disproportionately unemployed or underemployed.
According to the Barometer for Social Inclusion 2010, 60 percent of
Romani households lived on less than the minimum wage. The average
monthly income of Romani households was 657 lei ($196).
NGO observers noted Romani women faced both gender and ethnic
discrimination. Romani women often lacked the training, marketable
skills, or relevant work experience to participate in the formal
economy. According to a survey by the Association of the Romanian
Romani Women, 67 percent of the Romani women polled were housewives and
80.7 percent did not report any professional skills.
The National Agency for Roma is tasked with coordinating public
policies for Roma. Romani NGOs, however, criticized the scope of this
agency's responsibilities, noting that they are too broad and often
overlap with the activities of other government bodies. During the
year, the National Agency for Roma worked on six three-year strategic
projects, costing 22.2 million euros ($28.9 million), financed jointly
with the EU. The agency completed five of them by year's end.
In December the government approved a national strategy for the
inclusion of the Roma for the period 2012-2020. Romani NGOs and others
criticized the strategy for not defining specific measurable benchmarks
and goals and failing to identify its funding sources.
To improve relations with the Romani community, police continued to
use Romani mediators to facilitate communication between Roma and the
authorities and assist in crises.
Within the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, an advisory
board is responsible for managing the relationship between police and
the Romani community. During the year the Institute for Public Order
Studies within the Ministry of the Administration and Interior
conducted six training sessions for more than 300 police officers to
promote human rights legislation and the prevention of torture and
other forms of mistreatment. In May the general inspectorate also
signed a partnership with the Ovidiu Rom Association to implement a
project designed to reduce juvenile delinquency and child victimization
within the Romani population. Several other projects were implemented
throughout the year by local police units in Bucharest, Braila, Dolj,
and Mures to facilitate police interaction with the Romani community
and to encourage young members of this ethnic group to apply for police
jobs.
According to the most recent census conducted in 2002, ethnic
Hungarians are the country's largest ethnic minority with a population
of 1.4 million.
In the Moldavia region the Roman Catholic, Hungarian-speaking
Csango minority continued to operate government-funded Hungarian-
language classes. According to the Association of Csango Hungarians in
Romania (AMCM), 1,011 students in 17 schools received Hungarian-
language classes during the 2011-2012 academic year. In 25 localities
the AMCM sponsored daily educational activities in the Hungarian
language. In some other localities, such as Pargaresti, Luizi Calugara,
and Tuta, requests for Hungarian language classes were denied. The AMCM
continued to complain that there was no Hungarian-speaking school
inspector at the School Inspectorate of Bacau County.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on sexual orientation; however, NGOs reported that
police abuse and societal discrimination against LGBT persons was
common and that open hostility prevented the reporting of some
harassment and discrimination. Members of the LGBT community continued
to voice concerns about discrimination in public education and the
health care system. During the year the NGO ACCEPT provided legal
counseling to 50 people, primarily transgender persons. Most of them,
fearing further discrimination, decided not to file formal complaints
about their alleged mistreatment. The NGO also reported cases in which
the police harassed individuals they suspected of being gay.
There were two officially registered LGBT organizations, ACCEPT and
LGBTeam. Other LGBT groups lacked legal status and generally kept a low
public profile.
On June 4, approximately 150 persons participated in the annual
``March of Diversity'' gay pride parade in Bucharest. Local authorities
mobilized numerous police to protect the participants, and the parade
ended without violent incidents. The New Right, an extreme-right
nationalistic and homophobic group, sponsored a ``March for Normalcy''
antigay rally on the same day as the March for Diversity, but at a
different time and location. ACCEPT provided legal counseling to an
individual who stated that he was beaten after the parade. The case was
under investigation at year's end. Asking about the status of a case of
five individuals who had been beaten after the gay pride parade in
2006, ACCEPT found out that the police dropped the investigation
altogether, claiming that they could not identify the assailants,
although the victims had identified one of them right after the
incident.
In November, at the beginning of an artistic documentary about the
life of two young Romanian gay men presented during a film festival in
Bucharest, representatives of the extreme rightist organization the New
Right entered the cinema hall, shouted homophobic slogans, lit a flare,
and left after two to three minutes.
During the year ACCEPT filed several complaints with the CNCD, one
against a television presenter who made antigay statements on his blog;
the CNCD decided to admonish him. Two other complaints were filed with
police against a person who harassed a client at a gym for his presumed
sexual orientation and against several policemen who harassed an
individual at the police precinct on the same grounds.
In November a member of parliament stated in an interview that
pedophilia is a ``branch of homosexuality.''
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Under the law HIV-
infected persons have the right to confidentiality and to adequate
treatment. However, discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS
impeded access to routine medical and dental care, and authorities
rarely enforced laws prohibiting this form of discrimination. Breaches
of confidentiality involving individuals' HIV status were common and
rarely punished.
Observers noted widespread discrimination faced by children with
HIV/AIDS and authorities' failure to protect them from discrimination,
abuse, and neglect. Some doctors reportedly refused to treat children
and youths with HIV/AIDS. Medical personnel, school officials, and
government employees did not always maintain the confidentiality of
information about the children.
More than half of HIV-infected adolescents were sexually active;
they frequently experienced reduced access to facilities for
reproductive health care and the prevention of HIV and sexually
transmitted infections. The government provided access to
antiretroviral therapy; however, stigma and discrimination against
persons with HIV/AIDS frequently impeded their access to education,
other medical care, government services, and employment. Fewer than 60
percent of HIV-positive children and adolescents attended some form of
schooling.
According to official statistics, 10,642 patients diagnosed with
HIV and AIDS were registered as of June, 243 more than in 2010. Many of
them were targets of social discrimination. Many, having dropped out of
school due to stigmatization, discrimination, or disease, were believed
to have a low level of formal education. In September the National
Union of Organizations of Persons with HIV/AIDS (UNOPA) concluded a
project that was aimed at giving vocational training to HIV-positive
young people to help them find jobs. The program increased the
capability of more than 1,000 HIV-positive individuals to work and
raised employers' awareness regarding the rights and needs of HIV-
positive persons.
According to a UNOPA report released in October, hundreds of HIV-
positive persons in Bucharest, Botosani, Iasi, Suceava, and Petrosani
had to discontinue treatment because of the faulty distribution of
funds for HIV medications by the National Health Insurance House. The
report also revealed difficulties in accessing dental and gynecological
services. UNOPA stated that only a small number of HIV-positive persons
had jobs because they feared applying for work, believed coworkers
might find out about their disease, or feared they were not up to the
challenges of regular work.
Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--Throughout the year
government officials made statements that contributed to ethnic
stereotyping of Roma (see section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic
Minorities).
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution allows workers to form and join independent labor
unions without prior authorization, and workers freely exercised this
right. However, employees of the Ministry of National Defense, most MAI
and Ministry of Justice employees, and prison and intelligence
personnel did not have the right to unionize. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice.
Although the law permits strikes by most workers, lengthy and
cumbersome requirements made it difficult to hold strikes legally.
Unions may strike only if all arbitration efforts have failed and
employers are given 48 hours' notice. Strikes are only permitted in
defense of workers' economic interests, and compulsory arbitration is
required after 20 days. Judges, prosecutors, some justice ministry
staff, and employees of the intelligence service and the ministries of
national defense and interior do not have the right to strike.
Until May 1, when a new labor code went into effect, the law
provided workers the right to bargain collectively at the national
level. National collective labor contracts were previously negotiated
every four years. After the implementation of the new code, employers
and unions could negotiate collective bargaining agreements at lower
levels, although these levels were not defined by year's end. The new
law provides no legal basis for national umbrella collective labor
contracts. Employers no longer need to consult with unions on such
issues as granting employees leave without pay or reducing the workweek
due to economic reasons. The main employers' associations, trade
unions, and the government last negotiated a national collective labor
contract for 2007-10.
The law protects against antiunion discrimination; however, due to
extensive legal loopholes, enforcement remained minimal. Under the new
labor code, union leaders may be fired for reasons related to their
professional performance as an employee. The previous law protected
them from dismissal during their mandate as union officials and for two
years thereafter. Union leaders expressed discontent with the new law.
On the enforcement side, unions also complained that they must
submit their grievances to government-sponsored arbitration before
initiating a strike and that the courts had a propensity to declare
strikes illegal. Companies may claim damages from strike organizers if
a court deems a strike illegal.
Unions expressed concern about excessive political influence at
workplaces in public institutions. The alleged interference included
appointment of managers for political reasons and instances where
politically connected managers received prior information about
supposedly unannounced labor inspections.
In practice the right of association was generally respected and
union officials stated that registration requirements stipulated by law
were complicated but generally reasonable. However, unions objected to
the requirement that they submit lists of prospective union members
with their registration application. Since employers also had access to
this list, union officials feared that this could lead to reprisals
against individual unionized employees, hindering the formation of new
unions.
In one example of antiunion discrimination, a major news
organization fired six journalists, who were members of the Romanian
Journalists Federation, after complaints to the Labor Inspection
Authority led to the finding that the news organization ignored
provisions of an existing collective labor agreement.
Public controversy regarding union leaders' wealth and allegations
of corruption emerged. Media reports focused on the wealth accumulated
by certain union leaders, and in February their personal declarations
of assets submitted to the ANI were made public.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Persons, primarily Romanian women
and children and women and children from Moldova, Colombia, and France,
were forced to engage in begging and petty theft.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for most forms of employment is 16, but children may work
with the consent of parents or guardians at age 15. The law prohibits
minors from working in hazardous conditions, provides a basis for the
elimination of hazardous work for children, includes a list of
dangerous jobs, and specifies penalties for offenders. Parents whose
children carry out hazardous activities are required to attend parental
education programs or counseling and can be fined between 100 and 1,000
lei ($30 to $300) for failure to do so. Persons who employ children for
hazardous tasks can be fined 500 to 1,500 lei ($150 to $449).
Minors over the age of 15 who are enrolled in school are also
prohibited from performing specified activities that might endanger
their health, morality, or safety. Children under the age of 16 who
work have the right to continue their education, and the law obliges
employers to assist in this regard. Children aged 15 to 18 may only
work six hours per day and no more than 30 hours per week, provided
their school attendance is not affected. In practice, however, many
children reportedly did not attend school while working. Minors cannot
work overtime or during the night and have the right to an additional
three days of annual leave.
The law requires schools to notify social services immediately if
children miss class to work. Social services have the responsibility to
reintegrate such children into the educational system. The government
did not conduct information campaigns to raise awareness of child labor
and children's rights among children, potential employers, school
officials, and the general public during the year as it had in previous
years.
The Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Protection can impose
fines and close factories where it finds exploitation of child labor.
However, enforcement of all but extreme violations tended to be lax.
Employers found to have violated child labor laws were generally fined,
not prosecuted in court. There were no anecdotal reports during the
year of anyone being charged in court with violating child labor laws,
and the Ministry of Justice does not maintain these statistics. In
practice judges did not consider violations of the child labor law to
be criminal offenses.
Child labor, including begging, selling trinkets on the street, and
washing windshields, remained widespread in Romani communities,
especially in urban areas. Children as young as five engaged in such
activities.
The DGPC in the Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Protection is
mandated with monitoring and coordinating all programs for the
prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
Of the 182 confirmed cases of child labor reported for the first
six months of the year, 71 were in urban areas and 111 in rural areas;
83 of the victims were girls and 99 were boys; 114 victims were under
14 years of age, and 46 were between 14 and 18. The confirmed cases
involved bonded labor (111 cases), sexual exploitation (23 cases), and
exploitation for committing illicit activities (48 cases).
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Beginning in January the gross
minimum wage was 670 lei (approximately $200) for a full-time schedule
of 170 hours per month, or approximately 3.94 lei ($1.18) per hour. The
minimum wage for skilled workers was 20 percent higher. According to
Eurostat, the monthly individual income level for persons ``at risk of
poverty threshold'' was 907 lei ($271) in 2010.
The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours or five days.
Workers are entitled to overtime pay for weekend or holiday work or
work in excess of 40 hours, which may not exceed 48 hours per week
averaged over one month. The law requires a 24-hour rest period in the
workweek, although most workers received two days off per week. The new
law also allows employers to shorten employees' work schedules from
five to four days per week when workplace activity is reduced for
economic or technical reasons with a corresponding reduction in salary.
The new labor code increased salaries for night-shift employees by 25
percent under certain conditions. Excessive overtime can lead to fines
on employers if workers file a complaint; however, complaints are rare.
The law provided for paid holidays.
The new labor code relaxes procedures for the hiring and firing of
employees and provides employers more control regarding performance-
based evaluation of employees. Lengthier trial periods for new
employees are now permitted and termination procedures during this
probationary period have been simplified.
The new labor code introduces provisions regarding temporary and
seasonal work and provides penalties for work performed without a labor
contract in either the formal or informal sectors of the economy.
Employers who use illegal labor may be jailed or fined up to 100,000
lei ($29,900). After the new law entered into force, tens of thousands
of new, mostly temporary, contracts were registered. The maximum
duration of a temporary contract is extended from 24 to 36 months and
is now in accordance with EU law.
The Ministry of Labor, Family, and Social Protection is responsible
for enforcing the law on working conditions, safety, and minimum wage
rates. According to union reports, many employers paid supplemental
salaries under the table to reduce both the employees' and employers'
tax burdens. This practice negatively affected employees' future
pensions and their ability to obtain commercial credit.
The ministry believed it effectively enforced working time
standards. However, union leaders complained that overtime violations
were the main problem facing their members, since employees were often
required to work more than the legal maximum number of hours, and the
overtime compensation required by law was not always paid. This
practice was especially prevalent in the textile, banking and finance,
and construction sectors. Union officials alleged that a majority of
on-the-job accidents occurred during such compulsory, uncompensated
overtime. During the year the prohibition on work without a labor
contract was weakly enforced, in part because of corruption within the
Labor Inspectorate, and also because both employers and employees could
benefit from lower taxes by working without a labor contract or
receiving a supplemental salary under the table. Sanctions against
employers using illegal labor under the previous law were rarely fully
enforced. The country had an estimated 1,500 labor inspectors at the
national level.
The ministry is responsible for establishing and enforcing safety
standards for most industries but lacked trained personnel to do so
effectively. Employers often ignored the ministry's recommendations,
which were usually implemented only after an accident occurred.
__________
RUSSIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Russian Federation has a centralized political system, with
power highly concentrated in a president and a prime minister, a weak
multiparty political system dominated by the ruling United Russia
party, and a bicameral legislature (Federal Assembly). The Federal
Assembly consists of a lower house (State Duma) and an upper house
(Federation Council). Security forces generally reported to civilian
authorities; however, in some areas of the Northern Caucasus, there
were serious problems with civilian control of security forces.
The most significant human rights problems during the year
involved:
1. Violations of Democratic Processes: Parliamentary elections were
held in December; domestic and international observers described these
elections as marked by government interference, manipulation, electoral
irregularities, and restrictions on the ability of opposition parties
to organize, register candidates for public office, access the media,
or conduct political campaigns.
2. Administration of Justice and Rule of Law: Individuals who
threatened powerful state or business interests were subjected to
political prosecution, as well as to harsh conditions of detention. The
conditions of prisons constituted a major violation of the human rights
of many prisoners, who were subjected to poor medical care, lack of
basic human needs, and abuse by prison officials. These conditions at
times resulted in death. The government did not take adequate steps to
prosecute or punish most officials who committed abuses, resulting in a
climate of impunity. Rule of law was particularly deficient in the
North Caucasus, where the conflict between the government and
insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal forces led to numerous
human rights abuses by security forces and insurgents, who reportedly
engaged in killing, torture, physical abuse, and politically motivated
abductions. In addition the government of Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya
continued to violate fundamental freedoms, engage in collective
retribution against families of suspected militants, and foster an
overall atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
3. Freedom of Expression: While there was free expression on the
Internet and in some print and electronic media, self-censorship and
the government's ownership of and pressure on some print and most
broadcast media outlets limited political discourse. Some journalists
and activists who publicly criticized or challenged the government or
well-connected business interests were subject to physical attack,
harassment, increased scrutiny from government regulatory agencies,
politically motivated prosecutions, and other forms of pressure.
Attacks on and killings of journalists and activists occurred, and a
number of high-profile cases from previous years remained unsolved.
During the December Duma elections, Web sites that published reports of
electoral fraud were disabled by distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks.
Other problems observed during the year included physical abuse of
conscripts by military officers; restrictions on the right to free
assembly; widespread corruption at all levels of government and law
enforcement; violence against women and children; trafficking in
persons; xenophobic attacks and hate crimes; societal discrimination,
harassment, and attacks on religious and ethnic minorities and
immigrants; societal and official intimidation of civil society and
labor activists; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons; limitations on the rights of workers..
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--In the North
Caucasus, there were numerous extrajudicial killings carried out by
both authorities and local militants (see section 1.g.).
On October 13, Colonel Boris Khubiyev, deputy department head of
the Military Prosecutor General's Office, reported nine deaths as a
direct result of military hazing. The nongovernmental organization
(NGO) Committee of Soldiers' Mothers believed that the vast majority of
cases went unreported and contended that the actual number could be 10
to 12 times higher.
As of October, 119 soldiers had committed suicide, many as a result
of hazing. On August 23, a young recruit shot himself in the head in
Volgograd Oblast. He left a letter explaining that he could no longer
endure the threats and taunts of his commanding officer.
On September 3, Private Aiderkhanov from a Tatar-Bashkir village in
Chelyabinsk Oblast was found dead after reportedly hanging himself. The
body of Aiderkhanov showed significant injuries, including missing
teeth, a broken leg, a knife wound to the chest, and cigarette burns.
Residents from Aiderkhanov's village drafted a petition to the Ministry
of Defense declaring that they would not allow their sons to be drafted
into the army until those responsible for Aiderkhanov's death were
brought to justice. On October 27, according to online news source
News.ru, the director of the Research Institute of Forensics, Alexander
Vlasov, concluded that the trauma on Aiderkhanov's body was inflicted
while he was still alive. In October the Ministry of Defense opened an
investigation.
Several journalists, including Garun Kurbanov, Yakhya Magomedov,
and Khazimurad Kamalov, were killed during the year for reasons
apparently related to their professional activities (see section 2.a.).
Prison officials and police subjected inmates and suspects in
custody to acts of torture or neglect that occasionally resulted in
death. On November 9, it was reported that Deputy Director of the
Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexey Velichko stated that 258
people died in jail in the first nine months of the year. In 2011,
according to the Civil Commission for Relations with the Justice
System, approximately 50 people died in pretrial detention from various
causes, while the FSIN reported that 44 people died in Moscow pretrial
detention centers, compared with 64 in 2010.
In March Chelyabinsk Oblast Ombudsman for Human Rights Aleksey
Sevastyanov submitted a complaint to Urals Federal District Chief
Prosecutor Yuriy Zolotov, claiming that a January suicide in a Kopeysk
Prison was staged by prison officials to hide signs of torture on a
convict's body and that the prison's film studio had been used to
produce a fake suicide video. The complaint alleged that the oblast
prosecutor's office was complicit in covering up the case. It noted
that the victim, Sergey Samuylenkin, had just one year left on his
prison term and left no suicide note. Independent experts enlisted by
Samuylenkin's relatives maintained that his death was caused by over 70
beatings and forced suffocation. The prosecutor did not call
independent medical experts or Samuylenkin's cellmates as witnesses in
the case. On April 22, Lieutenant P. Chikulin, senior investigator of
the Investigation Department of Kopeysk of Chelyabinsk Regional
Investigation Directorate of the Investigation Committee of the Russian
Federation, ruled not to initiate a criminal case due to the absence of
any evidence of criminal intent.
On November 17, charges of negligence were filed against Aleksandra
Artamonova, a specialist from an independent medical center, in the
2010 death of businesswoman Vera Trifonova in a Moscow pretrial
detention center. Investigators charged that Dr. Artamonova forgot to
remove a catheter from Trifonova's vein, which caused a clot and led to
the patient's death. Human rights advocates believed that Trifonova was
intentionally denied access to medical care for months to pressure her
into confessing to fraud charges.
The prime suspect in the 2010 death of Judge Eduard Chuvashov, a
Russian neo-Nazi named Aleksey Korshunov, was killed in an accidental
explosion on October 7, when a grenade he was carrying detonated. There
were no further developments in the Chuvashov case by year's end.
On May 6, a Moscow court sentenced Russian ultranationalists Nikita
Tikhonov and Yevgeniya Khasis to life in prison and 18 years in prison,
respectively, for the 2009 killing of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and
Novaya Gazeta reporter Anastasiya Baburova.
b. Disappearance.--Reports of politically motivated disappearances
in connection with the conflict in the Northern Caucasus continued (see
section 1.g.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were numerous, credible reports that law enforcement personnel engaged
in torture, abuse, and violence to coerce confessions from suspects,
and there were allegations authorities did not consistently hold
officials accountable for such actions. There is no law defining
torture, and prosecutors are therefore only able to bring charges of
simple assault or exceeding authority against police suspected of
engaging in torture. Government forces engaged in the conflict in the
North Caucasus reportedly tortured and otherwise mistreated civilians
and participants in the conflict (see section 1.g.).
Physical abuse of suspects by police officers usually occurred
within the first few hours or days after arrest. Some of the methods
reportedly used included beatings with fists, batons, or other objects.
On November 29, Aleksandr Bastrykin, chairman of the Investigative
Committee of the Russian Federation (SKR), ordered an investigation
into the death of 23-year-old Yevgeniy Kotov in the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MVD) division police station in Vladimir Oblast.
According to the SKR press service, Kotov was arrested on suspicion of
breaking into a home. Kotov disappeared on October 16, and his family
later found his body, which showed signs of torture, in the morgue,
where it had been taken by the MVD division. Kotov had spent about an
hour at the MVD station. According to the police shift commander,
Captain D. Aliyev, Kotov mutilated himself (including genitalia) at the
police station, then walked out on the stair landing and fell to his
death. Police stated that video evidence from surveillance cameras
within the police station was unavailable as the tapes had been reused.
Family members believed that police officers at the station killed
Kotov.
On October 7, the case of Sapiyat Magomedova, a human rights lawyer
charged in 2010 with ``insult to a representative of authority'' after
she was beaten by police at a police precinct, was returned to the
prosecutor's office when the judge ruled the charges unjustified.
Although Magomedova was able to identify the officers whom she claimed
attacked her, the Khasavyurt City Court asked the prosecutor to
reexamine the case against two of the officers in September and halted
the trials of the other two until further notice. On November 14, the
Dagestan Supreme Court rejected Magomedova's appeal to overturn the
Khasavyurt City Court's prior decision, with the expectation that
criminal charges would be refiled. Magomedova remained under a travel
ban at year's end.
There continued to be attacks on political and human rights
activists, critics of government policies, and persons whom the
government considered supportive of the opposition. On June 6, Bakhrom
Hamroev, a human rights defender who worked on issues related to
Central Asia and Islam with the NGO Human Rights Center Memorial, was
beaten by unidentified men near his home. He was repeatedly punched,
kicked, and sprayed with mace. Investigators discovered that the lens
of the video camera on the front door of the building was covered with
chewing gum, suggesting that the attack was premeditated. Hamroev was
previously attacked in December 2010, he alleged by law enforcement
officers.
On March 14, it was reported that investigators formally charged
Andrey Chernyshev, a department head in the administration of the
Khimki district in Moscow Oblast, and five others with organizing a
2010 attempt to murder environmental activist Konstantin Fetisov. No
trial date was set.
During the year reports by refugees, NGOs, and the press suggested
a pattern of beatings, arrests, and extortion by police when dealing
with persons who appeared to be of Caucasus, Central Asian, African, or
Roma ethnicity.
Human rights activists told Moskovskiye Novosti that they received
complaints daily about illegal detentions in psychiatric hospitals
throughout the country. In November the newspaper reported that the
director of a state psychiatric hospital in Kome committed hospital
staff member Svetlana Punegova to the psychiatric ward against her
will. Punegova was reportedly forced to spend more than 24 hours in
confinement, together with patients diagnosed with serious mental
illnesses, after she persisted in asking for a salary increase. When
she was released, she immediately filed a criminal complaint against
the hospital, and the Investigative Committee initiated a case for
``unlawful placement in a hospital.'' On November 10, the Federal
Investigative Committee determined that Punegova should be sent to
Moscow for expert psychiatric analysis to be used in the investigation
because it did not trust local doctors to conduct relevant tests.
Physical abuse and hazing continued to be a problem in the
military. On October 20, Vladimir Molodykh, head of the Main Military
Prosecutor's Directorate, reported that more than 1,500 cases of hazing
had been registered during the year, a 25 percent drop from 2010. Chief
Military Prosecutor Sergey Fridinskiy stated that in the first half of
2011, assault charges were brought against 75 lieutenants and more than
170 sergeants. The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers received
approximately 25,000 complaints about hazing during the year,
approximately the same number as in 2010. The complaints mostly
concerned alleged beatings but also included alleged sexual abuse,
torture, and enslavement. According to the Committee of Soldiers'
Mothers, soldiers often did not report hazing to unit officers or
military prosecutors due to fear of reprisal, since in some cases
officers allegedly tolerated or even encouraged hazing as a means of
controlling their units. Such cases were usually investigated only
following pressure from family members, NGOs, or the media.
In July a conscript from Chelyabinsk was badly beaten with a rifle
butt by an officer in Stavropol Krai, leading him to attempt suicide by
jumping out of a fifth floor window. The conscript was hospitalized in
serious condition but was able to give details of the incident. The
officer involved gave himself up and testified about the details of the
incident, which did not result in criminal charges of ``incitement to
suicide.'' The officer was relieved of duty.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to the FSIN, as
of December 1, the prison population was 749,600. This figure included
634,500 offenders held in 760 correctional colonies, 42,900 offenders
in open colonies, 1,620 prisoners serving life sentences in five
prisons, and 2,900 juveniles in 47 educational colonies. In addition,
approximately 112,400 detainees were being held in 230 pretrial
detention centers, compared with 129,800 in 2010. There were
approximately 62,200 women in prison. In 13 facilities, women were
allowed to have their children with them.
Detainees were held in five types of facilities: temporary police
detention centers, pretrial detention facilities, correctional labor
colonies (ITKs), prisons designated for those who violate ITK rules,
and educational labor colonies for juveniles.
The Russian federal standard of space per person in detention is a
minimum of 43 square feet, which was generally followed but less than
the 75 square-foot standard set by the European Convention on Human
Rights. Prison reform activists said prison officials deliberately
overcrowd prisoners whom they want to pressure. Authorities permitted
some monitoring by independent nongovernmental observers.
Prison conditions remained harsh and at times life threatening,
resulting in approximately 50 deaths during the year in pretrial
detention centers, according to the Moscow Helsinki Group and For Human
Rights. In October school principal Andrey Kudoyarov died from a heart
attack after waiting 43 minutes for an ambulance. In prison since June,
Kudoyarov had exhibited signs of distress, such as increased high blood
pressure, stress, and vomiting. No charges were filed against anyone at
the Moscow pretrial detention center where Kudoyarov was held.
Health, nutrition, ventilation, and sanitation standards were
generally poor, but varied from facility to facility. The prison
director has discretion to allocate funds to improve conditions.
Prisoners have access to potable water; however, it was generally
limited and not clean. On November 3, Today's Press reported that
female inmates at a prison in the Chuvash Republic town of Tsivilsk
received approximately one quart of hot water in the morning and one at
night, to be used for both drinking and hygienic needs.
There were conflicting reports on the condition of women's prisons.
Some NGOs believed women had better living conditions than men, while
others believed women faced harsher conditions. Most NGOs reported that
women were less likely to be subjected to excessive force.
Access to quality medical care remained a significant problem in
the penal system. Overall, doctors lacked proper qualifications,
medicine was limited, and equipment was outdated. Specialists such as
cardiologists were not available to prisoners and often only a nurse
was on staff. In certain cases medical staff reportedly denied inmates
medical care under orders from investigators or law enforcement
officials. In pretrial detention centers, denial of medical care was
often used to pressure detainees and force confessions or cooperation.
On February 25, Sergey Kudeneyev, head of a directorate at the
Prosecutor General's Office, stated that ``in 2010, 4,423 people died
at correctional facilities. This is 6 percent more than in 2009.'' He
noted that improper provision of medical assistance to prisoners was
one of the causes of the increased death rate.
There were a number of significant developments during the year in
the case of Sergey Magnitskiy, a lawyer who died of medical neglect and
abuse while in pretrial detention in 2009. In May the Prosecutor
General's Office concluded its probe into the Ministry of Internal
Affairs officers who arrested and prosecuted Magnitskiy. It found no
evidence of wrongdoing. In June the Prosecutor General's Office
approved the findings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers
accused by Magnitskiy of tax fraud and the theft of 5 billion rubles
(approximately $150 million). In their report the officers claimed that
Magnitskiy himself carried out the theft that he reported to
authorities.
On July 5, President Medvedev chaired a meeting of the Presidential
Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights at which
the council issued its independent expert report on the case. The
report found that: 1) Magnitskiy was arrested on trumped-up charges, in
breach of Russian law and the European Human Rights Convention; 2) he
was prosecuted unlawfully by the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers
he had implicated in the $230 million theft; 3) he was systematically
denied medical care; 4) instead of being provided medical care, he was
beaten in custody, which was a proximate cause of his death; 5) after
his death, detention center officials falsified his medical records;
and 6) there was an ongoing cover-up and resistance by all government
bodies to investigate the $230 million theft that Magnitskiy exposed.
Following the release of the council's findings, President Medvedev
acknowledged that a ``crime had been committed.'' However, on August 2,
police refused a request by the council to reinvestigate Magnitskiy's
death. On August 12, the Investigative Committee charged Larisa
Litvinova, laboratory doctor at the pretrial detention center that had
held Magnitskiy, with involuntary manslaughter; the detention center's
deputy chief in charge of medical issues, Dmitry Kratov, was charged
with negligence. On September 6, the Ministry of Internal Affairs
announced that it would reopen the tax fraud investigation of
Magnitskiy. Magnitskiy's family asked for the case to be closed, but
their request was ignored, seemingly contradicting a 2011
Constitutional Court ruling in a separate case. On November 24, the
Investigative Committee extended its investigation into the death of
Magnitskiy until January 2012.
In November 2010 Taisiya Osipova, wife of opposition leader Sergey
Fomchenkov, was arrested at her home in Smolensk by 20 police officers
from the Department to Combat Extremism of the Russian Federation on
drug possession charges. While in pretrial detention, authorities
reportedly pressured her to provide information on her husband by
threatening to deny her parental right to her six-year-old daughter and
deny her adequate medical care. She suffered from diabetes,
pancreatitis, chronic pyelonephritis, and chronic toxic-allergic
hepatitis. On June 16, the court ordered a medical examination, which
was carried out on July 7, but no diagnosis was made. Osipova's lawyer
claimed the examination was not thoroughly conducted, and the lack of
diagnosis was being used to reduce Osipova's claim of inadequate
medical treatment. On December 29, a Smolensk district court sentenced
Osipova to 10 years in prison for the possession and sale of drugs.
On February 25, Aleksandr Reimer, director of the FSIN, stated that
approximately 90 percent of persons incarcerated in federal
institutions had some type of illness, including more than 410,000 with
significant illness. Of 819,200 detainees incarcerated as of January 1,
approximately 67,000 inmates had mental disorders, 38,500 had active
tuberculosis, 55,000 had HIV, 58,000 had a drug dependency, and 1,720
had some form of cancer. Tuberculosis infection rates were far higher
in detention facilities than in the population at large.
Abuse of prisoners by prison staff continued to occur. For example,
on October 28, Sergei Zychkov, deputy warden of settlement colony
Number 4 in the village of Priozerny in the Amur Region, was sentenced
to two months in jail after a video showing him beating a female inmate
was released.
Abuse of prisoners by other prisoners continued to be a problem.
There were elaborate inmate-enforced caste systems in which certain
groups, including informers, homosexuals, rapists, prison rape victims,
and child molesters were considered ``untouchables'' (the lowest
caste). Prison authorities provided little or no protection to these
groups.
Prisoners generally were permitted religious observance and access
to religious figures and literature; however, there were cases of
prisoners denied access. Some Muslim prisoners complained they were not
allowed to pray five times a day or were not given a prayer rug. For
security purposes offenders from the North Caucasus region were often
sent to prison far from their homes, which could restrict access to
their religion if there were no mosques or imams in the area of
incarceration.
Prisoners were given visitation rights; however, access to visitors
can be taken away depending on the circumstances. Those serving a
regular sentence in a prison were allowed four three-day visits per
year with their spouses. On occasion visits were cancelled if the
prison did not have enough space. Prisoners still under investigation
can be denied visitors, a decision made not by the prison director but
by the judge or investigator in the case. Relatives who were deemed a
threat can also be prohibited from visiting prisoners. The number of
visitors was limited, usually to two adults and two children.
According to Penal Reform International, while the government took
steps to improve prison conditions, including improvement in the
condition of isolation cells, prisoners continued to suffer from
overcrowding, inadequate food, lack of sanitation, and poor living
conditions.
Unofficial prisons, many of which were in the North Caucasus
region, continued to exist throughout the country.
The law regulating public oversight of detention centers allows
public oversight commission (POC) representatives to visit the
facilities. There were 76 registered POCs staffed by unpaid volunteers
who worked in groups of up to 20 people. Only POCs were permitted to
regularly visit prisons to monitor conditions. Other organizations,
such as the Red Cross, could not visit prisons regularly and not
without prior notice. There were reports that prison officials, citing
disease or danger, denied access for inspectors to facilities upon
arrival. The law does not establish procedures for local authorities to
respond to POC findings or recommendations. Successful monitoring and
implementation of reform therefore depended on prison directors, some
of whom were cooperative, while others were reportedly obstructionist.
There are no prison ombudsmen. In theory prisoners are allowed to
file complaints against the penal system with POCs or with the human
rights ombudsman's office, but in practice this did not occur without
censorship. Inmates were often afraid of reprisals, leading to self-
censorship. Complaints that reached the POCs were often less serious
and focused on minor personal requests, not the system itself. Prison
reform activists reported that only prisoners who felt they had no
other option would risk the consequences and file a complaint.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, in practice problems remained.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service (FSB), and the Office of
the Prosecutor General are responsible for law enforcement at all
levels of government. The FSB is responsible for security,
counterintelligence, and counterterrorism, and also for fighting crime
and corruption. The national police force under the Ministry of
Internal Affairs is organized at the federal, regional, and local
levels.
According to Yuriy Draguntsov, director general of security for the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1,166 staff members were convicted of
criminal misconduct in the first half of 2011, an increase of 25
percent from the same period the previous year. During this period,
35,000 officers (an increase of 9 percent) were registered in
connection with crimes, and 60,500 crimes and infractions were
committed (an increase of 21 percent). As of December 1, more than
10,000 employees (a 20 percent increase) were recommended for
dismissal, while approximately 1,880 (a 19 percent increase) police
officers were fired.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law an
individual may be held in custody for up to 48 hours without court
approval if arrested at the scene of a crime, provided there is
evidence of the crime or a witness. Otherwise, an arrest warrant is
required. After arrest detainees are typically taken to the nearest
police station, where they are informed of their rights. Police are
required to document the grounds for detention. This document must be
signed by the detainee and the police officer within three hours of
detention.
Police must interrogate the detainee within the first 24 hours of
detention. Prior to interrogation the detainee has the right to meet
with an attorney for two hours. No later than 12 hours after detention,
police must notify the prosecutor. They must also notify the detainee's
relatives unless a prosecutor issues a warrant to keep the detention
secret. Police are required to release a detainee after 48 hours,
subject to bail conditions, unless a court decides to prolong custody
in response to a motion filed by police no later than eight hours
before the expiration of the 48-hour detention period. The defendant
and his or her attorney must be present at the court hearing.
By law police must complete the investigation and transfer the case
to a prosecutor for arraignment within two months of a suspect's
arrest, although a court may extend a criminal investigation for up to
six months. With the personal approval of the prosecutor general, a
judge may extend that period up to 18 months. According to some defense
lawyers, these time limits were often violated in practice.
There were a number of problems relating to defendants' ability to
obtain adequate defense counsel. There were reports of police
occasionally obtaining defense counsel friendly to the prosecution.
These ``pocket'' defense attorneys agreed to the interrogation of their
clients in their presence, while making no effort to defend their
clients' legal rights. The general ignorance of legal rights on the
part of both defendants and their legal counsel contributed to the
persistence of these violations. In many cases, especially in more
remote regions, defense counsel was not available for indigent
defendants. Judges usually did not suppress confessions of suspects if
they were taken without a lawyer present. They also freed suspects who
were held in excess of detention limits, although they usually granted
prosecutors' motions to extend the detention period for good cause.
Legal limitations on detention were generally respected throughout
the country, with the exception of the North Caucasus. There were
reports of occasional violations of the 48-hour limit for holding a
detainee. At times authorities failed to write the official detention
protocol within the required three hours after the actual detention and
held suspects longer than the legal detention limits.
In April President Medvedev signed a law regulating lawyers' visits
with their clients in detention facilities. The law prohibits lawyers
from bringing cell phones, video cameras, or recording devices into the
detention facility.
There were some reports of arbitrary detention. On November 1, a
six-year-old boy was questioned alone by police in Moscow for several
hours while his father, Sergey Aksyonov, was detained for organizing an
unsanctioned opposition rally. According to online news source
Gazeta.ru, the order to detain them was given by an officer of the
antiextremism unit of the Moscow city police. No charges were filed
against the boy or police. It is illegal to question a child without an
adult guardian present.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, judges remained subject to influence
from the executive branch, the military, and other security forces,
particularly in high profile or politically sensitive cases. The law
requires judicial approval of arrest warrants, searches, seizures, and
detentions. This requirement was generally honored, although the
process of obtaining judicial warrants was occasionally subverted by
bribery or political pressure.
A report in May by the commissioner for human rights, Vladimir
Lukin, noted that slightly more than 50 percent of the complaints
received by his office were filed in connection with violations of
personal (civil) rights. Of these, 64.9 percent related to the
violation of the right to a fair trial.
A May report by the EU-Russia Center noted that judges routinely
received intimidating telephone calls from superiors instructing them
how to rule in specific cases. The Presidential Council for the
Development of Civil Society and Human Rights reported that ``in
practice [judges] do not possess genuine, as opposed to declaratory,
independence. The powers of a judge who does not agree to carry out the
requests may be prematurely terminated. In such a situation, the
conscientious judge is subject to pressure from within the judicial
system and has no chance of defending his or her own rights.''
In many cases authorities did not provide adequate protection for
witnesses and victims from intimidation or threats from powerful
criminal defendants.
Trial Procedures.--Trials typically are conducted before a judge
without a jury (bench trials). The defendant is presumed innocent. The
law provides for the use of jury trials for a limited range of crimes
in higher-level regional courts. Certain crimes, including terrorism,
espionage, hostage taking, and mass disorder, must be heard by panels
of three judges rather than by juries. Juries try approximately 600 to
700 criminal cases each year, a very small percentage of the total
number. While judges acquit approximately 1 percent of defendants,
juries acquit an estimated 20 percent of defendants. The law allows for
the appeal of acquittals. Approximately 30 percent of acquittals are
reversed on appeal and remanded for new trials, although these cases
often end in a second acquittal.
During trials the defense is not required to present evidence and
is given an opportunity to cross-examine witnesses and call defense
witnesses. Defendants who are in custody during the trial are confined
to a caged area. Defendants have the right of appeal. Prior to trial
defendants are provided a copy of their indictment, which describes the
charges in detail. They are also given an opportunity to review their
criminal file following the completion of the criminal investigation.
The law provides for the appointment of an attorney free of charge if a
suspect cannot afford one, although the high cost of competent legal
service means lower-income defendants often lacked competent
representation, and there were few qualified defense attorneys in
remote areas of the country. Defense attorneys are allowed to visit
their clients in detention, although defense lawyers claimed that their
conversations were monitored electronically by informants and that
sometimes prison authorities did not provide them with access to their
clients.
Plea bargaining in criminal cases has been used since 2002, but the
government changed the law in 2009 to allow a defendant to receive a
reduced sentence for testifying against others. Plea bargains reduced
defendants' time in pretrial detention in approximately 50 percent of
the cases, reduced the average prison term to no more than half of the
otherwise applicable statutory maximum, and allowed courts and
prosecutors to devote their resources to other cases.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on multiple occasions
found the country in violation of provisions of the European Convention
on Human Rights related to trial procedures. In 2010 violation of the
right to a fair trial was among the three most frequent violations
cited by the court in its 1,019 judgments against Russia.
On May 31, the ECHR ruled on a 2004 complaint filed by former Yukos
oil company owner Mikhail Khodorkovskiy, after his first conviction,
finding violations of the European Convention on Human Rights due to
the conditions of Khodorkovskiy's detention, the speed and
circumstances under which the charges were brought against him, and the
length of continued detention pending the investigation and trial. The
court ordered the government to pay Khodorkovskiy $35,000.
On September 20, the ECHR dismissed claims that Russia abused the
law to destroy Yukos and seize its assets. However, the court ruled
that Russia violated Yukos' right to protection of property and that
Russian authorities violated provisions of the European Convention on
Human Rights, including Article 6, the right to a fair trial.
In December 2010, in a second criminal case, a Moscow court
convicted Khodorkovskiy and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, of
financial crimes and sentenced each to 13 years in prison. On September
13, the Supreme Court ruled that Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev were
illegally held in pretrial detention from May to August 2010, during
their second trial, based on amendments to the criminal code adopted in
April 2010 that abolished pretrial detention for economic crimes. The
convictions raised concerns about selective prosecution and about the
rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations.
Khodorkovskiy and Lebedev had both been denied parole repeatedly.
On December 21, independent experts working under the aegis of the
Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights recommended that the Investigative Committee reconsider the
criminal case to review the basis for the original investigation and to
consider new evidence. The report questioned the legal basis of the
charges and validity of the verdict in the second trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities selectively
detained and prosecuted members of the political opposition (see
section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly). Human rights organizations and
activists also identified up to 39 individuals during the year as
political prisoners, including Khodorkovskiy, Lebedev, Aleksey Sokolov,
Zara Murtazaliyeva, and Valentin Danilov. On July 27, authorities
released Sokolov, head of an NGO that investigates corruption and abuse
in prisons, on parole, after two earlier requests were denied. In the
case of Murtazaliyeva, in November 2010 the ECHR asked the government
why it did not question all available witnesses or allow the defendant
and her attorneys to view the video materials the accusation was based
on during the trial. Russia was obliged to answer before March 9 but
had not responded by year's end. Murtazaliyeva was serving a nine-year
sentence handed down in 2004 for allegedly preparing a terrorist attack
in Moscow. Danilov, sentenced in 2004, was serving a 13-year prison
sentence for allegedly transferring classified technology to China,
although colleagues asserted that the information was declassified more
than a decade before his arrest. Although eligible, Danilov had not
sought parole.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--By law any person may file
a complaint with the ECHR concerning alleged violations by the state of
human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, provided
they have exhausted ``effective and ordinary'' appeals in the country's
own courts. As of October the ECHR had received more than 41,300
complaints involving the country since 1996. Of the 133 cases involving
the country heard by the ECHR during the year, the court found
violations of the European Convention in 121 cases. The most frequent
violations found by the court (some cases had multiple violations) were
violations of the right to liberty and security (68 cases), inhuman or
degrading treatment (62 cases), and lack of effective investigation (58
cases).
In November Human Rights Watch stated that since 2005, ECHR had
issued more than 170 judgments holding the state responsible for grave
human rights violations in the Caucasus region, primarily issuing fines
for failure to carry out effective investigations into abductions,
deaths, and damages related to conflicts in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In
these cases the court also charged the country with failure to protect
the right to life, failure to provide effective remedy, and causing
mental suffering.
In March the ECHR ruled that the residents of the Chechen village
of Kogi, where five civilians were killed and 30 houses were destroyed
by a 1999 air attack, should receive 1.5 million euros ($1.95 million)
in compensation from the government.
While the government generally paid compensation to victims when
ordered to do so, it did not fully implement judgments that called for
conducting effective investigations and holding perpetrators
accountable. The government generally failed to change systemic
practices that the ECHR has repeatedly condemned. During the year,
according to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the
government ignored one class action suit involving 154 individual cases
that found the government responsible for killings, abductions, and
torture in Chechnya.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides
mechanisms for filing lawsuits against authorities for violations of
civil rights, these mechanisms often did not work well in practice. For
example, the law provides that a defendant who has been acquitted after
a trial has the right to compensation from the government. In practice
human rights activists claimed that authorities avoided paying
compensation through procedural means, such as leaving cases in pending
status. Persons who believed their civil rights had been violated
typically sought redress in the ECHR after the courts had ruled against
them.
On May 4, a law entered into force allowing petitioners to request
``reasonable'' financial compensation for violation of ``reasonable''
time limits in the consideration of criminal and civil cases, including
the enforcement of judgments.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law forbids officials from entering a private
residence except in cases prescribed by federal law or on the basis of
a judicial decision. The law also prohibits government monitoring of
correspondence, telephone conversations, and other means of
communication without a warrant and prohibits the collection, storage,
utilization, and dissemination of information about a person's private
life without his or her consent. While these provisions were generally
followed, there were allegations that government officials and others
engaged in electronic surveillance without judicial permission and
entered residences and other premises without warrants.
Law enforcement agencies require telecommunications service
providers to grant the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB 24-hour
remote access to their client databases, including telephone and
electronic communication and records, enabling police to track private
communications and monitor Internet activity. The law permits
authorities to monitor telephone calls in real time. The Ministry of
Information and Communication requires telecommunications companies and
Internet service providers to allow the FSB to tap telephones and
monitor information over the Internet. The Ministry of Information and
Communication maintained that no information would be accessed without
a court order.
On May 2, it was reported that the Yandex search engine company had
given personal data to the FSB concerning bloggers who donated money
through a payment system to an online anticorruption project named
``RosPil,'' headed by anticorruption activist Aleksey Navalniy. Some
donors to the RosPil project received inquiries from anonymous
individuals about their ties to the project.
Following official requests from two Duma deputies, investigators
on December 21 opened a case regarding accusations that Kremlin allies
illegally tapped opposition politician Boris Nemstov's phone and
published the recordings online.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Violence continued in the North Caucasus republics, driven by
separatism, interethnic conflict, jihadist movements, vendettas,
criminality, and excesses by security forces. Dagestan continued to be
the most violent area in the North Caucasus. Kabardino-Balkaria also
saw an increase in violence compared with the previous year, while
violence continued to decrease in Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North
Ossetia.
Killings.--On April 14, the chief of the Internal Affairs Ministry
Directorate for the North Caucasus, Sergey Chenchik, stated that 94
militants, including five rebel leaders, had been killed at that point
in the year. He also stated that, of 67 civilians injured in the
violence, 30 had died, 21 of whom were from Dagestan. On June 27,
Minister of Internal Affairs Nurgaliyev stated that 40 police officers
had been killed and 74 injured. The online news outlet Caucasian Knot
reported that during the year there were at least 1,378 victims of the
conflict in the Northern Caucasus, including 750 killed and at least
628 injured. Of the 750 killed, 335 were from the insurgents, 239 were
from government forces, and 176 were civilians.
On March 21, 15 masked men kidnapped activist Ilez Gorchkhanov from
a bus stop in Nazran. Gorchkhanov's body was found on April 19 in the
riverbed of the Assa River on the border between Ingushetia and
Chechnya. Caucasian Knot reported the body was mutilated, although
official reports noted no signs of torture.
Caucasian Knot reported a reduction in bombings and terrorist
attacks in the North Caucasian Federal District compared with 2010. The
number of bombings fell from 138 to 93, the number of individuals
killed decreased from 81 to 43 persons, and the number of wounded
decreased by more than two-thirds, from 297 to 93 persons.
According to the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, at
least three journalists were killed in the North Caucasus region during
the year: Garun Kurbanov of the official press service of the Republic
of Dagestan, Yakhya Magomedov of the newspaper As-Salam in Dagestan,
and Khadzhimurad Kamalov, founder of Chernovik, a popular newspaper
that covers sensitive issues such as police abuse, corruption, and
Islamic extremism in Dagestan (see section 2.a.).
On July 28, the Glasnost Defense Foundation (GDF), a nonprofit
journalist organization, reported that Kurbanov, head of information
policy and the Dagestan presidential press service, was killed along
with his driver while leaving his house. The president of Dagestan,
Magomedsalam Magomedov, along with other officials, maintained that
Kurbanov's killing was connected to his official duties and
communication with rebels. Two unidentified gunmen alleged to have
killed Kurbanov were not found.
There continued to be reports of indiscriminate use of force by
security personnel, resulting in numerous deaths, without prosecution
for their conduct.
Caucasian Knot reported on July 6 that security forces of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs shot at civilians after militants shelled
a military convoy. The human rights organization Memorial reported that
as a car full of Dagestani residents approached the scene, security
forces fired at their vehicle. Passengers in other cars got out with
their hands in the air; they were reportedly shot. Three persons were
killed and others were wounded. Rebels also killed civilians for
reasons related to their profession or activities they believe to be
un-Islamic. Caucasian Knot reported that on June 7 in Makhachkala, two
unidentified persons shot and killed Maksud Sadikov, a Sufi Muslim and
chancellor of the Institute of Theology and International Relations,
and his nephew. Inspectors believed the crime to be related to
Sadikov's professional activities, particularly his active stand
against extremist Islamic beliefs.
On July 9, Sadikullah Akhmedov, a school principal in Sovetskoye,
Dagestan, was shot and killed. Suspicion fell on local extremists, who
had condemned Akhmedov's policy of enforcing a school uniform code that
banned female students from wearing headscarves. Members of the
Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights urged law enforcement bodies to investigate the killing.
In June a court in Vienna convicted Otto Kaltenbrunner (formerly
known as Ramzan Edilov), Suleiman Dadayev, and Turpal-Ali Yesherkayev
of participating in the 2009 killing of Umar Israilov. Kaltenbrunner
received a life sentence; Dadayev received 19 years in prison, and
Yesherkayev 16 years. Israilov, a former bodyguard of Chechen leader
Ramzan Kadyrov, became a critic of Kadyrov's rule and filed a complaint
with the ECHR stating he had witnessed Kadyrov torturing prisoners and
that Chechen authorities, including Kadyrov, had also beaten and
tortured him and his family. According to the European Center for
Constitutional and Human Rights, an expert witness testified at the
Vienna trial that the man suspected of pulling the trigger, Letscha
Bogatirov, was promoted by the Kadyrov government following the killing
as a reward for his actions.
Abductions.--Government personnel, rebels, and criminal elements
continued to engage in abductions in the North Caucasus. The head of
the Prosecutor General's Office for the North Caucasus stated in June
that more than 2,100 disappearances remained unsolved in the North
Caucasian republics. Security forces in Chechnya, Dagestan, and
Ingushetiya frequently abducted or detained individuals for several
days without immediate explanation or charge. Human rights groups
believed the numbers of abductions were underreported because victims'
relatives were reluctant to complain to authorities due to fear of
reprisal. Generally, there was no accountability for government
security personnel involved in abductions. Criminal groups in the
region, possibly with links to rebel forces, frequently resorted to
kidnapping for ransom.
On January 23, Memorial reported that at least eight Russian
citizens from the North Caucasus had been kidnapped since September
2010. According to Caucasian Knot, in the first 11 months of 2011,
there were 64 disappearances, 28 of which took place in Dagestan, 20 in
Chechnya, 13 in Ingushetia, and three in Kabardino-Balkaria.
Human rights groups alleged that security forces under the command
of Kadyrov played a significant role in abductions, either on their own
initiative or in joint operations with federal forces, including
abductions of family members of rebel commanders and fighters.
Caucasian Knot and Amnesty International reported that on May 7,
Chechen security force members captured Tamerlan Suleymanov. He was
allegedly tortured and forced to confess to preparing an act of terror.
He was released but abducted again from his work on May 9 by two men.
Two of his coworkers tried to stop the kidnappers but were beaten as
well. He remained missing despite witness testimony about the make,
model, and license numbers of the vehicles.
According to Amnesty International, on September 4, 22-year-old
Amir Chaniev of Ingushetia disappeared after approximately 30 law
enforcement officers searched his home without authorization and led
him away. Chaniev's 19-year-old sister, Karina, was detained the next
day and told that her brother was on a police wanted list, for reasons
officers did not specify. She reportedly was told to sign a release or
she would not see her brother again. According to Memorial, on October
20, Karina was convicted of aiding terrorist Arthur Amriev and
sentenced to one year in a penal colony in Kabardino-Balkaria. Amir
Chaniev's whereabouts remained unknown.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Armed forces and police
units reportedly abused and tortured both rebels and civilians in
holding facilities. On September 22, Malik Appa of Karbardino-Balkaria
claimed that police unlawfully detained and tortured him with beatings
and electric shocks until he admitted ownership of a hand grenade.
According to Memorial, a forensic examination was carried out, which
noted injuries on his body: a burn wound on the left buttocks;
abrasions on his left little finger, right leg, and nose; and a bruise
on his left shoulder.
On May 23, Amnesty International reported that Chechen police were
obstructing the investigation into the alleged 2009 unlawful detention
and torture of Islam Umarpashayev. In December 2009 Umarpashayev was
abducted from his home in Chechnya and held incommunicado until his
release in April 2010. Umarpashayev reported that he was held at the
headquarters of the Chechen Special Task Police Force, where he said he
was handcuffed to a radiator for three months, beaten, and threatened.
After that he and his family were relocated to an area outside of
Chechnya to help ensure their safety.
On March 23, masked men in Nazran detained opposition activist
Magomed Khazbiev, a member of the Expert Council under the human rights
ombudsman of the Russian Federation, and his brothers Berd and Murad
after they participated in a protest against the abduction of activist
Ilez Gorchkhanov. The masked men took the brothers from their home and
beat their parents. Police reportedly beat Berd and Magomed while they
were in custody; a judge sentenced the two brothers to 10 days of
administrative arrest for organizing an unsanctioned demonstration.
Burning the homes of suspected rebels, a mechanism of collective
punishment in use since 2008, reportedly continued. On July 6,
Caucasian Knot reported that in the settlement of Geldagan, Chechnya,
several houses belonging to families of young people who had recently
joined the insurgency were burned down.
The Independent Commission on Human Rights in the Northern
Caucasus, headed by the chairman of the State Duma Committee on
Legislation, continued to hear hundreds of complaints, ranging from
destruction or theft of property to rape and killing. However, the
commission was not empowered to investigate or prosecute alleged
offenders and referred complaints to military or civil prosecutors.
Chechnya's Human Rights Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev was uncooperative
with the area's leading NGO, Memorial.
According to the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, no new
reported minefields were laid in the North Caucasus over the last
several years. However, mine contamination remained an issue. Chechen
officials and human rights organizations estimated that 96 square miles
of land was mine-affected and 2.5 percent of Chechnya's total
agricultural land rendered unusable. Additionally, the military made
more than 600 site visits in the Southern Federal District during the
year, clearing mines and unexploded ordnance from World War II.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press;
however, in practice government pressure on some media constrained
coverage of certain controversial issues, resulting in numerous
infringements of these rights.
While the government generally respected citizens' right to freedom
of speech, state-controlled media frequently ignored critical voices
with regard to the conduct of federal forces in the North Caucasus,
human rights, high-level corruption, and opposition political views.
Some regional and local authorities took advantage of procedural
violations and vague legislation to detain persons who expressed views
critical of the government.
In other cases the government used direct ownership, or ownership
by large private companies with government links, to control or
influence major national media and regional media outlets, especially
television. There were reports of self-censorship in the television
media, particularly on issues critical of the government.
Freedom of Speech.--The government on several occasions restricted
the ability of individuals to criticize the government publicly or
privately or discuss matters of general public interest without
reprisal. For example, on August 11, the GDF reported that Bui-TV, a
private television/radio network in Kostroma Oblast, had been subjected
to pressure through frequent inspections, confiscation of equipment,
and anonymous phone threats. Journalists at Bui-TV linked this pressure
campaign to their professional activities and saw it as municipal
authorities' reaction to criticism.
Freedom of Press.--More than 60 percent of the country's 45,000
registered local newspapers and periodicals were owned directly by the
government or by state-owned/state-controlled companies. Approximately
66 percent of the 2,500 television stations, including all six national
news channels, were completely or partially owned by the federal and
local governments.
In the period preceding the December 4 Duma elections,
international observers criticized the unbalanced access to the media,
particularly television, for candidates in elections, noting that, as
in previous elections, candidates from the ruling party, United Russia,
received favored media access. Observers also noted press freedom
abuses, including harassment of media outlets, lack of equal access to
information, and arbitrary application of rules. Media coverage of
major political protests after the December 4 elections were largely
covered by the major state-run television stations in a more balanced
manner, with many of the protesters given air time to criticize the
conduct and integrity of the elections and the government.
On October 31, the Communist Party criticized state television
channels for not providing equal airtime, as mandated by election law,
to all political parties competing in the Duma elections. A letter sent
to the chief executives of three Russian state channels, Channel One,
NTV, and Rossiya, did not garner a public response. This came after the
Central Election Commission agreed on July 15 to compensate political
parties currently holding seats in the parliament for air time that
they did not receive in the previous election.
Violence and Harassment.--There were conflicting reports on the
numbers of journalists killed and attacked during the year. According
to the Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, four journalists
were killed, while the GDF and Kommersant Vlast magazine both reported
that six journalists were killed. The GDF also reported that, since the
beginning of the year, there had been 39 attacks on journalists, while
Kommersant Vlast reported 81 attacks on media representatives and four
on media offices, compared with 58 and eight, respectively, in 2010. In
November Pavel Gusev, chairman of the Public Chamber's Committee on
Information Policy, reported that 150 journalists were attacked since
January. NGOs supporting independent media characterized beatings of
journalists by unknown assailants as ``routine,'' noting that those who
pursued investigative stories on corruption and organized crime found
themselves at greatest risk. A joint report released in April by the
Russian Union of Journalists and the International Federation of
Journalists noted a downward trend in the number of journalists
murdered in recent years, while the number of attacks increased. The
report also described a climate of impunity for those who attack
journalists, since very few of these crimes were solved.
On December 14, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, founder of the Dagestani
newspaper Chernovik, was shot 14 times and killed outside his office in
Makhachkala by a masked man who escaped in a waiting car. Kamalov was
critical of security services' abuses in Dagestan and was working to
expose corruption in the republic. In 2009 he had been placed on a
``death list'' that was distributed throughout Makhachkala. Police
opened an investigation into his killing.
On September 9, Memorial and the family of former investigative
journalist Nataliya Estemirova, who was abducted and killed in 2009,
filed a joint complaint with the ECHR stating that, official
pronouncements notwithstanding, neither prosecutors nor investigators
had given them any reason to believe that Estemirova's murder had been
solved. On February 26 and September 15, the lead investigator in case
announced that authorities knew who killed her and had DNA evidence but
were unable to make an arrest. At the time she was killed, Estemirova
was working on a documentary on the government's alleged arson campaign
in Chechnya.
On May 31, Rustam Makhmudov, the suspected hit man in the 2006
killing of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya, was arrested.
He was awaiting trial in Moscow. On August 23, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, a
former chief of the fourth division of the Moscow City Police
Operational Search Department, was arrested and charged with arranging
the contract killing of Politkovskaya. According to Novaya Gazeta,
Pavlyuchenkov previously was a ``secret witness'' for the prosecution
and was therefore questioned in a ``secret procedure.'' On September 2,
Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, a former police officer with the Moscow
Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, was arrested in connection
with the killing. On September 3, Lom-Ali Gaytukaev of Chechnya was
named as the potential mastermind of Politkovskaya's killing by
Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee. On
October 28, Gaytukaev was charged as an accessory to murder for his
role in the killing. Human rights groups contended, however, that the
government took no steps to find and prosecute the person who
ultimately ordered the killing of Politkovskaya.
There was no new information regarding investigations into the 2004
murder of journalist Paul Klebnikov.
On May 11, the Zamoskvoretskiy Court in Moscow refused to file
criminal charges in the beating of Gazeta.ru journalist Aleksandr
Artemev, whose arm was allegedly broken by a policeman at a May 2010
rally organized by the ``Strategy 31'' freedom of assembly movement.
On December 22, the Altai Republic's Supreme Court reportedly
upheld the acquittal of Sergey Mikhaylov on 2010 charges of instigating
interethnic strife and insulting a government official and cancelled
Mikhaylov's criminal conviction of libel for defaming Governor
Alexander Berdnikov. However, the court upheld Berdnikov's civil claim
and ordered Mikhaylov to pay Berdnikov 200,000 rubles (approximately
$6,200) in moral damages.
There was no new information regarding investigations into the 2010
beating of journalist Arkadiy Lander. No arrests were made in the 2010
beating of journalist Oleg Kashin.
On November 17, parliament passed a law establishing sentencing
guidelines of six years in prison or five years of forced labor for
threats and violence against journalists. Human rights groups welcomed
the legislation..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government continued to
use legislation and decrees to curtail media freedom. The law provides
an expansive definition of extremism and gives law enforcement
officials broad authority to suspend media outlets that do not comply
with the law's restrictions. The Ministry of Justice continued to
expand its list of ``extremist'' materials to include more than 1,000
items, up from 700 in 2010. Among the items on the list are the
following: a picture of Winnie the Pooh wearing a swastika; a flag with
a cross; the Web site Samizdat, which was similar to Wikipedia and had
more than 500,000 subscribers; and literature of peaceful religious
groups, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
By law authorities have the right to close any organization,
including media outlets, that a court determines to be ``extremist.''
The organization in question cannot challenge the court's decision.
Officials or unidentified individuals sometimes used force or took
other extralegal measures to prevent the circulation of publications
critical of government officials. The GDF reported that there were 50
attempts by officials to seize or prevent distribution of publications,
compared with 23 in 2010. On July 14, approximately 90 percent of the
July 4 issues of Kommersant Vlast magazine were removed from newsstands
in St. Petersburg, reportedly following an unofficial order from city
government officials upset over unfavorable coverage of then governor
Valentina Matviyenko. No copies of the magazine were removed from
newsstands elsewhere. The St. Petersburg Human Rights Council issued a
statement asking the city prosecutor's office to investigate.
On August 2, the entire print production (40,000 copies) of
Izvestia Kaliningrada was seized by the Road Safety Inspection Agency
and the Regional Center for Combating Extremism. The head of the
Regional Center for Combating Extremism, Aleksander Shelyakov, stated
that he acted because he had received a tip that the publication
contained extremist information. That particular issue of Izvestia
Kaliningrada, published on the eve of President Medvedev's visit to
Kaliningrad, contained an open letter to Medvedev calling for the
regional government's removal on the grounds that several of its
members were implicated in corruption. Reporters Without Borders
considered the confiscation of the print run to be an attempt by
regional leaders to silence the media.
The federal government also took measures to censor opposition
parties. After the St. Petersburg municipal elections in July, the
government either bought up or prevented the distribution of several
editions of newspapers that included critical comments on the conduct
of the elections.
Government officials often influenced content on television,
insisting that certain opposition figures, for example, not be shown.
There were regular meetings between government officials responsible
for communications strategy and the heads of state-run television to
review past television coverage and decide on future television
coverage of most political and social issues. The GDF reported there
were 52 attempts to censor the media during the year, compared with 29
in 2010.
On October 30, NTV planned to broadcast a story about abductions in
Chechnya, including the work of human rights defenders in the Islam
Umarpashayev case; however, the piece was taken off the air after it
was shown in the Far East and the Urals and replaced by 10 minutes of
commercials. A television interview with anticorruption blogger Aleksey
Navalniy was not allowed to be shown in the summer after reported
intervention by a number of officials, although a later critical
interview was permitted in November.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Officials at all levels used their
authority, sometimes publicly, to restrict the effectiveness of
journalists who criticized them, including taking legal action for
alleged slander or libel.
On November 22, parliament passed a law decriminalizing libel,
although at year's end President Medvedev had yet to sign the bill into
law.
On June 14, authorities acquitted Oleg Orlov, head of Memorial, of
slander charges. Orlov was on trial for accusing Chechen leader Ramzan
Kadyrov of complicity in the 2009 killing of human rights activist and
journalist Natalya Estemirova. Human rights advocates and international
observers criticized the prosecution of Orlov as an infringement of
free speech. On June 24, Kadyrov appealed the decision; on August 8,
Judge Andrey Lutov began hearings on the appeal in the Khamovniki
District Court of Moscow, and the case remained pending at year's end.
On June 21, Judge Igor Kananovich of Moscow's Khamovniki Court
acquitted Oleg Kashin of defamation against Nashi founder and head of
the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Vassily Yakemenko. On June 22,
Yakemenko filed an appeal with the Khamovniki District Court in Moscow.
Yakemenko's appeal of the acquittal failed on technical grounds.
Publishing Restrictions.--According to the GDF and other NGOs,
authorities used the media's widespread dependence on the government
for transmission facilities, access to property, and printing and
distribution services to discourage critical reporting. They reported
that approximately 90 percent of print media organizations relied on
state-controlled entities for paper, printing, or distribution
services, and many television stations were forced to rely on the
government (in particular, regional state property management
committees) for access to the airwaves and office space. The GDF also
reported that officials continued to manipulate the price of printing
at state-controlled publishing houses to apply pressure on private
media rivals.
According to the GDF and other NGOs, authorities continued to
engage in selective investigations into intellectual property rights
violations (i.e., use of pirated software) to confiscate computers and
pressure opposition media across the country.
Internet Freedom.--The Internet and radio were more free and
independent than print media and television. Despite attempts by the
government to monitor and control the Internet, it remained an open,
dynamic, and growing space for free expression. In particular the use
of social media and blogs expanded exponentially. Threats to Internet
freedom included physical attacks on bloggers, criminal prosecutions of
bloggers for ``extremism'' or libel, blocking of specific sites by
local service providers, DDoS attacks on sites of opposition groups or
independent media, and attempts by security services and some regional
authorities to regulate Internet content.
In its 2010 Enemies of the Internet report, Reporters Without
Borders placed the country ``under surveillance'' due to fears of
expanding control of government media, including the Internet.
On December 28, it was reported that the Federal Service for the
Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass
Communications (Roskomnadzor) delayed plans to launch its service to
monitor online media outlets for ``extremist'' content due to the
inability of the contractor, Data Center, to pass programming tests.
Reports claimed that the service would include the ability to monitor
up to five and a half million keywords as well as screening and
tracking of audio, video, and text files, with at least a partial
emphasis on monitoring user-generated content, and it would primarily
be searching for content that violates legal restrictions. Reporters
without Borders expressed concern that authorities would abuse the
content surveillance and censorship system that uses such vaguely
defined concepts as ``violating the unity of Russia'' or ``hidden
inserts and other technical means and ways of distributing information
that would act on people's subconscious or have a harmful influence on
their health.'' No implementation date was announced.
In March Roskomnadzor ordered the monitoring and removal of
extremist discourse in online media, with a three-day compliance
window.
The government continued to employ a ``system for operational
investigative measures,'' which required Internet service providers to
install, at their own expense, a device that routes all customer
traffic to an FSB terminal. The system enabled police to track private
e-mail communications, identify Internet users, and monitor their
Internet activity.
During a May interview, Kommersant reporter and blogger Oleg
Kashin, who was brutally attacked in 2010, reported that the
investigation of his case had stalled. Kashin was not hopeful his case
would be solved, since more than a year had elapsed since the attack,
and the investigator was replaced in November.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government generally did
not restrict academic freedom; however, there were reports of pressure
on teachers, academics, scholars, and students.
On October 20, Moscow State University journalism students were
prevented from attending a speech by President Medvedev at the
university and replaced by allegedly progovernment youth. Numerous
students were arrested for protesting the event. President Medvedev
agreed to return to the university to meet with students but had not
done so by year's end.
On December 7, Mikhail Suprun, a history professor in Arkhangelsk,
was found guilty of violating ``personal and family secrets.'' Suprun
was researching the deportation and fate of 5,000 ethnic Germans who
were sent to the gulags in Arkhangelsk Region between 1945 and 1956.
During the investigation Suprun's students were questioned, and
Ministry of Internal Affairs archivist Aleksandr Dudarev was arrested
for assisting Suprun. Suprun was not sentenced, as the statute of
limitations on his alleged crime had expired, while Dudarev was given a
one-year suspended sentence and released.
On December 8, the deans of the Law Academy and the Urals Federal
University reportedly exerted pressure on students who wanted to
participate in public protests following parliamentary elections. The
director of the Urals Mining Institute reportedly threatened students
who participated with expulsion. The Urals State Economic University
required all students to remain in their dormitories during the
scheduled protest. Checks were made to ensure compliance.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, but local
authorities continued to restrict this right in practice. The law
requires notification for public meetings, demonstrations, or marches
by more than one person. Local elected and administrative officials
selectively denied some groups permission to assemble or offered
alternate venues that were inconveniently located. Demonstrations
without official permission were often broken up by police. More than
2,400 activists were arrested during the year following public events,
according to the AGORA human rights association.
Many observers noted a selective and consistent pattern of
officials encouraging rallies friendly to the government while
preventing politically sensitive demonstrations.
On March 31, Igor Kalyapin, head of the Interregional Committee
Against Torture, a leading human rights organization, was arrested by
police in Nizhny Novgorod during a freedom of assembly (``Strategy
31'') rally. Kalyapin and a colleague attended the March 31 event to
monitor police compliance with international standards for free
assembly. The police arrested Kalyapin and approximately two dozen
protesters. Kalyapin was interrogated by police officials and released
pending trial for ``participation in an unsanctioned demonstration.''
Left Front opposition movement leader Sergey Udaltsov was sentenced
14 separate times during the year, and spent approximately 120 days in
jail in 10- to15-day increments due to a succession of minor charges
including disobeying police during protests and leaving a hospital
during treatment without permission. On December 13, Amnesty
International called for Udaltsov's release as a prisoner of
conscience. On December 25, a Moscow court extended Udaltsov's sentence
an additional 10 days for allegedly resisting police at an October
protest.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government respected this right with a number of
significant exceptions. Public organizations must register their bylaws
and the names of their leaders with the Ministry of Justice.
Restrictions were applied in a selective manner to NGOs, particularly
to those receiving foreign funding or involved in issues of political
opposition or in human rights monitoring. The finances of registered
organizations were subject to investigation by the tax authorities, and
foreign grants received were required to be registered.
Some groups that opposed powerful business interests faced
intimidation from government and private security forces. Local
authorities routinely pressured activists associated with the Khimki
Forest Defense campaign, an environmental movement that seeks to
protect the Khimki Forest outside of Moscow from development. The
group's demonstrations were violently dispersed on several occasions by
both police and private security personnel working for the Vinci
Corporation, which was building a highway through the forest. The group
lost several court cases in its attempts to halt the construction. In
February police detained another activist in the campaign, Alla
Chernysheva, together with her young children, and accused her of
planting a fake bomb at a Khimki Forest Defense demonstration. In March
local police threatened to take away the children of lead activist
Yevgeniya Chirikova.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. However, the government placed restrictions on freedom of
movement within the country and on migration. The government generally
cooperated, with some exceptions, with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and
other persons of concern.
Although the law gives citizens the right to choose their place of
residence, all adult citizens must carry government-issued internal
passports while traveling domestically and must register with the local
authorities after arriving at a new location. Authorities often refused
to provide government services to individuals without internal
passports or proper registration, and many regional governments
continued to restrict this right through residential registration rules
that closely resembled Soviet-era regulations. Darker-skinned persons
from the Caucasus or of African or Asian origin were often singled out
for document checks. There were credible reports that police
arbitrarily imposed fines on unregistered persons in excess of legal
requirements or demanded bribes.
The law provides for freedom to travel abroad, and citizens
generally did so without restriction. Citizens with access to
classified material, however, needed to obtain police and FSB
clearances to receive a passport for international travel.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--On September 30, the UNHCR
reported that there were 75,980 IDPs in the country, mainly in the
North Caucasus. A total of 16,619 Chechen IDPs remained displaced to
Ingushetia by Chechnya's second conflict, while an additional 2,564
IDPs lived in Dagestan. Another 20,005 IDPs remained in Russia from the
conflict in Georgia in the early 1990s, and 2,000 were displaced as a
result of the 2008 conflict with Georgia.
Since mid-January Memorial frequently reported on the expulsions of
inhabitants of Chechnya due to the construction of Argun City, a
complex including houses, a mosque for 7,000 worshipers, and an
entertainment center. The construction forced the eviction of IDPs from
temporary accommodation centers that provided housing for persons
displaced during the war. Officials provided no new accommodations or
financial support.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some
protection against the expulsion or return of persons to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion. However, the responsible agency, the Federal
Migration Service (FMS), did not maintain a presence at airports or
other border points, and the ability of asylum seekers to request
access to FMS was not well publicized. Asylum seekers thus had to rely
on the goodwill of border guards and airline personnel to call
immigration officials or face immediate return to their countries of
origin, including in some cases to countries where a well-founded fear
of persecution could be demonstrated.
Members of a group of Somali refugees, who were stranded in the
transit area of Moscow's Sheremetevo airport for more than a year after
being denied entry into Russia, were either resettled in third
countries or voluntarily returned to Somalia by year's end. The UNHCR
described Ombudsman Lukin's office as instrumental in resolving this
case.
By law the decision of an FMS official could be appealed to a
higher-ranking authority or to a court. During the appeal process, the
applicant received the rights of a person whose application for refugee
status was being considered. A person who did not satisfy the criteria
for refugee status, but could not be expelled or deported for
humanitarian reasons, could be granted temporary asylum after
submitting a separate application.
The government rarely granted convention status to those who
managed to present their asylum applications to the FMS. The UNHCR and
NGOs stated that asylum seekers at times faced detention, deportation,
fines by police, and racially motivated assaults.
Human rights groups continued to allege that authorities made
improper use of international agreements that permitted them to detain,
and possibly repatriate, persons with outstanding arrest warrants from
other post-Soviet states. This system, enforced by informal ties
between senior law enforcement officials of the countries concerned,
permitted detention for up to one month while the prosecutor general
investigated the nature of the warrants.
The UNHCR and human rights groups noted an increasing trend of
extralegal repatriation, in which people (most commonly from Central
Asia) were detained and flown out of the country clandestinely. Rights
groups maintained that this could not happen without the cooperation of
several different Russian federal organs.
The UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration, and NGOs
assisted the government to try to develop a more humane migration
management system. The FMS cooperated well with international
organizations to provide training for its officers throughout the
country to ensure they understood refugee law. For asylum seekers who
were allowed into the country to pursue their claims, the refugee law
provides the right to temporary accommodations. However, there was only
one facility with such accommodations in the country, in Ochyor, Perm
Region, approximately 660 miles from Moscow. In April the BBC news
service reported the facility, located 30 minutes from the town center,
consisted of a collection of mobile homes with warped walls, broken
windows, and leaking roofs and had previously been used by East German
laborers in the 1980s.
Access to Basic Services.--While federal law provides for education
for all children, regional authorities occasionally denied access to
schools to children of asylum seekers who lacked residential
registration. However, when parents encountered difficulties enrolling
their children in schools, authorities generally cooperated with the
UNHCR to resolve the problem. Authorities frequently denied migrants
the right to work if they did not have residential registration.
Refugees also may not legally work if they are not registered and
cannot obtain registration unless they have an employer or landlord
willing to register them.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived both by birth within the
Russian Federation's territory, with certain restrictions, and from
one's parents. A child becomes a citizen at birth if both parents are
citizens, if one parent is a citizen and the other one is stateless, if
one parent is a citizen and the other is a foreigner and the child was
born on the territory of the country, or if both parents are foreigners
or stateless and the child was born on the territory of the Russian
Federation and there is concern the child might otherwise become
stateless.
The UNHCR estimated that there were 50,000 stateless persons in the
country at the end of the year, with 1,716 in the North Caucasus
region, based on data from local authorities and NGOs. FMS statistics
indicated that, at the end of 2008, 21,443 stateless persons were
registered in the country.
In Krasnodar Kray at least several hundred (with some estimates as
high as 5,000) Meskhetian Turks, Batumi Kurds, Hemshils, and Yezidi
refugees and environmental migrants and their descendants remained
without passports and were denied the right to register as residents,
depriving them of all rights of citizenship and preventing them from
working legally, leasing land, or selling goods. The law in Krasnodar
Kray that defines illegal migrants includes stateless persons.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully in regularly scheduled national and regional elections;
however, citizens could not fully exercise this right in practice, as
the government limited the ability of opposition parties to organize,
register candidates for public office, access the media, or conduct
political campaigns.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
State Duma elections on December 4 were marked by fraud and
irregularities in many regions, particularly in the North Caucasus, as
documented by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE).
In the lead-up to the elections, independent observers, media, and
opposition parties reported widespread violations, including abuse of
administrative resources, such as pressuring students, state budget
employees, employees of state-owned companies, and others to vote for
ruling party United Russia. On election day, December 4, reports of
violations included fraudulent use of absentee ballots, ballot-box
stuffing, manipulation of protocols, busing in voters from other
regions, ``carousel'' schemes in which citizens voted multiple times at
different locations, distribution of gifts to voters, allowing
unregistered voters to vote, and preventing registered voters from
voting. The Web sites of independent media outlets, including the
LiveJournal blogging platform, popular radio station Moscow Echo,
Kommersant, the New Times, Forbes Russia, Bolshoy Gorod, and Slon.ru
news portal, were unavailable due to DDoS attacks, as was the Web site
of independent election monitoring organization GOLOS, whose
interactive map of election violations enabled monitors to report
election irregularities at specific polling stations throughout the
country.
According to ODIHR the December 4 parliamentary elections were ``a
competition on unequal grounds in favor of the governing party.'' ODIHR
also found that the lack of independence of the election
administration, the partiality of most media, and the undue
interference of state authorities at different levels undermined fair
electoral competition. OSCE/ODIHR observers received numerous credible
allegations of attempts to influence voters' choices. These included
allegations of civil servants being requested to sign letters in
support of United Russia, owners of big companies putting pressure on
employees to vote for the governing party, and school directors being
instructed by local authorities to ensure that their employees voted
for United Russia. Despite the lack of a level playing field, voters
nevertheless took advantage of their right to express their choice. The
vote count itself was characterized by frequent procedural violations
and instances of apparent manipulation, including several serious
indications of ballot-box stuffing.
Tiny Kox, head of a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, stated that at approximately 10 percent of the
polling stations his team monitored, they observed packets of ballots
folded together, indicating ballot stuffing. He also said that monitors
from GOLOS, registered political parties, and the press were excluded
from dozens of polling stations.
Chechnya reported a 99 percent voter turnout rate, with 99.5
percent of the votes cast in favor of United Russia, or 0.1 percent
more than in 2007. Caucasian Knot reported that, on December 2, Chechen
officials stated there were 608,797 registered voters but, on December
5, announced that 611,099 ballots had been cast, or 2,302 more than the
number of registered voters given three days previously. In Ingushetia,
independent observers and Caucasian Knot estimated voter turnout at
just 10 percent, with numerous cases of electoral violations. Officials
reported a 90 percent voter turnout rate with 78.1 percent votes cast
for United Russia, versus the final Central Election Commission
official result of 90.96 percent.
After the elections peaceful protests occurred in many cities
throughout the country, notably on December 10, when approximately
50,000 protesters rallied in Bolotnaya Square in Moscow, and on
December 24, when nearly 80,000 gathered on Prospekt Sakharova in
Moscow. Despite the peaceful aspect of the protests, more than 1,000
protesters were arrested across the country during the month, the vast
majority outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Among those arrested
immediately after the elections were prominent opposition figures
Alexei Navalniy and Boris Nemtsov.
On August 21, Valentina Matviyenko, current chairperson of the
Federation Council and former governor of St. Petersburg, was elected
in a by-election to municipal council, winning 95 percent and 97
percent of the vote, respectively, in the two municipalities in which
she was a candidate. GOLOS identified irregularities in the election
that potentially constituted fraud, including the announcement of
Matviyenko's candidacy after the deadline had passed for candidates for
the office to register. GOLOS filed a lawsuit with the Kirov District
Court contesting the election procedure and recommended all election
procedures be suspended until the court's verdict. Opposition figures
were arrested for distributing campaign leaflets that did not indicate
where they had been printed, as required by law. Charges were later
dropped. Government officials also reportedly instructed groups whom to
vote for and offered free medical exams, concert tickets, or ice cream
to voters; however, election officials found no serious violations and
approved the results of both elections the following day.
In 2008 the country held presidential elections in which Dmitriy
Medvedev, the candidate of the ruling United Russia Party, received 70
percent of the vote. Observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe stated that the elections were not free or fair.
Widespread violations, comparable to the State Duma elections held in
2007, were reported. The OSCE representative on freedom of the media
reported numerous media freedom violations during the parliamentary and
presidential elections. Electoral violations and problems included an
``unprecedented'' number of absentee ballots, collective voting under
pressure, multiple voting, and vote-counting irregularities.
Political Parties.--To obtain legal status, the law requires that a
political party obtain the signatures of at least 45,000 members,
including at least 450 members in half of the country's regions and 250
members in each of the remaining regions. In practice the registration
of opposition parties was very restricted. Since 2006 the Ministry of
Justice has refused to register nine political parties and has allowed
only one, Right Cause, to register.
While parties represented in the State Duma may nominate a
presidential candidate without having to collect and submit signatures,
prospective presidential candidates from parties without Duma
representation must collect two million signatures from supporters
throughout the country. These must be submitted to the Central Election
Commission (CEC) for certification. An independent candidate is
ineligible to run if the CEC finds more than 5 percent of the
signatures to be invalid.
The law prohibits early voting and negative campaigning and
provides a number of criteria for removing candidates from the ballot,
including for vaguely defined ``extremist'' behavior. The executive
branch and the prosecutor general have broad powers to regulate,
investigate, and disqualify political parties. Other provisions limit
campaign spending, set specific campaign periods, and provide for
restrictions on campaign materials.
On June 21, the Party of People's Freedom (PARNAS) was denied
registration by the Ministry of Justice, which claimed that its
application contained a number of errors. On August 22, Moscow's
Zamoskvoretskiy Court upheld the denial of registration, stating that
79 of the 46,000 signatures were invalid. According to the law, the
minimum number to obtain legal status is 45,000 signatures.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 59 women in the
450-member State Duma and nine women in the 166-member Federation
Council, including Chairwoman Valentina Matviyenko. There were three
female ministers. Two of the 83 regional leaders were women. Three of
the 19 judges on the Constitutional Court were women. No political
party was led by a woman.
Information on the ethnic composition of the State Duma and the
Federation Council was not available. National minorities took an
active part in political life. However, ethnic Russians, who
constituted approximately 80 percent of the population, dominated the
political and administrative system, particularly at the federal level.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
nonetheless, it was a pervasive problem. The government acknowledged
that it had difficulty enforcing the law effectively, and officials
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Corruption was widespread throughout the executive, legislative,
and judicial branches at all levels of government. Manifestations
included bribery of officials, misuse of budgetary resources, theft of
government property, kickbacks in the procurement process, extortion,
and improper use of official position to secure personal profits. While
there were prosecutions for bribery, a general lack of enforcement
remained a problem. Official corruption continued to be rampant in
numerous areas, including education, military conscription, medicine,
commerce, housing, pensions/social welfare, law enforcement, and the
judicial system.
In May the Duma passed legislation criminalizing transnational
bribery and substantially increasing fines and prison sentences for
offering and receiving bribes. For example, the maximum penalties for
receiving a bribe became 15 years' incarceration and a fine equivalent
to 100 times the amount of the bribe. The law also created a new crime
of mediation in bribery as well as administrative corporate liability
for transnational bribery.
The law requires government officials to submit financial
statements, restricts their employment at entities where they had prior
connections, and requires reporting of actual or possible corrupt
activity. In practice information that officials provided did not
always reflect their true income or that of close family members.
The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-11, compiled by the World
Economic Forum, cited corruption as the country's most problematic
factor for doing business. The country's score in Transparency
International's Corruption Perception Index improved. The country
scored poorly on judicial independence, fairness in the decisions of
government officials, the transparency of government policymaking, and
the influence of organized crime.
A statement issued on July 21 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs
estimated the average amount of a commercial bribe in Russia to be more
than 61,000 rubles (21,890), almost triple the 23,000 rubles ($715)
figure in 2010. According to an estimate by the Ministry of Economic
Development released in June, government officials accepted bribes
totaling 164 billion rubles ($5.1 billion) in 2010. The top three
categories of corrupt officials were traffic police officers,
representatives of higher educational institutions, and health workers.
It was further reported that the estimated amount of bribes that law
enforcement officials received had increased almost 13-fold since 2005,
from 1.27 billion to 16.2 billion rubles ($39.4 million to $503
million).
Prosecutors charged high-level officials with corruption during the
year; however, most government anticorruption campaigns were limited in
scope and focused on lower-level officials. Allegations of corruption
were also used as a political tactic.
According to Vlast magazine, more than 2,800 state officials were
charged with corruption during the first six months of the year.
According to Investigative Committee head Aleksander Bastrykin,
corruption charges were also brought against 120 investigators and 12
prosecutors during the year. Corruption charges were brought against 48
lawyers, eight members of election commissions, 214 deputies of
municipal councils, 310 municipal officials, 11 deputies of regional
parliaments, one State Duma deputy, and three judges as well.
On February 14, the Investigative Committee fired, and later
charged, Aleksandr Ignatenko and several other prosecutors for
allegedly providing ``protection'' to illegal gambling businesses in
the greater Moscow area. On November 10, Ignatenko was officially
placed on Interpol's international wanted list after he reportedly fled
to Ukraine. The Investigative Committee claimed that the Prosecutor
General's Office sabotaged the investigation to protect prosecutors
who: 1) refused to approve a cooperation agreement between
investigators and one of the defendants, and 2) illegally invalidated
the Investigative Committee's initial charges in the case. A court
ruled that refusal of the Prosecutor General's Office to approve the
cooperation agreement was illegal. The investigation continued, and the
case had not been sent to court.
Civil society took an active stance in fighting corruption through
anticorruption Web sites such as RosPil and other blogs.
When whistleblowers complained about official corruption, sometimes
the same government official who was the subject of the complaint was
asked to investigate, which often led to retaliation against the
whistleblower, generally in the form of criminal prosecution. A
prominent example is that of Sergey Magnitskiy, who was prosecuted by
the same Internal Affairs Ministry officers he implicated in the theft
of five billion rubles ($150 million) through a fraudulent tax rebate
scheme (see section 1.c., Prison and Detention Center Conditions).
The law authorizes public access to all government information
unless it is confidential or classified as a state secret. A great deal
of government information is classified as confidential, so in practice
access to government information was limited.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated in the
country, investigating and publicly commenting on human rights
problems, but official harassment continued, especially of NGOs that
focused on politically sensitive areas, received foreign funding, or
employed international staff. NGOs and international humanitarian
assistance in the North Caucasus were severely restricted. Some
officials, including Commissioner for Human Rights Vladimir Lukin;
regional ombudsman representatives; and the chairman of the
Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human
Rights, Mikhail Fedotov, regularly interacted and cooperated with NGOs.
The council was widely respected, active, and influential on reporting
on government corruption and human rights abuses. For example, it
released an expert report on the death of Sergei Magnitskiy and the
trial and detention conditions of Mikhail Khodorkovskiy.
The law regulating NGOs requires them to register with the Ministry
of Justice. NGOs are required to submit periodic reports to the
government that disclose sources of foreign funding and detailed
information as to how they used their funds. NGOs indicated that they
were increasingly cautious about accepting foreign funding, and in many
cases those that continued to do so restricted their activities to less
sensitive issues.
Authorities continued to target NGOs receiving foreign funding for
special ``checks,'' confiscating financial and other documents.
However, in November the Duma loosened restrictive rules enacted in
July, which had expanded the grounds upon which the government could
conduct an ``unscheduled'' audit.
Authorities continued to apply a number of indirect tactics to
suppress or close domestic NGOs, including abusive application of
various laws and harassment in the form of investigations and raids.
Observers believed that the government selectively applied the NGO law
to target certain groups, such as human rights organizations, whose
activities they regarded as hostile to the authorities. Laws on
extremism and libel were also employed to restrict the activities of
NGOs and criticism of the government. The law defines extremist
activity to include public libel of a government official or his or her
family as well as public statements that could be construed as
justifying or excusing terrorism.
Security services in Chechnya targeted NGOs that focused on women's
rights in Chechnya and warned them not to meet with foreign
interlocutors and specifically not to attend a human rights workshop in
Stockholm. In Novocherkassk the president of the NGO Women of the Don,
Valentina Cherevatenko, was targeted with a smear campaign on
television, in newspaper articles, and through flyers calling her a
``foreign collaborator'' and a ``traitor.'' Her NGO was vandalized and
she was threatened.
Authorities sometimes refused to cooperate with NGOs that were
critical of their activities. Human rights NGOs operating in Chechnya,
including the Committee Against Torture, reported threats and
intimidation by law enforcement.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Some government institutions
continued to promote the concept of human rights, challenge the
activities of some local governments that violated human rights, and
intervene in selected abuse complaints. Commissioner for Human Rights
Vladimir Lukin commented on a range of human rights problems, such as
police violence, prison conditions, the treatment of children, and
hazing in the military. Lukin also criticized intolerance and the
growing wave of ethnic and religious hatred. Lukin's office used its
influence to draw attention to human rights problems in prisons, and
many leaders of human rights NGOs continued to note that Lukin was
generally effective as an official advocate for many of their concerns,
despite the limited authority of his position.
The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office includes several specialized
sections responsible for investigating complaints. Of the country's 83
regions, 47 have regional human rights ombudsmen with responsibilities
similar to Lukin's. Their effectiveness varied significantly.
Many observers did not consider the 126-member Public Chamber to be
an effective check on the government. Some prominent human rights
groups declined to participate in the chamber due to concern that the
government would use it to increase control over civil society.
Following the December parliamentary elections, two prominent members
of the Presidential Council on Human Rights and the Development of
Civil Society, Irina Yassina and Svetlana Sorokina, resigned to protest
reported election violations and the arrest of hundreds of protesters.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, language,
social status, or other circumstances; however, the government did not
universally enforce these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal, and the law
makes no distinction based on the relationship between the rapist and
the victim. Rape victims may act as full legal parties in criminal
cases brought against alleged assailants and may seek compensation as
part of a court verdict without initiating a separate civil action.
While members of the medical profession assisted assault victims and
sometimes helped identify an assault or rape case, doctors were often
reluctant to provide testimony in court.
According to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service
(RosStat), through November, 4,462 rapes were reported to authorities,
compared with 4,907 for 2010. However, women were unlikely to report
cases of rape by persons they knew. Additionally, according to NGOs,
many women did not report rape or other violence due to fear of social
stigma and lack of government support.
The penalty for rape is three to six years' imprisonment for a
single offender, and four to 10 years if the crime is committed by a
group of persons. The perpetrator receives eight to 15 year sentence if
a victim was underage and 12 to 20 years if a victim died or was under
14 years of age. According to NGOs, many law enforcement personnel and
prosecutors did not consider spousal or acquaintance rape a priority
and did not encourage reporting or prosecuting such cases. NGOs
reported that local police officers sometimes refused to respond to
rape or domestic violence calls until the victim's life was directly
threatened.
Domestic violence remained a major problem. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs maintained records on more than four million
perpetrators of domestic violence. The Duma's Committee on Social
Defense reported in March that 21,400 persons were killed in 2010, two-
thirds of whom were women who died in domestic disputes, an increase of
50 percent since 2002.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that at least 34,000
women were victims of domestic violence each year. However, the
reluctance of victims to report domestic violence made it difficult to
obtain reliable statistical information. The Anna Center for the
Prevention of Violence said that up to 70 percent of domestic violence
cases went unreported. Official telephone directories contained no
information on crisis centers or shelters. There were approximately 25
women's shelters across the country, with beds for a total of about 200
women, according to the Anna Center.
There is no legal definition of domestic violence. Federal law
prohibits battery, assault, threats, and killing, but most acts of
domestic violence did not fall within the jurisdiction of the
Prosecutor's Office. According to NGOs, police were often unwilling to
register complaints of domestic violence and frequently discouraged
victims from submitting them. The Center for Women's Support asserted
that many perpetrators of domestic violence themselves belonged to law
enforcement agencies. A majority of cases filed were either dismissed
on technical grounds or transferred to a reconciliation process
conducted by a justice of the peace, whose focus was on preserving the
family rather than punishing the perpetrator. Civil remedies for
domestic violence included administrative fines and divorce. Physical
harm, property, and family rights cases, such as divorce, asset
division, and child custody, cannot be heard in the same case or the
same court.
Human Rights Watch reported that ``honor killings'' were a
continuing problem in some areas, such as the North Caucasus, although
it was difficult to estimate the number of victims. In September
Caucasian Knot reported a resident of the Kurchaloi District of
Chechnya confessed to police that he murdered his 21-year-old female
cousin for ``immoral behavior.'' The head of the Chechen government,
Ramzan Kadyrov, has spoken publicly in support of honor killings.
Sexual Harassment.--The law does not prohibit sexual harassment,
which remained a widespread problem. The lack of legal remedies and
limited economic opportunities caused many women to tolerate
harassment.
Sex Tourism.--Some observers noted that the country was a
destination for sex tourism. Police worked closely with at least one
foreign government to ensure the prosecution of sex tourists.
Reproductive Rights.--The government officially recognized the
basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly
the number, spacing, and timing of their children. While there are no
legal restrictions on access to contraceptives, international family
planning organizations were unable to operate in the face of opposition
from the government and from the Russian Orthodox Church, making access
to family planning limited, especially outside of big cities. The
government explicitly encouraged women to have as many children as
possible to counteract the country's declining population. According to
U.N. estimates, the maternal mortality ratio in the country was 39
deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008. Men and women received equal
access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Although the constitution states that men and
women have equal rights and opportunities to pursue those rights, women
encountered discrimination in employment. There was no government
office devoted to the protection of women's legal rights.
Job advertisements often specified gender and age requirements for
a position. Some even specified desired physical appearance and
preference for applicants who were open to intimate relations with
their prospective supervisors. Employers often preferred to hire men to
save on maternity and childcare costs and avoid the perceived
unreliability associated with women with small children. The labor
market was characterized by gender discrimination in compensation,
professional training, hiring and dismissal, and career promotion.
However, such discrimination was often very difficult to prove.
The 2002 census indicated that 62 percent of women had higher
education, compared with 50 percent of men. Men and women have an equal
right to obtain a bank loan, but in practice women often encountered
significant restrictions.
The labor code specifies that female workers should not perform
``hard physical jobs and jobs with harmful or dangerous labor
conditions or work underground except in nonphysical jobs or sanitary
and consumer services.'' According to the NGO Peterburgskaya Egida,
this law resulted in a list of 456 occupations that legally exclude
women, including those of diver, gas rescue worker, paratrooper, and
firefighter.
The law upholds equal ownership rights for women and men, but
various restrictions limited women's ability to acquire and administer
assets. The civil code provides equal rights to access to land and
access to property other than land for men and women. All property
acquired during a marriage is the couple's joint property; unless their
marriage contract states otherwise, it is split into two equal shares
in the event of divorce. Each spouse retains ownership and management
of property acquired before marriage or inherited after marriage.
The minimum legal age for marriage is 18 for both men and women.
Local authorities can authorize marriage from the age of 16--and even
earlier in some regions--if it is considered justified. A 2004 U.N.
report estimated that 11 percent of girls between the ages of 15 and 19
were married, divorced, or widowed. By law marriage requires the free
consent of both spouses but does not need to be authorized by the
bride's family.
In some parts of the North Caucasus, women continued to face bride
kidnapping, polygamy, and enforced adherence to Islamic dress codes. As
part of his ``modesty campaign,'' Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov
required women to wear head scarves in public (including at schools,
universities, and government offices) and advocated seizing cell phones
from young women, among other measures documented by Human Rights
Watch. There were cases in some parts of the North Caucasus where men,
claiming that kidnapping brides is an ancient local tradition,
reportedly abducted and raped young women, in some cases forcing them
into marriage. In other cases the young women were forever ``sullied''
as they were no longer virgins and could not enter a legitimate
marriage.
Children.--Birth Registration.--By law citizenship is derived from
parents at birth or from birth within the country's territory if the
parents are unknown or if the child cannot claim the parents'
citizenship. As a rule all newborn babies are registered at the local
civil registry office where the parents live. One of the parents must
apply for registration within a month of the birth. Birth certificates
were issued on the basis of the medical certificate of the hospital
where a baby was born.
Education.--Although education was free through grade 11 and
compulsory until age 15 or 16, regional authorities frequently denied
school access to the children of persons not registered as residents of
the locality, including Roma, asylum seekers, and migrants.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a widespread problem. Pavel Astakhov,
presidential commissioner for children's rights, noted that the rate of
reported child abuse had grown ``30-fold'' since 2003 but that ``most
nonviolent offenders get off with a suspended sentence.'' The online
news source news24.ru reported in 2010 that there were 9,500 sexual
crimes against children. An estimated 20,000 minors were missing at the
end of the year, including 5,000 small children.
According to a 2011 report published by the NGO Foundation for
Assistance to Children in Difficult Life Situations established by the
Federal Ministry of Health and Social Development, approximately 2,000
to 2,500 children died annually as a result of domestic violence.
According to a 2011 UNICEF report, 2,000 children committed suicide in
2010, of which 90 percent resulted from a family's social crisis or
neglect of children.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Children, particularly the
homeless and orphans, were exploited for child pornography. While
authorities viewed child pornography as a serious problem, the law
prohibiting it lacks important details. The law does not define child
pornography, criminalize its possession, or provide for effective
investigation and prosecution of cases of child pornography. Courts
often dismissed criminal cases because of the lack of clear standards.
When a court convicted a suspect, it frequently imposed the minimum
sentence, often probation. Authorities investigated and prosecuted
relatively few cases involving child pornography, creating an
environment in which it proliferated.
In the first three months of the year, authorities opened 128
preliminary investigations into the distribution of child pornography,
compared with the 2010 total of 569. In addition, Minister of Internal
Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev reported that, as of April 1, police had shut
down 130 child pornography Web sites. On June 21, Nurgaliyev noted that
the number of Web sites with child pornography had tripled.
There were two federal resources to respond to child pornography on
the Internet: the Russian Safer Internet Center and the Friendly Runet
Foundation, both of which had hotlines to receive information on
illegal Internet activity. From January to April, the Friendly Runet
Foundation processed 6,239 reports and found 3,420 sites with child
pornography; of those, 3,310 sites were removed. As of June 21,
information gathered through the hotline had resulted in the opening of
24 criminal cases for making or distributing child pornography.
Displaced Children.--Citing Ministry of Internal Affairs
statistics, a Public Chamber representative stated that each year
nearly 120,000 children were orphaned and each day on average 200
children were taken away from neglectful parents. The representative
estimated that 600,000 children were located in various types of
institutional and foster care. In a 2008 report, the NGO Children's
Rights estimated that approximately 40,000 children ran away from home
annually to escape abuse and neglect and that 20,000 orphans fled
similar conditions in orphanages.
The NGO Children's Rights estimated that 2 percent of the country's
children were neglected or lived on the streets. Police attempted to
return approximately 70 percent of them to a home or institution.
According to Rossiskaya Gazeta, a government publication, the number of
children living in extreme poverty fell from 3.1 percent in November
2008 to 1.4 percent in November 2009.
Homeless children often engaged in criminal activities, received no
education, and were vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse. Some children
on the streets turned to, or were forced into, prostitution, often to
survive. According to a 2010 report by the Foundation for Assistance to
Children in Difficult Life Situations, juveniles committed 94,700
crimes in 2009, a decrease from 116,100 committed in 2008. Law
enforcement officials reportedly abused street children, blamed them
for unsolved crimes, and committed illegal acts against them, including
extortion, detention, and psychological and sexual violence.
Regional ombudsmen for children operated in 25 regions with the
authority to conduct independent investigations relating to the
violation of children' rights, inspect any institutions and executive
offices dealing with minors, establish councils of public experts, and
conduct an independent evaluation of legislation affecting children. In
a number of schools in the Moscow and Volgograd oblasts, there were
school ombudsmen dealing with children and families and identifying
potential conflicts and violations of the rights of children.
International Child Abductions.--Russia acceded to the 1980 Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction
effective October 1.
Anti-Semitism.--The 2002 census estimated the number of Jews at
233,500; however, according to the Federation of Jewish Communities of
Russia, the Jewish population could be as high as one million.
Although Jewish leaders reported improvements in official attitudes
toward Jews, anti-Semitism remained a problem at the societal level.
Violent attacks against Jews were infrequent, and only a few incidents
occurred during the year.
There were reports of vandals desecrating Jewish synagogues and
cemeteries and defacing Jewish religious and cultural facilities,
sometimes combined with threats to the Jewish community, although the
Russian Jewish Congress and the Federation of Jewish Communities report
that overt acts of anti-Semitism are minimal. The SOVA Center, an NGO
that seeks to combat extremism and nationalism, registered six acts of
anti-Semitic vandalism as of December 1. The reduction in vandalism
appeared linked to a decrease in the level of activity of nationalist
groups Russian Way and Resistance, whose members had previously engaged
in such acts.
On July 12, four masked men threw Molotov cocktails at the Darchei
Shalom synagogue in northern Moscow. Police believed the attack was in
retaliation for the conviction of 12 members of a neo-Nazi group
earlier that day.
There were several instances in which the government successfully
prosecuted individuals for anti-Semitic statements or publications. On
June 22, the central regional court of Khabarovsk convicted Vyacheslav
Kravchenko and Yevgeniy Smolyakov of committing arson at a local
synagogue and attacking a police officer who had been investigating
cases of extremism in 2009. Kravchenko and Smolyakov received 24- and
27-month conditional sentences, respectively, and were released on
probation.
Anti-Semitism on television or in other mainstream media was
infrequent and was more likely to appear in low-circulation newspapers
or in pamphlets. However, according to the Moscow Bureau of Human
Rights (MBHR), anti-Semitic material on Russian-language Internet sites
increased during the year. During the November 4 ``Russian March,''
demonstrators shouted racist and anti-Semitic slogans.
In May the Web site antisemitism.org reported on a plan by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send ``spiritual and ethical
literature'' to Russian diplomatic representatives in 25 countries,
including the anti-Semitic texts The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
and Kabbalah: Conspiracy against God. According to the ministry, the
plan was abandoned and the anti-Semitic literature was never purchased.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws prohibit discrimination
against persons with disabilities or mandate their equal treatment;
however, the government generally did not enforce these laws. Citizens
with disabilities continued to face discrimination and denial of equal
access to education, employment, and social institutions. According to
information provided by the NGO Perspektiva, persons with mental
disabilities were severely discriminated against in both education and
employment. In addition the conditions of guardianship imposed upon
them by courts deprived them of practically all personal rights.
Conditions in institutions for adults with disabilities were often
poor, with unqualified staff and overcrowding. Institutions rarely
attempted to develop the abilities of residents, who were frequently
confined to the institutions and sometimes restricted in their movement
within the institutions themselves.
Federal law on the protection of persons with disabilities requires
that buildings be made accessible to persons with disabilities, but
authorities did not enforce the law, and in practice many buildings
were not accessible.
The lack of elevators in metro systems across Russia severely
inhibited a wheelchair-bound person from using the system without
assistance. In 2010 Moscow city officials adopted a proposal known as
the ``Strategy for Raising Quality of Life for the Disabled 2010-
2020.'' In its 2011 fiscal year budget, the city allocated 2.5 billion
rubles ($77.6 million) toward developing a more accessible city
environment for persons with disabilities. Officials reported that, in
the second half of 2010, 54 percent of city public buildings were made
accessible to disabled persons; 34,600 ramps were introduced on city
streets; and 40 percent of buses, 25 percent of trolley-buses, and 14
percent of pedestrian crossing lights were adapted for persons with
special needs.
In June the St. Petersburg subway system prohibited wheelchair
users. While subway management modified the decision in response to
public pressure; the use of the system by persons in wheelchairs
remained difficult. By July wheelchair-bound individuals could use a
reserve escalator only if accompanied by two assistants, one of whom
could be subway staff (although staff was not obliged to assist).
Persons using wheelchairs could also use some city buses, which were
equipped with low floors for access. However, persons using wheelchairs
found it difficult to travel anywhere in the city unaccompanied, since
sidewalks often have high curbs and public transportation stops were
not constructed in a way that made them easily accessible.
There are laws establishing employment quotas for persons with
disabilities at the federal and local levels. However, some local
authorities and private employers continued to discourage such persons
from working, and there was no penalty for failure to honor quotas.
According to the NGO Perspektiva, only 9 percent of persons with
disabilities held a permanent job. Many of them worked at home or in
special organizations. In Moscow several dozen companies were equipped
to employ physically disabled persons.
According to government reports, of approximately 450,000 school-
age children with disabilities, an estimated 200,000 did not receive
any education. Of the 250,000 who received an education, 140,000
attended regular schools, 40,000 studied at home, and 70,000 attended
special schools. Because special schools made up only 3 percent of all
schools, most children with disabilities could not study in the
communities where they lived and were isolated from other members of
the community.
Authorities generally segregated such children from mainstream
society through a system that institutionalized them until adulthood.
Observers concluded that issues of children's welfare often were
ignored, and there were few means of addressing systemic problems of
abuse. Human rights groups alleged that children with disabilities in
state institutions were poorly provided for and, in some cases,
physically abused by staff members. Graduates of state institutions
also often lacked the necessary social, educational, and vocational
skills to function in society.
There appeared to be no legal mechanism by which individuals could
contest their assignment to a facility for persons with disabilities.
The classification of categories of disability to children with mental
disabilities often followed them through their lives. The labels
``imbecile'' and ``idiot,'' which were assigned by a commission that
assesses children with developmental problems at the age of three and
signify that a child is uneducable, were almost always irrevocable.
Even the label ``debil'' (slightly retarded) followed an individual on
official documents, creating barriers to employment and housing after
graduation from state institutions. This designation was increasingly
challenged in the case of children with parents or individual
caregivers, but there were few advocates for the rights of
institutionalized children.
On April 28, the Moscow City Duma passed a law on the education of
persons with disabilities in Moscow, which observers believed created
some improvements in education for persons with disabilities.
The election laws contain no special provisions concerning the
accessibility of polling places, and the majority of polling places
were not accessible to persons with disabilities. However, mobile
ballot boxes were generally brought to the homes of the disabled to
allow them to vote.
In March the government adopted the State Program on Accessible
Environment for 2011-15 with a total budget of 47 billion rubles ($1.5
billion). The goal of the pilot program was to provide access to
services in healthcare, culture, transport, information and
communications, education, social protection, sports, and housing
facilities for persons with disabilities.
The mandates of government bodies charged with protecting human
rights include the protection of persons with disabilities. These
bodies carried out a number of inspections in response to complaints
from disability organizations and, in some cases, appealed to the
responsible agencies to remedy individual situations. Inspections by
the Ombudsman's Office of Homes for Children with Mental Disabilities
continued to disclose severe violations of children's rights and
substandard conditions.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on nationality. However, government officials at
times subjected minorities to discrimination. There was a steady rise
in societal violence and discrimination against minorities,
particularly Roma, persons from the Caucasus and Central Asia, dark-
skinned persons, and foreigners. The number of reported hate crimes
increased during the year, and skinhead groups and other extreme
nationalist organizations fomented racially motivated violence. Racist
propaganda remained a problem, although courts continued to convict
individuals of using propaganda to incite ethnic hatred.
According to the SOVA Center, during the year racist violence
resulted in the death of at least 20 persons, while 103 others were
injured and six received death threats. Incidents were reported in 34
regions. Violence was concentrated in the major cities: seven were
killed and 28 injured in Moscow city, four were killed and 19 injured
in the greater Moscow Oblast, and three were killed and 16 injured in
St Petersburg. The main targets of attack continued to be Central
Asians (10 killed and 24 injured); leftist and youth activists (14
injured); and natives of the Caucasus region (six killed and four
injured). There were 45 acts of neo-Nazi vandalism recorded in 20
regions during the year.
Violence against African minorities continued. On May 1, Interfax
reported that two men in a bar yelling nationalist slogans beat an
African doctoral student. The victim was taken to a hospital with
multiple injuries and traumatic brain injury. According to the Moscow
Protestant Chaplaincy's Task Force on Racial Violence and Harassment,
police in Moscow consistently failed to record the abuse of African
minorities, charge alleged attackers with any crime, or issue copies of
police reports to victims.
On September 8, the Tverskoy District Court in Moscow started
hearings against five men who were charged with inciting mass disorder,
hooliganism, and using violence against law enforcement officers in
connection with the Manezhnaya Square riots between ethnic Russians and
people from the North Caucasus in December 2010. The men continued to
be held in pretrial detention.
Skinhead violence continued to be a serious problem. Skinheads
primarily targeted foreigners, particularly Asians and individuals from
the North Caucasus, although they also expressed anti-Muslim and anti-
Semitic sentiments. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs,
neofascist movements had approximately 15,000 to 20,000 members, more
than 5,000 of whom were estimated to live in Moscow. However, the
ministry stated that if the category includes ``extremist youth
groups'' in general, the number would be closer to 200,000 countrywide.
In 2009 MBHR estimated there were as many as 70,000 skinhead and
radical nationalist organizations, compared with a few thousand in the
early 1990s. Skinhead groups were most numerous in Moscow, St.
Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Yaroslavl, and Voronezh. The three most
prominent ultranationalist group--the Great Russia Party, the Slavic
Union Movement, and the Movement against Illegal Immigration--claimed
80,000, 10,000, and 20,000 members, respectively. Membership claims by
these underground organizations were difficult to verify.
The deputy head of the FMS International and Public Relations
Directorate, Konstantin Poltoranin, made the following statement to the
BBC in April: ``What is now at stake is the survival of the white race.
We feel this in Russia. We want to make sure the mixing of blood
happens in the right way here, and not the way it has happened in
Western Europe where the results have not been good.'' Poltoranin was
fired after the comments were made public.
Human rights organizations expressed concern that Romani children
in schools experienced discrimination. According to Memorial a number
of schools refused to register Romani students on the grounds that they
lacked documents, while others segregated Romani students or placed
them in classes designed for children with learning disabilities
because of their ethnicity.
Indigenous People.--The law provides for support of indigenous
ethnic communities, permits them to create self-governing bodies, and
allows them to seek compensation if economic development threatens
their lands. Groups such as the Buryats in Siberia and ethnic groups in
the far north (including the Enver, Tafarli, Chukchi, and others)
continued to work actively to preserve and defend their cultures as
well as their right to benefit from the economic resources of their
regions. Most asserted that they received the same treatment as ethnic
Russians, although some groups claimed that they were not represented,
or were underrepresented, in regional governments.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--LGBT communities continued to
suffer from societal stigma and discrimination. Gay rights activists
asserted that the majority of LGBT persons hid their orientation due to
fear of losing their jobs or their homes, as well as the threat of
violence. Nevertheless, there were active gay communities in Moscow and
St. Petersburg. Medical practitioners reportedly continued to limit or
deny LGBT persons health services due to intolerance and prejudice.
According to recent studies, gay men faced discrimination in workplace
hiring. Openly gay men were targets of skinhead aggression, and police
often failed to respond out of indifference. Several gay rights
organizations were outspoken about discrimination encountered by LGBT
persons.
Transgender individuals faced difficulties in changing their names
and gender classifications on government documents. Although the law
allows for such changes, the government has not established a standard
procedure for doing so, and in practice many civil registry offices
denied these requests. When their documents fail to reflect their
gender accurately, transgender persons often faced discrimination in
accessing health care, education, housing, and employment.
In Moscow authorities refused to allow a gay pride parade for the
sixth consecutive year, despite an ECHR ruling that the bans violated
the rights to freedom of assembly and prohibition of discrimination.
The Web site GayRussia.eu reported that on the same day city hall
denied parade permits, it granted permission for a rally calling for
the criminalization of homosexuality. On October 1, 40 people were
arrested in Moscow during a sanctioned gay pride rally after violence
ensued between parade members and protesters. On November 23, Moscow
Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated he was against any gay pride parade.
Societal animosity toward LGBT persons remained strong. In St.
Petersburg on June 18, the People's Catholic movement and the group
Parents Standing held an antigay rally to demand that the State Duma
prohibit ``propaganda of sexual perversion.'' The city council allowed
the rally but prohibited a gay rights rally the next week. On September
29, it was reported that a new law outlawing all public displays of
homosexuality, including pride parades, went into effect in Arkhangelsk
Oblast.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The International
Foundation for Human Rights reported in April that only 33.4 percent of
homeless citizens had a Russian passport and 38.2 percent had no
documents at all. The lack of a passport prevented homeless citizens
from fully securing their legal rights and social services. For
example, almost 26 percent of the homeless who stated they had no
documents were refused medical assistance. Among the homeless who had a
Russian citizen passport, 13.5 percent were refused medical treatment.
Homeless persons faced barriers to obtaining legal documentation.
Persons with HIV/AIDS often encountered discrimination. A federal
AIDS law includes antidiscrimination provisions but frequently was not
enforced. Human Rights Watch reported that HIV-positive mothers and
their children faced discrimination in accessing health care,
employment, and education. Persons with HIV/AIDS found themselves
alienated from their families, employers, and medical service
providers. According to GayRussia.eu, the government no longer requires
HIV tests for visitors who apply for short-term tourist visas or
business visas for one year or longer as long as their total stay in
the country is not greater than three months per year.
Prisoners with HIV/AIDS were regularly abused and denied medical
treatment. On August 12, prison officials opened an investigation into
the alleged abuse of inmate's rights at the Gaaza Prison Hospital in
St. Petersburg following a BBC report in which a prisoner, Eduard
Razin, complained of his treatment. Razin, who was suffering from HIV,
hepatitis, and tuberculosis, stated that he had not received proper
treatment. After the story was released, Razin was transferred to a
prison in another province.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers the right to form and join unions, but
government policy limited its exercise in practice. By law the Federal
Registration Service must consider a union officially registered once
it has submitted the requisite documents. Labor unions are to be
independent of government bodies, employers, political parties, and
NGOs, and interference by government authorities in union activities is
prohibited.
The law establishes the right to strike and prohibits reprisals
against strikers. The law requires the provision of a minimum level of
essential services if a strike could affect the safety or health of
citizens. The labor code prohibits strikes in the military and
emergency response services. In addition it prohibits strikes in
essential public service sectors, including utilities and
transportation, or strikes that would threaten the country's defense
and safety or the life and health of its workers. Solidarity strikes
and strikes on issues related to state policies also are prohibited.
The law provides for collective bargaining, but only one collective
bargaining agreement is permitted per enterprise, and bargaining must
be carried out by a union or group of unions representing at least half
of the workforce. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination.
State agencies responsible for overseeing the observance of labor
legislation frequently failed to fulfill their responsibilities, and
violations of labor law were common. Registering unions, for example,
was often a cumbersome process. Labor experts asserted that the
documents a union must submit vary among regional offices of the
service, and the offices often find fault with the papers provided for
minor, bureaucratic reasons.
Labor activists reported that police regularly used widespread
intimidation techniques against union supporters, including detention,
extensive interrogations, and provocation of physical confrontation.
Police and prosecutors often questioned union activists based on
written orders from the regional office of the FSB. Union activists
also alleged that police pressured them to become informants.
In spite of laws defending the right to strike, the majority of
strikes were considered illegal because they violated one or more of a
complex set of procedures governing disputes. Courts may confiscate
union property to cover employers' losses in the event that a declared
strike continues after it is ruled illegal. The courts have upheld most
employers' requests to declare a strike illegal. According to the
Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, the legal preparation
for a strike takes at least 40 days.
The Federal Statistics Service registered only two legal strikes
during the year. Independent commentators, however, noted significantly
more protest actions occurred. During the first nine months of the
year, the Center for Social and Labor Rights registered a total of 194
labor protest actions, including 67 work stoppages. Data for the first
six months of the year revealed that the primary causes of labor
disputes were wage arrears (35 percent), followed by company
reorganization or closure (34 percent), low pay (29 percent), and
layoffs (16 percent), with some disputes having multiple causes.
In practice employers were slow to recognize newly formed unions.
In addition they often accepted union requests for collective
bargaining reluctantly and failed to provide union representatives with
financial reports. Some companies claimed to have financial
difficulties to avoid concluding new agreements or disregarded the
existing ones in violation of labor legislation norms.
Employers frequently engaged in reprisals for union activity,
including threats of night shifts, denial of benefits, blacklisting,
and termination. Although unions were occasionally successful in
courts, in most cases the management of companies engaged in antiunion
activities was not penalized.
In January the Labor Confederation of Russia and All-Russia
Confederation of Labor filed a joint complaint against the government
with the International Labor Organization's Freedom of Association
Committee. The complaint, later joined by leading unions, alleged
violations that took place from 2006 to 2009, including violations of
trade union rights and civil liberties, violations of workers' right to
establish organizations without prior authorization, discrimination
based on union membership and union activities, refusal by employers to
recognize newly formed unions, denial of union leaders' access to
members' workplaces, violations of the right to bargain collectively,
government interference in trade union activities, and absence of an
established system to defend trade union rights.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Men, women, and children were
subjected to conditions of forced labor, including work in the
construction industry, textile shops, and agriculture, according to the
National Foundation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and
UNICEF. Military personnel were investigated in the past for the labor
exploitation of military conscripts under their command. Guest workers
in the far eastern part of the country were subjected to conditions of
debt bondage and forced labor, including in the agricultural and
fishing sectors. Men, women, and children, including those from foreign
countries such as Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine,
and Moldova, were subjected to conditions of forced labor, including
work in the construction industry, in textile shops, and in
agriculture.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
including laws against compulsory labor; however, authorities did not
effectively implement laws and policies that would protect children.
The law prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 in
most cases and regulates the working conditions of children under the
age of 18, including prohibiting dangerous nighttime and overtime work.
The law permits children, under certain conditions and with the
approval of a parent or guardian, to work at the age of 14. Such work
must not threaten the child's health or welfare.
The Federal Labor and Employment Service (RosTrud) is responsible
for inspecting enterprises and organizations to identify violations of
labor and occupational health standards for minors. Local police only
investigated in response to complaints. RosTrud reported 5,100 child
labor violations in 2010. The most common violations included the
absence of an obligatory medical check, absence of written labor
agreements, involvement of minors in harmful and/or unsafe work
environment, and excessive hours.
In urban areas the employment of children occurred primarily in the
informal sector--retail services, selling goods on the street, washing
cars, and making deliveries. In rural areas children worked in
agriculture.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--As of June 1, the legal minimum
wage was 4,611 rubles (approximately $143) per month. The subsistence
minimum set by the government was 6,505 rubles ($202) per month in the
second quarter of the year. According to the Federal Statistics
Service, in the first half of the year, 14.9 percent of the population
had incomes below the subsistence minimum, compared with 13.5 percent
in the first half of 2010.
The labor code contains provisions for standard work hours,
overtime, and annual leave. The standard workweek cannot exceed 40
hours. Employers are not permitted to request overtime work from
pregnant women, workers under age 18, and other categories of employees
specified by federal laws. Standard annual paid leave is 28 calendar
days. Additional annual paid leave is granted to employees involved in
work with harmful and/or dangerous labor conditions and to employees
working in the Far North regions. Organizations have discretion to
grant additional leave to employees.
The law establishes minimum conditions for workplace safety and
worker health. The law gives workers the right to remove themselves
from hazardous or life-threatening work situations without jeopardizing
their continued employment.
RosTrud has approximately 1,700 labor safety inspectors working
across the country. In 2010 RosTrud organized 182,700 labor inspections
(including 89,000 inspections related to occupational safety).
Inspections revealed a total of 992,400 labor violations (including
665,700 violations of occupational safety). RosTrud reported 9,500
violations of women's labor regulations in 2010. Most common were labor
violations involving pregnant women and women with children under the
age of three.
RosTrud reported that occupational incidents caused 3,244 deaths in
2010, including those of 244 women and three minors. The most unsafe
sectors were construction and manufacturing (680 and 550 deaths,
respectively). In many cases factory workers did not have adequate
protective equipment and clothing, enterprises stored hazardous
materials in open areas, emergency exits were locked, and smoking was
permitted near flammable substances. Many companies employing workers
in hazardous conditions awarded bonuses based on worker productivity,
which could encourage workers to jeopardize their safety for higher
salaries.
The law entitles foreigners working legally in the country to the
same rights and protections as citizens. However, Human Rights Watch
noted in a 2009 report that many employers in the construction sector,
in which migrant laborers often worked, did not respect safety
standards or provide migrant workers with mandatory insurance or
medical treatment, with many workers returning home without getting
paid for the work done.
Press reports during the year cited multiple claims by workers of
poor housing and nutrition as well as 13-hour workdays on construction
sites associated with the 2012 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum
(APEC) summit in Vladivostok. In particular, in May almost 300 Turkish
workers on Russkiy Island held a strike demanding payment of their
delayed wages, while in July, 150 Uzbek workers struck to demand wages
that had been delayed for three months. Poor working conditions and
failure to respect labor code and labor safety rules were common on
APEC-2012 construction sites in Vladivostok.
__________
SAN MARINO
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of San Marino is a multiparty democracy. The popularly
elected unicameral Great and General Council (parliament) selects two
of its members to serve as captains regent (co-chiefs of state). They
preside over meetings of the council and the Congress of State
(cabinet), which has no more than 10 other members (secretaries of
state) selected by the council. Parliamentary elections, last held in
2008, were considered free and fair. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
There were no widespread or systemic human rights abuses.
The government took steps to prosecute officials accused of abuses,
and impunity was not a problem. There were some reports of violence
against women, and government health and safety standards were not
enforced in the informal labor sector.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers. The
country does not have an ombudsman for detained persons.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance practices. During the year prisoners and
detainees did not submit any complaints concerning treatment or
conditions to officials. The government monitored prison conditions,
and there were no media reports criticizing prison authorities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the civil police, the Gendarmerie,
and the National Guard, and the government had effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of
impunity involving the security forces during the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Suspects were
apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence and
issued by a duly authorized official. The law provides a detainee with
the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of the
detention, and the authorities generally respected this right in
practice. Detainees were promptly informed of charges against them.
There is a well-functioning bail system. Detainees are allowed prompt
access to family members and to a lawyer of their choice; the state
provides legal assistance to indigent persons.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials are
public and are presided over by a single judge. There are no provisions
for a jury trial. Defendants have the right to be present and to
consult with an attorney even during preliminary investigations.
Indigent defendants have the right to an attorney provided at public
expense. Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. They have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. They enjoy a
presumption of innocence and have the right to two levels of appeal.
In case of legal actions against military personnel, a civil judge
is temporarily given a military grade and assigned to an ad hoc
military tribunal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Judges act independently
and impartially on civil matters, and administrative as well as
judicial remedies exist for alleged wrongs, including human rights
violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech, including for members
of the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and of the press.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for these rights, and the government generally respected them in
practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State'sInternational
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government was committed to cooperating with the Office
of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--While the law does not
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, the government
has a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice, the
government provided protection against the expulsion or return of
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
The government may grant refugee status or asylum by an act of the
cabinet. There were no requests for asylum during the year.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliamentary elections, held in 2008, were considered generally free
and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Nine women were elected to
the Great and General Council in the 2008 elections, and two women were
in the 10-member Congress of State, including the head of government
(secretary of state for foreign affairs). There were no members of
minorities in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, there were no reports of corruption by public officials during
the year. Public officials are subject to financial disclosure
requirements.
The law provides for public access to government information, and
the government provided access for citizens and noncitizens through the
Great and General Council's Web site.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
There were no domestic human rights organizations, although the
government did not restrict their formation. The government declared
itself open to investigations by international nongovernmental
organizations of alleged human rights abuses; there were no known
complaints or requests for investigations during the year.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government effectively enforced it.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a criminal offense, and the government effectively prosecuted
persons accused of such crimes. The penalty for rape is two to six
years' imprisonment. In the case of aggravating circumstances, the
penalty is four to 10 years' imprisonment. There were no persons
prosecuted or convicted for rape during the year.
The law prohibits violence against women, and the government
effectively enforced it. The penalty for spousal abuse is two to six
years' imprisonment. In the case of aggravating circumstances, the
penalty is four to 10 years' imprisonment. There was one pending case
of violence against women as of December.
Sexual Harassment.--The government effectively enforced the law
prohibiting sexual harassment. There were no reports of sexual
harassment during the year.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had the
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and
violence. Access to information on contraception and skilled attendance
at delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. Women and men
had equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same rights as men, including
rights under family law, property law, and in the judicial system.
There were no reports of economic discrimination against women in pay,
employment, or working conditions.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parent (either mother or father) and by birth within the country's
territory if both parents are unknown or stateless. Births must be
registered within 10 days, and there were no reports of cases resulting
in the denial of public services, such as education or health care.
Child Abuse.--Violence against or abuse of children was uncommon.
According to government sources, there was one pending case of violence
against minors.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age of consent for
sex is 18 years, and the penalty for sexual acts with a minor is
imprisonment for a period of six months to three years. The penalty
increases to a period of two to six years if the child is under 14
years of age or is under the age of 18 and has physical or mental
disabilities. The law prohibits child pornography, including
performances, works, and material, and provides for punishment of
anyone trading in or providing or in any way distributing child
pornography material. The law punishes anyone who provides information
aimed at enticing or sexually exploiting children under the age of 18.
The penalty for this type of crime is imprisonment for a period of from
two to six years, which is increased to four to 10 years if it involves
sexual intercourse or if it has been committed to the detriment of a
child under 14 years of age or a child under the age of 18 who has
physical or mental disabilities.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was believed to be small; a
precise estimate of its size was not available. There were no reports
of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--In 2010 there were no confirmed reports
that persons were trafficked to, from, or within the country.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, and in the provision of other state services, and the
government effectively enforced these provisions. There were no reports
of societal discrimination against persons with disabilities. The
Ministry for Territory has not fully implemented a law that mandates
easier access to public buildings by persons with disabilities, and
many buildings were inaccessible.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were no reports of
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers (except those in the Gendarmerie
and National Guard) to form and join independent unions, conduct legal
strikes, and bargain collectively. The law sets the conditions to
establish labor unions. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and
provides for reinstatement for workers fired for union activity. The
government effectively enforced applicable laws without lengthy delays
and appeals.
The government respected freedom of association and the right to
collective bargaining. Worker organizations were independent of the
government and political parties. During the year there were no
instances of government interference in union activities, including
targeted dissolving of unions and use of excessive force to end strikes
or protests. During the year there were no reports of antiunion
discrimination.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the government effectively
enforced such laws. During the year there were no reports of forced
labor.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace.
The minimum age for employment is 16. The law does not limit
children between the ages of 16 and 18 from any type of legal work
activity. The government effectively enforced child labor laws and
devoted adequate resources and oversight to child labor policies.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage is
8.80 euros ($11.44) per hour. There is no official figure for poverty
income level. However, individuals with annual incomes below 8,500
euros ($11,050) can apply for a state contribution which varies
depending on the level of poverty. On average, less than 2 percent of
the adult population applies for this contribution every year and the
average amount disbursed by the government is 1,350 euros ($1,755).
The law sets the workweek at 36 hours in the public sector and 37.5
hours for industry and private businesses, with 24 consecutive hours of
rest per week mandated for workers in both categories. The law requires
a premium payment for overtime and allows a maximum of two hours of
overtime per day. The law prohibits excessive or compulsory overtime.
The government set safety and health standards.
The Labor Inspections Office has seven inspectors and conducts an
estimated 5,000 inspections per year, concentrating on hazardous
sectors of the approximately 6,000 active companies. Labor standards
were generally well enforced, but there were a few exceptions
especially in the construction industry, where some employers did not
consistently abide by safety regulations, such as work hour limitations
and use of personal safety devices. The penalties provided by law were
generally sufficient to deter violations.
Working conditions generally reflect Western European standards in
all industrial sectors. The construction industry sometimes did not
comply with minimum safety requirements or the law. In January there
was one on-the-job fatality on the premises of a large company
producing ceramic tiles.
__________
SERBIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Republic of Serbia is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy.
Boris Tadic was reelected president in February 2008. In May 2008
voters elected a new parliament in which some minority ethnic parties
won seats. Observers considered both elections to be mostly in line
with international standards. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
The most serious human rights problems during the year included:
discrimination and societal violence against minorities; corruption in
healthcare, education, and multiple branches of government, including
the police; and an inefficient judicial system which resulted in
lengthy and delayed trials, as well as long periods of pretrial
detention.
Other reported abuses included: physical mistreatment of detainees
by police; harassment of journalists, human rights advocates, and
others critical of the government; lack of durable solutions for large
numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs); societal and domestic
violence against women and children; and trafficking in persons.
The government generally took steps to prosecute officials, both in
the police and elsewhere in the government, when abuses were made
public. Nevertheless, many observers believed that there were numerous
cases of corruption, police mistreatment, and other abuses that went
unreported and unpunished.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The special war crimes chamber of the Belgrade District Court
continued to try cases arising from crimes committed during the 1991-99
conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and two cases from World War II.
On January 21, nine ethnic Albanian members of the so-called
Gnjilane group of the Kosovo Liberation Army were convicted of war
crimes against civilians and sentenced to a total of 101 years in
prison. In 2009, the war crimes prosecutor had filed an indictment
charging them with rape and crimes related to the deaths of at least 80
Serbs, Roma, and Albanians in the region near Gnjilane, Kosovo, in
1999. Eight other Gnjilane group indictees remained at large at year's
end.
During the year authorities arrested Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic,
who were sought by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) in connection with crimes they allegedly committed
during the 1991-95 conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia, and transferred
them to The Hague (see section 5).
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
there were 13,538 people still missing at year's end from regional
conflicts during the 1990s in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and
Kosovo.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, police
at times beat detainees and harassed persons, usually during arrest or
initial detention for petty crimes.
In June a video surfaced on the Internet showing police beating
Danijel Stojanovic, a Romani youth, in a police station in Vrsac in
2007. Authorities arrested two police officers, Aleksandar Adamov and
Bojan Bisercic, and charged them with abuse and torture.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
greatly between facilities. Prison overcrowding remained a problem.
More than 11,000 inmates were held in prisons that had a capacity of
7,000. Sanitation varied between and within facilities but was
generally poor. Higher-security ``closed'' wards sometimes lacked
natural light and proper ventilation. One prison lacked dining
facilities, so inmates ate in their cells, resulting in unsanitary
conditions. There were no reports of prisoners lacking access to
potable water.
In some prisons, inmates continued to complain of dirty and
inhumane conditions. The quality of food varied from poor to minimally
acceptable, and health care was often inadequate.
Women made up approximately 3 percent of the prison population, and
juveniles made up 1 percent. While there was no evidence of mixing male
and female populations, youth and adult populations lacked proper
separation at the juvenile reformatory in Valjevo, and there were
sporadic reports of mixing youth and adults elsewhere, although this
was against the law. There were no reports of different treatment for
women or of gender-based violence.
There was no new evidence of abuse by prison guards, although
statistics on injuries were not well-kept and there was no uniform
system of recordkeeping. Guards were poorly trained in the proper
handling of prisoners. In July the prominent nongovernmental
organization (NGO) the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
(HCS) released a report, in stated that of the 300 prisoners it
interviewed, more than 200 reported some form of prison abuse. There is
an Office of Deputy Ombudsman for the Protection of Persons Deprived of
Liberty that deals with prisoner complaints and problems.
Permission for religious observance varied among facilities. The
Valjevo facility prepared special meals for Muslims and Orthodox
Christians and allowed them to fast in accordance with their faiths.
Prisons sometimes segregated minorities, particularly Roma.
The government permitted the ICRC; the Council of Europe's
Committee for the Prevention of Torture; and local independent human
rights monitors, including the HCS, to visit prisons and speak with
prisoners without the presence of a warden. The ombudsman has the right
to visit prisoners and make recommendations concerning prison
conditions. There were no complaints of censorship of prisoners'
communication with such entities.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country's
approximately 43,000 police officers are under the authority of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police are divided into four main
departments that supervise 27 regional secretariats (and a Coordination
Department for Kosovo and Metohija) reporting to the national
government.
The effectiveness of the police force varied. While most officers
were Serbs, the force included Bosniaks (Slavic Muslims), ethnic
Hungarians, ethnic Montenegrins, a small number of ethnic Albanians,
and other minorities.
There was a widespread belief among citizens that impunity was a
problem among police. However, informed observers and experts from
civil society noted that the quality of police internal investigations
seemed to be improving. The police internal control unit had 21
investigators who examined complaints against officers. The government
generally did not provide training to the police on corruption or human
rights problems, but it facilitated training on these issues from
various international actors and NGOs.
During the year there were reports that police failed to respond to
societal attacks against minority groups (see section 6, National/
Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests
generally were based on warrants, although police were authorized to
make warrantless arrests in limited circumstances, including well-
founded suspicion of a capital crime. The law requires an investigating
judge to approve any detention lasting longer than 48 hours, and
authorities respected this requirement in practice. Bail was allowed
but rarely used; detainees facing charges that carried possible
sentences of less than five years were often released on personal
recognizance.
The constitution provides that police must inform arrested persons
immediately of their rights, and authorities respected this requirement
in practice.
The law provides access for detainees to counsel, at government
expense if necessary, and authorities often respected this right in
practice. Family members were normally allowed to visit detainees.
Suspects detained in connection with serious crimes can be held for up
to six months without being charged. The law prohibits excessive delays
by authorities in filing formal charges against suspects and in opening
investigations; however, such delays occurred regularly. Due to
administrative backlogs, authorities frequently held such persons for
the full six-month period allowed before charging them.
The law prohibits police use of force, threats, deception, and
coercion to obtain evidence, and such evidence is not permissible in
court. However, police sometimes used these means to obtain statements.
The law limits the length of pretrial detention from indictment to
the conclusion of a trial to two years for most cases, but allows
detention for up to four years for crimes that carry up to the maximum
penalty (40 years in prison). The law sets two years as the maximum
detention permitted after an appellate court vacates the judgment of a
trial court. Nonetheless, prolonged pretrial detention was a problem.
Due to inefficient court procedures, some of which were required by
law, cases often took extended periods to come to trial. Once begun,
trials often took a long time to complete. At the end of the year,
approximately 27 percent of the more than 11,000 inmates in prison were
in pretrial detention, or had only been sentenced by a first instance
court and were awaiting appeal. There were no reports of cases in which
pretrial detention exceeded the maximum sentence for the crime.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, the courts remained susceptible to
corruption and political influence.
Judges and prosecutors, particularly those handling organized crime
and war crimes, continued to receive death threats. A deputy war crimes
prosecutor reportedly received specific threats during the year. Others
in the War Crimes Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Justice
required full-time police protection.
The courts were inefficient. Although the system of recordkeeping
made it difficult to assess accurately case backlogs or court
efficiency nationwide, some cases took years to be resolved.
Causes of delay and backlog in the courts included an insufficient
number of judges in the main courts, failure of postal workers to serve
subpoenas and other court documents, failure of police to execute
arrest warrants, failure of prisons to bring prisoners to court for
scheduled hearings, issuing indictments or scheduling hearings without
complete and thorough investigations, excessive continuances of court
hearings, a lack of professional court administration, and failure to
invest in professional personnel and modern infrastructure. In many
cases, burdensome procedures required by the law also contributed to
delays.
Due to criticism of the 2009 judicial reform process, the new High
Court Council began reexamining cases in June of each judge who had not
been reappointed under the new system. Deputy Prime Minister for
European Integration Bozidar Djelic announced on November 15 that
approximately one third of these cases had led to judges being
reappointed despite a previous denial. The process continued at year's
end.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial. Trials are usually public, but they can be closed if the
trial judge determines it is warranted for the protection of morale,
public order, national security, interest of a minor, privacy of a
participant or during testimony of a state-protected witness. There are
no juries. The law stipulates that defendants are presumed innocent,
have the right to have an attorney represent them at public expense,
and have the right to be present at their trials. Defendants have the
right to access government evidence and to question witnesses. Both the
defense and the prosecution have the right to appeal a verdict. The
government generally respected these rights in practice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) issued judgments that found five
violations by the state of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Most of the cases involved procedural delays and length of court
proceedings. The majority of cases settled out of court also dealt with
judicial delays. The government generally paid the compensations
ordered by the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution
establishes an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters,
and citizens can bring lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of a
human rights violation. Remedies usually involved monetary awards.
Individuals could appeal cases involving alleged violations of human
rights by the state to the ECHR once all avenues for appeal in domestic
courts were exhausted.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, the
government interfered with privacy and correspondence. While the law
requires the Ministry of Internal Affairs to obtain a court order
before monitoring potential criminal activity and police to obtain a
warrant before entering property except to save persons or possessions,
police occasionally failed to respect these laws.
Most observers believed authorities selectively monitored
communications, eavesdropped on conversations, and read mail and e-
mail. Human rights leaders also believed that their communications were
monitored.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press.
However, the constitution specifically allows restrictions on speech
``to protect rights and reputation of others, to uphold the authority
and objectivity of the court and to protect public health, morals of a
democratic society and national security of the Republic of Serbia.''
There were sporadic reports of government interference with freedom of
speech and press, mostly at the municipal level and by National
Minority Councils.
On April 20, the Ministry of Culture, Media, and Information
Society signed a protocol with heads of major media associations to
establish an independent working group tasked with drafting a media
strategy aimed at improving independence and sustainability. The new
strategy was adopted on September 28. Local journalists and
international observers complained, however, that no action had been
taken to implement the strategy by year's end.
Freedom of Press.--Independent media organizations were generally
active and expressed a wide range of views. However, some media
organizations experienced threats or reprisals for publishing views
critical of the government. Most print and broadcast media were
independent and privately owned, although the state maintained
extensive media resources, and privatization of municipally owned media
was not yet completed. Some newspapers did not make their ownership
public, leading observers to question their independence. Radio-
Television Serbia (RTS), a public media outlet funded by mandatory
subscription, was a major presence, operating two television channels
as well as Radio Belgrade. RTS's coverage was usually objective,
although the government had considerable influence over RTS and public
service Radio Television of Vojvodina. In addition, many television
stations relied on the state-owned agency Tanjug for news. The
independent news agencies BETA and FONET complained that state
financing gave Tanjug an unfair commercial advantage.
Parliament approves the budget of the independent Republic
Broadcast Agency (RBA), which has broad authority to revoke radio and
television station licenses without the right of appeal. The RBA did
not revoke any national broadcasting licenses during the year.
Binding RBA instructions required RTS to broadcast parliamentary
sessions live, despite RTS's complaints that it suffered financial and
advertising losses as a result. The RTS managing board stated that the
order directly interfered with its editorial policy. Parliament
occasionally cancelled or postponed its sessions when RTS was not able
to broadcast parliamentary sessions due to conflicting contractual
commitments.
Violence and Harassment.--During the year some reporters and media
organizations were victims of vandalism, intimidation, and physical
attacks for coverage and portrayal of views unpopular with the
government and right-wing elements of society, such as the capture and
extradition of war crimes fugitives.
On November 3, a court of appeals sentenced Daniel Zuza and Milos
Mladenovic to one year's imprisonment for the July 2010 attack on
Teofil Pancic, a prominent journalist. Zuza and Mladenovic had
previously been sentenced to only three months in prison, despite a
legally mandated minimum sentence time of six months.
Some prominent journalists, such as Branka ``Brankica'' Stankovic
remained under 24-hour police protection due to threats by extremist
groups.
Police investigations and judicial processes involving assaults on
journalists were often long and inefficient.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet, e-mail, or Internet chat rooms. However, as in
previous years, there were some isolated reports that the government
monitored e-mail. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Criticism of the 2010 Law on Electronic Communication continued.
Under the law, telecommunications operators are obliged to retain for
one year data about the source and destination of a communication; the
beginning, duration, and end of a communication; type of communication;
terminal equipment identification; and location of the customer's
mobile terminal equipment. This retained data can be accessed by
intelligence agencies without court permission. A court order is
required to access the contents of these communications.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. The government did not
allow the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community to
hold a pride parade on October 2, citing security concerns.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Laws and policies seek to
protect IDPs in accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement, but implementation fell short in some areas. According to
official statistics of the Serbian Commissariat for Refugees (SCR),
210,148 displaced persons from Kosovo resided in the country, mainly
Serbs, Montenegrins, Roma, Egyptian, Ashkali (an Albanian-speaking
ethnic group considered by outsiders as similar to Roma but self-
identifying as a separate group with cultural distinctions from Roma),
Gorani, and Bosniaks who left Kosovo as a result of the 1998-99
conflict. Domestic law states that the government should provide all
displaced persons from the conflict who wanted to register as IDPs with
an IDP card enabling them to have access to basic government services.
In practice, according to a 2010 report by the Internal Displacement
Monitoring Center, ``[b]ureaucratic complexities and inconsistencies
make it very difficult for IDPs to obtain civil documents.''
The law requires all residents of the country to record changes of
residency. Without an authorized local address in the country,
displaced persons were ineligible for health insurance, social welfare,
and public schooling. In order to meet the address change requirement
and deregister from their original addresses, displaced persons were
required to travel to relocated Kosovo civil registries that are
currently scattered throughout Serbia. Mostly Roma, Ashkali, and
Egyptians who fled Kosovo but were never registered there, or who lived
in illegal Romani settlements in Serbia, found it difficult or
impossible to register residency in Serbia.
Many displaced persons (mostly Roma, Ashkali, and Egyptians) did
not have access to government services due to a lack of identification
documents, which can be difficult to acquire if adequate paperwork was
not filed at birth or if the registry books were lost during the
conflict. The government allowed displaced persons access to assistance
from NGOs and international organizations to obtain the documents and
complete subsequent birth registration.
According to the UNHCR, after the introduction of biometric
passports for Serbian citizens and the abolishing of the visa
requirement for travel to EU countries, several displaced persons of
Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian ethnicity were arbitrarily prevented from
deregistering their Kosovo address and reregistering at a new address
in Serbia.
As of the end of August, according to the SCR, 2,362 displaced
persons from Kosovo remained in 29 official collective centers in
Serbia. Persons not in collective centers were generally settled in
private accommodation. Although the government continued to close
collective centers, many displaced persons remained in minimally
habitable facilities originally constructed for temporary accommodation
rather than long-term occupancy.
There were approximately 22,000 officially registered Romani
displaced persons in the country. However, the UNHCR estimated that
40,000 to 45,000 displaced Roma lived in the country, many of whom
presumably lacked personal documents necessary to register their
status. While some displaced Roma lived in government-supported
collective centers, living conditions for Roma (both local and
displaced) were generally extremely poor. Local municipalities often
were reluctant to accommodate them. If Roma did stay, they often lived
near major cities or towns in unauthorized, isolated, informal
settlements without electricity, water, sanitation, or other public
services.
While government officials continued to state publicly that
displaced persons from Kosovo should return to Kosovo, senior
government officials also claimed that it was unsafe for many to do so.
Many Roma believed that they would be at risk if they returned and
claimed that Kosovo Albanians and the government assumed that many Roma
displaced from Kosovo were Serb collaborators during the Kosovo
conflict. Approximately 710 individuals who had been living in
displacement centers in Serbia returned to Kosovo during the year, of
which 265 were ethnic Serb IDPs. Because fewer than 10 percent of those
displaced from Kosovo have achieved a sustainable return since 1999,
Serbian authorities began to implement the 2010 National Strategy for
Sustainable Return and Subsistence by supporting permanent integration
of displaced persons into local Serb communities on a limited basis,
according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. During the
reporting period, this support came primarily in the form of the
provision of durable housing solutions.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. Serbia was a
transit country that received a mixed flow of migration toward Western
Europe. The majority of registered asylum seekers disappeared before an
initial decision was made on their applications and sometimes before
interviews were conducted. According to the UNHCR, one of the reasons
for these disappearances was a lengthy government procedure for
deciding applications.
There were no positive refugee status determinations made since the
government undertook full responsibility for such determinations in
2008. The SCR ran two asylum centers (one of which opened in June and
had a total capacity of 235 persons). At the end of August, the centers
hosted a total of 212 asylum seekers.
Employment.--Asylum seekers did not have the right to employment
until recognized as refugees through the country's refugee status
determination process.
Access to Basic Services.--Asylum seekers had freedom of movement
in the country after establishing their identity and filing an
application for asylum and were eligible for public assistance,
including accommodation and food. The Ministry of Health provided basic
health services and treatment, but levels of care varied greatly
between the asylum centers. The UNHCR assisted with the provision of
additional care, medicine, and legal aid.
Durable Solutions.--During the year the SCR provided limited
assistance in construction kits and income generation grants to secure
durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons. According to
official SCR statistics, 56,423 refugees from Croatia and 17,982 from
Bosnia and Herzegovina resided in the country, while the government
estimated there were approximately 200,000 to 400,000 former refugees
who were naturalized but not socially and economically integrated into
the country. Approximately 631 refugees lived in collective centers
throughout the country.
In November, the government hosted a ministerial conference with
representatives from Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to
sign a Joint Declaration pledging to work with the international
community to ensure durable solutions for vulnerable refugees and
internally displaced persons.
Temporary Protection.--The government also provided temporary
protection (refugee status on a prima facie basis) to individuals from
former Yugoslav republics who may not qualify as refugees. The refugee
status of individuals from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
continued to be regulated under the 1992 Decree on Refugees.
Stateless Persons.--The law states that citizenship is derived from
one's parents. According to the local UNHCR office, 146 stateless
persons were granted permanent residence in the country during the
year. The UNHCR also reported that 6.8 percent of the total Romani
population was at risk of de facto statelessness due to existing
legislative gaps in the process of civil registration and lack of
documentation. Several factors--lack of information, administrative
fees, cumbersome and lengthy procedures, difficulty of obtaining
documents, the lack of an official recognized residence, and sometimes
the need to go to court to prove origin and identity--prevented
effective enjoyment of citizenship rights for these people. These
problems disproportionately affected the Romani, Ashkali, and Egyptian
communities that were displaced from Kosovo.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
country held two rounds of presidential elections in January and
February 2008 and parliamentary elections in May 2008, resulting in the
creation of a pro-EU government. The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and other election observers, including
domestic organizations, judged the elections to have been mostly free
and fair.
Political Parties.--Political parties mostly operated without
restrictions or outside interference. However, in its final report on
the May 2008 parliamentary elections, the OSCE Limited Election
Observation Mission noted that some aspects of the campaign went beyond
the acceptable limits for a democratic society, in particular the
reported death threats to senior officials. The mission reported the
display of a large number of posters in Belgrade that could be
interpreted as advocating the assassination of top state officials.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 56 women in the
250-seat parliament. The speaker and three of six parliamentary vice
presidents were women. There were three women in the 21-member cabinet.
The election law requires that each party's list of candidates for
parliament to include at least 30 percent women. Political parties
participating in the 2008 elections observed this provision.
The law exempts ethnically based parties from the 5 percent of the
vote threshold required for a political party to enter parliament.
Seven members of national minorities, including ethnic Hungarians,
Bosniaks, and Albanians, were elected to parliament. There were two
Bosniaks in the 21-member cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There
was a widespread public perception of government corruption at all
levels. According to the Anticorruption Agency and Transparency Serbia,
a prominent NGO, corruption was a widespread, systemic phenomenon.
The Anticorruption Agency continued to operate independently. On
July 8, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provision of the
Anticorruption Agency Law that allowed for officials to simultaneously
hold two public offices was unconstitutional.
On September 20, Svetlana Vukajlovic, the former director general
for the Republic Institute for Health Insurance, was arrested, as were
the heads of two prominent companies, Vladimir Gravar and Ljubomir
Pavlicevic, following an investigation into the purchase of H1N1 flu
vaccine in 2009. Several individuals, including then health minister
Tomica Milosavljevic, were also questioned during the investigation.
Miljko Radisavljevic, the organized crime prosecutor in charge of the
case, announced that the state had lost more than 1.27 million euros
(approximately $1.65 million) in the purchase.
On January 28, B92 TV launched a series of investigative reports
outlining allegations of mismanagement and financial abuses at the
state-owned Kolubara coal mining complex during 2004-08. The
investigation centered on the company's renting heavy equipment for use
by the mine in sometimes dubious deals at a cost of more than 100
million euros ($130 million). Investigators also questioned the
propriety of the mine supplying coal at below-market prices through
private intermediaries to other state-owned enterprises, leading to
private profits at the apparent expense of the public. Police opened an
investigation in mid-February, which continued at year's end.
On September 2, Interior Minister Ivica Dacic stated that there
were 2,479 incidents reported in the first seven months of the year
that included some element of official corruption. According to Dacic,
authorities uncovered corruption in a wide range of sectors. More than
100 members of the Interior Ministry were arrested for various forms of
corruption, including facilitating smuggling through the border with
Kosovo.
The government has not fully implemented the access to information
law and generally did not provide access to government information in
practice. The law provides for public access to information of
``legitimate public importance'' (with many exceptions) and establishes
an independent commissioner for information of public importance,
selected by parliament, to handle appeals when government agencies
reject requests for information.
On June 8, Rodoljub Sabic, the commissioner for information of
public importance and protection of personal data, stated that the
large number of cases his office received confirmed that there were
serious problems in achieving citizens' rights as provided by the
constitution and laws. Sabic added that it was especially worrisome
that the largest number of complaints to the commissioner involved
difficulties obtaining access to information on the management of
public funds and public property.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of independent domestic and international human rights
groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating
and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government
officials generally cooperated with and responded to their groups.
However, these groups were often subjected to criticism, harassment,
and threats by nongovernmental actors for expressing views critical of
the government or contrary to nationalist views regarding Kosovo, the
ICTY, and the wars of the 1990s. One group dedicated to LGBT rights,
for example, claimed that they received a steady stream of threats
through social media and e-mail that only subsided during the two weeks
before the cancelled LGBT pride parade, a decline the organization
attributed to fear of arrests immediately before the event.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--On May 26, authorities
arrested Ratko Mladic on charges of genocide and war crimes committed
during the 1992-95 Bosnian war. On May 31, Mladic was transferred to
ICTY custody in The Hague.
On July 20, Serbian authorities arrested Goran Hadzic, the last
remaining indictee wanted by the ICTY for crimes against humanity.
Hadzic was indicted for crimes he allegedly committed during the 1991-
95 war in Croatia. On July 22, Hadzic was transferred to ICTY custody.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Office of the National
Ombudsman continued to operate without government or party
interference. According to Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic, even though the
national legal framework was in line with the international standards
on human rights, there was a lack of will to implement relevant laws in
practice. Jankovic's office reported that the state recognized the
importance of cooperation with the ombudsman, but cooperation was
nonetheless unsatisfactory. Jankovic reported that only a quarter of
citizen complaints were justified.
The ombudsman issued an annual report on his activities and special
reports on issues of concern. Vojvodina Province had its own ombudsman,
who operated independently during the year. The national ombudsman
continued to operate branch offices in two municipalities with majority
Albanian populations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government made efforts
to enforce these prohibitions effectively. However, discrimination
against women, LGBT persons, and ethnic minorities; trafficking in
persons; and violence against women and children were problems.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is punishable by up to 40 years in prison. Advocates believed that only
a small percentage of rape victims reported their attacks due to fear
of reprisals from their attackers or humiliation in court. Few spousal
rape victims filed complaints with authorities. Women's groups believed
that sentences were often too lenient in practice.
On April 1, the government adopted a National Strategy to Prevent
Family and Partner Violence against Women. Some NGOs, notably the
Autonomous Women's Center (AWC), criticized the strategy, which had
been drafted initially without adequate consultation with stakeholders.
Following complaints by the AWC and others, a working group was founded
to develop a new strategy with full participation of women's
organizations. On April 21, the AWC and European Women's Lobby Network
launched an initiative to establish a Monitoring Center for Violence
against Women, an independent expert body that would monitor gender-
based violence.
Violence against women was a problem. While high levels of domestic
violence were generally acknowledged, there were no reliable statistics
on the extent of the problem. On July 29, Snezana Lakicevic, a state
secretary in the Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, warned that
violence against women was on the rise. According to Lakicevic, from
January through June, 29 women were killed in instances of family or
gender-based violence. Women were 5.5 times more likely to be victims
of violence than men. More than half of women were subject to
psychological, physical, sexual, or other forms of violence at some
point in their lifetime.
Domestic violence is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.
The law provides women the right to obtain a restraining order against
abusers. Such cases were difficult to prosecute due to the lack of
witnesses and evidence, and the unwillingness of witnesses or victims
to testify. The few official agencies dedicated to coping with family
violence had inadequate resources. Civil society played the primary
role in combating violence against women. NGOs operated shelters for
female victims of violence, and the government continued to provide
financial support to safe houses for victims of family violence
throughout the country. Several new safe houses for women were opened
during the year, including the first regional safe houses in Nis,
Smederevo, and Sombor.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was a common problem. The law
provides that sexual harassment is a crime punishable by up to six
months' imprisonment for a case that does not involve abuse or a power
relationship, and up to one year's imprisonment for abuse of a
subordinate or dependent. Public awareness remained low, and few
complaints were filed during the year.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health
clinics and local health NGOs were permitted to operate freely in
disseminating information on family planning under the guidance of the
Ministry of Health. There is a National Center for Family Planning and
local health centers frequently also had family planning centers. There
are no restrictions on the right to access contraceptives. According to
the U.N. Population Fund, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate
among women age 15-49 was 19 percent. The government provided free
childbirth services. Women used nurses and midwives for prenatal and
postnatal care unless the mother or child suffered more serious health
complications. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and
treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men, including
under family law, property law, and in the judicial system. These
rights were generally protected in practice. During the year the
government's Council for Gender Equality, the parliamentary Committee
for Gender Equality, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's
Directorate for Gender Equality, gender equality mechanisms and
institutions in Vojvodina, local committees for gender equality, and
the deputy ombudsman worked with NGOs to raise public awareness of
gender equality problems. The law on gender equality guarantees equal
opportunities and treatment for men and women in employment and
requires state bodies to ensure that the less-represented gender occupy
at least 30 percent of the positions in each organizational unit,
including management. Both the ombudsman and the commissioner for
equality believed that women remained underrepresented in numerous
sectors of public and economic life. Romani women often noted that they
faced double discrimination on account of their gender and ethnicity.
Traditional views of gender roles, particularly in rural areas,
resulted in discrimination against women. In remote rural areas,
particularly among some minority communities, women could not
effectively exercise their right to control property. School textbooks
sometimes offered stereotypical view of women and gender roles.
The social status of women was generally considered inferior to
that of men, and women were not well represented in the business world.
Women over 50 reported more difficulty finding work than men of a
similar age, and more women than men became unemployed as a consequence
of the economic crisis. While maternity leave is provided for by law,
there were reports that private companies did not always meet legal
obligations. NGOs reported that women without children experienced
discrimination during the hiring process because employers feared they
would take maternity leave in the future.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. The law on birth records regulates universal birth
registration, but according to UNICEF, 5 percent of Romani children are
not registered at birth. Subsequent birth registration remains
unregulated. Children who are not registered do not have access to
public services such as health care.
Education.--Education was free through secondary school but
compulsory only through primary school. Cultural norms, ethnic
discrimination, and economic hardship discouraged some children from
attending school.
Child Abuse.--According to the government's Council for Rights of
the Child, approximately 65 percent of school children suffered
punishment and physical violence. Children were often victims of family
violence, and peer violence among children was on the rise. Girls were
victims of sexual violence. The NGO Incest Trauma Center reported that
only 10 percent of cases of child sexual abuse were reported to
authorities and that, of those, only 3 percent resulted in prosecution
and punishment. According to available data, child abuse, including
sexual violence, was on the rise. Children in the country were exposed
to verbal or physical abuse on a daily basis, and many children were
exposed to alcohol, drugs, and violence. On June 30, the country became
the beneficiary of a joint EU and UNICEF initiative which aimed to
strengthen institutions and services tasked with identifying and
combating violence against children. On June 30, the government
launched a national campaign to reduce violence against children and
women.
While teachers were instructed to report suspected child abuse
cases, they often did not do so. Police usually responded to
complaints, and authorities prosecuted child abuse cases during the
year. Psychological and legal assistance was available for victims.
Children also were accommodated in safe houses for victims of family
violence.
Child Marriage.--Child marriage was a problem in some communities,
particularly among Roma and in rural areas of southern and eastern
Serbia. In the Romani community, boys and girls generally married
between the ages of 14 and 18, with 16 as the average age. Boys
generally married a few years later than girls, and some girls married
as early as age 12. Child marriage occurred among individuals from all
economic and social backgrounds.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age for consensual
sex is 14. The criminal code sets penalties for statutory rape ranging
from three to 12 years in prison. If statutory rape is qualified as
particularly severe, punishment ranges from five to 15 years'
imprisonment. If the rape results in the victim's death, the
perpetrator is sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in prison.
The law prohibits child pornography. Using a child to produce
pornographic material or for a pornographic show is punishable by six
months to five years in prison. Selling, showing, exhibiting, or
otherwise making child pornography available publicly, including
electronically, is punishable by up to two years' imprisonment.
Children in orphanages and institutions were sometimes victims of
physical and emotional abuse by caretakers and guardians and sexual
abuse by peers.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There are an estimated 3,000 Jews in the country.
While the law bans hate speech, translations of anti-Semitic literature
were available from ultranationalist groups. Approximately 100
different anti-Semitic books were sold in bookshops. Right-wing youth
groups and Internet forums continued to promote anti-Semitism and use
hate speech against the Jewish community.
On February 26, two participants in a reality television show on
Pink Television made anti-Semitic statements during a live broadcast.
The station immediately issued an apology. The RBA subsequently changed
the rules to prohibit live broadcast of reality television to prevent
hate speech from being transmitted.
Holocaust education continued to be a part of the school curriculum
at the direction of the Ministry of Education. The role of the
collaborationist National Salvation government run by Milan Nedic
during the Holocaust was debated as part of the secondary school
curriculum. There was a tendency among some commentators to minimize
and reinterpret the role of national collaborators' movements during
the World War II period and their contribution to the Holocaust.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state
services. The government generally enforced the law. However, lack of
access to older public buildings and public transportation was a
problem. The law mandates access for persons with disabilities to new
public buildings, and the government generally enforced this provision
in practice.
The law prohibits physical, emotional, and verbal abuse in all
schools, and there were no reports of abuse in special education
facilities. According to the commissioner for equality, persons with
disabilities were among the groups facing the greatest levels of
discrimination.
Unemployment and discrimination in hiring remained a serious
problem for persons with disabilities. A lack of workplace
accommodations combined with discrimination and overall high
unemployment made it difficult for persons with disabilities to obtain
work.
The Ministries of Labor and Social Policy, Education, and Health
had sections with responsibilities to protect persons with
disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy had a broad
mandate to liaise with NGOs, distribute social assistance, and monitor
laws to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities were protected.
The Ministries of Health and Education offered assistance and
protection in their respective spheres.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Numerous observers noted the
existence of a climate of hostility toward national and ethnic
minorities, which constituted 25 to 30 percent of the country's
population and included ethnic Hungarians, Bosniaks, Roma, Slovaks,
Romanians, Vlachs, Bulgarians, Croats, Albanians, Ashkali, Egyptians,
and others.
Roma, who constituted 1.4 percent of the population in the 2002
census but whose actual number was believed to be approximately 5.4
percent, continued to be the most vulnerable minority community and
were the targets of police violence, societal discrimination, and
verbal and physical harassment.
On June 27, six individuals were convicted for inciting racial and
national hatred and intolerance in Jabuka village in June 2010. All six
were given sentences below the legally prescribed minimum, one to eight
years of imprisonment. Four were sentenced to five months of probation
and two, who were convicted as minors, were sentenced to ``correctional
measures,'' including being required to finish high school. On October
7, both the prosecution and the defense appealed the case with the
Court of Appeals of Novi Sad. The appeal continued at year's end.
Many Roma continued to live illegally in squatter settlements
lacking basic services such as schools, medical care, water, and sewage
facilities. According to UNICEF, Romani children were one-third as
likely to live to their first birthday as other children and often
faced difficulties in accessing health care. While the educational
system provided nine years of free, mandatory schooling, including a
year before elementary school, ethnic prejudice, cultural norms, and
economic hardship discouraged some Romani children, especially girls,
from attending school.
Ethnic Albanian leaders in the southern municipalities of Presevo,
Bujanovac, and Medvedja continued to complain that ethnic Albanians
were underrepresented in state institutions at the local level. During
the year the government began approving Albanian-language textbooks for
elementary school use and, on October 28, inaugurated an Albanian-
language faculty of business in Bujanovac. Ethnic Albanians continued
to lack textbooks in their mother tongue for secondary education.
The government took some steps to counter violence and
discrimination against minorities. It operated a hotline for minorities
and others concerned about human rights problems. Civic education
classes, offered by the government as an alternative to religion
courses in secondary schools, included information on minority cultures
and multiethnic tolerance.
Bodies known as national minority councils represented 22 minority
communities and had broad competency over education, mass media,
culture, and the use of minority languages. Contrary to the December
2010 announcement by the minister for human and minority rights,
elections for a Bosniak national minority council were not held during
the year, and it remained the only un-constituted national minority
council.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Violence and discrimination
against members of the LGBT community were serious problems. While
attacks happened frequently, few were reported publicly because victims
were afraid of further harassment.
Although the government permitted a pride parade in 2010 and
defended marchers from violent counter demonstrations, it canceled the
2011 parade scheduled for October 2, citing security concerns as the
reason for the cancellation.
Societal perceptions and attitudes toward the LGBT population
continued to be negative, and members of the LGBT community continued
to be targets of attacks. LGBT organizations reported that many violent
attacks against the LGBT community were not reported to police because
the victims did not believe their cases would be addressed properly and
wanted to avoid further victimization from the police or publicity
generated by their complaint.
On May 17, the country observed the International Day against
Homophobia and Transphobia for the first time. The commissioner for
equality announced that her office had received 35 complaints of
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Although the broadcasting law prohibits discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation, some media carried slurs against LGBT
individuals. The tabloid press continued to publish articles with hate
speech against the LGBT population and interviews with homophobic
right-wing groups.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There are 2,440 persons
registered as having HIV/AIDS. According to medical professionals, at
least an additional 3,500 HIV-positive individuals were unaware of
their infection. NGOs reported acts of discrimination against persons
with HIV/AIDS, including job loss and harassment from neighbors. NGOs
and health workers also reported that some medical workers
discriminated against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for the right of workers to form and join
unions of their choosing. This right is subject to restrictions,
including approval by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy and a
statement from the employer that the union leader is a full-time
employee, which reportedly was tantamount to a requirement of employer
approval. The constitution provides for the right to strike except by
persons providing essential services, such as public utilities; radio
and television broadcasting; food production; healthcare; education;
social services; military and intelligence services; work in the
chemical, steel, and metal industries; and the postal service.
Essential service employees constituted more than 50 percent of the
workforce and had to announce planned strikes at least 10 days in
advance and ensure that a ``minimum level of work'' was provided. The
constitution and law allow unions to conduct their activities without
interference and the labor law protects the right to bargain
collectively. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of trade
union membership but does not expressly prohibit discrimination for
trade union activities and establishes no specific sanctions for
antiunion harassment. Workers fired for union activity have a legal
right to reinstatement.
The state-affiliated Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of
Serbia (CATUS), a federation of unions formed during the country's
socialist period and supported by the Milosevic regime, outnumbered
independent labor unions in the public sector. However, independent
trade unions were able to organize and address management in state-
owned companies on behalf of their members.
The government protected the right of unions to conduct their
activities without interference. Workers frequently exercised the right
to strike, especially during the first half of the year, when the
government faced a series of strikes ending in June, involving
employees from the education, health, police, state administration, and
public utility sectors. According to some estimates, approximately
100,000 workers throughout the country were on strike at some point
during the year.
Labor laws were effectively enforced and collective bargaining was
freely practiced. The law requires collective bargaining agreements for
any company with more than 10 employees. However, in order to negotiate
with an employer, a union must represent 15 percent of company
employees. In order to negotiate with the government, a union must
represent 10 percent of all workforce employees. Collective bargaining
agreements covered approximately 40 percent of employed workers.
During the year the independent trade union Nezavisnost continued
to allege discrimination against trade unions and violations of
workers' rights.
According to the NGOs Felicitas and Center for Democracy, the most
common violations of workers' rights involved work performed without an
employment contract; nonpayment of salary, overtime, and benefits;
employers' withholding maternity leave allowances; discrimination based
on sex and age; discrimination against persons with disabilities;
unsafe working conditions; and general harassment. According to
Nezavisnost, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's Labor
Inspectorate continued to help the union reinstate members who had been
fired for union activities.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced and compulsory labor. However, children, primarily
from the Romani community, were forced to beg and commit theft (see
section 7.c.).
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment is 15, and youths under 18 require written
parental or guardian permission for employment. The labor law
stipulates specific working conditions for youths and limits their
workweek to 35 hours. Penalties for violations include fines of up to
780,000 dinars ($9,645).
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy's Labor Inspectorate is
responsible for enforcing the child labor laws. During the year
inspectors did not register any violations involving employment of
youths under age 18 without parental permission.
The government effectively enforced laws protecting children from
exploitation in the industrial workforce, but did not have the
authority to check informal workplaces or individual households. In
urban areas, children, primarily Roma, worked in the informal sector as
street vendors and car washers. In villages and farming communities,
underage children commonly worked in family businesses. In Romani
communities, families sometimes forced their children into manual labor
or begging.
Children were forced, often by their families, to beg and commit
petty crime. Many of these children lived in substandard housing
conditions without access to education. The law penalizes parents or
guardians who force a minor to engage in begging, excessive labor, or
labor incompatible with his/her age with prison terms of three months
to five years. The Family Care and Social Welfare Department within the
Ministry of Labor and Social Policy also addressed the social problems
in the Romani community that led to forced labor.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for the period
between June and December was set at 17,748 dinars ($219 per month).
According to the governmental Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction
Unit, the 2010 poverty income was set at 8,544 dinars per month ($106).
In companies with a trade union presence, there was generally effective
enforcement of the minimum wage due to monitoring by the union. This
was not the case in smaller private companies where employers were
either unwilling or unable to pay minimum wages and mandatory social
benefits. These companies often employed unregistered workers, that is,
those that were ``off the books,'' for whom the employer did not pay
social and pension contribution and to whom the employer paid a cash
salary directly without recording the transaction. Most unregistered
workers did not report labor violations because they feared losing
their jobs. The Labor Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing the
minimum wage.
The law stipulates a standard workweek of 40 hours, which was
generally observed in state-owned enterprises but not in private
companies. The law provides that an employee may not work overtime for
more than four hours a day or for more than 240 hours in a calendar
year. One 30-minute break is required during an eight-hour workday. At
least 12 hours of break are required between shifts during a workweek,
and at least 24 hours of break are required over a weekend.
Collective agreements were the primary means of providing premium
pay for overtime. However, the labor law requires that the premium for
overtime work should be at least 26 percent of the salary base, as
defined by the relevant collective bargaining agreement. While trade
unions within a company are the primary agents for enforcing overtime
pay, the Labor Inspectorate also has enforcement responsibilities. The
inspectorate did not always enforce labor regulations.
Under the law, companies must establish a safety and security unit
to monitor observance of safety and security regulations. However, in
practice, these units often focused on rudimentary aspects of safety,
such as purchasing soaps and detergents, rather than on providing
safety equipment for workers. Workers did not have the right to remove
themselves from situations that endangered their health or safety
without jeopardy to their employment. The Labor Inspectorate employed
261 inspectors and was responsible for worker safety and health. It
increased inspections and preventative measures during the year.
__________
SLOVAKIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Slovak Republic is a multiparty parliamentary democracy led by
a prime minister and a 150-member Narodna Rada (National Council).
Voters elected the head of government, Prime Minister Iveta Radicova of
the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union, to a four-year term in 2010.
President Ivan Gasparovic, the head of state, was reelected for a five-
year term in 2009. Both elections were considered free and fair. Six
political parties, four of which formed the governing coalition,
participate in the National Council. In October the government fell to
a no-confidence vote. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Notable human rights problems during the year included abuse of
power by judicial figures and a lack of checks and balances within the
judicial system; continued societal discrimination and violence against
Roma; and government corruption.
Other human rights problems included prison overcrowding and
targeting of the press for civil defamation suits by members of the
political and business elite.
The government investigated reports of abuses by members of the
security forces and elsewhere in government. Some officials engaged in
corrupt practices with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
In May 2010 a Romani man died several days after being arrested in
Tornala by local police, who allegedly resorted to the excessive use of
pepper spray. Criminal proceedings were initiated but halted in
September 2011, based on expert opinion that the pepper spray in
question could not have caused death. An organization representing the
individual's family appealed the decision.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit torture and other
cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, and the
government mostly respected these provisions in practice.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the Romani
community cited a continuing trend of mistreatment of Romani suspects
by police officers during arrest and while in custody.
The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT) conducted a monitoring visit in 2009. The CPT noted that the
situation in the country had improved from that observed during
previous visits, notwithstanding recurring complaints from detainees
about excessive use of force by authorities. The CPT urged the
government to investigate all allegations of involuntary sterilization
of Romani women promptly and thoroughly and to educate doctors about
their criminal liability for performing sterilization without consent.
In 2010 prosecutors charged 10 police officers with abusing six
Romani boys (ranging in age from 11 to 16) in Kosice in 2009 following
the alleged theft by the boys of a purse. Videotapes of the incident,
leaked to the media in 2009, showed the officers forcing the boys to
strip naked, kiss, and hit each other. The trial started in November
2010. A second court hearing scheduled for November 2011 was postponed
due to the inability of one of the accused to attend the hearing for
medical reasons. New charges were filed against police officers who
were present but failed to intervene when the alleged abuse took place.
Romani advocacy groups lobbied the government to acknowledge and
compensate victims for past involuntary sterilization practices on
Romani women in public health facilities. While the law requires
patients to submit written sterilization requests at least 30 days
before such procedures are performed, criminal charges for alleged
violations cannot be filed for offenses that took place prior to 2005,
when the law entered into force.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions met most international standards, but overcrowding
continued to be a problem. During the year on average 9,118 persons
were in prison, 1,407 of whom were in pretrial detention. Of that
total, 8,560 were men and 558 women; 132 were under the age of 18. Men
and women were held separately, as were underage prisoners and adults
unless there was a reasonable justification for placing adults and
juveniles together.
Prisoners were able to express complaints without censorship, and a
public defender of rights, or ombudsman, was available for their legal
aid. The ombudsman was elected by the National Council but did not
report any political interference in his work.
There was sufficient access to potable water in all prisons.
Prisoners were allowed to practice their religion and observe their
faiths freely, and were given adequate space to do so.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. Observers expressed concern that no independent group or NGO
regularly monitored prison conditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force has sole responsibility for internal and border security and
reports to the Ministry of Interior. The head of the police force
reports directly to the interior minister, who has the authority to
recall any member of the police. A special anticorruption police
department, a special prosecution unit, and a specialized criminal
court address corruption cases and have increased their combined
effectiveness.
The most common charge authorities brought against police officers
was abuse of power; other charges included battery, assault and
battery, and illegal intrusion into private homes. During the year
authorities charged 122 police officers with 167 crimes; in 47 of these
cases, the crime was abuse of power. Other crimes involved corruption
(11 cases) and obstruction of justice (seven cases). Disciplinary
action ranged from fines to expulsion from the police force.
Human rights training remained in the curriculum at police training
facilities.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and the law stipulate that a person can only be taken into
custody for explicit reasons and must be informed immediately of the
reasons for detention. A written court warrant is required for arrest.
The court must grant a hearing to a person accused of a crime within 48
hours (or a maximum of 72 hours for ``serious cases,'' defined as
violent crimes, treason, or other crimes with a sentence of at least
eight years) and either release or remand the individual. A bail system
functioned effectively. Detainees have the right to consult an attorney
immediately and must be notified of this right. The law allows monthly
family visits upon request.
Attorneys are allowed to visit detainees as frequently as
necessary, and the government provides free counsel to indigent
detainees. However, the CPT's report on its 2009 monitoring visit noted
that the majority of persons interviewed claimed to have been informed
of their right to an attorney only at the time of the first court
hearing, when an ex officio counsel was appointed. The CPT found that
in very few cases did detained persons have an opportunity to consult
an attorney from the outset of their police detention, let alone
request that an attorney be present during the interrogation or initial
questioning.
If remanded by a court, the accused is entitled to an additional
hearing within 48 hours, at which time the judge must either release
the accused or issue a written order placing the accused in custody.
Authorities respected these provisions in practice.
Criminal court procedures mandate that the total time of detention
(pretrial plus trial) cannot exceed 12 months in the case of minor
offenses, 24 months for regular crimes, 36 months for severe crimes,
and five years for crimes in which the expected sentence is 25 years to
life. In addition pretrial detention cannot account for more than half
of the total detention time. In cases with extenuating circumstances,
the Supreme Court may extend pretrial detention to four years. Delays
in court procedures and investigations frequently led to lengthy
detention during both the pretrial and trial periods.
The law allows plea bargaining, which continued to reduce the
backlog of court cases. During 2010 plea bargaining resolved 7,619
cases, compared with 6,856 cases in 2009. Between January and
September, 4,898 cases were resolved through such arrangements.
In 2010 criminal charges were brought against 4,925 juveniles, of
whom 1,822 were between the ages of 14 and 15, nearly three times the
number of those charged in 2009.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice problems with corruption,
official intimidation of judges, inefficiency, and a lack of integrity
and accountability continued to undermine judicial independence. In
some cases judges believed they were subjected to pressure aimed at
influencing their decisions as well as to intimidation through
disciplinary actions.
A series of legislative amendments proposed by Justice Minister
Lucia Zitnanska received harsh criticism by the former justice minister
and current Supreme Court president, Stefan Harabin. The amendments
included measures to strengthen judicial accountability, such as
publishing court decisions on the Internet, making public selection
procedures for judges and court chairmen, standardizing performance
evaluations for judges, and allowing public access to judicial council
sessions. These proposals were a reaction to nontransparent actions in
the judiciary, including the nepotistic selection of new judges;
difficulties in the public's access to court verdicts, especially
controversial ones; allegedly unfair promotion and demotion processes;
and the manipulation of the electronic random case assignment system.
While the public and rule-of-law experts generally welcomed these
changes (both those implemented and those only proposed), only a small
number of members of the judicial community expressed their support.
Harabin and opposition leader Robert Fico called the changes
unconstitutional and in breach of judicial independence.
There were reports that higher levels of the judicial hierarchy
misused their power by issuing instructions to individual judges on how
to decide specific cases.
Disciplinary actions against judges for delays in completing cases
appeared to be highly inconsistent. In some cases, judges faced
suspension for delaying cases, while in similar cases no action was
taken. In several cases disciplinary action was clearly used to
intimidate judges into making judicial decisions favored by their
superiors or to punish them for their critical statements. Suspension
was considered a severe action, since suspended judges were prohibited
from entering the court building, received only one-third of their
salary, and had their cases assigned to other judges. These practices
led to an atmosphere of general mistrust in the judiciary.
District court judge Juraj Babjak, a former judge of the Slovak
Constitutional Court and author of several critical articles about the
state of the judiciary, faced disciplinary action for alleged delays in
2010. Although he had communicated to the president of his district
court that it was impossible to deal with his caseload because of its
size and complexity, the court's president filed disciplinary action
against him, proposing to demote him to a lower court. On April 6, a
disciplinary panel demoted Judge Babjak from the regional court to the
district court. Babjak appealed the verdict, and in October the
appellate disciplinary panel overruled the original verdict,
highlighting the case's numerous flaws. The case was dropped in
December.
Judge Miroslav Gavalec, spokesman for the organization For Open
Judiciary, which consisted of judges favoring reforms, faced two
disciplinary actions, one for ``insufficient education'' and the other
for critical articles he wrote on the state of the judiciary. According
to Supreme Court President Harabin, Gavalec's ``ungrounded'' and
``untrue'' statements harmed the reputation of the judiciary. Harabin
proposed that Gavalec be removed from his position. The case against
Gavalec was pending before a disciplinary panel at year's end.
In June 2010 a judicial disciplinary panel ruled that a veteran
judge be demoted for allegedly prohibiting the recording of court
proceedings in one of her cases. Consequently, the Judicial Council,
also presided over by Supreme Court President Harabin, decided that the
judge be reassigned from her home city to a distant district court. The
judge chose to retire instead. Nevertheless, she lodged a successful
complaint in June to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the
Supreme Court's disciplinary panel violated her right to a fair trial.
She asserted that the real motive for her demotion was her
unwillingness to decide in favor of Harabin in a libel case he brought
against the daily newspaper SME.
In June the Constitutional Court found Harabin guilty of violating
his responsibilities by repeatedly disallowing a Finance Ministry audit
of the Supreme Court.
With the exception of the Constitutional Court, courts employed a
computerized system for random case assignment to increase
transparency. There were reports that this system was subject to
manipulation. The watchdog NGO Fair Play Alliance filed a criminal and
disciplinary motion against the president and the vice president of the
Supreme Court for allegedly manipulating the electronic assignment
system, and the justice minister filed her own case against Supreme
Court President Harabin for the same reason. The disciplinary case was
pending before the Constitutional Court at year's end.
In 2008-10 more than 500 judges (of a total of 1,400) submitted
claims of ``wage discrimination.'' According to media reports, the
judges' claims were organized by senior officials in the judiciary.
Former justice minister Viera Petrikova and Supreme Court President
Harabin publicly supported the judges' claims. The large number of
judges submitting claims raised serious concerns about the ethics of
some members of the country's judiciary as well as the potential impact
on the state budget. Adjudication of the cases was inconsistent. A
small number were dismissed, but in some others, district courts
awarded judges compensation of up to 90,000 euros ($117,000). In August
Justice Minister Zitnanska filed a motion in the Constitutional Court
to remove Harabin from office for failing to appeal a verdict awarding
11 Supreme Court judges more than one million euros ($1.3 million) as
compensation for alleged discrimination. Zitnanska claimed that, by not
filing an appeal, Harabin did not uphold his duty as Supreme Court
president to protect the interests of the court.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
They are also presumed innocent during the appeals process, meaning
that a person found guilty by a court does not serve his sentence or
pay any fine until the final decision on appeal has been reached.
Persons charged with criminal offenses are entitled to fair and public
trials and have the right to be informed of the charges against them.
The law does not provide for jury trials. A panel of three judges is
obligatory in criminal cases and in civil cases at the regional court
and Supreme Court levels. However, NGO observers stated that judicial
corruption often resulted in lengthy court delays and improper handling
of police investigations. Defendants have the right to be present at
their trial, consult in a timely manner with an attorney (at government
expense if indigent), access government-held evidence, confront
prosecution witnesses, and present witnesses and evidence on their own
behalf. Defendants have the right to refuse self-incrimination and may
appeal adverse judgments.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights.--Court Decisions.--During the year there
were 553 new complaints filed against the state with the European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR). The ECHR dealt with a total of 1,052 cases
against Slovakia during the year, declaring 694 to be inadmissible. In
the 21 admissible cases on which the ECHR ruled in 2011, the court
found one or more violations of the European Convention on Human Rights
in 19. The court found a total of 28 violations of the state's
commitments under the convention, including one violation involving
inhuman or degrading treatment, 12 regarding the right to liberty and
security, two regarding the right to a fair trial, five regarding the
length of proceedings, one involving nonexecution of a court decision,
two regarding the right of respect for private and family life, one
involving freedom of expression, three regarding the right to an
effective remedy, and one involving the prohibition of discrimination.
In November the ECHR ruled in favor of a Romani woman who alleged
she had been sterilized in 2000 without her full consent. She was
awarded 31,000 euros ($40,300) in damages. The court found that the
plaintiff was not fully informed about her health condition, the
proposed sterilization, and available alternatives. The court also
found that the medical personnel left the plaintiff no option but to
agree to the procedure and that the law at the time did not
sufficiently protect the plaintiff's reproductive health as a Romani
woman. At year's end, three sterilization-related cases against
Slovakia were pending in the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens have unrestricted
access to an independent judiciary to bring lawsuits in civil matters,
including human rights violations. Courts that hear civil cases were
subject to the same delays as criminal courts and were often perceived
by the public as corrupt. Administrative remedies are available in
certain cases. The National Center for Human Rights has the authority
to provide mediation for cases of discrimination and to represent
claimants in court.
The Office of the Public Protector of Rights (ombudsman) determined
that 176 of the approximately 2,517 complaints received in 2010
constituted violations of the rights of the claimants, most of which
involved delays in court proceedings. The ombudsman's office continued
providing free legal services throughout the country by holding
traveling legal clinics in cooperation with individual municipalities.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the law prohibit such actions,
and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Police must present a warrant before conducting a search or within
24 hours afterwards.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of speech and
press. While the government generally respected these rights in
practice, in some instances it limited these rights to impede criticism
and limit actions of groups it considers extremist. The law prohibits
the defamation of nationalities, punishable by up to three years in
prison, and denying the Holocaust, which carries a sentence of six
months to three years in prison.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views, although media, especially state-owned
television, were subject to political influence. In January STV
(television) and Radio SRo were merged into a single entity, Radio and
Television Slovakia, which, along with TASR news agency, were the two
public media outlets that received state funding for specific
programming.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Criminal penalties for defamation
exist under the penal code but were rarely used. In June the National
Council amended a 2008 media law that required publishers to print
responses to any ``statement of fact that impinges on the honor,
dignity, or privacy of a natural person, or the name or good reputation
of a legal entity.'' The amendment, which went into effect September 1,
significantly eased this ``right of reply'' provision and strengthened
the notion that public officials deserved greater scrutiny in their
work.
Members of the government, judiciary, and political elites targeted
the press in a number of civil defamation lawsuits, which often
required the press to pay large sums of money. However, the number of
cases and damages sought was lower than in previous years. The
International Press Institute and other observers expressed concern
that this financial risk could still lead to media self-censorship.
Courts made multiple decisions in favor of political elites, despite
compelling evidence of the veracity of the reports for which media
outlets were being sued.
In July 2010 the Bratislava District Court ruled against former
prime minister Fico in his case against Petit Press, the parent company
of the leading daily SME, alleging damages incurred by publication of a
cartoon on its opinion page. Fico's appeal of the verdict was dismissed
by the appellate court in November.
In November the Bratislava Regional Court issued a final verdict in
a libel case filed by former prime minister Fico against the economic
weekly Trend. The court ordered the weekly to apologize to Fico for
publishing a photograph of him on the front page of its magazine with
the caption ``Thief of Future Pensions.'' The front page and related
articles, published in 2007, criticized intended changes to pension
legislation under Fico's government that Trend claimed would decrease
the value of private pensions. The court ruled that the articles
breached Fico's right to ``protect his personality'' and ordered that
the apology be published on Trend's front page.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mails or
Internet chat rooms; however, police monitored Web sites hosting hate
speech and attempted to arrest or fine the authors. Individuals and
groups could otherwise engage in the peaceful expression of views via
the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution and the law provide for freedom of
assembly, and the government generally respected this right in
practice.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, and the government generally respected this
right in practice. The law requires organizations to pay a nominal
registration fee and stipulates that those registering as foundations
have ``substantial'' financial resources of 6,000 euros ($7,800).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights
in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has an
established system for providing some protection to refugees. While the
asylum law gives officials broad authority to reject applicants based
on technical errors in their applications, in practice this was not a
problem.
The government provided ``subsidiary protection,'' which is granted
if asylum is denied and the individual is not eligible for deportation
to his or her country of origin due to administrative problems or fear
for the person's safety. In 2011, 91 persons were granted subsidiary
protection, compared with 57 in 2010. The Alien and Border Police can
also grant ``tolerated residency.'' During the first half of the year,
128 individuals were granted tolerated residency, compared with 160
during the first half of 2010.
A criticism of the subsidiary protection system related to the
periods for which it was granted. The law requires aliens with
subsidiary protection to renew their status every year, which in
practice, given procedural requirements, meant renewing their status
every 10 months. Critics argued that the uncertainty created by the
relatively short periods of temporary residence granted each time could
cause problems with finding stable employment.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Consistent with EU legislation,
the country employs the concept of a safe country of origin and
transit, but authorities are required to ensure that the well-being of
individual asylum seekers is not threatened if they are deported to a
non-EU ``safe third country.'' Slovakia has been criticized for
including on its ``safe third country'' list countries where sexual
acts between same-sex individuals are illegal. The Alien and Border
Police have been criticized for lacking the information necessary to
determine whether a given country would be safe for persons facing
deportation there.
Nonrefoulement.--In April 2010 the government extradited an
Algerian national and alleged terrorist to Algeria despite an interim
measure issued by the ECHR that specifically stated that he should not
be expelled to Algeria until he exhausted all legal avenues for his
asylum claim, including the Constitutional Court. The Algerian was
extradited before he had time to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Access to Basic Services.--The government operated a network of
facilities for refugees and asylum seekers. The Border and Alien Police
operated several holding facilities for individuals caught illegally
crossing the border. The migration office operated several facilities
throughout the country, including a reception facility where asylum
seekers spent approximately 30 days following the filing of their
asylum claim, before being transferred to other facilities while their
application was processed and eventually into integration facilities. A
reception facility in Humenne provided accommodation and services for
transit asylum seekers en route to asylum residency in a third country.
NGOs had access to refugees and asylum seekers residing in Interior
Ministry facilities and participated in the provision of social and
support services. NGOs also provided legal support and representation
in the asylum process.
There were reports of aliens granted subsidiary protection having
limited access to healthcare. Health insurance documentation was issued
directly to aliens with subsidiary protection by the Ministry of
Interior. This created some instances of confusion among health
providers who often did not know which medical procedures would be
covered by the policy.
Temporary Protection.--The provision of temporary protection is
defined by European Commission Directive 2001/55, regarding the minimum
standards for providing temporary protection in the event of a mass
influx of displaced persons. There was no use of this provision in
2011.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent elections.--The most
recent parliamentary elections were held in June 2010. Citizens voted
six political parties into the National Council in free and fair
elections. Four of the six parties formed the governing coalition, led
by the country's first female prime minister, Iveta Radicova.
Communal elections were held in November 2010. The elections were
accompanied by allegations of vote buying, particularly in Romani
communities in Eastern Slovakia, and other infractions. Consequently,
20 councils were required to repeat their elections in June.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 24 women in the
150-seat National Council, 41 women on the 81-seat Supreme Court, and
two women in the 15-member cabinet, including the prime minister.
Because the law prohibits collecting information on ethnicity, it
was not possible to determine the precise number of members of minority
groups in government. The party Most-Hid (``bridge''), which promotes
greater cooperation between the country's Hungarian minority and ethnic
Slovaks, held 14 seats in the National Council, seven of which were
occupied by ethnic Hungarians. Some ethnic Romani individuals and
parties were successful in gaining representation at the local and
regional levels. However, Roma were consistently underrepresented in
government service, and no Roma sat on the National Council.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not always implement the law effectively,
and some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There
were also concerns, particularly in the business sector, about the
``privatization of justice,'' and some NGO governance experts reported
that court proceedings had become a contest of vested interests and
persons with connections to the judicial powers. While the country has
financial disclosure laws, compliance was the exception rather than the
rule. The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators also reflected
that corruption remained a problem.
Instances of police corruption and misconduct were also reported,
primarily the extortion of bribes during traffic stops. Headed by a
director who reports directly to the interior minister, the Bureau for
the Inspection Service of the Police Corps is responsible for
investigating police abuses. Cases may be initiated by the inspection
service, the police corps, the police department's organized crime
unit, and individual citizens, among others.
International companies reported multimillion-dollar losses that
they settled out of court simply for lack of a credible legal remedy,
and cronyism was cited as the country's primary competitive
disadvantage. For example, the government faced allegations of cronyism
in connection with a rental agreement, overseen by the finance
minister, for tax office space in the eastern city of Kosice. The
company that won the tender to rent space to the Finance Ministry was
owned by an official of the Slovak Democratic Christian Union (SDKU),
the party to which the finance minister belonged. Following public
complaints over perceived cronyism, the tender was readvertised several
times. The tender was ultimately awarded to the same SDKU-affiliated
company.
Possible weaknesses in the electronic auction system revealed other
possible cases of cronyism, including one involving the sale of
platinum by the State Material Reserves, a government body that
controls the use and sale of raw materials. The State Material Reserves
sold via electronic auction special platinum sieves for a price far
below their market value to a company allegedly linked to politicians.
Newswires reported the auction was not announced properly and that the
company made its bid literally one second before the bidding closed.
Although the prime minister announced that the cabinet would do
everything it could to invalidate the contract, the government's
actions were limited, because the sieves were sold immediately
afterward by the purchasing company.
In both of the aforementioned cases, mid-level government officials
were forced to resign, but no other legal consequences ensued. The
government proposed a legislative amendment aimed at narrowing the
space for the manipulation of electronic auctions and rental agreements
as means of financing political parties. In December a leaked document
(code named ``Gorilla''), allegedly originating with the Intelligence
Services, appeared to reveal corrupt practices between business
interests and political parties in 2005-06. The investigations of, and
public reaction to, the file and its circumstances continued at year's
end.
Following its formation in July 2010, the government launched its
reform agenda by requiring online disclosure of all contracts,
invoices, and financial transactions involving public funds and
introducing electronic auctions as a mandatory form of procurement.
However, the government has not prosecuted even the most egregious
cases of corruption that had emerged under its predecessors.
In April 2010 the European Commission formally questioned whether
the winner of the National Highway Company's (NDS) tender to build an
electronic toll-collection system had enjoyed an ``unfair advantage.''
The NDS had awarded the tender to the highest bidder, SanToll-Ibertax,
a Slovak entity, for 852 million euros ($1.1 billion). The case was
pending before the European Court of Justice at year's end.
In May 2010 Slovak investigators met their foreign counterparts to
discuss their findings in the investigation of the sale of Slovak
surplus carbon dioxide emission quotas that might have resulted in a
loss of at least 40 million euros ($52 million). The case was pending
at year's end.
The Ministry of Interior is responsible for developing the
government's overall strategy for combating corruption, with a specific
focus on investigation and enforcement. The Special Court is
responsible for most prosecution efforts. The general prosecutor, who
is appointed by the National Council and independent of the executive
and judicial branches, also plays a leading role in prosecuting
corruption. The Government Office of the Slovak Republic, which
oversees the state administration and answers to the prime minister,
also plays a role in developing anticorruption legislation and
regulations.
In June the governing coalition elected a new prosecutor general,
Jozef Centes, to fill the post that had remained vacant since the
previous prosecutor general completed his term in February. The vote
was mired in political and procedural complications, resulting in
several rounds of voting before the final June vote. Since that final
vote, however, President Ivan Gasparovic has refused to appoint Centes
to his elected post, claiming the need to wait for a pending
Constitutional Court decision on the legality of the vote. President
Gasparovic also said that he was not convinced that Centes would be
proper for the position, based on his perception of Centes' previous
actions and decisions as deputy prosecutor general. The media and the
governing coalition criticized the president for his inaction,
asserting that he is legally obliged to appoint elected candidates and
does not have the right to evaluate Centes' personality beyond the
criteria stipulated by the constitution. Gasparovic countered such
criticisms by arguing that the constitution does not set any specific
deadline for appointing elected candidates.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Most NGOs were
independent, although the Slovak National Center for Human Rights
receives its budget from the National Council and was thus semi-
independent. Government officials were generally cooperative, although
NGOs reported that at times government officials seemed to view their
activities with suspicion or mistrust.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The country has an 11-member
parliamentary Human Rights Committee. The committee held regular
sessions during the year but was not particularly active on Roma-
related legislation.
In March the government created the Office of the Government
Plenipotentiary for the Development of Civil Society, an advisory body
in matters related to strengthening engagement by citizens and their
position in relation to the state. The government also has a committee
for nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations.
The government's Council on Human Rights, National Minorities, and
Gender Equality, headed by one of the deputy prime ministers, fulfills
an advisory role on human rights issues, and consists of state
administration and civil society representatives. In March the council
set up several committees as focal points for specific human rights
issues. The council held three sessions during the year, but most of
its activities were devoted to procedural and administrative matters.
The council may issue statements or recommendations on legislative
issues relevant to human rights.
The office of the ombudsman was headed by Pavel Kandrac, who
submits an annual report on human rights problems to the president. The
annual report for the period February 2010 to March 2011 outlined the
ombudsman's areas of focus, including court delays, children's rights,
and procedural shortcomings by institutions. For the most part, the
ombudsman's office did not comment on Roma issues, serious problems in
the judiciary, or other human rights violations. In general the
ombudsman's work was not subject to executive interference. However,
human rights activists did not consider his office to be very
effective.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status; the government made
efforts to enforce these prohibitions in practice. All government
agencies are required to create special favorable conditions for groups
who are victims of discrimination, including but not limited to,
employment, education, and vocational training.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape. Although the government enforced the law
effectively, rape was an underreported problem according to NGOs and
academics. During the year 150 rapes and 542 cases of sexual abuse were
reported. Rape victims had access to shelters and counseling offered by
NGOs and government-funded programs.
Domestic violence against women continued to be a problem. While
the law prohibits domestic violence, it was widespread, and activists
claimed that the government did not enforce the law effectively. A
joint study carried out by the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and
Family and the Public Policy Institute concluded that one in five women
was a victim of domestic violence. The law specifically prohibits
suspected offenders from reentering the victim's home for 48 hours
after an incident was reported. As of November authorities had recorded
321 cases of abuse of a member of household during the year. The law
provides stricter sentences for violence directed toward members of the
same household and allows for continued criminal prosecution even when
a spouse drops charges. Domestic violence is punishable by two to 12
years' imprisonment. According to local NGOs, domestic violence often
was underreported due to the social stigma associated with being a
victim; crime statistics did not adequately reflect the extent of the
problem.
Under a national action plan to combat violence against women for
2009-12, government ministries and local authorities were tasked with
increasing awareness about domestic violence through public media
campaigns and the training of health practitioners to identify domestic
violence victims.
Sexual Harassment.--The law defines sexual harassment as unlawful
discrimination. There were few statistics available to measure the
frequency or severity of the problem.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Contraception was widely
available, but the costs must be covered by the individual, not the
public health services. According to NGOs, the high cost of oral
contraception in the country and the lack of public subsidization
constituted a significant barrier to access. According to the
Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 66 percent of married women between
the ages of 15 and 49 used modern methods of contraception. Between the
ages of 15 and18, women must have the approval of their parents and
gynecologist to obtain a prescription for oral contraception. Child
mortality rates were very low. According to the PRB, 100 percent of
births were attended by skilled attendants. The law on public health
care coverage provides comprehensive reproductive health services for
women.
Sexual education is offered at all levels of schools, and the
government's goal is to reduce unwanted youth pregnancies by 50
percent. However, NGOs noted that the quality of sexual education was
very low, and the subject is not mandatory. The country has a low
incidence of HIV/AIDS infection. Women and men were treated equally for
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Discrimination.--Women and men are equal under the law, including
family law, property law, and in the judicial system; however,
discrimination against women remained a problem in practice. Although
women are legally protected from discrimination in the labor market,
NGOs reported that many women were dismissed from their jobs upon
becoming pregnant. The Government Council on Human Rights includes a
committee on gender equality. However, the committee only held its
first session in July, and at year's end it had not dealt yet with
substantive gender-related issues. The National Center for Human Rights
continued to receive a limited number of gender discrimination cases;
underreporting, however, remained a concern. The Ministry of Labor
operated a gender equality department. In the wake of organizational
restructuring in August, the department had not yet begun to implement
policy initiatives. According to the statistical office, in 2010 the
gender pay gap was 24.7 percent. According to outside experts and the
Ministry of Labor, the reported wage differences were due to low
participation of women in higher-paid management positions and large
numbers of women working in low-paid occupations such as education,
healthcare, social work, and light industry. The Ministry of Labor also
noted that the wage gap was not due to differences in base wages, but
to bonuses, which were provided in a less transparent manner.
NGOs continued to advocate increased opportunities for the
political participation of women, who were underrepresented in almost
all spheres of public life. During the year women accounted for 16.7
percent of senior government officials, 15.3 percent of the National
Council, and a similar proportion of officials in regional bodies.
According to the statistical office, women constituted 44.6 percent of
the workforce in 2010.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is acquired by birth to
at least one citizen parent, regardless of where the child is born.
Each domestic birth is recorded at the local vital statistics office.
If the child is born in a foreign country, the foreign birth
certificate must be notarized, translated, and submitted to a special
vital records office administered by the Ministry of Interior.
Education.--While education is universal, free through the
postsecondary level, and compulsory until the age of 15, Romani
children exhibited a lower attendance rate than other children.
Although Romani children comprised only 15 percent of the total number
of children under the age of 16, they were disproportionately enrolled
in ``special'' schools for children with mental disabilities, despite
diagnostic scores that were often within the average range of
intellectual capacity. In many special schools, the registered student
body was nearly 100 percent Roma, according to NGO reports.
The government did not provide data on the percentage of these
students who were Roma, as it does not collect data on ethnicity. As of
September, 23,951 students were enrolled in special schools and 10,510
enrolled in special classes within regular schools in the public
education system. According to a September 2010 report by Amnesty
International, Romani children comprised 85 percent of the students in
special schools. Regular schools in the same communities had very few
Romani students, especially at the secondary school level. A special
school education did not provide Romani children the knowledge or
certification necessary to pursue higher education.
NGOs continued to implement educational programs through community
centers operated by local councils to reduce the number of Romani
children who were enrolled in special schools or special classes. These
programs included preschool and after-school work to improve basic
motor and other skills and habits in neglected children, thereby
avoiding their referral to diagnostic centers and ultimately special
schools. Social workers also worked with parents in socially excluded
families to help them understand the importance of attending a regular
school, as Romani children were often placed in special schools with
the explicit agreement or at the request of parents themselves. These
projects, however, depended on the good will, initiative, and budgetary
flexibility of local councils and NGOs and have not yet achieved wide
coverage. Reportedly the extra funding that special schools or classes
received for each student, compared to regular schools or classes, may
have led to an unnecessary number of children, and particularly Romani
children, being enrolled in such schools and classes.
Romani children from socially excluded communities also faced
segregation in regular educational establishments. There were reports
of schools having predominantly or almost exclusively Romani pupils
from several surrounding municipalities. This meant that, in practice,
non-Romani children often attended a different school than Roma from
the same village. In some predominantly Romani municipalities the
segregation of Roma and non-Roma in schools was further entrenched by
the parents of non-Romani children, who preferred that their children
attend a different school with non-Roma. There were reports of local
councils' intentionally assigning certain schools to mostly Romani
areas, thereby concentrating Romani students in them.
In a landmark decision in December, a district court ruled that
segregation of Romani children in a school in eastern Slovakia was
illegal. The school had asserted that Romani children were separated
due to hygiene concerns and their lack of basic skills, not their
ethnicity. The school further claimed that segregation did, in fact,
benefit socially excluded children, as teachers could give them special
attention. While acknowledging the human rights dimension, the media
gave extensive space to arguments supporting segregation. The school's
appeal of the district court decision was pending.
In August 2010 the government adopted a program calling for an end
to segregation of Romani children in special schools. A 2008 law had
addressed some of the problems through reform and new programs,
including attendance-based financial incentives. It also provided for
the creation of ``zero year'' classes, which offer one year of state-
funded prekindergarten education to children from socially
disadvantaged families. During the 2009-10 school year, 3,134 children
participated in the ``zero year'' program, an increase of 25 percent
over the previous year. NGO observers expressed the view that the
program was a successful model but that it needed to be expanded
further to be effective.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse remained an underreported problem
according to child advocates. A number of children's foundations
operated programs for abused children.
The government's National Action Plan for Children for 2009-12,
funded through the government budget, focused on training social
workers and other professionals dealing with children, as well as
public education campaigns against corporal punishment and sexual abuse
of children.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Child prostitution is prohibited;
however, according to the U.N., it remained a problem in the poorest
Romani settlements. Most of the perpetrators were other Roma. The
criminal code establishes 15 as the minimum age for consensual sex.
Rape and sexual violence carry penalties of five to 25 years'
imprisonment, depending upon the injury or harm caused the victim and
the motive.
The production, distribution, or possession of child pornography is
also a crime; the penalties for breaking the law range from two to 20
years' imprisonment.
Institutionalized Children.--As of June there were approximately
5,000 children in institutional care, the majority of whom were Roma.
Of the 4,100 children in long-term care, nearly 800 were with foster
families, a proportion that increased steadily during the previous
decade. According to law children under the age of three must be cared
for by foster families rather than being placed in orphanages. For
older children, orphanages served as long-term care facilities rather
than short-term residences. Activists claimed that orphans had
difficulty integrating into society at age 18 and faced an elevated
risk of falling victim to trafficking. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs operated small-group homes for young adults aging out of foster
care.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Jewish community leaders and 2001 census data
estimated the size of the Jewish community at approximately 3,000
persons.
Organized neo-Nazi groups, with an estimated 500 active members and
several thousand additional sympathizers, promoted anti-Semitism and
harassed and attacked other minorities. Jewish community leaders
expressed concern that some media coverage in the country exhibited
anti-Semitic undertones.
The criminal code provides penalties of two to six years'
imprisonment for membership in an extremist group and three to eight
for production of extremist materials.
While direct denial of the Holocaust was uncommon, expressions of
support for the World War II-era Slovak fascist state, which deported
tens of thousands of Slovak Jews, Roma, and others to their deaths in
concentration camps, occurred during the year.
At the beginning of the year, the Rajec local council reapproved
the placement of a statue of Ferdinand Durcansky in the town square.
Durcansky was a controversial figure who played a key role during the
initial phases of the World War II collaborationist Slovak state.
Durcansky was behind numerous pieces of anti-Semitic legislation that
introduced Aryanization and the exclusion of Jews from economic and
social life. The placing of the statue was subject to extensive
criticism, suggesting that council members lacked sufficient
information about Durcansky's anti-Semitic activities. The Rajec local
council justified its decision on the grounds that Durcansky was
primarily a champion of Slovak independence and not directly
responsible for the deportation of Jews in 1942.
The People's Party--Our Slovakia (LS-NS) group--which expressed
support for, and used the symbols of, the World War II-era fascist
Slovak state--organized numerous marches and gatherings throughout the
year. In March approximately 250 persons gathered in front of the
presidential palace in Bratislava to commemorate the 72nd anniversary
of the founding of the wartime fascist Slovak state in 1939 and to pay
respect to its president, Jozef Tiso, who was executed for treason
after the war.
The Nation's Memory Institute (UPN) provided access to previously
undisclosed records of the Slovak regimes from 1939-89, prompting
efforts in the past by politicians such as the far-right Slovak
National Party Chairman Jan Slota to abolish it. The UPN supervisory
board is led by Arpad Tarnoczy, former chairman of the Union of Anti-
Communist Resistance (ZPKO) and known for his pro-Tiso sentiments. ZPKO
published a newsletter, Svedectvo (Testimony), that Jewish community
officials criticized for praising the wartime fascist state. Jewish
community leaders asserted that UPN publications about the 1939-45
period appeared to express sympathy for prominent regime figures,
especially when portrayed as victims of the subsequent communist
regime.
The Ministry of Interior pursued violent extremist groups, and
police monitored Web sites posting hate speech.
Trafficking in PersonsSee the Department of State's Trafficking in
Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services. Persons with disabilities were able
to vote and participate in civic affairs. In practice, however, experts
reported that access to buildings and higher education remained a
problem, and laws to provide assistance to students with disabilities
have not been implemented with regard to school facilities or
educational materials. There were reports that persons with severe
physical disabilities received less than the minimum wage in some
instances.
NGOs reported limited resources for psychiatric care outside of
Bratislava, a lack of community-based psychiatric care, and an absence
of mechanisms to monitor human rights violations against persons with
such disabilities. Psychiatric institutions and hospitals, which fall
under the purview of the Ministry of Healthcare, continued to use cage
beds to restrain patients. The law prohibits both physical and
nonphysical restraints in social care homes, managed by the Ministry of
Labor, Social Affairs, and Family. Several NGOs conducted public
education campaigns on mental illness and worked cooperatively with the
health ministry.
Legislation requiring television stations to provide voiceover for
blind viewers has not been implemented by any Slovak broadcaster. While
by law mandatory standards for access to buildings are defined, NGOs
noted they were not fully implemented, although access to privately
owned buildings improved more rapidly than access to state buildings.
The Government Council on Human Rights, National Minorities, and
Gender Equality operated a committee for persons with disabilities. The
council served as a governmental advisory body and NGOs working on
disability issues are represented. The committee's first session, held
in June, dealt with procedural and status issues.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Government and societal
discrimination against Roma and individuals of non-European ethnicity
was common. Roma were the second largest ethnic minority with a
population of 90,000 according to the 2001 census. Experts estimated
that the Romani population was actually between 350,000 and 500,000.
The discrepancy was attributed to Roma identifying themselves as
Hungarians or Slovaks. Results of the most recent census, conducted in
May, were not available at year's end.
NGOs reported racially motivated attacks on minorities (Roma and
others) throughout the year, but authorities' investigation of such
incidents varied by jurisdiction. During the year four cases of
racially motivated attacks resulting in bodily harm were reported. Roma
were singled-out for violence, and police detained numerous individuals
for racially motivated attacks against Roma.
Several non-Romani minorities as well as foreigners were also
victims of racially motivated attacks. In July a small group of right-
wing extremist sympathizers verbally and physically attacked a man of
African descent in Bratislava. The man's girlfriend called police, but
because he suffered only minor injuries, the attack was handled as an
administrative offense. Eventually, criminal proceedings were initiated
on the grounds that the attackers were part of a group that supported
the repression of rights and freedoms.
Extreme rightist, nationalist, and neo-Nazi groups continued to
hold events designed to intimidate minority groups. Dressed in uniforms
similar to those of the Hlinka Guards (the fascist wartime militia),
the groups' members held marches and rallies to commemorate the wartime
fascist state and to spread messages of intolerance against ethnic and
religious minorities. In the first nine months of the year, the LS-NS
organized 13 public gatherings throughout the country. In addition to
commemorating historical events and figures associated with the World
War II Slovak fascist state, the LS-NS organized anti-Roma public
gatherings in locations where there were tensions between Roma and non-
Romani population. While the nature of the gatherings was often thinly
disguised under such euphemisms as fighting for social justice,
security, or equal application of the law to all citizens, their anti-
Romani character was sometimes more open, as during a protest against
``gypsy extremists and gypsy parasitic criminality'' that was held in
Zilina in April.
An alleged 2006 attack and subsequent perjury charges against
Hedviga Malinova, an ethnic Hungarian university student in Nitra,
continued to draw media attention. Two young men allegedly physically
assaulted Malinova after hearing her speak Hungarian. The district
prosecutor discontinued the investigation after two weeks, concluding
that Malinova had lied about the attack. In October 2010 the National
Council's Human Rights Committee convened a hearing to question the
prosecutor general about delays in the case. In November the ECHR
accepted an agreement between Malinova and the government and
subsequently dropped the case pending before it. The agreement provided
for the government, among others, to express regret over Malinova's
case through a press release. As of year's end, the press release had
not been published.
Widespread discrimination against Roma continued in employment,
education, healthcare, housing, and loan practices.
Roma continued to face discrimination in accessing a wide variety
of commercial services, including restaurants, hair salons, and public
transportation. NGOs asserted that the cases of discrimination reported
to organizations operating legal help lines represented only a fraction
of discrimination cases in practice. In many cases, Romani individuals
from socially excluded communities did not report discrimination and
simply accepted refusal of access to commercial services as an everyday
reality.
Activists frequently alleged that employers refused to hire Roma,
with an estimated 80-90 percent of Roma from socially excluded
communities being unemployed. NGOs working with Roma from socially
excluded communities reported that, while job applications by Roma were
often successful during the initial phase of selection, in a majority
of cases, these applicants were excluded once the employer found out
they were Roma. Cases of discrimination in hiring were rarely pursued
through the courts.
Local authorities and groups forced evictions of Romani inhabitants
or blocked them from obtaining construction permits or purchasing land.
There were reports of local residents purchasing property to prevent it
from being acquired by Romani families.
During 2010 several municipalities, mainly in eastern Slovakia,
built walls to create a physical barrier between Romani and non-Romani
communities. Local councils often justified such walls as measures to
reduce theft and criminality, reduce disruption of the peace, or reduce
noise. The walls were criticized for further segregating Romani
communities and limiting their access to communal facilities.
NGOs reported persistent segregation of Romani women in maternity
wards in several hospitals in Eastern Slovakia, where they were
accommodated separately from non-Romani women and not permitted to use
the same bathrooms and toilets. Hospitals claimed that women were
grouped according to their levels of hygiene and adaptability, not
along racial lines.
Romani children from socially excluded communities faced
educational segregation, both in terms of their disproportionate
enrollment in special schools but also in schools in some
municipalities, which were predominately attended by either Romani or
non-Romani children (see section 6, Children).
Anti-Romani sentiments permeated public and political discourse.
NGOs engaged in monitoring activities noted that media reports
concerning Roma overwhelmingly focused on crime or other problems
associated with socially excluded communities. Political discourse also
contained sentiments or policies which discriminated against Roma, both
in the form of derogatory remarks, such as during election campaigns
(see section 3), or through often-populist policies that placed Roma at
a disadvantage.
Following the 2010 parliamentary elections, the Ministry of
Interior created the position of Advisor on Roma Criminality. Activists
criticized the decision for implying causality between ethnicity and
criminality. The ministry was also criticized for populist policies
that claimed to get tough on criminality in areas bordering socially
excluded Romani settlements but failed to address the causes of
criminality or tackle crime issues within excluded settlements.
The law prohibits defamation of nationalities in public discourse;
however, authorities enforced this law only when other offenses, such
as assault or destruction of property, were also committed. There were
instances during the year of public officials at every level defaming
minorities and making derogatory comments about Roma. Inflammatory
speech by government officials also continued to increase tensions
between ethnic Hungarians and ethnic Slovaks.
The law provides for the imposition of fines on government
institutions, civil servants, and legal entities that did not provide
information required by law in Slovak. The law authorizes the Ministry
of Culture to levy fines of up to 5,000 euros ($6,500) for
noncompliance. Members of the ethnic Hungarian minority criticized the
provision as discriminatory and a restriction on their right to free
speech.
During the year the government made efforts to address violence and
discrimination against Roma and other minorities, although some
observers expressed concern that judges lacked sufficient training in
relevant laws and court cases involving extremism and often did not
handle cases properly. The government continued to implement its action
plan against xenophobia and intolerance, which included monitoring of
extremist activities by a special police unit. A commission consisting
of NGOs, police, and government officials advised police on minority
issues.
During the year the government made only limited progress on its
national minority strategy, which incorporated a wide range of
education, employment, housing, and social integration policy
recommendations from the Romani advocacy community. While the
government allocated approximately 200 million euros ($260 million) of
EU structural funds to projects addressing the needs of the Romani
community, NGOs complained that the funds had not been successfully
distributed and the government lacked a comprehensive approach to
Romani integration.
In August 2010 the government appointed Miroslav Pollak, a non-Roma
with extensive NGO experience in social work, as the plenipotentiary
for Romani affairs. The plenipotentiary maintained five regional
offices to supervise the implementation of governmental policy on
Romani issues, support infrastructure development, and cooperate with
municipalities and villages to improve interaction between Romani and
non-Romani populations. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and
Family assigned specially trained social workers to Romani settlements
to assist with government paperwork and to advocate the importance of
education and preventive health care. The Government Council on Human
Rights, National Minorities, and Gender Inequality operated a Committee
for the Prevention and Elimination of Racism, Xenophobia, Anti-
Semitism, and Other Forms of Intolerance.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--According to gay rights
advocates, prejudice and official and societal discrimination
persisted, although no official cases were available for citation.
In May 2010 the first gay pride parade in Bratislava was marked by
attacks by skinhead groups, forcing the organizers to alter the route.
The government blamed the organizers for failing to provide adequate
protection for the parade. A second Bratislava gay pride parade in June
demonstrated more effective cooperation between police and organizers,
and no major incidents were reported.
A statement of support for the parade jointly published by several
Bratislava-based embassies was met with substantial criticism in the
media and from politicians. Apart from the Slovak National Party (SNS),
known for its inflammatory remarks about minorities, members of the
governing Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) as well as former KDH
members criticized the parade and the public support offered by the
embassies. SNS chairman Jan Slota stated, ``Just like other sick
people, I view these people with a certain respect, because no one
chooses their illness. Someone who has cancer certainly does not go
around celebrating that fact. Neither do they march in the streets.
These people are sick. I am not taking away their space to live. But it
bothers me that they present it on the streets. It's a sick
performance.''
Organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons
operated without impediments and lobbied for legal rights, particularly
equal rights in nonheterosexual partnerships.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the right to form and join independent
unions of their choice except in the armed forces. The law also
provides for unions to conduct their activities without interference,
including the right to organize and bargain collectively, and workers
exercised these rights in practice. The law provides unions the right
to strike with advance notice when collective bargaining fails to reach
an agreement or in support of other striking employees' demands
(solidarity strike). The unions generally exercised these rights in
practice without restrictions. The law prohibits dismissing workers
legally participating in strikes; however, strikers were not ensured
protection if a strike was considered illegal or unofficial. Civil
servants in essential services and members of the military may not
strike.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--he law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Police are responsible for
investigating forced labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in the
workplace; however, there were reports that Romani children in some
settlements were exploited for commercial sex. NGOs reported that most
Romani victims, including children with disabilities, were exploited by
family members or other Roma.
The minimum age for employment is 15, although younger children may
perform light work in cultural or artistic performances, sports events,
or advertising activities if it does not affect their health, safety,
or schooling. The National Labor Inspectorate and Public Health Office
must approve, determine the maximum hours, and set conditions for work
by children younger than 15. Children younger than 16 may not work more
than 30 hours per week; children who are 16 and 17 are limited to 37.5
hours per week. Children under the age of 18 are not allowed to work
underground, work overtime, or perform labor inappropriate for their
age or health.
District inspection units received and investigated child labor
complaints. If a unit determined that a child labor law or regulation
had been broken, it turned the case over to the National Labor
Inspectorate. Enforcement was consistent across all communities.
Child labor in the form of begging was a problem in some
communities; there were also isolated reports of children forced into
prostitution, often by family members.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 317 euros
($412) per month. The minimum living standard (an estimate of the
poverty income level) was 190 euros per month ($247).
The law mandates a maximum workweek of 48 hours including overtime,
with 30-minute breaks after six hours of work or after four hours for
employees younger than 18, and rest periods of at least 12 hours
between shifts. Employees who work under conditions that endanger their
health and safety are entitled to ``relaxation'' leave in addition to
standard leave. Trade unions, local employment offices, and the
Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family monitored observance of
these laws, and authorities effectively enforced them.
The law establishes health and safety standards that the office of
labor safety generally enforced. Workers have the right to refuse to
work in situations that endanger their health and safety and may file
complaints against employers in such situations. In August 2010, 20
miners died in an underground methane gas explosion in Handlova. The
leadership of the mine remained unchanged. Three teams, one from the
district mining authority in Prievidza, the second from the Ministry of
Economy and Construction, and the third from the police, investigated
the explosion but did not release their findings during the year.
Approximately 290 labor inspectors had responsibility for the
entire country and were charged with investigating companies for
compliance with the law. The Ministry of Labor may impose financial
penalties on companies found to be noncompliant. If there are safety
and security concerns at a workplace, the inspectors can require
companies to stop using equipment that poses risks until safety
conditions are met. During the year the law on labor inspection was
amended to increase the rights of labor inspectors in cases where
``serious misconduct'' is found at workplaces. In such cases labor
inspectors can impose additional financial penalties on noncompliant
companies.
__________
SLOVENIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Slovenia is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional republic.
Power is shared among a directly elected president (head of state), a
prime minister (head of government), and a bicameral parliament
composed of the National Assembly (lower house) and the National
Council (upper house). The coalition government of Prime Minister Borut
Pahor lost a no-confidence vote on September 20; citizens elected a new
government on December 4 in free and fair multiparty elections.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problem was societal
discrimination and occasional extremist harassment and violence against
the country's Roma, which aggravated their harsh living conditions,
limited access to education and employment opportunities, and
heightened social exclusion. Judicial and administrative backlogs and
inefficiency resulted in significant delays in trials and in processing
of asylum applications. While the government made some progress in
restoring residency to persons whose status as residents was ``erased''
after the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, these ``erased''
individuals were unable to exercise fully their rights regarding access
to housing, health care, employment, and social security.
Other problems reported during the year included prison
overcrowding; government corruption; domestic violence against women
and children; trafficking in men, women, and girls; and violence and
discrimination against gay men and lesbians.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The location and identity of the remains of several thousand
persons executed extra judicially during 1945-47 remained an issue of
great political sensitivity in Slovenia. During the year government
authorities continued to discover mass graves from post-World War II
summary killings that took place throughout the former Yugoslavia. The
official count of graves discovered by the end of the year was 594,
although the actual number of victims was believed to be much higher.
Authorities had not exhumed or identified the vast majority of human
remains at these sites. During the year the government halved the
budget for investigating mass graves, reducing it to 876,000 euros
(approximately $1.1 million). The country has no legal mechanism for
survivors or descendants of victims of extrajudicial killings to seek
redress or initiate an official inquiry.
In March a group of historians publicly criticized the government's
handling of mass grave exhumations; in June church officials followed
suit with similar criticisms. In October an association of persons who
had resisted communism held a memorial at a mass grave site and called
for a register of sites and a list of victims.
In late 2010 government officials stopped the exhumation of a mass
grave near Dobova by a German contracting firm. The state prosecutor
maintained that a war crime had been committed on the site and that
such exhumation work could not be performed, since the site might still
yield evidence, and perpetrators found. No further exhumation was
undertaken.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, and the government permitted
visits by independent human rights observers. As of October there were
a total of 1,336 prisoners, 968 of whom were convicts and 304 were
detainees. There were 67 female prisoners and 30 juveniles. Men and
women were incarcerated in separate facilities, as were juveniles and
adults. Compared with 2010, the average number of inmates decreased by
3.8 percent. Prisoners had access to potable water.
Of the 13 prisons in the country, only four had a capacity of more
than 100 prisoners. New facilities at Dob Prison increased national
prison capacity by 174 places. The renovated Dob Prison opened on
October 14 and by year's end was already operating at 103.5 percent
capacity. In August the Ministry of Health opened a forensic psychiatry
unit in Maribor, which provided psychiatric treatment in a central
location with expert staff.
In 2009 Slovenia adopted a ``weekend prison'' program for convicted
prisoners serving sentences of up to three years, who were not
convicted of sexual offenses, and who maintained regular employment
during the week. No abuses of the weekend prison system were reported
during the year.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities allowed prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of
inhumane conditions and documented the results of such investigations
in a publicly accessible manner. The government investigated and
monitored prison and detention center conditions.
On October 20, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) ruled in
favor of five former inmates of Ljubljana prison and ordered Slovenia
to pay 39,500 euros (approximately $51,350) to each plaintiff for poor
prison conditions, notably severe overcrowding during 2009. The country
appealed the ruling. On December 8, the independent human rights
ombudsman presented a report on the implementation of the U.N. Optional
Protocol to the Convention against Torture, expressing concerns about
the country's overcrowded prisons. The report was based on 44
unannounced prison visits throughout the year.
An ombudsman serves on behalf of prisoners and detainees in matters
such as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders; the
status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders; and
improvements in pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures
to ensure that prisoners did not serve beyond the maximum sentence for
the offense with which they were charged. The independent ombudsman
carried out these responsibilities during the year.
The government permitted local and international human rights
groups, the media, and international bodies such as the International
Committee of the Red Cross and the Council or Europe's Committee for
the Prevention of Torture (CPT) to monitor prison conditions
independently. No such monitoring occurred during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are under the
direct supervision of the Ministry of Interior. The ministry oversees
the drafting of basic guidelines, security policy, and regulations
governing the work of the police. It monitors police performance, with
an emphasis on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. The
police provided effective law enforcement.
The law provides for the review of allegations of police abuse
either by the head of the organizational unit of the police or by the
Senate of the Ministry of Interior. The Senate does not have authority
to conduct independent investigations and relies on information
provided by the Ministry of Interior or police investigators. The
Senate committee usually forwarded its findings to the State
Prosecutor's Office as well as provided reports to the police and the
complainant.
There were no reports of impunity involving security forces during
the year.
As of September the police internal investigation division had
investigated 35 allegations of police, prosecutorial, and judicial
misconduct during the year. There were no arrests or trials by year's
end.
It is unconstitutional to collect data on the ethnic or national
background of citizens. The police reported that during the year they
held 12 two-day training sessions for 217 police officers and civilians
to sensitize them to issues relevant to working in a multicultural
environment. Representatives of the Roma community participated in the
training, which served to establish dialog between police and
individual Roma. The police trained several officers in the Romani
language and prepared a Slovenian-Romani dictionary. During the year
police handled several successful mediations in disputes in the Roma
community and between Roma and the majority population.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
generally apprehended those taken into custody with warrants issued by
either a prosecutor or judge. Authorities may detain suspects for 48
hours before charging them. Authorities are required to inform the
suspect verbally of his rights immediately after arrest. Authorities
must also advise detainees in writing within six hours (within three
hours for minor offenses) of the reasons for their arrest. Upon arrest,
detainees have the right to contact legal counsel of their choice, and
authorities generally respected this right in practice. The government
provided indigent detainees with free counsel and generally allowed
detainees prompt access to family members. The law also provides
safeguards against self-incrimination.
Once authorities charge a suspect, pretrial detention may last for
up to four months, depending on the severity of the alleged crime. An
investigative judge must certify the charges. After the commencement of
trial procedures, authorities may extend the total detention period for
up to two years. Authorities must release persons detained more than
two years while awaiting trial or pending conclusion of their trial.
Lengthy pretrial detention was not a widespread problem, and
authorities generally released defendants on bail except in the most
serious criminal cases.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice. The law provides the right to a
trial without undue delay; however, court backlogs at times resulted in
lengthy trial delays. As of June there was a backlog of 266,221 cases.
The ``Lukenda'' project, started by the government in 2005 to eliminate
the judicial backlog, continued to boost the efficiency of the
judiciary, reducing court backlogs and lowering the average processing
time from 14.1 months to 6.1 months. The government extended the
Lukenda project until 2012.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a public fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced
this right. Defendants enjoy the right to a presumption of innocence; a
trial by jury; to consult with an attorney; to confront prosecution
witnesses and present their own witnesses and evidence; access
government-held evidence; and appeal. While indigent defendants have
the right to an attorney provided at public expense, the government had
not established a formal system to provide legal counsel to the
indigent. However, free counsel was available to indigents from the
nongovernmental organization (NGO) PIC (Legal Information Center) and
the government-sponsored Free Legal Aid.
The judicial system was overburdened and lacked administrative
support, resulting in frequent delays in the judicial process. In many
instances criminal trials took from two to five years.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Courts Decisions.--Slovenia is subject to the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the ECHR found
11 violations by the country of the European Convention on Human
Rights, with seven of these deemed eligible for ``effective remedy.
Slovenia complied with ECHR decisions.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and law
provide for an independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters,
including damages for, or cessation of, human rights. As with criminal
matters, court backlogs sometimes resulted in lengthy or delayed
trials. Individuals may appeal court decisions involving alleged human
right violations by the state to the ECHR once all avenues for appeal
in domestic courts were exhausted.
During the year the Ministry of Justice stated that of the 33
property restitution cases arising from World War II, 29 of the
registered cases essentially were resolved. Three remaining cases, two
involving claims by U.S. citizens, have not made significant progress.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. It
is unconstitutional for the government to collect data from citizens
regarding ethnicity, race, or religious denomination.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
Reports of indirect government influence on the media continued during
the year.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and the government did not
attempt to impede criticism. However, the law prohibits hate speech,
specifically incitement to intolerance or violence. The penalty for
hate speech is two years' imprisonment. Although police statistics on
the incidence of hate speech did not show a significant increase, NGOs
and government officials maintained there had been a general increase
in intolerance, particularly anti-Semitic and homophobic hate speech.
Freedom of Press.--Media outlets were subject to the same laws that
prohibit hate speech as well as to laws prohibiting defamation and
libel. The independent media were active and generally expressed a
variety of views without restriction. The international media operated
freely.
The Annual Report on the Freedom of the Press by the Association of
Journalists and Commentators noted that the government exerted
increasing pressure on the media and highlighted criminal prosecutions
of journalists conducted by the State Prosecutor's Office at the
request of state and municipal officials. Examples included the police
investigation in late 2010-early 2011of Silvester Surla, editor in
chief of Reporter magazine, who criticized Ljubljana mayor Zoran
Jankovic's political involvement in business activities and the
indictment of journalist Borut Tavcar for satirical statements
concerning the involvement of the city administration with the holdings
of public companies owned by the municipality of Ljubljana.
Violence and Harassment.--In its December 1 edition, the South East
Europe Media Organization reported death threats received by two
Slovenian journalists. Blaz Zgaga and Matej Surc received numerous
anonymous threats for their reporting on the Patria trial..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The media practiced some self-
censorship in reporting the discovery of mass graves of suspected Nazi
collaborators killed at the end of World War II. Almost no domestic
media outlet covered the new mass graves found during the year or
discussed the identity of the persons responsible for the killings.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The law provides criminal penalties
for defamation that harms a person's honor or name; there were a few
reports of prosecutions for defamation during the year.
On December 13, a Ljubljana district court ordered a Finnish
broadcast journalist to pay former prime minister Janez Jansa 15,000
euros ($19,500) in connection with the journalist's 2008 allegation
that Jansa and other Slovenian officials had taken bribes in exchange
for awarding a major contract to the Finnish defense company Patria
(see section 4). The court also ordered the journalist and the Finnish
broadcast company YLE to retract the allegation on Slovenian and
Finnish national television.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The government operated a ``media
pluralization'' fund intended to ensure that media reflected a
diversity of viewpoints. The Commission for Pluralization of Media
(under the Ministry of Culture) published tenders for cofinancing
various media projects through the Fund for Pluralization.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet. The independent organization
Helpline Spletno Oko (Web Eye) monitored the presence of hate speech
and child pornography on the Internet and received on average 62
reports and tips per month.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
and law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government
established a system for providing protection to refugees. There was no
significant increase in the number of asylum seekers during the year.
Border police who apprehend persons seeking asylum are required to
process applications, inform applicants they may seek the assistance of
the asylum home (a residential facility where asylum seekers live while
awaiting status decisions), and direct the individuals there.
The law permits asylum seekers to change their asylum applications
if there are considerable changes in their circumstances. The law also
provides asylum seekers with the right to appeal decisions on their
applications, but authorities did not inform many asylum seekers of
this right.
As a precautionary measure aimed at eliminating lengthy paperwork
in cases where applicants eventually choose not to pursue asylum
claims, asylum seekers must sign a prospective ``renunciation
statement'' during the 24 hours when they are in the ``pre-reception''
area of the asylum center awaiting the filing of their asylum
application. This document allows officials to close cases only when
applicants abandon their asylum claims.
If asylum seekers leave the reception area of the asylum center
premises before filing asylum applications, they are no longer
considered asylum seekers and can be deported or detained in the aliens
center, a separate facility outside Ljubljana. After an asylum
application is filed, asylum seekers are free to leave but are expected
to return to the asylum home each evening. An absence of more than
three days is considered a withdrawal of an asylum claim, with
authorities regarding the asylum seeker as having left the country. If
the claimant returns to the asylum home after the three-day period, the
individual's status changes to that of a nonresident alien, subject to
deportation.
There are no policies or laws that deny asylum based on country of
origin.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from parents, with
certain limitations when the child is born outside Slovenian territory.
Naturalization is also possible.
The Ministry of Interior estimated that 25,671 persons were
deprived of residency status by a 1992 administrative ``erasure'' of
Yugoslav citizens in Slovenia who had residency status in another
Yugoslav republic. The government annulled and destroyed the identity
documents of the ``erased,'' leaving them without residency and without
rights to education, health care, housing, work permits, or pensions.
There was no right of appeal.
Of these ``erased'' persons, 10,943 subsequently adjusted their
status while 13,426 have not (1,302 others died). There was no official
data available on the 13,426 persons who had not adjusted their status,
a few dozen of whom lived in Slovenia and filed applications for
permanent residence. NGOs, the independent ombudsman for human rights,
and the Ministry of Interior believed that the majority of the
remainder lived abroad in Bosnia, Serbia, Italy, and Germany.
Since 2009 a legal framework (the Legal Status Act) has existed for
retroactively recognizing the residency status of ``erased'' persons in
Slovenia. However, legal experts and NGOs objected to the act because
of the significant administrative costs and effort involved in applying
for reinstatement and because the burden of proof was entirely on the
erased individual, who usually lacked basic documentation.
In October 2010 the ECHR accepted a request for referral from the
government to hear its objections to the 2010 ECHR ruling against
Slovenia in Kuric v. Slovenia, which found the country had violated its
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights by erasing
the residency status of the plaintiff. On July 5, representatives of
``erased'' persons testified at a public hearing before the ECHR that
Slovenia's measures to undo the injustice of the 1992 erasure were
insufficient and that the ``erased'' were entitled to damages.
On July 28, a government task force on the implementation of
relevant legislation reported to parliament that the ``erased'' were
still unable to exercise their rights in the areas of housing, health
care, integration in the labor market, and social security according to
the existing legislation.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On
December 4, the country held early parliamentary elections that were
considered generally free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 28 women in the
90-seat National Assembly and one woman in the 40-seat National
Council.
There were two members of minority groups in the National Assembly
but none in the National Council or cabinet. The constitution provides
the indigenous Italian and Hungarian minorities the communal right to
have at least one representative in the National Assembly. However, the
law does not provide such rights to any other minority group.
Twenty distinct Romani communities, each designated indigenous at
the local level, are entitled to a seat on their local municipal
council. After four years of noncompliance, Grosuplje became the last
municipality in the country to comply with the law, electing a Roma
representative to the city council during the year. It also established
a Roma Commission in September.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively; however,
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices.
The public perceived corruption to be a widespread problem. Only
the highest-level government officials--approximately 5,000 of the
country's 80,000 public employees--were subject to financial disclosure
laws. As of October 28, the Independent Commission for the Prevention
of Corruption received 1,026 reports of suspected corruption, compared
with 1,033 for the same period in 2010.
At year's end five officials, including former prime minister Janez
Jansa, remained on trial for bribery and accepting bribes in connection
with a 2006 Ministry of Defense contract to purchase armored vehicles
from the Finnish defense company Patria for 278 million euro ($361.4
million).
On August 10, Minister of Interior Katarina Kresal, denying any
wrongdoing, resigned after the Court of Audit and the Anticorruption
Commission declared that her conduct in obtaining building leases for
her National Bureau of Investigation was improper and corrupt.
The anticorruption commission played an active role in educating
the public and civil servants about corruption; however, it claimed to
have had neither an adequate staff nor sufficient funds to fulfill its
mandate and assess all cases of suspected corruption it received. In
contrast to previous years, the commission did not refer any reports of
police or other corruption to prosecutors for further investigation
during the year.
The law provides free public access to all government information;
in practice the government provided such access to both citizens and
noncitizens, including foreign media. The government may deny public
access only to classified information, personal data protected by
privacy laws, and other narrowly defined exceptions.
The Office of the Government Information Commissioner reported that
the number of complaints related to the nonresponsiveness of state
institutions increased. During the year the office received 549
complaints against decisions of state institutions and 308 complaints
under the Law on Access to Public Information.
The NGO Integriteta in partnership with Transparency International
completed a report on the responsiveness of state institutions. It
found that law enforcement agencies (National Bureau of Investigation
and police), the National Assembly, the Court of Auditors, and the
State Electoral Commission provided the fastest and most comprehensive
responses. Integriteta reported that the office of the independent
ombudsman, Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and Supreme
Court provided less satisfactory and slower (or no) responses.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The constitution provides for an
independent human rights ombudsman to monitor violations of human
rights, especially when perpetrated by persons in positions of public
authority. The independent ombudsman prepares an annual report on the
human rights situation and provides the government with
recommendations. Individuals may file complaints with the independent
ombudsman in hopes of securing nonjudicial relief in the case of a
human rights violation. In September the independent ombudsman
presented her comprehensive 400-page report for the year to parliament
in which she stressed the country needed a national institution for
preventing, researching, and dealing with human rights abuses. Neither
the prime minister nor the president offered any substantive comments
in response.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race,
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the government
generally enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
and domestic violence are illegal. During the year SOS Helpline, an NGO
that provided anonymous emergency counseling and services to domestic
violence victims, estimated that one in seven women was raped during
her lifetime but that only 5 percent sought assistance or counseling.
In particular, victims rarely reported spousal rape to authorities.
Police actively investigated reports of rape and prosecuted offenders.
The penalty for rape was one to 10 years in prison. There were 33
reported rapes in the first half of the year; 25 reported acts of
sexual violence; six criminal acts of sexual abuse of the weak; and 99
sexual attacks on minors under the age of 15.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, occurred and was
generally underreported. In the first half of the year, the police
processed 1,556 cases of criminal acts against a spouse, a family
member, and children (165 cases of kidnapping of minors, 1,039 cases of
domestic violence, and 352 cases of parental negligence and child
abuse). Police reported an increase in domestic violence, parental
negligence, and child abuse, mainly due to changes in the law and
greater expertise on the part of responsible institutions. The law
provides for penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment in the case of
aggravated and grievous bodily harm.
SOS Helpline estimated that 25 percent of women had been victims of
domestic violence. The NGOs SOS Helpline and Kljuc provided support
hotlines, and SOS Helpline reported 2,389 calls during the year. The
government fully funded eight crisis centers for mothers with children
and adolescents (with 68 beds), one of these specializing in children
six years of age or younger. The government also partially funded 29
shelters, safe houses, and maternity homes that offered 408 beds.
Shelters, safe houses, and crisis centers specifically for women and
children provided 271 beds in 19 locations, and maternity homes
provided 139 beds in 10 locations. The government worked with NGOs on
domestic violence cases, providing shelters and social work centers.
When police received reports of spousal abuse or violence, they
generally intervened and prosecuted offenders. The police academy
offered training on domestic violence.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in the
workplace (deemed a criminal offense) and in all areas of life
(prohibited as discrimination); however, it remained a widespread
problem. During the first nine months of the year, 56 criminal acts of
sexual harassment were reported.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children. They also have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was free access to
contraception and to skilled attendance during childbirth, including
essential obstetric and postpartum care. According to estimates by
international organizations for 2008, the maternal mortality rate was
18 deaths per 100,000 live births. Women and men were equally diagnosed
and treated for sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--The law provides for equal rights for women, and
there is no official discrimination against women in family law,
property law, or the judicial system. The Office of Equal Opportunities
protected the legal rights of women. While the average length of
unemployment was the same for men and women, women frequently held
lower-paying jobs. Women's earnings averaged 96.5 percent of those of
men.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from the
parents with certain limitations. A child is granted Slovenian
citizenship at birth provided that at the time the child's mother and
father were Slovenian citizens; one of the child's parents was a
Slovenian citizen and the child was born on the territory of the
country; or one of the child's parents was a Slovenian citizen while
the other parent was unknown and/or of unknown citizenship, and the
child was born in a foreign country. Naturalization is also possible.
There were no reports of problems with immediate birth registration.
Education.--While education for children is compulsory through
grade nine, school attendance and completion rates by Romani children
remained low. Poverty, discrimination, lack of parental and familial
permission or support, and language differences continued to be the
main barriers to the participation of Romani children in education
programs. Official literacy rates were not available, but social
services officials suggested unofficially that Roma literacy was
approximately 15 percent. Amnesty International reported that in some
representative communities 13 of 22 children failed to advance from
first to second grade. In Novo Mesto the Development Education Center
offered classes to approximately 100 Romani adults who had not finished
primary school, linking their attendance to their receipt of social
welfare benefits.
Segregated classrooms were illegal, but a number of Roma reported
to NGOs that their children attended segregated classes and that school
authorities selected them disproportionately to attend classes for
students with special needs. A few communities offered additional
educational training for students with special needs, creating separate
groups to help students experiencing scholastic difficulties, with the
goal of eventually returning them to the mainstream. Educators admitted
that most of these separated groups consisted almost entirely of Romani
students and sometimes criticized this model for continuing de facto
segregation. The European Social Fund, working in conjunction with the
Ministry of Education, continued funding 26 Romani educators to work
with teachers and parents. According to the ministry, these educators
had a positive impact in helping Romani children to stay in school.
Child Marriage.--Child marriage occurred within the Romani
community, but it was not a widespread problem.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law penalizes the possession,
sale, purchase, or propagation of child pornography. The law
criminalizes statutory rape with a sentence of six months to five years
and sets the minimum age of consent for sexual relations at 15. If the
victim is determined to be especially vulnerable, the sentence is set
at a minimum of three years with no maximum. If the perpetrator is a
teacher, the penalty is from one to eight years in prison. The law
provides children special protection from exploitation and
mistreatment, and the government generally enforced the law in
practice.
During the year 99 criminal acts of sexual abuse of a child under
the age of 15 were reported to authorities. Trafficking in children,
mainly teenage girls transiting the country, was a problem.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were approximately 300 Jews in the country.
Jewish community representatives reported some prejudice, ignorance,
and false stereotypes of Jews propagated within society, largely
through public discourse. There were no reports of anti-Semitic
violence or overt discrimination, but there were reports of increased
anti-Semitic speech, particularly on the Internet.
The government promoted antibias and tolerance education in the
primary and secondary schools, and the Holocaust is a mandatory topic
in the contemporary history curriculum. In March the historic synagogue
in Maribor was reopened as the Center of Jewish Cultural Heritage.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other government services, and the government generally
enforced these provisions in practice. The law mandates access to
buildings for persons with disabilities. The government implemented
laws and programs to ensure that persons with disabilities had access
to buildings, information, and communications, but modification of
public and private structures to improve access continued at a slow
pace, and many buildings were not accessible in practice. The Ministry
of Labor, Family, and Social Affairs has primary responsibility for
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides special rights
and protections to indigenous Italian and Hungarian minorities,
including the right to use their own national symbols and access to
bilingual education. Each of these minorities has the right to
representation as a community in parliament. Other minorities do not
have comparable special rights and protections.
The government considered ethnic Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Kosovo
Albanians, and Roma from Kosovo and Albania to be ``new'' minorities,
and the special constitutional provisions for indigenous minorities did
not apply to them. The new minorities faced varying degrees of
governmental and societal discrimination with respect to employment,
housing, and education.
According to press reports, police opened an investigation in July
into the appearance of posters with the slogan ``Gypsies Raus''
(Gypsies Get Out) and neo-Nazi signs in the town of Lendava. Police
arrested three young men for the crime. The Speaker of the National
Assembly Pavel Gantar, Minister for Slovenians Abroad Bostjan Zeks,
Human Rights Commissioner Zdenka Cebasek Travnik, and the head of the
Slovenian Roma Association Jozko Horvat Muc condemned the incident.
Many Roma lived apart from other communities in settlements that
lacked such basic utilities as electricity, running water, sanitation,
and access to transportation. According to Roma Association officials,
68 percent of Romani settlements were illegal. Organizations monitoring
conditions in the Romani community noted that the exclusion of Roma
from the housing market remained a problem. The U.N. special rapporteur
for human rights declared in August that Slovenia had failed to fulfill
the basic human rights of its minority population, specifically failing
to provide adequate water and housing to Roma.
Official statistics on Roma unemployment and illiteracy were not
available. However, organizations monitoring conditions in the Romani
community and officials employed in schools with large Romani student
populations unofficially reported that unemployment among Roma remained
at approximately 98 percent and that illiteracy rates among Roma
remained approximately 85 percent. Government officials emphasized that
illegality of settlements remained the biggest obstacle to implementing
the rights of Roma to adequate housing, water, and sanitation. The
independent ombudsman recommended to the government that it act on an
emergency basis to legalize Romani settlements.
The government continued the second year of a five-year national
action plan of measures to improve educational opportunities,
employment, and housing for the Roma. NGOs and community group
representatives reported some prejudice, ignorance, and false
stereotypes of Roma propagated within society, largely through public
discourse.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on sexual orientation; however, societal
discrimination was widespread, and cases of violence against lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons occurred. The Ministry of
Interior confirmed that hate crimes had generally increased compared
with 2010.
The NGOs Society for the Integration of Homosexuals (DiH) and
Legebitra reported that the police did not indicate whether violent
crimes were specifically directed at LGBT individuals. No official
statistics on crimes based on gender identity or crime data categorized
by specific targets were available by year's end. During the year
police recorded 24 incidents of inciting hatred or violence and
reported 27 cases of inciting intolerance, two of which involved
physical attacks. Legebitra reported that 92 percent of cases of
homophobic hate speech or violence were not reported to police and that
during the past year the rate of calls for personal counseling (to
address discrimination and harassment of LGBT individuals) had
increased 150 percent.
In April, May, and June, during events surrounding the annual pride
parade and the Family Law debate, some attacks occurred, including an
assault on an Italian visitor and the serious beating of a British
visitor, both of which police characterized as hate crimes. A few days
before the pride parade, the Green Dragons, a soccer fan club,
displayed a banner during a match calling for a ban on the pride parade
and support of the Family Law. Cafe Open, with clientele primarily of
gay men and lesbians and the headquarters of the pride parade, had its
windows smashed on the night before the parade. On June 4, the annual
gay pride parade in Ljubljana took place with the support of local
government officials; however, there were reports that bystanders
shouted homophobic slurs at participants, and antigay graffiti and
stickers were seen in various locations around the city. Organizers
reported satisfactory police presence during the parade.
On July 14, the NGO Skuc called for action in the case of two gay
asylum seekers from Kosovo, Kadri Shala and Demir Kruezi, who had been
subject to attacks in their home country. During their stay at the
asylum center in Ljubljana, Skuc reported, residents and employees of
the center had abused them both.
In 2010 three individuals were convicted and sentenced to 18 months
in prison for assaulting an individual during the 2009 gay pride
parade. However, on August 2, the court commuted the sentences of all
three assailants, based on their lack of prior criminal record, age
(less than 21), and apology to the victim.
On June 16, parliament passed the Family Law, allowing for adoption
of children by gay or lesbian couples if one of the partners was a
biological parent, entitling same-sex couples in civil partnerships the
same rights as married couples, and changing the definition of a family
to include two persons and a child. On July 19, the Ministry for Labor,
Family, and Social Affairs approved the country's first case of a child
adoption by the lesbian partner of the child's biological mother. In
late August the lobbying group Civil Initiative for the Family and the
Rights of Children began collecting signatures for a referendum to
overturn the Family Law, but an opposing lobby, The Initiative for All
Children, for All Families, for Free Choice, and for Equal Rights filed
a motion for a Constitutional Court review to block the referendum. The
Constitutional Court decided in December in a 5-4 ruling to allow the
referendum, scheduled for March 2012.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were some reports
of violence and discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. The NGOs
DiH and Legebitra reported, among other cases, the situation of one
individual whose job offer was rescinded when the prospective employer
learned the applicant was HIV-positive, even though a panel of three
physicians who knew of his HIV status approved the hiring.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows all workers, including police and military personnel, to
form and join labor organizations of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements. The law provides for the right
to strike without government interference and prohibits retaliation
against strikers, and workers exercised this right in practice.
However, the law also restricts the right of some public sector
employees to strike, primarily the police and members of the military
services, but provides for arbitration to ensure due process and
protection of these workers' rights.
According to the law, unions and workers may conduct their
activities without interference and bargain collectively. While
collective bargaining was freely practiced, the law requires that 10
percent of the workers in an industry sector be union members before
collective bargaining could be applied to the sector as a whole. Both
general collective bargaining agreements and collective bargaining
agreements focusing on a specific business segment covered all workers.
There were few reports of antiunion discrimination.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports that such
practices occurred.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace,
which the government effectively enforced.
The minimum age for employment is 15; however, younger rural
children often worked during the harvest season and performed farm
chores. The law limits working hours and sets occupational health and
safety standards for children, which the government effectively
enforced in practice. Urban employers generally respected the age
limits.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly gross
minimum wage was approximately 748 euros ($972). The official poverty
line is set at 587 euros ($763) per month for a family of four.
The law limits the workweek to 40 hours and provides for minimum
annual leave of 20 days and a mandatory rest period of at least one day
per week. Collective agreements regulated premium pay for overtime but
were not standardized. The law limits maximum overtime to eight hours
per week, 20 hours per month, and 170 hours per year. The Ministry of
Labor, Family, and Social Affairs is responsible for monitoring labor
practices and has inspection authority; police are responsible for
investigating violations of the law. Authorities enforced the laws
effectively, except in some cases involving migrant workers.
According to a complaint filed by the Association of Free Trade
Unions of Slovenia (AFTUS) with the International Labor Organization
(ILO) Committee of Experts, migrant workers were often orally
instructed to perform forced and excessive overtime in violation of
labor law provisions limiting overtime and specifying formal methods to
request it. AFTUS also noted that foreign nationals in the country on
employment permits were more vulnerable to exploitation in terms of
overtime, wages, rest periods, and annual leave by virtue of being tied
to the employer who provided the permit.
Migrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro
working in construction were the most vulnerable group of workers.
According to a 2010 ILO report, inspectors found numerous violations of
the law with respect to migrant workers, especially in the construction
industry, which employed approximately 50 percent of such workers.
Violations included the practice of employers illegally trading foreign
workers who were in the country based on employment permits. The ILO
and AFTUS also raised concerns that some migrant workers, especially
seasonal laborers, lived in substandard housing, segregated from the
national population, and lacking minimum standards in violation of the
law.
The law requires employers to provide social security payments for
all workers. The Legal Aid Society reported that employers of migrant
workers usually did not deduct social security from paychecks, leaving
unknowing workers without a future pension or access to social
services.
During the year the Labor Inspectorate reported finding 6,456
violations in 9,908 inspections, mostly in the construction (1,673),
hospitality (1,058), and retail (937) sectors. The most frequent
violation was nonpayment of wages. Special commissions under the
Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs
set standards for occupational health and safety for all workers. The
ministry's Inspector General Department conducted more than 11,379
inspections in the first eight months of the year and took enforcement
actions, including fining and prosecuting offenders, based on its
findings. Information on the number of labor inspectors and on work-
related deaths and accidents was not available at year's end.
On May 27 and June 4, the Invisible Workers of the World staged a
demonstration for the rights of migrant workers because of what they
dubbed Slovenia's unwillingness to take responsibility for their
catastrophic situation.
On September 6, the Employment Service finalized a social security
agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina, making Bosnians in Slovenia and vice
versa eligible for unemployment benefits in the country where they were
laid off.
__________
SPAIN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of Spain is a parliamentary democracy headed by a
constitutional monarch. The country has a bicameral parliament, the
General Courts or National Assembly, consisting of the Congress of
Deputies (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). The head of the
largest political party or coalition usually was named to head the
government as president of the Council of Ministers, the equivalent of
prime minister. National elections held on November 20 were considered
free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The most significant human rights problems during the year included
limited access to asylum for undocumented migrants and credible reports
that security forces were given arrest quotas for immigrants and used
ethnic and racial profiling to achieve this goal. Gender-based violence
against women and girls was also a problem.
Other problems included some reports that security forces abused
suspects and used excessive force against demonstrators and prison
overcrowding. Authorities at times delayed access by persons under
arrest to legal assistance or to arraignment before a judge.
Identification controls by security forces based on ethnic and racial
classifications took place. Government corruption occurred,
particularly at the provincial and municipal levels. Trafficking in
persons and social discrimination against Muslims and other minorities
were reported. Jewish groups reported isolated acts of vandalism and
anti-Semitism.
The government generally took steps to prosecute officials, both in
the security services and elsewhere in the government, who committed
abuses. There were no reports of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
As of September, authorities arrested 20 Basque Fatherland and
Liberty ETA members as well as five persons allegedly involved in ETA's
street violence campaign. In addition 26 members were arrested in
France and one in another country. The Office of the General Prosecutor
reported that during 2010 there were 54 trials of persons directly or
indirectly related to ETA.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and laws prohibit such practices, and the
government generally respected this prohibition. There were reports of
police mistreatment, although some of them were dismissed by the
courts.
The Coordinator for the Prevention of Torture (a group of Spanish
human rights nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], universities, and
bar associations) reported that in 2010 there were 251 reports of
torture or mistreatment involving 552 complaints, down from 624
complaints in 2009. According to the group, 85 of the complaints
involved cases against local police authorities, 79 against the
national Civil Guard, 222 against the national police authorities, 52
against the Catalan regional police, 17 against the Basque police, and
the remainder against prison staff. The regions with the highest number
of complaints were Madrid (138), the Basque Country (132), Andalucia
(68), Catalonia (67), and Valencia (43). The Catalan Department of
Interior reported that only seven complaints of abuse or mistreatment
were filed against Catalan regional police in 2010.
On October 13, a group of 56 protestors from the May 15 movement
presented a lawsuit against Catalonia's minister of interior and other
security officials for using force to break up a demonstration in
Barcelona on May 27. Videos and photographs of the incident showed
several police hitting male and female protestors with batons while
they were sitting on the ground with their hands raised in the air.
Lawyers for the protestors filed a complaint that the police
``gravely'' violated the protestors' fundamental rights. The operation
resulted in 121 injuries, including 37 of police. In a report to the
Catalan parliament on July 10, the regional ombudsman cited the police
for using excessive force in attempting to disband the protestors. The
ombudsman received 391 complaints against the police for their actions
during the demonstrations. The report also faulted regional and city
police for their failure to protect lawmakers from demonstrators who
blocked the entrances to the Catalan parliament on June 15. In light of
those events, the ombudsman proposed to create ``mediation groups'' to
better equip the police to respond to protests without resorting to
violence. The police maintained that their actions were a
``proportionate and adequate'' response, as some of the protestors had
provoked the conflict.
Amnesty International (AI) also reported excessive use of force by
police against demonstrators on August 4-5 in front of the Ministry of
the Interior in Madrid and on August 17-18 in the Puerta del Sol
Square, also in Madrid.
The AI annual report for 2011 criticized Spain for failing to
investigate complaints of torture and mistreatment and for the
preventive detention of foreigners. AI also criticized that authorities
could hold suspects incommunicado for up 13 days if they are suspected
of terrorist activities. The AI report stated that the number of police
checks of immigrants based on racial consideration continued to grow.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--As of August, a total of
71,955 inmates were in prison. Overall, the Spanish prison system
contained 44,669 cells, of which 1,120 housed three or more inmates.
There were 67 prisons in the country. Approximately 8.7 percent of the
prison population was female, the majority of whom were serving
sentences for drug trafficking. There were 5,526 juveniles imprisoned
during 2010, and an additional 10,527 were on probation. Prisoners had
access to potable water, food, entertainment, sports facilities, and
libraries. Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors
and were permitted religious observance.
According to the 2010 report by the Coordinator for the Prevention
of Torture, there were 552 complaints against security forces and jail
functionaries for abuse of authority, 72 less than in 2009. The report
indicated that in 2010 a total of five persons died while in police
custody, 46 died in jail, and one minor died while in a detention
center for youth.
On March 25, the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention
of Torture (CPT) released a report on its 2007 visit to Spain. At the
time of the visit, 57,042 persons were incarcerated in Spain (excluding
Catalonia) in prisons with an official total capacity of 39,893,
creating an overall occupancy level of 143 percent. In Catalonia, where
the regional government has jurisdiction of the penal system, the
prison population was 9,363 in facilities with an official capacity of
6,600. The report noted that conditions of detention in National Police
stations visited by the CPT varied considerably. While conditions were
generally acceptable in many stations, cells in some stations lacked
access to natural light and had poor artificial lighting and
ventilation. At the Ville de Vallecas police station in Madrid,
detainees were not provided mattresses at night. The CPT found
conditions at the Puente de Vallecas police station in the Madrid area
``totally unacceptable'' due to an array of problems including
``woefully inadequate'' ventilation. Material conditions at Civil Guard
establishments were generally satisfactory, although a number lacked
access to natural light, had poor ventilation, and had small cells.
Lack of access to natural light and ventilation were also observed at
Mossos d'Esquadra detention facilities.
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints
to judicial authorities without censorship and request investigation of
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated
credible allegations of inhumane conditions and documented the results
of such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The government
generally investigated and monitored prison and detention center
conditions.
Prisoners can file complaints regarding mistreatment with the
national ombudsman, who investigates complaints but does not have
authority to take corrective measures directly.
In July the Spanish Ombudsman, in its role of National Mechanism
for the Prevention of Torture, issued a report recommending the closing
of the detention centers for illegal foreign migrants at Algeciras and
Malaga because they did not meet minimum conditions. Another
recommendation was to fully investigate any reports of torture or
mistreatment. The ombudsman requested that authorities discontinue the
practice of holding juveniles incommunicado and allow detainees to have
private meetings with the lawyers they have been assigned. The report
also requested video surveillance and video recording devices in all
detention centers ``to prevent improper behavior.'' The ombudsman made
more than 300 unannounced visits to police and Civil Guard detention
centers, jails, centers for minors, and ``foreigners' internment
centers'' used to hold undocumented migrants.
In February, the secretary general for penitentiary institutions
announced that the government was scheduled to open 19 centers (jails,
social insertions centers, and units for mothers) before the end of
2012.
The government generally permitted monitoring by independent
nongovernmental observers, including the Coordinator for the Prevention
of Torture and the CPT, in accordance with their standard modalities.
On May 31, the CPT conducted a two-week periodic visit to Spain. As of
year's end, the report on the CPT visit had not been publicly released.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the armed forces and Civil Guard, and
the government generally has effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year. Police forces include
the national police and the Civil Guard, both under the authority of
the central government, as well as municipal police and police forces
under the authority of the Catalan and the Basque Country regional
governments. All police forces operated effectively, with isolated
reports of corruption.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that police may apprehend suspects for probable cause or with
a warrant based on sufficient evidence as determined by a judge. With
certain exceptions, police may not hold a suspect for more than 72
hours without a hearing.
Detainees generally were promptly informed of the charges against
them, and the courts released defendants on bail unless they believed
the defendants might flee or be a threat to public safety. The law
provides detainees the right to consult a lawyer. There were often
lengthy delays, however, between the time a detained person first
requested a lawyer and the time the lawyer arrived at the place of
detention. In its March 25 report using 2007 information, the CPT noted
that the detained persons it interviewed were only allowed to meet in
private with a lawyer after they had made a formal statement to law
enforcement officials. The state provided legal counsel to indigent
detainees.
In certain rare instances involving acts of terrorism, the law
allows authorities to detain persons for up to five days prior to
arraignment with the authorization of a judge. In these cases a judge
also may order incommunicado detention for the entire duration of
police custody.
The law stipulates that suspects held incommunicado have the right
to an attorney and medical care, but they are neither allowed to choose
an attorney nor to see a physician of their choice. The court-appointed
lawyer is present during police and judicial proceedings, but detainees
do not have the right to confer in private with the lawyer.
On February 20, the Spanish Society for the International Human
Rights Law submitted a report to the U.N. in which it requested the
Spanish government to close detention centers for foreigners on the
grounds they were ``discriminatory and illegal.'' According to the
association, abuses, mistreatment, and violations of human rights were
committed in these centers. The association's report stated that ``the
conditions of the centers are worse than those existing in jails in
most areas.'' The report asserted that detainees spent up to 60 days in
rooms holding six or eight persons, without privacy and with deficient
health conditions and were provided insufficient access to health care
and social assistance. The report also alleged that detainees were not
informed of their right to seek asylum or allowed to contact a judge or
prosecutor, there were not enough interpreters, and lawyers had trouble
gaining access to them. It also claimed there were cases of torture,
mistreatment, and threats on the part of officials in charge of the
centers.
During the year the government generally continued to implement
preventive measures to safeguard the rights of detainees held
incommunicado, including the application of protocols and continuous
video surveillance in detention facilities and interrogation rooms.
Pretrial Detention.--As of August, there were 13,771 individuals in
pretrial detention. Under the law, authorities may not detain suspects
for more than two years before putting them on trial unless a judge
authorizes a further delay, which may extend to four years. In practice
pretrial detention was usually less than one year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this
right. Trials are public, and there is a nine-person jury system.
Defendants have the right to be represented by an attorney (at
government expense if indigent), confront witnesses, present witnesses
on their behalf, and have access to government-held evidence.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and the right to appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Courts Decision.--During the year the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered nine judgments that
found at least one violation by the state of its obligations under the
European Convention on Human Rights. The government generally complied
with the court's orders. Spanish case law also makes repeated
references to ECHR's case law, and in some instances the government
implemented new procedures or legislation following an ECHR decision.
In response to an ECHR decision against the state for unduly lengthy
criminal proceedings, the government enacted a law in December 2010
that allows the undue length of a criminal proceeding to be cited as a
mitigating circumstance that may reduce a sentence.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary exists for civil matters, and there is access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for a human rights violation.
Violations of human rights can be pursued either criminally or, if
committed by the state administration in other than a criminal offense,
the complainant may pursue an administrative resolution. Persons may
appeal court decisions involving alleged violations by the state of the
European Convention on Human Rights to the ECHR once all avenues of
appeal in Spanish courts have been exhausted. The national ombudsman
also serves to protect and defend basic rights and public freedom on
behalf of citizens.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the
press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.
An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning
democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of
the press.
Freedom of Speech.--The law prohibits, subject to judicial
oversight, actions including public speeches and the publication of
documents that the government interprets as glorifying or supporting
terrorism. During the year the Office of the General Prosecutor filed
eight cases in the courts under this law.
The law provides that persons who provoke discrimination, hatred,
or violence against groups or associations for racist, anti-Semitic, or
other references to ideology, religion or belief, family status,
membership within an ethnic group or race, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, illness, or disability, may be punished with imprisonment
for one to three years.
Nongovernmental Impact.--Unlike in previous years, there were no
reports of new ETA threats against journalists. However, Reporters
without Borders reported in May that Spain was on the list of countries
where freedom of speech was challenged because of the terrorist
organization ETA, ``which has not stopped harassing journalists,
especially those living and working in the Basque Country.''
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Authorities
monitored Web sites for material containing hate speech and advocating
anti-Semitism. In March the Raxen report by the Movement against
Intolerance estimated there are over 200 Spanish Web sites promoting
hate on an international level, and even more on social networks, which
especially affect the Spanish-speaking world. At year's end, the
Barcelona court had several open investigations involving hate crimes
on the Internet.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl//irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian
organizations, including the Spanish Commission for Refugee Assistance,
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, returning refugees,
asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In 2010 there were 2,744 asylum applications in the country,
of which 2,322 petitions were granted. Of these, 345 cases were granted
according to the Geneva Convention, and 350 cases received subsidiary
protection. There were 15 individuals who received asylum for
humanitarian reasons. The countries most represented by the petitioners
were Cuba and Nigeria.
Potential asylum seekers were effectively able to exercise their
right to petition authorities. In a 2010 report, however, the national
ombudsman noted that complaints related to irregularities in the
handling and reporting of some deportation cases had not declined
significantly.
Saharawi applicants reported difficulties petitioning for political
asylum. In these cases the National Court has argued that there was no
evidence that ``Moroccan authorities went after Saharawi in a
systematic and generalized way because of their ethnic origin.''
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs ran the Program for Assistance and
Protection of Human Rights Defenders at Risk. Under this program, human
rights defenders who faced persecution and death threats could move to
the country for a period ranging from six months to two years,
depending on the circumstances.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--Asylum seekers are not
automatically rejected solely because of their country of origin. All
asylum petitions are reviewed individually, and an established appeals
process is available to petitioners.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government generally provided
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion.
Durable Solutions.--On October 7, the Council of Ministers approved
the program for resettling up to 100 refugees in Spain in 2011. The
country accepts refugees for resettlement from third countries and
provides protections with the assistance of NGOs such as the Spanish
Commission for Refugee Assistance.
Temporary Protection.--The law provides protection for up to three
years for persons who do not meet the criteria for refugee status but
face dangers such as torture or the death penalty if returned to their
countries of origin. The law includes gender and sexual orientation as
conditions for granting asylum, makes free legal assistance available
to asylum seekers, provides a single process for both asylum and
subsidiary protection (if asylum is denied, subsidiary protection is
automatically considered), contemplates family reunification for asylum
seekers, allows asylum requests to be accepted at an embassy or
consulate, and provides for the resettlement of refugees in neighboring
countries in some cases.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--National
elections held on November 20 were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 131 women in the
350-seat Congress of Deputies, 91 women in the 261-seat Senate, and
four women in the 13-member Council of Ministers.
The government did not keep statistics on the ethnic composition of
the parliament, but linguistic and cultural minorities were
represented. There were Muslim political parties in the city enclaves
of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. The Roma had no elected
representation in the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
According to the Attorney General's Office, there were
investigations into 730 cases of political corruption across the
country, with the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party leading with 264
cases, followed by the People's Party with 200. Other cases came from
smaller parties or, in 72 cases, from accused public officials without
apparent political affiliation.
The constitution provides for an ombudsman who investigates claims
of police abuse. In 2010 the national ombudsman filed 466 ex officio
judicial complaints, an increase from 269 complaints in 2009. During
2010 the ombudsman's office processed 34,674 complaints, an increase
from 22,287 complaints in 2009.
Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The
Ministry of Public Administration is responsible for managing and
enforcing the Law of Conflicts of Interest. The government also has a
code of good governance that applies to all senior government
officials.
The law mandates public access to government information, and the
government generally granted access to citizens and noncitizens,
including foreign media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
International Human Rights Bodies.--In November 2010 the Council of
Ministers approved Belgian-Moroccan citizen Ali Aarrass's extradition
to Morocco to face terrorism charges. The U.N. Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) issued an interim request on November 26, asking that Spain not
enforce the extradition until the UNHRC could make a further
recommendation on whether the extradition would expose Aarrass to the
risk of torture. On December 14, Aarrass was extradited to Morocco.
Human Rights Watch and other NGOs criticized Spain's extradition of
Aarrass.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The national ombudsman serves to
protect and defend basic rights and public freedom on behalf of
citizens. The ombudsman was generally effective and had the public
trust.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status, and the government generally enforced it
effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape, and the government generally enforced the law
effectively. It also prohibits violence against women, and independent
media and government agencies generally paid close attention to gender
violence.
According to the Observatory against Domestic and Gender Violence,
61 women, 21 of whom were foreign born, were killed by their partner or
ex-partner during the year. The observatory noted that only a small
number of the women killed had reported abuse prior to their death.
During the year a survey by the Ministry of Equality found that 600,000
women reported being assaulted by their partners, although authorities
registered only 130,000 domestic violence complaints during the year.
The observatory cautioned that immigrant women and women over the age
of 56 remained vulnerable groups to gender violence.
The law establishes prison sentences of six months to a year for
domestic violence, threats of violence, or violations of restraining
orders, with longer sentences if serious injuries result. According to
2011 statistics from the General Counsel of the Judicial Power, 80
percent of domestic violence cases resulted in a conviction.
In April parliament approved reforms that provide special
protections for irregular migrant women who report domestic abuse,
including the suspension of a woman's deportation proceedings,
provisions to obtain a work permit, and additional protection measures
for accompanying children.
More than 50 offices provided legal assistance to victims of
domestic violence, and there were more than 454 shelters for battered
women. A 24-hour toll-free national hotline advised battered women on
finding shelter and other local assistance. As of October 2011, the
hotline took calls in Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Bulgarian,
Chinese, Portuguese, Romanian, and Russian. As of October 2010, there
were 127 specialized courts dealing exclusively with domestic violence
cases, an increase from 103 in 2009.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is prohibited, and the law
authorizes courts to prosecute cases even if the crime occurred
overseas. Spain's first trial for FGM was successfully prosecuted in
November in Teruel, Aragon. The court sentenced the father of a two-
year-old girl to six years in prison and the mother to two years for
mutilating their daughter when she was eight months old. The court
ruling stated that the mutilation took place in Spain and the parents
subjected their daughter to FGM because of their religious and cultural
beliefs.
In Catalonia the law requires that a doctor examine immigrants
considered to be in danger of FGM when they travel to and from their
countries of origin. Parents whose children were determined to have
been subjected to FGM risked losing custody. Catalan regional police
had procedures to prevent FGM through the early detection of potential
victims, immediate reporting of possible cases to appropriate
authorities, and, when possible, preventing the travel of potential
victims. During the year the Catalan police prevented the genital
mutilation of 36 girls, compared with 28 in 2010. In Catalonia alone,
at least 10,000 girls were at risk of FGM, according to a 2009 report
by Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment in the
workplace; however, harassment was reported to be a problem.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals decide freely the
number, spacing, and timing of their children and enjoy the information
and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Obstetric and postpartum care is provided under the national health
plan. Contraception is easily accessible, including emergency
contraception, which is available without a doctor's prescription.
Discrimination.--Under the law women enjoy the same rights as men,
including rights under family law, property law, and in the judicial
system. The Women's Institute worked to ensure the legal rights of
women, combat economic discrimination, and integrate women into the
professional workplace. The unemployment rate for women (23.1 percent)
continued to be higher than for men (22.8 percent). Discriminatory wage
differentials continued to exist, and women held fewer senior
management positions than men. According to data from the National
Statistics Institute, women in the country earned 22 percent less than
men. Access to health care is a fundamental right under the
constitution regardless of gender, and women had equal access to
diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including
HIV.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. In rare cases when a child born in the country does not
acquire his or her parents' nationality, the country will grant
nationality.
Child Abuse.--According to the Ministry of Equality, approximately
800,000 children were victims of domestic violence, either as witnesses
or as direct victims. During 2010 at least 16 children were killed by
one of their parents.
As of September 2011, 67 unaccompanied minors were housed in
approximately 12 local shelters on the Canary Islands. In previous
years, NGOs raised concerns about overcrowding, mistreatment, and poor
conditions at three emergency centers, which at one time housed over
1,000 unaccompanied minors predominately from Sub-Saharan Africa and
Morocco. By June the three emergency centers, La Esperanza, Arinaga,
and Tegueste, had closed due to a steep drop in new arrivals.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Trafficking of teenage girls for
commercial sexual exploitation remained a problem. The minimum age for
consensual sex in the country is 13. If deceit is used in gaining the
consent of a minor under the age of 16, an individual can be charged
upon parental complaint. The law specifically provides that an
individual who, by use of deceit, commits sexual abuse against a person
over the age of 13 but under 16 will be punished with imprisonment for
one to two years or an equivalent fine. Nonconsensual sexual abuse is
defined as sexual acts committed against persons under 13 years,
unconscious persons, or mentally ill persons.
The law prohibits child pornography. The penal code criminalizes
both using a minor ``to prepare any type of pornographic material'' and
producing, selling, distributing, displaying, or facilitating the
production, sale, dissemination, or exhibition, of ``any type'' of
child pornography by ``any means.'' Knowingly possessing child
pornography is also penalized, carrying a potential prison sentence of
up to one year. The penalty for the production, sale, or distribution
of pornography in which a child under 18 years of age has been involved
is imprisonment from one to four years or up to eight years if the
child is under 13.
In October 2010 more than 100 persons were arrested or indicted in
a nationwide raid carried out by more than 400 National Police
officials against a child pornography ring. In total, security forces
arrested over 200 persons for possessing and distributing child
pornography.
Penalties for recruiting children or persons with disabilities into
prostitution is imprisonment from one to five years (previously it was
one to four years); if the child is under the age of 13, the term of
imprisonment is four to six years. The same sentence applies to those
who seek child prostitutes. The penalty for pimping children or persons
with disabilities into prostitution is imprisonment from four to six
years and, if the minor is under 13, the term of imprisonment is five
to 10 years. The penalty for recruiting children or persons with
disabilities for child pornography is one to five years' imprisonment;
if the child is under the age of 13, imprisonment is five to nine
years. In addition individuals who contact children under the age of 13
through the Internet for the purpose of sexual exploitation face
imprisonment of one to three years.
The law criminalizes the ``abuse and sexual attack of minors''
under the age of 13. The penalty for sexual abuse and assault of
children under the age of 13 is imprisonment from two to 15 years,
depending on the nature of the crime.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to Jewish community leaders, while
violence against members of the approximately 48,000-member Jewish
community was rare, anti-Semitic incidents, including graffiti against
Jewish institutions, continued.
On June 27, Barcelona's prosecutor for hate crimes and
discrimination reported five cases of anti-Semitism in Catalonia in
2010. However, the report cautioned the majority of the hate crimes
were unreported and the data was incomplete. The report faulted the
National Police and Civil Guard for not collecting data and statistics
on hate crimes. The five reported cases of anti-Semitism were based on
data from Catalonia's autonomous police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, which
implemented a protocol to collect hate crimes statistics in March 2010.
On March 31, the NGO Movement against Intolerance reported 4,000
racist incidents per year in the country, of which 400 were clearly
anti-Semitic.
In November legal proceedings began against the head of the neo-
Nazi political party Estado Nacional Europeo (National European State)
and two collaborators for distributing materials that justified the
Holocaust and for inciting hate, violence, and discrimination.
Barcelona's hate crimes prosecutor sought a four-and-a-half year prison
sentence against the party leader for inciting hate through a bimonthly
magazine, Intemperie (Outdoor), and two-and-a-half year sentences for
each collaborator. In addition to anti-Semitic writings, the group also
wrote against homosexuals and immigrants. During his trial, the head of
the party told the court, ``it's not racism, it's hate.''
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, access to
information technology and communication, including social media, and
the provision of other state services. The government generally
enforced these provisions effectively. The law mandates access to
buildings for persons with disabilities, and the government generally
enforced these provisions; however, levels of assistance and
accessibility differed between regions. The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities.
The law provides for fines of up to one million euros ($1.3
million) for discrimination against disabled persons.
On January 21, the State Federation of Deaf People expressed its
regret that the Senate had allocated funds to interpret between Spanish
official languages without considering allotting funds to hire sign
language interpreters.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were instances of
societal violence and discrimination against members of racial and
ethnic minorities, and the government generally undertook efforts to
combat the problem.
During 2010 the government-sponsored Network of Centers for
Assisting Victims of Discrimination received 235 complaints of
discrimination, of which 39 percent were from the African community, 20
percent from the Romani community, and 17 percent from the Latin
American community. Of the complaints, 24 percent were related to
discrimination based on unequal access to goods and services in both
the public and private sectors, 22 percent were against security
forces, and 17 percent were related to discrimination in the workplace.
The 2010 Raxen Report by the Movement against Intolerance estimated
that there are approximately 4,000 racially motivated crimes in the
country each year as well as over 200 xenophobic Web sites. The Office
of the Spanish Ombudsman reported 48 complaints of racism and
xenophobia in 2010.
On March 10, the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination issued a report urging the country to ``take effective
measures to eradicate the identification controls based on ethnical and
racial approaches,'' which can lead to unfair arrests. The committee
urged Spain to review the police staff notice 1/2010 where arrest
quotas of immigrants were included. According to the media, since 2008,
the National Police have had orders to identify as many possible
illegal immigrants in Madrid, with the objective of expelling them from
the country. Four police unions have confirmed the reports both to the
Office of the General Prosecutor and the ombudsman, stating that they
were forced to arrest foreigners just because they look like foreigners
and could be without papers. The Ministry of Interior had denied the
existence of the controls.
According to the domestic NGO Fundacion Secretariado Gitano (FSG),
Roma continued to face discrimination in access to employment, housing,
and education. The Romani community, which the FSG estimated to number
650,000, experienced substantially higher rates of unemployment,
poverty, and illiteracy than the general population. During the year
the FSG reported 115 cases of discrimination against Roma, of which 30
percent involved discriminatory portrayals of Roma in the media and
online.
On April 4-6, Thomas Hammarberg, the Council of Europe's
commissioner for human rights, visited Madrid and met with the
secretary general of social policy and consumption, Isabel Martinez
Lozano. In his report on the visit, Hammarberg noted that the economic
downturn had a disproportionally severe impact on Roma, whose rate of
employment in 2009 declined by 35 percent, compared with a decline of
18 percent experienced by the general population, and may endanger
improvements the country has achieved. He also noted that
disproportionate numbers of Roma continued to live in segregated and
substandard dwellings, with civil society reporting that 12 percent of
Roma in the country lived in substandard housing and 4 percent lived in
shantytowns. Hammarberg criticized ``certain Spanish media'' for
propagating negative stereotypes about immigrants and Roma, associating
them with ``illegality, deviance, and lack of adaptation.''
Politicians known for their hard-line stances against immigration
gained ground following Catalonia's municipal elections in May. Xavier
Garcia Albiol of the Popular Party of Catalonia became the new mayor of
Badalona, a suburb of Barcelona that is the third largest city by
population in Catalonia, in part due to his polemical views linking
immigrants from Romania and other countries to crime and promising a
tougher stance on illegal immigration. As a result of a 2010 campaign
flyer linking immigrants to crime that stated ``We don't want Roma,''
Albiol was charged with inciting racist hate. As of year's end,
investigators were determining whether to send the case to trial.
In the May elections, the far-right, anti-immigrant Platform for
Catalonia (PxC) increased its number of city council representatives in
Catalonia from 17 to 67, but the party neither won any mayoral races
nor earned a seat in the regional parliament. In November Juan Carlos
Fuentes Linares, the PxC's former secretary general and city councilman
in the town of Vic, was sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison for
inciting hate. The charges stemmed from anti-Muslim pamphlets that
Fuentes Linares distributed in the 2007 election campaign. In the same
trial, the court absolved PxC founder and president Josep Anglada of
the same charges, citing insufficient evidence to prove that Anglada
knew about the pamphlets.
On May 27, the government approved the disciplinary code of the
armed forces, which calls for penalties for the use of any type of
discriminatory or xenophobic expressions.
On November 4, the Council of Ministers approved the Integral
Strategy against Racial Discrimination and Xenophobia. The strategy
called for improvement in the gathering of statistical information from
public institutions, strengthening of the cooperation between entities
and institutions, and creation of prevention plans for vulnerable
groups, including immigrants, refugees, unaccompanied minors, or those
suffering discrimination because of their gender or religious beliefs.
The strategy paid special attention to labor discrimination.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community was widely accepted throughout the
country. LGBT organizations were numerous, and there were no reported
impediments to their operation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of major societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS.
On September 2, Catalonia's Superior Court ordered the regional
government to comply within two months with a 2010 Spanish Supreme
Court ruling that Spanish become a vehicular language in Catalonia's
public schools. As of year's end, the Catalan government had not
complied with the ruling. Catalan president Artur Mas staunchly
defended the current educational model and stated that Catalonia's
language policy is a ``red line'' not to be crossed. Advocates of the
Catalan immersion model cited studies showing that Catalan public
school students performed as well as their counterparts in other parts
of Spain on Spanish language proficiency tests.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows workers, including foreign and migrant workers, to form
and join independent unions of their choice without previous
authorization or excessive requirements, and workers did so in
practice. However, military personnel and national police forces do not
have the right to join unions, and judges, magistrates, and prosecutors
are not free to join the union of their choice.
The law allows unions to conduct their activities without
interference, and the government generally protected this right in
practice. The law provides for the right to strike, and workers
exercised this right by conducting legal strikes. Any striking union
must respect minimum service requirements negotiated with the
respective employer. On occasion employers used the minimum service
requirements to undermine planned strikes.
The law provides for collective bargaining, including for all
workers in the public sector except military personnel, and it was
freely practiced. Public sector collective bargaining includes salaries
and employment levels, but the government retained the right to set
these if negotiations failed. Collective bargaining agreements were
widespread in both the public and private sectors, covering
approximately 80 percent of the workforce as of 2011.
Employers frequently hired new employees under temporary work
contracts. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) stated
that, although in theory workers on temporary contracts were covered by
collective bargaining agreements, in practice more and more workers
were individually negotiating directly with employers and managers and
undermining the collective bargaining process. The ITUC further noted
that 63 percent of temporary workers were immigrants.
The law prohibits discrimination by employers against trade union
members and organizers; however, unions contended that employers
practiced discrimination in many cases by refusing to renew the
temporary contracts of workers engaging in union organizing.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that children were trafficked for forced begging. Men were also
trafficked for forced labor, mainly in agriculture and construction.
Migrant women and children from Romania and Bulgaria remained
particularly vulnerable to labor exploitation in agriculture and forced
begging.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws and policies to protect children from exploitation in
the workplace, and these laws were generally enforced. However, there
were reports that children were trafficked for forced begging.
The statutory minimum age for the employment of children is 16. The
law also prohibits the employment of persons under the age of 18 at
night, for overtime work, or in sectors considered hazardous. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has primary responsibility for
enforcement of the minimum age law and enforced it effectively in major
industries and the service sector. The ministry had difficulty
enforcing the law on small farms and in family-owned businesses, where
some child labor persisted. Laws prohibiting child labor were enforced
effectively in the special economic zones. In 2010 the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs detected 16 violations related to child labor,
affecting a total of 22 minors.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was
641.40 euros (approximately $834) per month. The Ministry of Labor and
Social Affairs effectively enforced the minimum wage. The National
Statistics Institute reported in October that 21.8 percent of the
country's population lived below the poverty line. For a family of two
adults and two children, the poverty level was set at 15,820 euros
($20,600) per year. The average income per household in 2010 was 24,890
euros ($32,400).
The law provides for a 40-hour workweek, with an unbroken rest
period of 36 hours after each 40 hours worked. By law overtime is
restricted to 80 hours per year unless collective bargaining
establishes a different level. Premium pay is required for overtime.
The National Institute of Safety and Health in the Ministry of
Labor and Social Affairs has technical responsibility for developing
occupational safety and health standards, and the Inspectorate of Labor
has responsibility for enforcing the law through inspections and
judicial action when infractions are found. As of August, there were
1,704 labor inspectors in the country. Unions criticized the government
for devoting insufficient resources to inspection and enforcement.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from situations that
endanger health or safety without jeopardy to their employment.
Authorities effectively enforced this right; however, employees with
short-term labor contracts generally did not understand that they had
such legal protections.
__________
SWEDEN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a freely
elected multiparty parliamentary form of government. Legislative
authority rests in the unicameral parliament (Riksdag). National
elections in September 2010 were considered free and fair. Voters
reelected the center-right coalition led by the Moderate Party as a
minority government with Fredrik Reinfeldt as the prime minister. The
king is the largely symbolic head of state. The prime minister is the
head of government and exercises executive authority. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
The main human rights abuses reported during the year included
societal discrimination and some incidents of violence against members
of ethnic and religious minorities, and abuse of women and children.
While the criminal justice system operated effectively, authorities
subjected a high percentage of pretrial detainees to extended periods
in isolation and limited their access to visitors, mail, and exercise.
Other reported problems included use of excessive force by police,
forced deportation of Iraqis and others to areas deemed unsafe, the
trafficking of women and children, discrimination against persons with
disabilities, and wage abuse of mainly foreign seasonal berry pickers.
Authorities generally prosecuted officials who committed abuses in
the security services or elsewhere in the government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices; however,
there were reports that police used excessive force.
The national prosecutor's office for police cases received 5,373
reports of misconduct during the year. The reports covered all police
employees, both officers and civilians, and involved incidents that
occurred both on active service and outside of work. The majority of
the incidents took place while the police employee was on duty, and of
these 17 percent involved accusations that on-duty officers had used
more violence than the situation required.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally met international standards, and the government permitted
visits by independent human rights observers.
Prisoners had access to potable water. There were no specific
prison ombudsmen, but prisoner complaints were sent to and handled by
the justice ombudsman. Authorities used alternatives to sentencing for
nonviolent offenders, such as intensive supervision with electronic
monitoring, conditional sentence, probation, and community service.
During the year the government took a number of measures to improve
prison conditions, including measures to decrease the rate of
recidivism and a national effort to reduce the number of career
criminals.
During the year up to November 30, seven persons committed suicide
while in prison or a detention center.
According to the Prison and Probation Service, prison and detention
centers were meant to hold a maximum of 6,957 prisoners and detainees.
On November 1, the total number of prisoners and detainees was 6,771.
In October 2010, the latest date for which data was available, there
were 180 juvenile and 288 female prisoners.
Restrictive conditions for prisoners held in pretrial custody
remained a problem. A new Act on Treatment of Persons Arrested or
Remanded in Custody that went into force on April 1 includes the
possibility of appealing a decision on specific restrictions to the
Court of Appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
According to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, in July 2010
approximately 45 percent of pretrial detainees were subjected to
extended isolation or to restrictions on mail delivery or exercise.
Authorities stated they took this step when detainees' contact with
people outside the detention center could risk destroying evidence or
changing witnesses' statements, thereby imperiling an ongoing
investigation.
Prisoners and detainees not under restrictions had reasonable
access to visitors. All were permitted religious observance, and could
submit complaints to several judicial authorities without censorship.
Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
The justice ombudsman, who worked independently from the
government, could serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees to
consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent
offenders to alleviate overcrowding; addressing the status and
circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders; and improving
pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure that
prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged
offense. In July the justice ombudsman set up a new unit to fulfill
better its role as the National Preventive Mechanism as called for by
the U.N. Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The
justice ombudsman conducted five prison inspections during the year.
The government permitted monitoring by independent, nongovernmental
observers. The national Red Cross and church associations may also
visit prisoners, but may not monitor or inspect the prisons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally
observed these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police and
the national criminal police are responsible in practice for law
enforcement and general order within the country. The Security Service
is responsible for national security related to terrorism, extremism,
and espionage. The armed forces, subordinate to the Ministry of
Defense, are responsible for external security. The Ministry of Justice
provides the funding and the letters of instruction for police
activities, but it does not control how they perform their work.
According to the constitution, all branches of the police are
independent authorities. The chancellor of justice, who is a
nonpolitical civil servant appointed by the government, acts as the
government's ombudsman in the supervision of the police. In addition,
the Security and Integrity Commission can review the work of the
Security Service upon an individual's request and initiate its own
investigations if it suspects that the Security Service has collected
and used personal data wrongfully.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the national
police and the Security Service, and government authorities had
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
requires warrants issued by duly authorized officials for arrests, and
the government generally respected this requirement in practice.
Persons can be and are arrested without a warrant if they are caught
committing a crime or if they are suspected of having committed a crime
that is being investigated. A person who is believed to be drunk or
under the influence of drugs and intends to drive any vehicle may also
be arrested without a warrant. Police must file charges within six
hours against persons detained for disturbing the public order or
considered dangerous and within 12 hours against those detained on
other grounds. Police may hold a person for questioning for six hours
or up to a maximum of 12 hours if necessary for the investigation.
After questioning, the level of suspicion determines whether an
individual will be arrested or released. A court order is not needed to
hold a person for as long as 12 hours. If a suspect is arrested, the
prosecutor has 24 hours (or three days in exceptional circumstances) to
request continued detention. An arrested suspect must be arraigned
within 48 hours, and initial prosecution must begin within two weeks,
unless extenuating circumstances exist. Authorities generally respected
these requirements.
Although there is no system of bail, courts routinely released
defendants pending trial unless they were considered dangerous or there
was a risk that the suspect would leave the country. Detainees may
retain a lawyer of their choice; in criminal cases the government is
obligated to provide an attorney, regardless of the defendant's
financial situation. Detainees are afforded prompt access to lawyers
and to family members. A suspect has a right to legal representation
when the prosecutor requests his detention beyond 24 hours (or three
days in exceptional circumstances). Prompt access to family members was
influenced by the type of crime the suspect was accused of committing.
Sometimes a suspect was not allowed any contact with family members if
police believed it could jeopardize an investigation.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
judicial independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are generally
public. Juries are used only in cases involving freedom of the press or
freedom of speech. In other cases judges or court-appointed civilian
representatives make determinations of guilt or innocence. Cases of a
sensitive nature, including those involving children, child
molestation, rape, and national security, may be closed to the public.
The court system distinguishes between civil and criminal cases.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to consult
an attorney in a timely manner. In criminal cases the government is
obligated to provide a defense attorney. A ``free evidence'' system
allows parties to present in court any evidence, regardless of how it
was acquired. Defendants can confront or question witnesses against
them and/or present witnesses and evidence on their behalf and
defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence
relevant to their cases. If convicted, defendants have the right of
appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Human rights cases are tried
in the general court system. Citizens can appeal cases involving
possible violations of the European Convention on Human Rights by the
state to the ECHR.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and law prohibit such actions, and
the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
The National Defense Radio Establishment (FRA) may monitor
international communications traffic with the prior approval of a
special court. Under the law only government ministries and the armed
forces may commission surveillance from the FRA. In 2010 courts issued
3,349 permits for wiretapping and camera surveillance, an increase of
51 percent from 2009. The courts denied 36 permits.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press,
and the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
The law criminalizes expression considered to be hate speech and
prohibits threats or expressions of contempt for a group or member of a
group based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, religious
belief, or sexual orientation. Penalties for hate speech range from
fines to a maximum of four years in prison.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail.
In 2010 the European Commission filed a complaint against the
government for not implementing a directive requiring communications
providers to retain data specified in the directive for a period of
between six months and two years. The center-right governing coalition
agreed to retain the data for six months, but on March 16 parliament
decided to postpone the implementation of the directive for at least 12
months.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--In accordance with EU law, the
government denied asylum to persons who had transited other EU
countries or countries with which it maintained reciprocal return
agreements before arriving in Sweden. It deported such persons to those
countries.
Nonrefoulement.--During the year the government forcibly
repatriated 638 Iraqis, most frequently to Baghdad, pursuant to a
repatriation agreement with Iraq. The U.N., through the UNHCR, and
nongovernmental organizations such as Amnesty International criticized
the government and the migration minister for the forced repatriations.
Amnesty International also expressed concern over an increased rate of
rejection of Uighur asylum seekers, mainly from China's Xinjiang
Province. Asylum seekers can appeal rulings of the Migration Board to
two special migration appeals courts. Unsuccessful asylum-seekers can
and did appeal their cases to the ECHR.
Durable Solutions.--The government authorized financial
repatriation support for asylum seekers denied residence in the country
in the amount of 30,000 kronor ($4,360) per adult and 15,000 kronor
($2,180) per child, with a maximum of 75,000 kronor ($10,900) per
family. During the year the government provided repatriation support to
923 persons, most of them of Iraqi origin. Beginning December 1, the
government no longer authorized repatriation support for persons
returning to Kosovo.
Temporary Protection.--During the year the Migration Board provided
temporary protection to approximately 75 persons who did not qualify as
refugees.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from one's parents.
According to UNHCR data there were 9,344 stateless persons in the
country in January. The large number related to the influx of
immigrants and the birth to stateless parents of children who remain
stateless until either one parent acquires citizenship or a special
application for citizenship for stateless children under the age of
five is submitted and approved. The majority of stateless persons came
from the Middle East (the Occupied Territories, Lebanon, Syria, and
Iraq) and Somalia.
Once stateless persons are granted permanent residence, they can
obtain citizenship through the same naturalization process as other
permanent residents. Gaining citizenship generally requires four to
eight years, depending on the individual's grounds for residency,
ability to establish identity, and lack of a criminal record.
There is no legal discrimination against stateless persons in
employment, education, housing, health services, marriage, birth
registration, access to courts and judicial procedures, or owning land
or property.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--National
elections held in September 2010 were considered free and fair.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Following the September
2010 elections there were 157 women among the 349 parliamentarians.
There were 12 women in the 24-member cabinet.
No official statistics on minority representation in government
were available because the law prohibits the government from holding
information about the racial or ethnic background of its citizens.
However, media reports stated that the number of immigrant
parliamentarians increased in the September 2010 elections.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. A special
unit in the prosecutor's office worked on cases involving corruption
and initiated 26 investigations during the year, resulting in
prosecutions of 35 persons. Public officials and political parties are
subject to financial disclosure laws.
On June 21, authorities prosecuted a civil servant and an elected
official for accepting payments from one of the companies involved in
constructing a stadium. Their trial continued at year's end.
Public officials and political parties are subject to financial
disclosure laws. The constitution and law provide for public access to
government information, and the government generally granted access in
practice to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media. The
public has the right of access to government documents unless they are
subject to secrecy laws, according to which information may be withheld
if its release poses a threat to national security or to individual or
corporate privacy. The public had access to a mechanism to appeal such
a withholding of information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were often cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--At the national level, the country
has seven ombudsmen: four justice ombudsmen, the chancellor of justice,
the children's ombudsman, and the discrimination ombudsman with
responsibility for ethnicity, gender, transsexual identity, religion,
age, sexual orientation, and disabilities. There are normally ombudsmen
down to the municipal level as well. The ombudsmen enjoyed the
government's cooperation and operated without government or party
interference. They had adequate resources and generally were considered
effective. The children's ombudsman published a number of reports and
publications for children and those working to protect children's
rights. The discrimination ombudsman published material throughout the
year to prevent discrimination. On February 17, a government statement
clarified the mission of the discrimination ombudsman and reduced the
processing time for reported cases.
Government officials often were cooperative and responsive to the
views of the ombudsmen.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
While the constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on
race, gender, age, disability, language, social status, or sexual
orientation, the government did not always effectively enforce these
prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is illegal, and the government enforced the law effectively. The law
stipulates more severe penalties for repeated crimes and for cases in
which the perpetrator had a close relationship with the victim.
Penalties range from two to 10 years in prison. The National Council
for Crime Prevention (NCCP) reported 5,960 rapes during 2010, compared
with 5,937 in 2009.
The NCCP reported approximately 27,300 cases of assault of women
during 2010, the latest year for which data was available. Authorities
apprehended and prosecuted abusers in most cases.
The law provides victims with protection from contact with their
abusers. When necessary, authorities helped victims to protect their
identities or to obtain new identities and homes. According to official
statistics, approximately 12,000 persons, mostly women, were in these
programs at the end of the year. Both national and local governments
helped fund volunteer groups that provided shelter and other assistance
for abused women, and both private and public organizations ran
shelters and operated hotlines.
According to official figures for 2010, 27 percent of girls and
women with a non-Swedish background, or approximately 100,000 persons
in total, faced unreasonable restrictions from home that could be seen
as honor-related. Honor-related violence exclusively involved
immigrants from Muslim countries; police concentrated on educating
police officers and prosecutors to increase their awareness of the
problem and to improve its detection and prevention. In 2010 county
administration boards used a grant of 36 million kronor ($5.2 million)
from the Ministry for Integration and Gender Equality to work against
honor-related restrictions. On July 28, the government, through the
Ministry for Education and Research, announced a 9.6-million-kronor
($1.4 million) addition to the grant. At year's end there were no
reports of the results of these programs.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, and the
government generally enforced this law in practice. Employers who do
not investigate and intervene against harassment at work may be liable
for damages to the victim. There are no criminal penalties for
harassment.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was easy access to
contraception, prenatal care, maternal health services including
skilled attendance during childbirth, essential obstetric and
postpartum care, and family planning practices.
Discrimination.--Women have the same legal rights as men in the
judicial system, including rights under family law and property law.
Some sectors of the labor market, including the financial sector and
high-ranking positions in both in the public and private sectors, still
showed significant gender disparities in terms of salaries, especially
in male-dominated occupations. Women's salaries averaged approximately
86 percent of men's.
The discrimination ombudsman investigated complaints of gender
discrimination in the labor market. Complaints could be filed also with
the courts or with the employer. Labor unions generally mediated in
cases filed with the employer. There were 61discrimination complaints
related to parental leave during the year.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. Children born in the country, regardless of their parents'
citizenship and status in the country, are registered in the tax
authority's population register.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem. The NCCP reported 11,600
cases of abuse of children under the age of 15 during 2010, an increase
of 4 percent compared to 2009. The NCCP reported 2,620 cases of rape of
children under the age of 18 in 2010 compared with 1,911 reported cases
in 2009.
The law prohibits parents or other caretakers from abusing children
mentally or physically. Parents, teachers, and other adults are subject
to prosecution if they physically punish a child, including slapping or
spanking. Children have the right to report such abuses to police. The
usual sentence for such an offense is a fine combined with counseling
and monitoring by social workers. Authorities may remove children from
their homes and place them in foster care.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes ``contact
with children under 15 for sexual purposes,'' including Internet
contact intended to lead to sexual assault. Penalties range from fines
to one year in prison. The minimum age for consensual sex is 15. The
law prohibits child pornography; penalties range from fines to six
years in prison.
Displaced Children.--The law prohibits the repatriation of foreign
children if they lack proper documents to prove their identity and
national origin. The migration board turned children arriving in the
country alone over to social services in their municipality of
residence, which appointed a legal guardian to assist them.
Institutionalized Children.--On February 10, a government report
recommended compensation for a number of individuals who were subjects
of severe abuse while in foster care from the 1920s to the 1980s. The
investigation recommended high-level political apologies at a ceremony,
the possibility to claim financial compensation, and measures to
prevent similar abuse in the future. The issue was controversial among
politicians and victims, but a ceremony was held on November 21, and
eligible individuals will be able to apply for 250,000 kronor ($36,300)
in financial compensation.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Leaders of the Jewish community estimated there
were 20,000 Jews in the country. While the number of reported anti-
Semitic crimes decreased from 250 to 161 from 2009 to 2010, government
officials recognized that anti-Semitism was a problem in Sweden,
especially in the city of Malmo. Anti-Semitic incidents included
threats, verbal abuse, physical violence, vandalism, graffiti, and
harassment in schools. These incidents were often associated with
events in and actions of the Israeli government, and Swedish Jews were
at times blamed for Israeli policies.
In December 2010 the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel
warning for Jews traveling in southern Sweden, because Jews in Malmo
were ``subject to anti-Semitic taunts and harassment.'' It also cited
``the outrageous remarks of Malmo mayor Ilmar Reepalu, who blamed the
Jewish community for failing to denounce Israel.'' In March the
organization discussed the situation with local government officials
and police in Malmo, but the discussions produced no results by year's
end.
In August, at the government's request, the state-run Living
History Forum published a report that found racist and xenophobic views
increasingly were propagated over the Internet and in school textbooks.
The report, compiled from previously collected research ranging back
over a decade, also found that Jews and Muslims faced discrimination
for outwardly professing their faith, and conspiracy theories targeted
Jews for alleged attempts at global and financial domination.
As a response to the number of anti-Semitic incidents, a group of
young Muslims in Malmo started, on their own initiative, a group called
``Young Muslims against Anti-Semitism.'' The group has been touring
schools in Muslim suburbs to address the issue. The leader of the group
has been included on the National Raoul Wallenberg Committee that will
highlight the centennial of the birth of Wallenberg in 2012.
Representatives from the national unit to train police officers to
detect hate crimes visited high schools to raise awareness of such
crimes and to encourage more victims to report abuses. Information for
victims of hate crimes was available in several languages, and
interpreters were provided to facilitate reporting. Police hate-crime
units existed throughout the country.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip/.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits employers from
discriminating against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in hiring decisions and prohibits universities
from discriminating against students with disabilities in making
admission decisions. No other specific law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities. The discrimination ombudsman is
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
The law on discrimination does not cover accessibility. Regulations
for new buildings require full accessibility, and similar requirements
exist for some, but not all, public facilities. However, many buildings
and some means of public transportation remained inaccessible.
The number of reports of discrimination against persons with
disabilities increased during the year. During the year there were
563reports of governmental discrimination against persons with
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services. Most other cases involved lack of
access to buildings used by the public, such as apartments,
restaurants, and bars. Many cases were handled through mediation
procedures rather than formal court hearings.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law recognizes Sami
(formerly known as Lapps), Swedish Finns, Tornedalers, Roma, and Jews
as national minorities. The law protected and the government supported
minority languages.
Societal discrimination and violence against Arab and Somali
immigrants and Roma continued to be a significant problem during the
year.
Police registered reports of xenophobic crimes, some of which were
related to neo-Nazi or white-power ideology. Police investigated and
the district attorney's office prosecuted race-related crimes. Official
estimates placed the number of active neo-Nazis and white supremacists
at 1,500. Neo-Nazi groups operated legally, but courts have held that
it is illegal to wear xenophobic symbols or racist paraphernalia or to
display signs and banners with inflammatory symbols at rallies, since
the law prohibits incitement of hatred against ethnic groups.
It was frequently difficult to determine whether hate crimes had
ethnic or religious motives, but abuses directed at members of ethnic
minorities from Muslim-majority countries officially were reported as
being ``anti-Islamic.'' Anti-Islamic behavior was aimed at both Arab
and Somali immigrants. The NCCP hate crime report for 2010 counted 272
reported anti-Islamic hate crimes, or 49 percent of the total
antireligious hate crimes. In 2009, 194 of the hate crimes reported
were anti-Islamic crimes (33 percent of religion-related hate crimes),
down from 272 in 2008.
The most frequent anti-Islamic crimes were crimes against persons,
with 148 reported incidents in 2010, and 80 reported cases of agitation
against an ethnic group. According to the report, 3 percent of anti-
Islamic crimes were ideologically motivated.
The discrimination ombudsman received 694complaints regarding
ethnic discrimination during the year.
The government estimated the Romani population at 50,000 persons.
In 2010 a special delegation for Romani problems reported that a
majority of Roma lived as outcasts, unemployment reached 80 percent,
elementary education was rare, and a Rom's average life expectancy was
significantly lower that the country's average. In 2010, 150 reported
hate crimes were identified as anti-Romani. On September 9, the
government announced a 46-million-kronor ($6.7 million) supplement to
the 2012 budget aimed at improving the situation of Roma over a four-
year period.
During the year the discrimination ombudsman handled five mediation
and court cases involving Roma. The most common complaint was against
landlords who refused to rent apartments to Roma. Conciliation with
financial compensation to the Roma was the most common outcome.
Indigenous People.--Longstanding tensions between Sami and the
government over land and natural resources persisted, as did tensions
between Sami and private landowners over reindeer grazing rights.
Certain Sami have grazing and fishing rights, depending on their tribal
history. Sami continued to press the government for exclusive access to
grazing and fishing.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--During the year there were
isolated incidents of societal violence and discrimination against
persons perceived to be gay. For 2010 the NCCP reported 801 hate crimes
based on sexual orientation or gender identity: 770 concerning gay,
bisexual, or heterosexual persons; and 31 on the basis of gender
identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law entitles all workers, including members of the armed forces and
police, to form and join independent unions of their choice without
previous authorization or excessive requirements, and workers exercised
this right in practice. An estimated 75 percent of the five-million-
person workforce belonged to trade unions. The law allows unions to
conduct their activities without interference, and the government
protected this right in practice.
The law also provides for the right to strike as well as for
employers to organize and conduct lockouts; workers and employers
exercised these rights in practice. Public sector employees enjoy the
right to strike, subject to limitations in the collective agreements
protecting the public's immediate health and security.
The law provides for collective bargaining, and workers exercised
this right in practice. Approximately 80 percent of the workforce was
covered by collective bargaining agreements. The law prohibits
antiunion discrimination, and there were few reports it occurred during
the year.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children, and the
government effectively enforced these laws. However, there were reports
that children were in some cases forced to beg or commit petty theft.
There were also reports of forced labor in agriculture, construction,
and domestic households.
See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law permits full-time employment from the age of 16 under the
supervision of local authorities. Employees under the age of 18 may
work only during the daytime and under supervision. Children as young
as 13 may work part time or perform light work with parental
permission. The government, union representatives, police, and public
prosecutors effectively implemented these laws and policies in practice
and had adequate resources.
Children trafficked both internally and from outside the country
continued to be subjected to forced begging and petty theft.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage law. Wages were set by annual collective bargaining agreements.
Nonunion establishments generally observed these contracts as well.
The legal standard workweek is 40 hours or less. Both the law and
collective bargaining agreements regulate overtime and rest periods.
The maximum allowable overtime per year is 200 hours. The amount of
overtime compensation was normally regulated by the collective
agreement; it varied by workplace and could also depend on whether the
overtime occurred during the regular workweek, during a weekend, or on
a bank holiday. Compensation for overtime could take the form of money
or time off. The law requires a minimum period of 36 consecutive hours
of rest, preferably on weekends, during a period of seven days. The law
also provides employees with a minimum of five weeks' paid annual
leave. The government effectively enforced these standards.
The Work Environment Authority, a government-appointed board,
issued occupational health and safety regulations, and trained union
stewards and safety ombudsmen whom government inspectors monitored.
Safety ombudsmen have the authority to stop unsafe activity immediately
and call in an inspector. These rules were effectively enforced.
Seasonal berry pickers, mainly from Asia, faced difficulties. By
regulation, employers--whether foreign or domestic--must offer
conditions of employment on par with the country's collective
agreements, and the work must be on such a scale that the workers earn
a minimum wage of 16,372 kronor ($2,377) a month. However, several
problems occurred during the year, mostly due to the failure of foreign
companies that provided foreign workers to Swedish companies to respect
the conditions of employment. Foreign companies and labor recruiters
that brought workers to Sweden for the berry harvest sometimes
subjected the workers to harsh conditions of work, including seizing
passports, withholding pay, and providing poor living and working
conditions. In April the Migration Board decided that a foreign company
providing berry pickers to Swedish companies must have a branch
registered in Sweden to guarantee the conditions of employment. The
foreign labor broker must also show how it expects to pay workers in
case of, for example, a bad berry season.
During the year there were 57 workplace fatalities, compared to 54
in 2010.
__________
SWITZERLAND
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Swiss Confederation is a constitutional republic with a federal
structure. Legislative authority resides in a bicameral parliament
(Federal Assembly), consisting of the 46-member Council of States and
the 200-member National Council. Free and fair elections occurred at
both the cantonal and federal levels on October 23 and December 14.
Parliament elects the executive leadership (the seven-member Federal
Council) every four years. The Federal Council is comprised of a
coalition of five parties. There are 12 political parties represented
in the federal government. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Lengthy detention and mistreatment of detained asylum seekers and
societal discrimination against Romani and other minorities and
immigrants occurred on occasion. Authorities used excessive force in
connection with the deportation of asylum seekers, and police resorted
to disproportionate force during arrests.
Other human rights problems included some overcrowded prisons,
instances of hostility towards Muslims, anti-Semitic incidents,
violence against women, trafficking in persons, and allegations of
corrupt political practices.
The government took steps to prosecute/punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there
were reports that individual police officers occasionally used
excessive force.
In May 2010 the U.N. Committee against Torture (UNCAT) identified
several cases of police misconduct involving the use of excessive force
against foreigners, especially in asylum detention centers and during
forced repatriations. The committee noted that only a minority of
complaints of violence or mistreatment by the police resulted in
prosecutions. In 2010 there were 62 registered complaints relating to
malpractice or misuse of authority by the police; figures for 2011
complaints were unavailable. UNCAT recommended the government ensure
that each canton created an independent entity empowered to investigate
allegations of police violence.
Responding to UNCAT concerns, in June the government selected
independent observers to begin monitoring deportations. On December 1,
the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) issued its
first report on deportation practices and offered a number of
suggestions to improve procedures, including providing clearer
information to prospective deportees, more frequent medical
examinations, and better trained police units assigned to this
sensitive work. Authorities also investigated and prosecuted a number
of cases of alleged mistreatment by police officers.
During the year Amnesty International criticized degrading
practices and the use of excessive force by police before and during
forced repatriation. On February 24, the NCPT, established by the
government in May 2010, issued its initial report. The commission found
that mental health counseling for prisoners was insufficient,
especially for individuals in solitary confinement, and noted that
foreigners awaiting deportation often faced harsher treatment than
other persons in pretrial custody.
On January 1, an amendment to the Foreign National Act that
included a forced-return monitoring system entered into force. The
government added the amendment to bring Switzerland in line with EU
law. The U.N. Committee on Torture had earlier expressed concern that
the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals might violate the principle of
nonrefoulement.
On June 15, the Federal Office for Migration announced plans to
allow independent observers to monitor repatriation flights. Special
training for the observers continued, and five independent observers
began their in-flight monitoring duties in August.
On July 7, police officials were recorded on videotape beating a
Nigerian man being deported to Nigeria on a special deportation flight
from Zurich airport. Police claimed that the man resisted being carried
aboard the plane and they were forced to subdue him. Authorities in the
Canton of Zurich opened an investigation to determine if police used
excessive force. On October 7, the investigation commission and the
cantonal government concluded that the use of force was justified.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, and the
government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
According to the Swiss Federal Office for Statistics, from November
2009 to November 2010, 13 deaths occurred in Swiss confinement, seven
of which were suicides and the remainder believed to be of natural or
unintended causes.
There were 6,181 persons in prison or detention centers (31 percent
were remanded for custody, 61 percent for convicted crimes, 6 percent
under compulsory measures in accordance with the federal law on
foreigners, and 2 percent for other reasons). Of the total, 347 were
women (5.6 percent) and 39 were juveniles (0.6 percent). In 2010 there
were 1,894 persons in pretrial detention and 371 awaiting deportation,
5.4 percent of whom were female. While some prisons and detention
centers housed both male and female inmates, they were located in
separate wards. Nevertheless, in some instances these facilities were
inadequate. For example, the NCPT criticized the deportation center in
Granges for lacking adequate facilities for woman and juveniles.
The occupancy rate of detention facilities was 92.5 percent during
the year; still, prison overcrowding continued to be a serious problem
in major urban areas, particularly in the French-speaking part of the
country. In 2010 the occupancy rate of detention facilities in the
French-speaking cantons was 104.8 percent, compared with an average 86
percent in the German-speaking region. Geneva's Champ-Dollon Prison was
the country's most crowded prison. Designed for a maximum of 270
occupants, the prison housed up to 622 inmates during 2010. In 2011 the
median occupancy was 420. According to independent observers, both
guards and inmates were critical of the poor detention conditions.
According to statistics released by the Federal Department of
Justice and Police in 2010, there were 34 minors under the age of 17
years in preventive detention. There were 514 prisoners between the
ages of 18 and 24 years.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted to observe and practice their respective religions. They
could submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
Authorities investigated such allegations. There was no ombudsman at
the national level, but a number of cantons instituted cantonal
ombudsmen and mediation bodies, which acted on behalf of prisoners and
detainees to address the conditions and circumstances of their
detention. Larger cantons and those with high population density were
more likely to provide these services than smaller or more rural ones.
All prisoners had access to potable water. While conditions for
women prisoners generally were comparable to those for men, there were
exceptions. The NCPT visited the women's prison in Hindelbank in 2010
and strongly criticized detention conditions in the areas of solitary
confinement, describing them as inhumane and unjustified from a legal
and medical standpoint. Additional problems centered on the lack of
sufficient space in some of the older wards. The penal code states that
police authorities may detain young offenders only for a minimal period
but does not explicitly state the length. In actuality, without an
arraignment or arrest warrant, police were allowed to detain young
offenders only for a maximum of 24 hours (48 hours during weekends).
The law also requires that juvenile offenders be held in reform schools
or separate wings of prisons where they can receive educational
support; however, this was often not the case.
On July 24, prison officials opened a new wing at Geneva's Champ-
Dollon Prison that could accommodate 100 additional prisoners. In the
spring the government halted construction of new juvenile detention
centers in the Canton of Zurich due to financial disputes.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by local and international human rights groups, the media,
and the International Committee of the Red Cross. In addition, the
Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture carried out
one of its periodic visit to the country on October 10-20.
On February 18, the NCPT visited the Grosshof remand center in the
Canton of Luzern. While generally satisfied with overall conditions,
the inspectors noted in their February 24 report that there was
insufficient space.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over security forces, which the cantons
primarily organized and administered with federal coordination. The
Federal Office of Police, in addition to performing coordination and
analytical functions, can pursue its own investigations under the
supervision of the attorney general in cases of organized crime, money
laundering, and corruption. The government has effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse; however, in past years there were
allegations of impunity.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law
criminal suspects must be apprehended on the basis of warrants issued
by a duly authorized official unless police are responding to a
specific and immediate danger. In most cases authorities may not hold a
suspect longer than 24 hours before presenting him to a prosecutor or
investigating magistrate, who must either bring formal charges or order
the detainee's release. Asylum seekers and other foreigners without
valid documents may be detained up to 96 hours without an arrest
warrant. There is a functioning bail system, and courts granted release
on personal recognizance or bail unless the magistrate believed the
person charged to be dangerous or a flight risk. A suspect may be
denied legal counsel at the time of detention and initial questioning
but has the right to choose and contact an attorney before charges are
brought. The state provides free legal assistance for indigents charged
with crimes for which imprisonment would be a possible punishment.
Access to family members may be restricted to prevent tampering with
evidence, but law enforcement authorities are required to inform close
relatives promptly of the detention.
Pretrial Detention.--In some cases lengthy pretrial detention was a
problem. In 2010 approximately 30 percent of all prisoners were in
pretrial detention. The country's highest court has ruled that pretrial
detention must not exceed the length of the expected sentence for the
crime for which a suspect is charged.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Trials are public.
Juries are used only in the most serious cases, including murder.
Defendants have the right to be present and consult with an attorney in
a timely manner, and an attorney is provided at public expense if a
defendant faces serious criminal charges. Defendants have the right to
confront or question witnesses and present witnesses and evidence. They
have the right to appeal, ultimately to the highest court, the Federal
Tribunal. Authorities generally respected these rights in practice and
extended them to all citizens.
Civilians charged with revealing military secrets, such as
classified military documents or classified military locations and
installations, may be tried in military courts. There were no reports
that any civilians were tried by a military court during the year.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Persons could apply to the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning alleged government
violations of rights provided under the European Convention of Human
Rights. The government complied with ECHR judgments. For example, on
October 11, the ECHR provided a second judgment in the case of Emre v.
Switzerland. Emre had filed a complaint regarding a prior decision by
the federal court that prohibited him from reentering Swiss territory
for 10 years. He argued that the court's decision to replace
deportation for an indefinite period with a fixed-term measure was
unjust. The ECHR found in Emre's favor, concluding that Emre's ban was
an unnecessarily harsh measure, and ordered Swiss authorities to pay
5,000 euros ($6,500) in pecuniary damages.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. Citizens have access to a
court to bring lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation of a human
rights violation. Persons who exhaust their right of appeal in domestic
courts may apply to the ECHR for redress.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the
government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
the government generally respected these rights in practice. An
independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic
political system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
Freedom of Speech.--The law penalizes public incitement to racial
hatred or discrimination, spreading racist ideology, and denying crimes
against humanity. There was one conviction during the year under this
law. On April 27, the federal court confirmed a verdict against a
politician for racial discrimination. The individual publicly called
for the government to prohibit Muslims from becoming naturalized
citizens. He was found guilty of violating the law on preventing racism
and fined 5,400 Swiss francs ($6,100).
Freedom of Press.--According to federal law, it is a crime to
publish information based on leaked ``secret official discussions.'' A
number of cases of violation of secrecy by the press were under
investigation during the year; however, no sentences were handed down
for such offenses by year's end.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. As of December the number of individuals temporarily admitted
from third countries was 23,310. Of these, 839 were granted asylum as
refugees for more than seven years, 3,063 were granted asylum as
refugees for less than seven years, 9,353 were temporarily admitted for
more than seven years (without asylum status), and 10,055 were
temporarily admitted for less than seven years (without asylum status).
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The Federal Office for Migration
relied on a list of ``safe countries,'' and would-be refugees who
originated from or transited these countries generally were ineligible
to apply for asylum. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) criticized
the inclusion of some East European and African countries in the ``safe
countries'' list because the countries were not sufficiently stable or
suitable to justify automatic rejection of an asylum application.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives
or freedom were threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. On January 26, the Federal Office for Migration began to
evaluate on a case-by-case basis whether to repatriate individuals to/
via Greece and began to refrain from doing so. An August 16 federal
court order put a final halt to such repatriations.
Refugee Abuse.--The government required asylum applicants to
provide documentation verifying their identity within 48 hours of
completing their applications, and authorities refused to process the
applications of asylum seekers who were unable to provide a credible
justification for their lack of acceptable documents or show evidence
of persecution. Authorities could detain uncooperative asylum seekers,
subject to judicial review, for up to six months while adjudicating
their applications. The government could also detain rejected
applicants for up to three months to ensure their departure or up to 18
months if repatriation posed special obstacles. They could detain
minors between the ages of 15 and 18 years for up to 12 months pending
repatriation. Authorities generally instructed asylum seekers to leave
voluntarily. In cases where they refused to depart voluntarily, they
could be forcibly repatriated.
Amnesty International and other NGOs working with refugees
continued to complain that detained asylum seekers often were
effectively denied proper legal representation in deportation cases due
to their lack of financial means to hire an attorney. Authorities
provided free legal assistance only in cases of serious criminal
offenses. The deportation of asylum seekers was deemed an
administrative, rather than judicial, process.
On February 3, Amnesty International, together with several locally
operated NGOs, organized a campaign to advocate for better general care
for asylum seekers. The campaign ended October 20.
On August 31, press reports revealed that the Federal Office of
Migration had willingly ignored processing up to 10,000 asylum requests
from Iraqi citizens submitted to Swiss embassies in Egypt and Syria
between 2006 and 2008. An independent investigation launched by the
Ministry of Justice led to the dismissal of the director of the Federal
Migration Office.
The 2010 passage of a referendum on the automatic expulsion of
foreigners convicted of serious crimes had not been enacted into law by
year's end, although a working group established in 2010 presented
suggested language for a draft law for public consideration on June 28,
with a first review by parliament scheduled for early 2012.
Temporary Protection.--By year's end the government provided
temporary protection to 3,070 individuals, of whom 2,159 had not yet
qualified as refugees.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On
October 23, voters elected a new Federal Assembly in free and fair
elections. On December 14, the newly elected Federal Assembly elected
the seven-member Federal Council.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--During the year there were
51 women in the 200-person National Council (House) and eight women in
the 46-member Council of States (Senate). Three female federal
councilors and one female federal chancellor were reelected during the
December 14 elections for the Federal Council.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
Prior to the October 23 parliamentary elections, the lack of
federal campaign financing regulations was widely discussed by the
media and international observers. The global NGO Transparency
International concluded during the year that political party funding
practices remained opaque. On July 14, the Group of States against
Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO) also voiced concerns about
the limited transparency of political party funding. The country has no
legal framework governing the funding of political parties, which left
space for government corruption or favoritism. While OSCE observers
criticized blurred practices in party funding during the parliamentary
elections, they cited no specific cases.
Members of the Federal Assembly must disclose their financial
interests, professional activities, supervisory board or executive body
memberships, and expert or consulting activities every year.
Investigating and prosecuting government corruption is a federal
responsibility. A majority of cantons also require members of cantonal
parliaments to disclose their financial interests. A joint working
group consisting of representatives of various federal government
agencies operated under the leadership of the Federal Department of
Foreign Affairs to combat corruption. In January the Swiss Federal
Audit Office (SFAO) established an ombudsman office to provide
government employees a safe and confidential avenue for reporting
government corruption. Private individuals, as well as employees of the
government, were able to submit personal or anonymous information in
accordance with the Federal Personnel Act (in force since January) to
report malfeasance.
The constitution requires the government to inform the public about
its activities, and government information was available to all persons
living in the country, including foreign media. A transparency law
provides for public access to government documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--On May 5, the Federal Department
of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Department of Justice and Police
created a Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights (SCHR). The SCHR is
a network of universities and human rights experts responsible for
strengthening and supporting human rights capacities and bridging gaps
between federal and cantonal authorities on human rights issues. The
SCHR is organized on the basis of six themes: migration, police and
justice, gender policy, child and youth policy, institutional issues,
and human rights and business. It conducted training programs and
offered continuing education on human rights best practices during the
year. Since the SCHR only began functioning during the summer, a
reliable assessment of its effectiveness or independence was not
possible at year's end.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. The government generally
enforced these prohibitions effectively.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a statutory offense. The government effectively prosecuted those
accused of such crimes. In 2011 there were 184 cases of rape recorded.
In 2010 police recorded 543 instances of rape, compared with 666 in
2009. Police solved 80 percent of those cases.
Violence against women was a problem. In 2010 domestic violence
claimed the lives of 19 women and seven men. Domestic violence is a
statutory offense. A court may order an abusive spouse to leave the
family home as a temporary measure. Stalking is also an offense.
Victims of domestic violence could obtain help, counseling, and legal
assistance from specialized government agencies and NGOs or from nearly
a dozen private or government-sponsored hotlines. There were 17
official women's shelters in 2010. Women's shelters experienced an
average of 80 percent occupancy. The Interior Ministry's Federal Office
for Equality between Women and Men employed a special unit that focused
on domestic violence. Most cantonal police forces employed specially
trained domestic violence units. A majority of cantons also had
selected administrative units that coordinated the activities of law
enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and victim assistance groups.
Forced marriage is illegal but reportedly occurred, mainly in less
integrated immigrant families, making detection and prosecution
difficult. Its extent was unknown.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and
facilitates access to legal remedies for those who claim discrimination
or harassment in the workplace; however, special legal protection
against the dismissal of a claimant is only temporary. Employers
failing to take reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment are
liable for damages equal to as much as six months' salary.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Health
clinics and local health NGOs operated freely in disseminating
information on family planning. There were no restrictions on access to
contraceptives, and these measures were widely used. Compulsory basic
health insurance covers the cost of routine examination during
pregnancy and the costs related to childbirth. According to the Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation, the maternal mortality rate in
the country was five women per 100,000 live births in the country in
2010. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment
for sexually transmitted diseases.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same rights as men under the
constitution, including in family and property law, and in the judicial
system. However, independent observers in 2010 claimed that some laws,
as interpreted by the courts, were discriminatory. For example, the
Federal Tribunal ruled that the primary wage earner in a divorce must
retain sufficient income to remain above the poverty level. Since men
were the primary wage earners in most marriages, a household income too
low to support both parties could force the wife and children to resort
to public assistance.
The Federal Office for Gender Equality and the Federal Commission
on Women worked to eliminate both direct and indirect gender
discrimination. Many cantons and some large cities had equality offices
to handle gender issues.
Discrimination against women in the workplace is illegal, but women
disproportionately held jobs with lower levels of responsibility. Women
were promoted less frequently than men and were less likely to own or
manage businesses.
Under the constitution women and men are entitled to equal pay for
equal work. In 2010 the median monthly income for women was 5,040 Swiss
francs ($5,662), while men earned 6,248 Swiss francs ($7,011). A study
published by the Federal Statistics Office in October 2010 indicated
that in 2008 women's gross salaries in the private sector were on
average 19 percent lower than salaries for men. In the public sector,
women earned on average 15.5 percent less than men for the same work.
In 2009 the government initiated a five-year review of corporate salary
structures aimed at eliminating the pay gap between men and women in
the private sector.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship derives from one's
parents, and citizenship may be derived from a single parent. Births
are registered immediately, but there are no negative repercussions for
delayed registration in cases of home delivery.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem. In 2010 there were 1,723
reported cases of sexual assault against children and 319 convictions.
Most of the victims were girls under the age of 18, and most of the
abuse took place in the family or the immediate social environment.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--Female genital mutilation
(FGM) is illegal, but according to NGOs the practice reportedly
occurred in limited numbers. On September 14, both chambers of the
Federal Assembly adopted a proposal to file FGM under its own paragraph
in the penal code, with FGM violations punishable by up to 10 years'
imprisonment.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The production, possession,
distribution, or downloading of pornography involving children from the
Internet is illegal and carries fines or a maximum sentence of one year
in prison. With limited exceptions, the law designates 16 as the
minimum age of consensual sex. Consensual sex under the age of 16 is
allowed in cases where one of the partners is not more than three years
older than the other. The maximum penalty for statutory rape is
imprisonment for 10 years.
The law does not expressly prohibit prostitution by 16- and 17-
year-old minors under all circumstances, leaving these children
potentially vulnerable to trafficking for commercial sexual
exploitation.
On August 18, the government announced the revision of its penal
code to establish a legal basis to punish men who engaged in sexual
acts with underage prostitutes. The penal code revision entered into
force before year's end.
Displaced Children.--During the year several NGOs expressed concern
about reports of hundreds of unaccompanied foreign minors entering the
country annually, claiming many disappeared from state care after
arrival. Officials asserted that there had been only a few isolated
cases of missing unaccompanied minors during the year. Statistics on
this issue tended to be old or unreliable, with the last publicly
released report issued in 2008. Nevertheless, several NGOs maintained
that the problems in this regard were serious and that the care and
registration of unaccompanied minors was insufficient.
International Parental Abductions.--The country is a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to the 2000 census, the most recent
official data available, there were 17,914 members of the Jewish
community, which constituted 0.24 percent of the country's population.
Based on 2010 polling, the largest Jewish communities were located in
Zurich, Bern, and Geneva. In 2010 there were 104 anti-Semitic incidents
in the western, French-speaking part of the country, five of which were
considered serious offenses. The Geneva-based Intercommunity Center for
Coordination against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (CICAD) and the Swiss
Federation of Jewish Communities recorded 34 anti-Semitic incidents in
the German and Italian portions of the country in 2010; data for the
Romansh-speaking area was unavailable. The federation noted in its
annual report that serious incidents, such as violent attacks against
Jews and denials of the Holocaust, were rare.
The law penalizes public incitement to racial hatred or
discrimination, spreading racist ideology, and denying crimes against
humanity.
On February 23, three young men attacked the local rabbi's
assistant in Lausanne. The group approached the man and asked whether
he was Jewish. When he answered, they verbally assaulted him as ``dirty
Jew'' and physically assaulted him. Police arrested two of the
attackers; the third was not charged as he was found to have not
actively engaged in the attack. All three were minors, and the two
arrested individuals were charged according to the juvenile penal code.
No information on their sentences was available.
On July 1, the rightwing extremist group Geneve Non Conforme
distributed posters in Geneva showing a doll wearing a Kippah and an
Israeli flag shot by an arrow, which caused considerable public outrage
in Geneva.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and federal law
prohibit discrimination against persons with physical, sensory,
intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment, education, access
to health care, or the provision of other state services or other
areas, and the government generally enforced the prohibition. The law
mandates access to public buildings and government services for persons
with disabilities, and the government generally enforced these
provisions in practice.
The Federal Equal Opportunity Office for Persons with Disabilities
promoted awareness of the law and respect for the rights of the
disabled through counseling and financial support for projects to
facilitate their integration in society and the labor market.
In October the Disabled Persons Federation criticized plans for new
double-decker trains scheduled to start operations on interurban rail
lines in 2013 for lack of handicap accessibility. The federation
complained that entering the trains in a wheelchair was difficult, and
the special cars for handicapped persons alienated them. According to
the federation, the trains did not meet the standards as defined by the
disabilities act. The federation appealed to the federal administrative
court, where the case was pending at year's end.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Right-wing extremists,
including skinheads, who expressed hostility toward foreigners, ethnic
and religious minorities, and immigrants continued to be publicly
active. Police estimated that the number of extremists remained steady
at approximately 1,200. Statistics gathered by the Foundation against
Racism and Anti-Semitism indicated that there were a total of 178
incidents against foreigners or minorities reported in 2010, compared
with 112 incidents recorded in 2009. These figures included instances
of verbal and written attacks, which were much more frequent than
physical assaults. Following the November 2010 adoption of the
referendum on the automatic expulsion of foreigners convicted of
serious crimes, left-wing protesters caused property damage at offices
of the conservative Swiss People's Party (SVP). Authorities arrested
some of the more violent protesters and charged them with willful
property damage but released them the next day. On June 16, the Federal
Commission against Racism released an analysis of incidents of ethnic
discrimination in 2010 indicating that most were linked to
sociopolitical events, such as the antiminaret referendum in 2009 or
tensions in the country's relationship with Germany. Most victims were
of Sub-Saharan African descent or from Central Europe, but many were
Swiss citizens.
In 2010 a network of seven counseling centers, including the
National Commission against Racism, recorded 230 cases of racial
discrimination. For the first half of 2011, the Foundation against
Racism and anti-Semitism documented 51 cases.
In December 2010 five men attacked a man of African descent on a
tram in Basel. The perpetrators poured beer over the man and assaulted
him verbally. As the victim tried to escape, the assailants punched him
in the face. He suffered severe facial injuries, which required medical
treatment. No arrests or investigations were reported by year's end.
During the year the four main groups actively spreading racist
ideology and engaging in anti-Semitic rhetoric were Geneve Non
Conforme, Europaeische Aktion, the Lega dei Ticinesi, and the Party of
Nationally Oriented Swiss (PNOS).
On April 22, PNOS held its general meeting in Bern and announced
its candidacy in the national elections. Party leaders adopted a
platform to abolish naturalization and laws against racial
discrimination. They also advocated for the country to withdraw from
the U.N. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination.
On June 24, several dozen right-wing extremists held a festival in
the Canton of Neuchatel, which was attended by extremists from the
region and by the Artam Brotherhood from neighboring France. Press
photos of the festival showed individuals performing the Nazi salute.
The government recognized the Jenisch as a minority group with
approximately 35,000 residents in the country. A lack of proper camping
facilities and transit areas reportedly forced many Jenisch to occupy
land illegally. Between 2007 and 2011, the federal government allocated
750,000 Swiss francs ($840,000) for measures and projects to improve
living conditions for the Jenisch.
In 2010 the Roma Foundation Zurich estimated that approximately
50,000 Roma resided in the country. In 2010 the Federal Commission
against Racism expressed concern about increasingly hostile attitudes
against Roma and urged the cantons and municipalities to create new
campsites and parking areas to eliminate systemic discrimination
against them. On October 14, the NGO humanrights.ch asserted that the
situation for itinerant people had not improved and that the living
situation for those without permanent residence had worsened within the
past two years due to cantonal and national restrictions.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There were occasional reports
of societal violence or discrimination based on opposition to lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) orientation.
The law permits same-sex couples to have registered partnerships
but does not allow them to adopt children. The ECHR has ruled that this
constituted a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
FGBT children from immigrant families, particularly from the
Balkans, Turkey, and the Middle East, suffered serious reprisals, such
as exclusion from their families.
Representatives of LGBT organizations expressed grave concern that
the country has no antidiscrimination law that applies to sexual
orientation. In May the NGO Queeramnesty asked the government to create
an official program to monitor violence against the LGBT community.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were occasional
reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. According to
the Swiss Aids Federation, 84 complaints were submitted during the
year. Most concerned employment discrimination or other discrimination
in the workspace. To combat harassment and unfair behavior, the Swiss
Aids Federation launched a campaign in December to sensitize against
such types of discrimination.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law permits all workers, including foreigners, to form and join
independent unions of their choice without previous authorization or
excessive requirements. The law also allows unions to conduct their
activities, including the right to strike, without interference; the
government protected this right, which workers exercised in practice.
There are no specific laws against antiunion discrimination and
employer interference. The law does not require employers to offer
reinstatement to an employee found to have been dismissed unjustly.
Authorities effectively enforced laws protecting collective
bargaining. However, collective bargaining agreements committed the
social partners to maintain labor peace, thereby limiting the right to
strike for the duration of the agreement, which generally lasts several
years. The government may curtail the right of federal public servants
to strike, but only for reasons of national security or to safeguard
foreign policy interests. Public servants in some cantons and many
municipalities were prohibited from going on strike. In practice
employers at times unfairly dismissed trade unionists and used the
legal system to limit legitimate trade union activities. Trade unions
maintained that they had seen an increase in forms of repression
against their employees. According to union sources, on two occasions
union activists were beaten while carrying out union activities. In a
July 8 incident, several trade union activists engaged in a
demonstration against a local company. The interprofessional trade
unionists, including a pregnant woman, were manhandled by private
security in the wake of a press conference dealing with the closure of
the company involved.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that such practices occurred. Women were trafficked for
domestic labor; many victims were forced to work in salons or clubs.
Also see Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
government effectively enforced laws and policies to protect children
from exploitation in the workplace; however, there were isolated
reports of trafficking of children to beg and commit theft.
The minimum age for full-time employment is 15. Children ages 13
and 14 years may be employed in light duties for not more than nine
hours per week during the school year and 15 hours at other times.
Youth employment between the ages of 15 and 18 is also restricted;
cantonal inspectors strictly regulated these provisions. Children are
not permitted to work on Sundays, under hazardous conditions, or at
night.
The Economics Ministry monitored the implementation of child labor
laws and policies, and cantonal labor inspectors were responsible for
enforcement. Cantonal labor inspectors effectively inspected companies
to determine whether there were violations of the child labor laws.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. Only some work contracts, covering approximately 40 percent of
Swiss wage earners, included minimum wages, resulting in relatively low
average wages for workers and employees in the clothing, hospitality,
and retail industries. A majority of the voluntary collective
bargaining agreements, reached on a sector-by-sector basis, contained
clauses on minimum compensation, ranging from 2,200 to 4,200 Swiss
francs ($2,348 to $4,482) per month for unskilled workers and 2,800 to
5,300 Swiss francs ($2,988 to $5,656) per month for skilled employees.
Official estimate of poverty income level were the following: 2,200
Swiss francs ($2,348) for a single person, 3,800 Swiss francs ($4,028)
for a single parent with two children, and 4,800 Swiss Francs ($5,088)
for a family (with two children). Numbers varied slightly from canton
to canton since costs of living varied.
The law sets a maximum 45-hour workweek for blue- and white-collar
workers in industry, services, and retail trades, and a 50-hour
workweek for all other workers. Some professions such as taxi drivers
or medical doctors are excluded. The law prescribes a rest period of 35
consecutive hours, plus an additional half-day per week. Premium pay
for overtime must be at least 25 percent; overtime is generally
restricted to two hours per day. Annual overtime is limited by law to
170 hours for those working 45 hours a week and 140 hours for those
working 50 hours a week. The government effectively enforced these
regulations.
The law contains extensive provisions to protect worker health and
safety. The Economics Ministry and cantonal labor inspectorates
effectively enforced the law. Work-related injuries in 2010 included
205,004 injured male workers and 61,835 female workers; statistics for
2011 were not available.
There were no special provisions or requirements for non-Swiss
workers apart from their having to have a legal immigration status and
a valid work permit. Once an individual obtained legal status, he could
request a work permit.
Immigrants may work and have the same rights as other workers.
Asylum seekers were usually not allowed to work within the first three
months of their ongoing asylum process, but in exceptional cases they
could work as self-employed workers as needed. However, individuals
without legal status or work permits were not permitted to work.
__________
TURKEY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Turkey is a constitutional republic with a multiparty parliamentary
system and a president with limited powers. In the June 12
parliamentary elections, considered generally free and fair, the
Justice and Development Party (AKP) formed a parliamentary majority
under Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The most significant human rights problems in the country during
the year were:
1. Deficiencies in effective access to justice: Broad laws against
terrorism and threats to the state, political pressure, and
inadequacies in the judicial system limited access to justice, as did
lengthy pretrial detention and lack of transparency in the prosecution
of cases related to state security. The time lag between arrests and
presentation of indictments; leaks of information, evidence, or
statements; restricted defense access to evidence put forward by the
prosecution; and the secrecy of the investigation orders also fueled
concerns about the effectiveness of judicial protections for suspects.
The close connection between prosecutors and judges gave the appearance
of impropriety and unfairness in criminal cases, while the broad
authority granted to prosecutors and judges contributed to inconsistent
and uncertain application of criminal laws. During the year the
government adopted judicial reforms to speed up and improve judicial
processes.
2. Government interference with freedom of speech and press: The
penal code and antiterror law retain multiple articles that restrict
press freedom and public speech on politically and culturally sensitive
topics. The arrest and prosecution of journalists, writers, and Kurdish
intellectuals and political activists, coupled with condemnatory
speeches by political leaders, had a chilling effect on freedom of
expression. Politicians, including the prime minister, sued their
critics for defamation at all levels. More than 100 journalists
remained imprisoned at year's end, with most charged under
antiterrorism laws or for connections to an illegal organization.
Intellectuals, writers, journalists, and media outlets increasingly
report practicing self-censorship to avoid prosecution, although the
media continued to criticize government leaders and policies daily and
in many cases adopted an adversarial role with respect to the
government. The government and the courts limited access to a broad
range of Web sites based on their content.
3. Inadequate protection of vulnerable populations: The government
did not effectively protect vulnerable populations, including women,
children, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
individuals, from societal abuse, discrimination, and violence.
Violence against women, including so-called honor killings and rape,
remained a particularly significant problem. Child marriage persisted.
Other significant human rights problems reported during the year
included: Security forces committed unlawful killings. Demonstrations
in the country's southeast and elsewhere related to the Kurdish issue,
student's rights, and activities of the Higher Education Board (YOK)
were marred by violence, and members of the security forces allegedly
used excessive force. Prisons were overcrowded. Law enforcement
officials did not always provide detainees immediate access to an
attorney.
The government investigated reports of abuse by security forces and
other government officials, but the number of arrests and prosecutions
was low, and convictions remained rare. Impunity was a problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Neither the
government nor its agents committed politically motivated killings;
however, security forces killed some individuals during the year.
The domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights
Foundation (HRF) alleged the police, military, and Jandarma, a
paramilitary force under the joint control of the Ministry of Interior
and the military and charged with policing rural areas, were
responsible for 58 civilian deaths and 25 serious injuries during the
year, primarily due to airstrikes or firearms. The HRF alleged that
security forces caused the deaths of several persons during
demonstrations.
Reports from the security forces (military, Turkish National Police
(TNP), and Jandarma) indicated that approximately 31 civilians were
killed and 53 were injured in armed clashes related to the struggle
against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization in
the first 10 months of the year. Approximately 220 members of the
security forces were killed and 475 were injured, and 303 alleged
terrorists were killed and five were injured in the first 10 months of
the year. Most of the clashes between terrorists and security forces
occurred in the Southeast. The number of civilian deaths and injuries
rose from 2010, while the number of security forces' deaths and
injuries more than doubled.
On December 28, military aircraft killed 34 civilians near the town
of Uludere in an airstrike intended to kill members of the PKK. The
government's investigation was underway at year's end.
On May 31, during an anti-AKP government demonstration around the
pre-election visit of Prime Minister Erdogan to Hopa, retired teacher
Metin Lokumcu died of a heart attack. The Turkish Medical Association
subsequently declared his death was caused by tear gas used by security
forces. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in its 2011 country summary
that doctors also documented injuries on individuals who reported being
beaten and ill-treated by police during the demonstration's dispersal
and in detention. Some police officers also sustained injuries, at
least one seriously. In September seven demonstrators were acquitted of
spreading terrorist propaganda. Five demonstrators remained on trial
before the Hopa Court of First Instance for participating in an
unlawful demonstration, resisting police, and damaging public property.
An additional 28 persons remained on trial before the Ankara 11th High
Criminal Court under allegations of membership in an illegal
organization because they protested the death of Lokumcu. Ministry of
Interior inspectors recommended prosecution of the subprovincial
Jandarma commander and police chief in connection with the incident.
The investigation into police mistreatment continued at year's end.
There were continuing reports that security forces shot and killed
civilians who refused to obey a warning to stop at checkpoints. The HRF
reported that six persons died during the year specifically for
refusing to stop, a decrease from the previous year. However, the
Jandarma reported that there were no such deaths at checkpoints during
the year.
On July 19, the Jandarma fired approximately 500 bullets at two
teenagers walking to their village in Samsun, killing 16-year-old
Gokhan Cetintas. The Samsun deputy governor recommended the Ministry of
Interior pay 21,683 lira ($11,730) as compensation to Cetintas's
family. The unit commander was arrested but released until trial, which
was pending at year's end. Human rights organizations continued to
assert that the government's failure to clearly delineate in the law
appropriate situations for the use of lethal force contributed to cases
of disproportionate use of force. The Jandarma, however, reported that
various laws and regulations define proportionate use and escalation of
force and that security forces followed those rules.
In September the Court of Appeals overturned on procedural grounds
the June 2010 conviction of 21 suspects in the death of Engin Ceber,
who died of a brain hemorrhage in 2008, reportedly as a result of a
beating by security forces during detention and later by prison
officials. Four of the 21 officials had received life imprisonment, the
first time that state officials were sentenced to life imprisonment for
causing death through torture. The case was pending retrial in a local
court at year's end.
On July 25, a juvenile court sentenced Ogun Samast to nearly 23
years in prison for the 2007 killing of prominent human rights activist
Hrant Dink. In his final testimony to the court, Samast blamed certain
newspapers and columnists for inciting him to commit the crime.
Prosecution of Samast on other charges continued at year's end.
According to the Jandarma, land mines killed seven civilians and 27
security personnel during the year. The HRF said that land mines and
unattended explosives killed four civilians and injured 22 during the
year.
On several occasions throughout the year, the government used
military aircraft to attack areas where the PKK terrorist organization
was active in northern Iraq. According to press reports, fire from
Turkish aircraft killed seven civilians in Iraq on August 21.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances during the year.
There was a lack of progress on investigating previous cases of
disappearances. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner on Human
Rights' Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances 2010
annual report stated that the country still had 61 unresolved
disappearance cases.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, but
there were reports that some government officials employed them. The
government pursued efforts to ensure compliance with legal safeguards
to prevent torture and mistreatment through its ongoing campaign of
``zero tolerance'' for torture.
Human rights organizations continued to report cases of torture and
abuse, especially while the alleged victim was in police custody but
not in a place of detention, during demonstrations, and transfer to
prison. They alleged that torture and abuse largely occurred outside of
detention centers in more informal venues where it was harder to
document.
Courts investigated allegations of abuse and torture by security
forces during the year but rarely convicted or punished offenders.
Authorities typically allowed officers accused of abuse to remain on
duty during their trial.
On October 12, students from primary and high schools in Mardin
protested against violence at school. The Human Rights Association
(HRA) reported the police intervened in the protest, hustled 19
students into an abandoned minefield, beat the juveniles, and took them
into police custody. The Mardin deputy governor informed the HRA that
due to the incident one police officer was given a 16 months'
suspension per the police organization statutes for ``acting and
behaving in a way that affected the respect and trust required by his
official title during his service.'' Human rights groups complained
about the lack of a criminal investigation of torture in this case.
The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture
(CPT) on its fifth periodic visit to the country reported a continued
downward trend in both the incidence and the severity of mistreatment
by law enforcement officials. It also reported credible allegations of
recent physical mistreatment mainly related to excessive use of force
during apprehension. In response to the report, authorities issued a
circular to all central and provincial police units, emphasizing the
need to avoid mistreatment and excessive use of force.
In its October progress report, the EU Commission reported that
security forces frequently initiated counterclaims for resisting arrest
against people who alleged torture or mistreatment and that such cases
were often given priority in courts. Domestic human rights
organizations agreed and claimed this practice deterred victims of
abuse from filing complaints.
On July 16, Fevziye Cengiz was taken into police custody because
she did not have her identification card while at a nightclub with her
husband in Izmir. Police took her into custody as her husband went to
get her identification from the car. Cengiz filed a complaint with the
Izmir Chief State Prosecutor's Office claiming abuse while in custody.
The officers subsequently filed a complaint against Cengiz, and in
September prosecutors charged her with ``injuring and insulting a civil
servant'' and sought a sentence of up to six-and-a-half years in
prison. On November 28, prosecutors charged the two police officers
with ``using excessive force'' and requested a sentence of six to 18
months. Cengiz's lawyers and human rights groups criticized the
indictment, noting the police officers should be charged with torture
and mistreatment. In December an official tape of her arrest was
released to the media showing Cengiz being beaten and slapped by two
police officers while handcuffed. After public outrage, the Izmir
Governorship requested a Ministry of Interior investigation. The three
police officers were reassigned to other positions and remained with
the Izmir police. The case continued at year's end.
The HRF received 419 new allegations of incidents of torture during
the first 10 months of the year. Of these incidents, 187 allegedly
occurred in the first 10 months of the year while 232 took place prior
to 2011. A number of human rights observers claimed that only some
detainees reported torture and abuse because many feared retaliation or
believed that complaining was futile.
The TNP reported that, in line with the government's ``zero
tolerance for torture'' policy, it installed digital audio and video
systems in 15 detention centers and testimony rooms during the year,
bringing the total up to 63 out of more than 2,000 detention centers
and testimony rooms.
Human rights activists maintained that those arrested for ordinary
crimes were as likely to suffer torture and mistreatment in detention
as those arrested for political offenses such as speaking out against
the government, although they were less likely to report abuse. They
also noted that gay men and transvestites were subject to abuse and
harassment by police on ``moral'' grounds.
Human rights organizations documented cases of prison guards
beating inmates. During the year three wardens and a prison director at
Kalkandere Prison in Rize were arrested for beating and mistreating
inmates. The trial was ongoing at year's end.
On August 24, according to the HRF, an inmate filed a criminal
complaint against officials at the Tekirdag prison in connection with
the alleged June 2010 beating of three inmates for singing ``human
dignity will overcome torture.'' As of year's end, authorities had not
opened an investigation. After the complaint was filed, the three
inmates were each allegedly given more than a month of solitary
confinement.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison facilities remained
inadequate, although conditions generally improved during the year.
Overcrowding and underfunding were the major problems.
The HRF reported 27 deaths of prison inmates and four deaths in
detention through October. The Ministry of Justice reported that, as of
October 25, 225 inmates had died in prison: 198 of natural causes, 26
by suicide, and one killed by fellow inmates. The Turkish General Staff
(TGS) reported there were no deaths of detainees or convicts in
military prisons during the year.
As of October 31, the Ministry of Justice reported the country had
371 prisons with a designed capacity of 116,043 holding a total of
127,074 inmates, including 36,429 in pretrial detention, 17,484
convicted and awaiting appeal, and 73,161 convicted. As of October 31,
3,768 inmates in pretrial detention were facing terrorism-related
charges. The TGS reported 25 military prisons with a capacity of 5,300
were holding a total of 850 prisoners, 694 of whom were arrestees with
trials in progress.
The CPT expressed serious concern about the inadequate provision of
health care to prisoners and a dramatic shortage of doctors in prisons.
According to the Civil Society in the Penal Punishment System
Association (CISST), during the year the government made an improvement
by attaching prison doctors to the Ministry of Health. The CISST
reported that 240 arrestees or convicts were denied access to proper
health services during the year, particularly those with paralysis or
cancer, and called for them to be released or provided with hospital
services in prison.
Foreigners who claimed asylum after being detained by security
forces were held in ``guest houses for foreigners'' operated by the
Foreigners' Department of the TNP. The CPT delegation found major
shortcomings in the detention centers for immigration detainees,
including severe overcrowding, dilapidated conditions, and limited
access to natural light and exercise. They reported few allegations of
abuse by security officials at the detention centers.
Detainees and convicts occasionally were held together. Inmates
convicted of nonviolent, speech-related offenses were sometimes held in
high-security prisons.
In July 2010 the government amended the antiterror laws to prohibit
prosecution of minors under the laws, reduce punishments for unlawful
demonstrations and meetings, and allow for the release of minors who
had previously been tried and convicted under the laws. The Ministry of
Justice reported that in 2010, 1,023 children received convictions and
857 received acquittals under various articles of the penal code, the
Antiterror Law, and the Law on Demonstrations.
As of October 31, there were 2,231 children in prison, including
1,825 in pretrial detention. Human rights activists noted that
children, particularly girls, were not fully separated from adults in
all adult prisons. Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to
visitors and were permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted
prisoners and detainees to see a judge once a month. Authorities at
times investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions but
generally did not document the results of such investigations in a
publicly accessible manner.
The parliament's Human Rights Investigation Commission (HRIC)
reported open authorization to visit and observe military prisons. The
HRIC visited two civilian prisons and one military prison during the
year. The government permitted prison visits by representatives of some
international and domestic human rights organizations, although access
remained difficult to obtain.
The CPT visited PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Imrali Prison in
January 2010. The CPT's report on the visit stated the conditions of
imprisonment for Ocalan had improved compared with 2007. Ocalan's
lawyers and family members last had access to him in July.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention. However, the government at times did not observe
these prohibitions in practice.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The TNP, under the
control of the Ministry of Interior, is responsible for security in
large urban areas. The Jandarma is responsible for specific border
sectors where smuggling is common, although the military has overall
responsibility for border control.
A civil defense force known as the village guards, concentrated in
the Southeast, was less professional and disciplined than other
security forces. The village guards had been accused in past years of
drug trafficking, corruption, theft, rape, and other abuses. Impunity
remained a problem. During the year the government reduced the number
of village guards to 45,081 from 47,854.
The TNP and Jandarma received specialized training in areas
including human rights and counterterrorism. Thousands of security
personnel received human rights training as part of their ongoing
training during the year. According to the government, the military
emphasized human rights in training for both regular and
noncommissioned officers. A total of at least 32 hours of human rights
training was given to Jandarma officers, noncommissioned officers, and
cadets during basic training courses. Each year the TNP provides
training on human rights to one-fifth of all personnel. During the year
the Public Order and Security Undersecretariat published a text on
human rights and the fight against terrorism, providing instruction on
compliance with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
jurisprudence, to be utilized in the Jandarma and TNP training courses.
A total of 48 Jandarma personnel were dismissed during the year.
The TNP reported that, as of October 25, 133 judicial or administrative
investigations had been opened against TNP personnel for excessive use
of force. One investigation resulted in a short-term block on
promotions. Investigations were dropped in 95 incidents because there
was ``no need to punish'' or prosecute. Investigations continued in 37
incidents at year's end.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants
issued by a prosecutor are required for arrests unless the suspect is
caught in the commission of a crime. A suspect may be detained for 24
hours, with prosecutorial discretion to extend the period to 48 hours,
excluding transportation time, before being arraigned by a judge.
Suspects must be told of the charges against them within 24 hours. A
suspect cannot, under the law, be held arbitrarily or secretly. After
arraignment, the judge may release the accused upon receipt of an
appropriate assurance, such as bail, for crimes requiring punishments
of up to three years. For more serious crimes, however, the judge
decides either to release the defendant on his or her own recognizance
or hold the suspect in custody prior to trial completion if there are
specific facts which justify the suspicion that the suspect will flee,
attempt to destroy evidence, or attempt to pressure or tamper with
witnesses or victims. In practice judges often decided to keep suspects
in detention when it did not appear necessary for the public interest,
and the decision was often not clearly justified.
The law provides that detainees are entitled to immediate access to
an attorney and to meet and confer with an attorney at any time. The
law also requires that the government provide indigent detainees with a
public attorney in criminal cases where the defendant requests an
attorney. In cases where the potential sentence is greater than five
years, or where the defendant is a child or is disabled, a defense
attorney is appointed even without the defense request. Detainees were
generally allowed prompt access to family members. However, human
rights organizations reported difficulties in helping families find out
whether a relative had been detained because the government refused to
release such information to the organizations or the families.
Private attorneys and human rights monitors reported irregular
implementation of these laws, particularly with respect to attorney
access. According to a number of local bar associations, attorney
access for detainees continued to vary widely across the country.
Human rights observers noted that in most cases where a defendant
could not afford an attorney, one was provided. However, in terrorism-
related cases an attorney was frequently not provided until after the
suspect had been detained and interrogated by security forces. The HRA
claimed that police often intimidated detainees who asked for
attorneys, for example by telling them a court would assume they were
guilty if they consulted an attorney during detention.
By law, police and Jandarma may compel citizens to declare their
identities without any cause.
Arbitrary Arrest.--During the year police routinely detained
demonstrators for a few hours at a time. Police detained more than
1,000 members of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) on
various occasions. Police also continued to detain and harass members
of human rights organizations, media personnel, and human rights
monitors, and to detain people on suspicion of ``membership in an
illegal organization'' and for ``promoting terrorist propaganda.''
In October 2010 the government began the trial of 153 persons,
including several elected mayors, political party officials, and a
human rights activist in Diyarbakir. The defendants were charged in a
7,578-page indictment with disrupting the integrity of the state; being
members and/or administrators of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK),
the umbrella political organization of the PKK; and assisting and
sheltering a terrorist organization, among other charges. HRW stated
that the case raised concerns about the right of individuals to
participate in political activities. The defendants' request to defend
themselves in Kurdish instead of Turkish was denied by the court, which
called Kurdish an ``unknown language.''
The BDP reported that, from the time the anti-KCK operation and
investigations began in 2009 until October 2011, police detained a
total of 7,748 persons and, of these, arrested 3,895. The BDP also
reported that between April and September alone, police detained 4,149
persons, arresting 1,548.
Pretrial Detention.--At the end of 2010, a new provision of the
criminal procedure code came into effect that limited to 10 years the
maximum length of time a person could be held for organized crime and
terrorism-related offenses, and limited to five years the maximum
length of time a person could be held for other offenses, including
three one-year extensions. Lengthy detention before a verdict was
generally a problem. Judges have ordered that some suspects be held for
long periods or even indefinitely without trial but with the right to
come before a judge each month. The Ministry of Justice reported that
criminal cases averaged 384 days for completion. The Ministry of
Justice also reported that, out of a total of 127,074 individuals
imprisoned, 36,429 were in pretrial detention, 17,484 had been
convicted and awaited appeal, and 73,161 had been convicted and were
serving their sentences.
The Council of Europe commissioner for human rights' 2011 report
Administration of Justice and Protection of Human Rights in Turkey
stated that in most cases judges failed to sufficiently reason their
decision to extend detention in custody, state the exact grounds for
suspicion in their decision, or evaluate specific evidence regarding
the risk of absconding or interfering with the course of justice. The
report noted that judges rarely accepted any dissenting grounds from
the defense and that decisions to extend detention appeared almost
automatic, with judges approving most requests without a detailed case
file examination.
Throughout the year prosecutors in Istanbul continued to arrest and
indict prominent military, business, and media personalities on charges
of plotting to foment unrest and topple the elected government as
members of an alleged network known as ``Ergenekon.'' More than 250
persons were indicted by year's end. Some opposition politicians,
members of the press, and critics of the government considered many of
the indictments to be politically motivated. According to journalists
associations, 16 of those imprisoned in connection with the Ergenekon
case were journalists. Most of the defendants were held in pretrial
detention. Dozens of defendants have been held for long periods, a
common practice in the country, although some were released pending
trial during the year. Since the investigation began in 2007, there
have been no convictions in the case, and trials continued at year's
end.
On December 16, the first session of a trial of 195 suspects in the
alleged ``Sledgehammer'' coup plan began. The suspects, who included
active duty military generals and civilians, were accused of
obstructing the government and plotting to overthrow it. Most remained
in pretrial detention. Some observers saw this trial as politically
motivated, while others saw it as bringing to justice those who
attempted to overthrow the government. Since the investigation began in
2010, there have been no convictions in this case, and the trials
continued at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. However, the judiciary was occasionally subject
to outside influence. The law prohibits the government from issuing
orders or recommendations concerning the exercise of judicial power.
The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) selects judges
and prosecutors for the country's courts and is responsible for court
oversight. The constitution provides tenure for judges, but the HSYK
controls the careers of judges and prosecutors through appointments,
transfers, promotions, expulsions, and reprimands.
Critics asserted that the government used its influence among
judges and prosecutors to ensure the election of handpicked candidates
to the HSYK and contended the president, a former member of the ruling
party, would be likely to select pro-government candidates as well.
The close connection between public prosecutors and judges gave the
appearance of impropriety and unfairness in criminal cases. Prosecutors
and judges studied together before being assigned by the HSYK. Once
appointed they were often housed together, frequently shared the same
office space, and often worked in the same courtroom for many years.
The associations also noted that public defense attorneys undergo
less rigorous training than their prosecutorial counterparts and are
not required to take an examination to demonstrate a minimum level of
expertise.
Constitutional amendments adopted in 2010 allow individuals to
apply directly to the Constitutional Court for redress starting in
September 2012. Previously, only the lower courts, the president, and
under certain conditions, members of parliament could apply to the
court.
The constitution provides for the trial of military personnel in
civilian courts if their alleged crime was committed against the state,
constitutional order, or the functioning of constitutional order. The
constitution also provides for civilian judicial review of decisions of
the Supreme Military Council.
According to an Amnesty International report during the year,
criminal defendants faced protracted and unfair trials, especially for
violations of antiterror laws. The report also asserted that
convictions under antiterror laws were often based on unsubstantiated
or unreliable evidence.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence.
Courtroom proceedings are public for all cases except those involving
minors as defendants. Court files, which contain the indictment, case
summaries, judgments, and other court pleadings are closed to everyone
other than the parties to a case, making it difficult to obtain
information on the progress or results of court cases. There is no jury
system, and a judge or a panel of judges decides all cases. Defendants
have the right to be present at trial and to consult with an attorney
in a timely manner. Defendants or their attorneys can question
witnesses for the prosecution and, within limits, present witnesses and
evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants enjoy the
right to appeal, although appeals generally took several years to
conclude.
International human rights organizations and the European
Commission's October progress report stated the courtroom structure and
rules of criminal procedure give an unfair advantage to the
prosecution. Prosecutors enter the courtroom through the same door as
the judge; defense attorneys enter through a separate door. Prosecutors
sit at an elevated desk at the same level as that of the judge; the
defense sits at floor level.
Defendants sometimes waited several years for their trials to
begin. Subsequently, trials often last several years. Proceedings
against security officials often were delayed because officials did not
submit statements promptly or attend trials. In spring 2011, the
government adopted judicial reform packages intended to speed up and
improve judicial processes.
While the law prohibits the use in court of evidence obtained by
torture, prosecutors in some instances failed to pursue torture
allegations, forcing defendants to initiate a separate legal case to
determine whether the inclusion of evidence was lawful. Human rights
organizations reported that, in such instances, the primary case
frequently was concluded before the secondary case was decided, leading
to unjust convictions.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The HRA asserted that several
thousand political prisoners from all parts of the political spectrum
existed, although the government did not distinguish them as such. The
government claimed that alleged political prisoners were in fact
charged with being members of, or assisting, terrorist organizations.
According to the Ministry of Justice, as of October 31, 3,884
suspects were in pretrial detention, 3,768 convicted, and 365 convicted
and awaiting appeals on terrorism-related charges.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Article 90 of the
constitution states that ``in the case of a conflict between
international agreements in the area of fundamental rights and
freedoms... the provisions of international agreements shall prevail.''
Individuals may appeal alleged violations of human rights by the state
to the ECHR after all avenues for a remedy in the domestic legal system
have been exhausted. The country's courts are subject to the
jurisdiction of the ECHR, whose decisions bear the force of law and
take precedence over case decisions from the Court of Appeals or
Constitutional Court.
According to the European Commission's October progress report,
Turkey has abided by the majority of ECHR rulings but has not followed
up some rulings for several years. These included decisions related to
depriving defendants of liberty for several years without due process
of law; repetitive prosecution and conviction of conscientious
objectors; as well as other issues related to controlling the
activities of security forces, effective remedies against abuse,
restrictions on freedom of expression, and excessive length of pretrial
detention.
During the year the Ministry of Justice created a new human rights
office to facilitate implementation of the country's obligations under
the ECHR.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
and impartial judiciary in civil matters. The law provides that all
citizens have the right to file a civil case for compensation for
physical or psychological harm suffered, including for alleged human
rights violations. Individuals should be able to apply directly to the
Constitutional Court for redress starting September 12, 2012.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution protects the ``secrecy of private
life'' and states that people have the right to demand protection and
correction of their personal information and data.
The law allows for telephone tapping with a court order. Only the
country's telecommunication agency is authorized to tap telephones, and
only when presented with a court order directed against alleged drug
traffickers, organized crime members, and terrorists. There were
occasional complaints by individuals and public figures, including
higher court members and politicians, that their telephones were
illegally tapped without a court order.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--International and domestic human rights organizations noted
particular concern with an overly broad definition of terrorism under
the antiterror law and the disproportionate use of the antiterror law
against journalists and writers. They also emphasized that the penal
code contains multiple articles that directly restrict press freedom
and free speech, including provisions on praising a crime or criminal,
inciting the population to enmity or hatred and denigration, and
protecting the public order; providing protection of the
confidentiality of investigations; attempting to influence the
judiciary; insulting the Turkish nation, the republic, and organs and
institutions of the state; and discouraging individuals from doing
their military service. Committing some of these acts through the press
or other publications is also considered an aggravating circumstance
and increases the punishment by half. The press law and the law on the
protection of Ataturk are also used to restrict freedom of expression.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals in many cases could not criticize
the state or government publicly without risk of civil or criminal
suits or investigation, and the government continued to restrict
expression by people sympathetic to some religious, political, and
Kurdish nationalist or cultural viewpoints. Active debates on human
rights and government policies continued in the public sphere,
particularly on problems relating to political Islam, Kurds, and the
history of the Turkish-Armenian conflict at the end of the Ottoman
Empire. However, many who wrote or spoke on such topics risked
investigation, although there were fewer such cases than in previous
years.
Article 301 of the penal code criminalizes insults to the Turkish
nation, but use of this article continued to decrease. According to the
Ministry of Justice, the minister received 305 complaints concerning
Article 301 during the year and rejected 297 of them. The minister gave
permission for the remaining eight cases to proceed.
Throughout the year, police and the judiciary increased pressure on
members of the BDP. Human rights activists and party officials claimed
that authorities were continuing to prosecute more than 4,000 cases
against Kurdish politicians at year's end. Most members were
investigated and prosecuted for alleged ties to the KCK, or for making
statements critical of the government or in support of the PKK or its
leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Diyarbakir mayor Osman Baydemir continued to face multiple
administrative, civil, and criminal charges and investigations for use
of the Kurdish language, spreading terrorist propaganda, and promoting
terrorism. During the year prosecutors opened 13 new investigations or
cases against Baydemir. Most of the cases involved Baydemir's
expression of his political views or speaking Kurdish at public events.
During the year he received at least two acquittals and four
convictions but he remained in his position as mayor. Many cases and
appeals were pending at year's end. For example, in February the Ankara
10th Civil Court of First Instance ordered Baydemir to pay 30,000 lira
($16,800) in compensation to Prime Minister Erdogan for a 2009
statement that ``We tell the ones who divide us into hawks and doves to
go to hell,'' which the court decided constituted an attack on
Erdogan's ``personal rights.'' The appeal was pending at year's end.
The provision of legal interpretation services is limited to
situations where a defendant does not have sufficient command of
Turkish to defend himself or herself or where the defendant or victim
is disabled. In December 2010 a Diyarbakir court rejected a request by
17 defendants to defend themselves in Kurdish while they stood trial
for supporting of terrorism after returning from Iraq in 2009. However,
a Sanliurfa court the same month allowed defendants to defend
themselves in Kurdish. Inconsistent court decisions regarding the use
of languages other than Turkish were prevalent throughout the country.
Freedom of Press.--The country had active privately owned print
media. Hundreds of private newspapers spanning the political spectrum
appeared in numerous languages, including Kurdish, Armenian, Arabic,
English, and Farsi. However, authorities routinely censored media with
pro-Kurdish or leftist content, particularly in the southeast, by
confiscating materials or temporarily closing down the media source.
According to the TNP, authorities confiscated 70 books and periodicals,
28 of them within the framework of the antiterror law.
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation is a government-funded
semi-autonomous body. The High Board of Radio and Television (RTUK)
registered and licensed a large number of privately owned television
and radio stations which operated at local, regional, and national
levels. In addition, privately owned television channels operated on
cable networks, and the RTUK granted 11 television and radio
enterprises broadcast permits necessary for operation. The wide
availability of satellite dishes and cable television allowed access to
foreign broadcasts, including several Kurdish-language private
channels. Most media were owned by large, private holding companies
that had a wide range of outside business interests. The concentration
of media ownership influenced the content of reporting and limited the
scope of debate.
In addition to Turkish, the RTUK allowed radio and television
stations to broadcast in Arabic, Armenian, Assyrian, Bosnian,
Circassian, Laz, and Kurdish (both the Kurmanci and Zaza dialects)
during the year.
Violence and Harassment.--Prosecutors continued to bring dozens of
cases against writers, journalists, and political figures under various
laws that restrict media freedom. Authorities at times also ordered
raids on newspaper offices, closed newspapers temporarily, issued
fines, or confiscated newspapers for violating speech codes. Despite
government restrictions, the media criticized government leaders and
policies daily and in many cases adopted an adversarial role with
respect to the government. On December 20, Reporters without Borders
noted operations that ``flout the right to the confidentiality of
sources'' of journalists and insisted that Turkish authorities ``must
stop trying to criminalize journalism, including politically committed
journalism.'' The independent news entity BIANET reported that, at the
end of the year, there were 104 imprisoned journalists, most in
pretrial detention, 17 of whom were editors in chief. They also
reported the imprisonment of 30 distributors. Most of these journalists
were charged under antiterror laws. Observers reported government
officials and state bureaucrats made statements throughout the year
that appeared intended to influence the independence of the media.
According to media reports, as of year's end more than 5,000 cases
were pending against journalists for breaching the confidentiality of
criminal investigations or attempting to influence judicial bodies,
including many related to the Ergenekon investigation.
During the year ideologically motivated attorneys and prosecutors
filed numerous civil and criminal complaints against authors and
publishers.
In March the Court of Appeals sentenced Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk
to pay 6,000 lira ($3,200) in nonpecuniary damages to six persons for
``violation of one's personality'' by having said in a Swiss
publication in 2005, ``We have killed 30,000 Kurds and one million
Armenians.'' The Court of Appeals insisted that one's personality
included such concepts as ``professional identity, honor, dignity,
race, religion and nationality, as well as feelings of belonging to a
nation.''
On March 2, the Court of Appeals overturned the 2010 decision of a
lower court to sentence Vedat Kursun, former editor in chief of the
Kurdish-language newspaper Azadiya Welat, to 166 years in prison for
membership in a terrorist organization and violating antiterror laws in
connection with 102 articles he had written in 2007 and 2008 and
ordered a rehearing. In June the Diyarbakir Fifth Heavy Penal Court
sentenced him to 10 years and six months' imprisonment. The appeal was
pending at year's end.
On March 10, an Istanbul Heavy Penal Court sentenced writer Nur
Mehmet Guler to 15 months' imprisonment and publisher Ragip Zarakolu to
a 16,000 lira ($9,000) fine for contributing to the ``propaganda of an
illegal terrorist organization'' under the antiterror law for a book
entitled the KCK File. The case was pending appeal at year's end. On
September 30, a case was opened against Zarakolu for publishing another
book about the Kurdish issue. The case continued at year's end.
Separately, in November Zarakolu was arrested and imprisoned in
conjunction with the KCK book case.
On December 28, an Ankara court continued the case against
publisher and writer Temel Demirer for a statement he made after the
2007 Dink killing that ``Hrant Dink was not killed for being Armenian
but for recognizing the genocide.'' The case continued at year's end.
On September 9, an Istanbul court accepted an indictment against
journalists Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik and 12 other persons for
supporting a terrorist network accused of plotting a coup related to
the Ergenekon trial. The indictment sought 15 years' imprisonment. On
January 23, the Istanbul 16th Heavy Penal Court rejected the motion for
Sener and Sik to be released from prison until the completion of the
trial. During the year Sener and Sik were charged in other cases for
crimes such as ``influencing the judiciary'' or ``violating the
confidentiality of an investigation'' and acquitted..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Printing houses were required
to submit books and periodicals to prosecutors at the time they were
published. The TPA reported that publishers often avoided works with
controversial content in order to stay out of court. It also reported
that the prohibition and recall of books remained a concern. Several
publications were recalled pending a final court decision during the
year.
During the year authorities continued to file numerous cases
against publications under antiterror laws. The HRF reported that the
laws contain an overly broad definition of offenses that allows
ideologically and politically motivated prosecutions. The Istanbul
Heavy Penal Court Number 12 ruled to stop the publication of the daily
Kurdish Azadiya Welat newspaper for 15 days beginning June 13, and
ordered the confiscation of the June 12 issue, based on alleged
terrorist organization propaganda. At least 10 Azadiya Welat
journalists were also imprisoned on terrorism-related charges by the
end of the year. The Istanbul Heavy Penal Court Number 14, on July 8
decreed a one-month ban on the Ozgur Gelecek newspaper for an interview
in its July 8-21 issue with a regional commander of the TKP/ML-TIKKO,
which the government considers a terrorist organization.
Writers and publishers were subject to prosecution on grounds of
defamation, denigration, obscenity, separatism, terrorism, subversion,
fundamentalism, and insulting religious values. According to the TPA,
authorities investigated or continued court cases against dozens of
publications and publishers during the year.
On December 13, an Istanbul penal court held the third hearing of a
November 30 indictment of the Metis Publishing House and seven
defendants for publishing a 2010 Illallah (I've Had Enough) calendar
allegedly ridiculing religious values. The calendar includes quotes
from intellectuals such as George Bernard Shaw, Umberto Eco, Fyodor
Dostoyevski, James Joyce, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, and
Galileo Galilei. The case was ongoing at year's end.
Human rights activists and the media reported that authors
increasingly practiced self-censorship to avoid prosecution. Observers
also reported that, with the consolidation of media outlets into a few
media conglomerates with other business interests, media entities
increasingly practiced self-censorship in order for such conglomerates
to remain eligible for government contracts. Journalists reported media
outlets went as far as firing some individuals for being too
controversial or adversarial with the government over fears of
jeopardizing other business interests.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Observers reported that government
officials used defamation laws to stop political opponents from voicing
criticism, particularly during the June 12 parliamentary election
campaign.
Publishing Restrictions.--Media activists reported the Ministry of
Culture sometimes denied approval of a barcode required for all
publications as a means of censorship.
Internet Freedom.--The government maintained extensive restrictions
on Internet access. The Internet law allows the government to prohibit
a Web site if there is sufficient suspicion that the site is committing
any of eight crimes: insulting Ataturk; engaging in obscenity,
prostitution, or gambling; or encouraging suicide, sexual abuse of
children, drug abuse, or provision of substances dangerous to health.
Upon receiving a complaint or as a result of personal observations, a
prosecutor may request that a judge prohibit access to the offending
site or, in an urgent situation, the Telecommunication Internet
Presidency (TIB) may prohibit access while the complaint is examined.
In either case, a judge must rule on the matter within 24 hours.
Following a judicial decision to uphold the complaint, the Internet
service provider (ISP) must block access within 24 hours. If the judge
does not approve the block, the prosecutor must ensure access is
restored. ISP administrators may face a penalty ranging from six
months' to two years' imprisonment for failing to comply with a
judicial order. The law also allows people who believe a Web site
violates their personal rights to request the TIB to order the ISP to
remove the offensive content. The antiterror law and other sections of
the penal code were also used to block Web sites.
There were no official figures on the number of blocked Web sites.
However, Engelliweb, an NGO working on Internet freedom issues,
reported that, as of December 31, authorities had blocked 15,595 Web
sites, more than doubling the number reported in 2010. The Information
Technologies Institute (BTK) reported 81 percent of the sites that were
blocked contained pornography.
On September 21 an Ankara Heavy Penal Court ruled to bar access to
16 Kurdish-related Web sites, including welat.org and firatnews.org, as
well as Kurdish video and radio Web sites, such as medciwan.com.
In 2010 the TIB banned Playboy magazine's Web site without a court
order, based on ``a legal evaluation'' of the Internet law on
obscenity. The ban remained in force at year's end.
The BTK reported there were 25,850 Internet cafes in the country.
Internet cafes were primarily used by young people. Under the Internet
law, mass use providers, including Internet cafes, can only operate if
they are granted an official activity certificate obtained from a local
authority representing the central administration. The providers are
required to deploy and use filtering tools approved by TIB. Providers
who operate without official permission face administrative fines. As
of December Internet activists reported that more than one million Web
sites were blocked in Internet cafes in the country. The Web sites for
many mainstream LGBT organizations were among those blocked, including
the Kaos GL news portal.
Additional Internet restrictions were applied in government and
university buildings. On September 21, parliamentarian Aylin Nazliaka
submitted a parliamentary question to the prime minister challenging
blocked access to the LGBT sites of Kaos GL and Lambda Istanbul from
Internet stations at the parliament building. Both organizations were
on the ``black list'' of forbidden sites issued by TIB.
In August, after significant public and international protest
against a mandatory filter, the government revised a plan to introduce
a regulation of the principles and procedures for safe usage of the
Internet. In November the BTK implemented a nonmandatory filter, with
two voluntary options, for ``child'' and ``family.'' Civil society
organizations continued to criticize the program, both for the
government's involvement in deciding what is appropriate for family or
child use on the Internet, and a lack of transparency into the criteria
used to block sites. The Alternative Information Association opened a
case at the State Council against the new regulation stating the BTK
was not entitled to make such a decision.
Government authorities on occasion accessed Internet user records
to ``protect national security, public order, health, and decency'' or
to prevent a crime. Police must obtain authorization from a judge or,
in emergencies, the ``highest administrative authority'' before taking
such action and generally did so in practice.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Government restrictions on
freedom of speech at times limited academic freedom and cultural
events. Some academics and event organizers stated they practiced self-
censorship on sensitive topics. Human rights and students groups
continued to criticize constraints placed on universities by law and by
the actions of YOK that limits the autonomy of universities in
staffing, teaching, and research policies and practice.
In August the government issued a decree with the force of law that
changed the process of appointment to the Turkish Academy of Sciences
(TUBA). Previously, TUBA members reviewed and elected all new
scientists to join as members. With the new decree, TUBA members will
elect one-third of the members, YOK will assign one-third of the
members, and the Cabinet of Ministers will assign one-third of the
members. Leading academics and scientists criticized the change as a
politicization of scientific endeavors that will eliminate scientific
autonomy and undermine scientific standards. Half of the 138 TUBA
members resigned in protest.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly. However, the
government required significant prior notification for gatherings and
in some cases restricted meetings to designated sites.
The HRF reported that security forces killed six persons during
demonstrations, an increase from the previous year. There were reports
that police beat, abused, or harassed demonstrators during the year.
The HRF reported that police detained 1,916 and arrested 293 persons
involved in demonstrations during the year. The detentions varied in
length from several hours to several days. HRW criticized the arbitrary
use of terrorism laws to restrict freedom of expression and assembly
and to punish demonstrators as though they were armed militants.
Human rights organizations reported that arrests of students
involved in peaceful political protests discouraged students from some
political activities. On October 6, an Istanbul court decided to try on
release (similar to release on their own recognizance) Ferhat Tuzer and
Berna Yilmaz, after 17 months of pretrial detention stemming from
charges of ``membership in an illegal organization.'' The two had
opened a banner during a speech of Prime Minister Erdogan at a Romani
meeting in Istanbul in March 2010 that read, ``We want free education
and we will get it.'' The case continued at year's end.
Public events in March celebrating the Nevruz holiday were
generally peaceful. The European Commission's October progress report
noted that demonstrations in the southeast of the country and in other
provinces related to the Kurdish issue, student's rights, the
activities of YOK, and trade union rights were marred by violence,
including incidents of the use of excessive force by security forces.
A number of symbolic public events took place on April 24 to
commemorate events relating to the Armenian issue and the tragic events
of 1915. The gatherings were peaceful and received police protection
where necessary.
Freedom of Association.--While the law provides for freedom of
association, the government maintained several restrictions on this
right in practice.
Under the law people organizing an association do not need to
notify authorities beforehand, but an association must provide
notification before interacting with international organizations or
receiving financial support from abroad and must provide detailed
documents on such activities. Representatives of associations stated
this placed an undue burden on their operations.
According to the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey, an advocacy
NGO, the criteria for NGOs to obtain public benefit status entitling
them to certain tax exemptions were restrictive and complicated.
Applications for public benefit status must be approved by the Council
of Ministers. The law does not allow applicants to appeal if their
petitions are rejected.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, at times the government limited these rights in
practice. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations to provide protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers
awaiting resettlement to third countries, stateless persons, and other
people of concern. While the country signed the 1951 U.N. Refugee
Convention and its 1967 protocol, the government ratified the protocol
with a geographic limitation acknowledging refugees only from Europe.
While most asylum seekers are thus not considered refugees under
Turkish law, the government grants temporary asylum to UNHCR-recognized
refugees. Refugees were assigned to satellite cities where they
received services from and were the responsibility of provincial
governorates. They needed permission from local authorities to travel
to Istanbul or Ankara, including for meetings with the UNHCR or
resettlement agencies.
In-country Movement.--The constitution provides that only a judge
may limit the freedom to travel, and only in connection with a criminal
investigation or prosecution. The government maintained roadway
checkpoints in the southeast, where it maintained a heavy security
presence, but it reduced their number substantially compared with 2010.
At times the terrorist PKK blocked roads, set up checkpoints, and
kidnapped civilians and government authorities in southeastern
provinces. In one such example in September, a group of armed PKK
terrorists in the province of Siirt randomly stopped vehicles and
subsequently kidnapped and killed Abdullah Ozturk.
The government assigns asylum seekers and UNHCR-recognized refugees
in Turkey to one of more than 50 cities and to the responsibility of
the respective provincial authorities. Restrictions on moving from that
city have economic as well as social consequences as local officials
have significant discretion in working with refugees and NGOs, and
their response varied widely.
Asylum seekers are requested to register with Turkish authorities
to legalize their temporary stay in the country. The UNCHR reported
that, as there is no local integration prospect for refugees in Turkey
and voluntary repatriation is currently not the best alternative
solution for the present caseload, resettlement is often the only
available solution for individuals in need of an immediate durable
solution. A refugee accepted by a third country for resettlement needs
to obtain exit permission before leaving Turkey. In the past, such
permission was withheld until the individual paid a pending residence
permit fee and any possible accumulated fines. In 2010 the Ministry of
Interior issued a circular encouraging governorates under the relevant
article of the legislation to favorably consider exemption from these
fees whenever the refugee is not financially in position to pay. While
the implementation is not yet uniform in every single location, the
2010 circular explicitly refers to the previous difficulties in
refugees and asylum seekers exiting Turkey. Since the circular was
issued, the UNCHR reported that in general the previous difficulties
some refugees had in obtaining exit permits had been almost completely
removed. No data was available at year's end regarding the number of
waivers granted.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Fighting between security
forces and the terrorist organization PKK, which began in 1984 and
continued during the year, resulted in hundreds of thousands of
citizens, the vast majority of whom were Kurds, living as IDPs in the
country. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reported as many
as 1.2 million, while some human rights groups put the number
significantly higher. Many IDPs settled permanently in cities in the
west, especially around Izmir and Istanbul, but some faced
discrimination and limited opportunities. According to the TNP, a total
of 187,861 citizens had returned voluntarily to their villages in the
Southeast as of October, although many more did not return due to
continued insecurity and concerns about the presence of village guard
militias, landmines, and lack of basic social services and economic
opportunities in the region.
The law allows persons who suffered material losses due to actions
by the PKK or security forces during the conflict with the PKK to apply
to the government for compensation. The EU Commission's October
progress report stated that since 2008 the government had made progress
on compensating for losses due to terrorism and the fight against
terrorism, but it noted payment delays. Rejected applicants for
compensation appealed government decisions in administrative courts,
and several of them applied to the ECHR. Local NGOs and regional bar
associations maintained that the law included unreasonable
documentation requirements and awarded levels of compensation far below
standards established by the ECHR.
Voluntary and assisted resettlement continued. In a few cases, IDPs
could return to their former homes, while in other cases centralized
villages were constructed. The Jandarma reported that, as of October,
it had provided compensation totaling 2.6 billion lira (approximately
$1.4 billion) for losses stemming from the fight against terrorists.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--An administrative
regulation provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status. The
country accepts its obligations under the 1967 Protocol relating to the
Status of Refugees only with respect to refugees from Europe. During
the year the Ministry of Interior conducted a parallel refugee status
determination process subsequent to the UNHCR's determination and
affirmed the latter's decisions in nearly all cases. The law does not
have a strict time limit for asylum seekers or require them to present
a valid identity document.
The UNHCR reported successful interventions in most cases where
asylum seekers arrived lawfully in the country after transiting one or
more other countries. It also reported improved access during the year
to persons in detention who wished to apply for asylum and persons
seeking asylum while they were in the international areas of the
country's airports. The UNCHR reported disembarkation of stowaways
still presented a challenge.
While most asylum seekers in the country cannot be considered
refugees under Turkish law, the law requires that the government grant
temporary asylum to persons declared refugees by the UNHCR.
Nonrefoulement.--The UNCHR reported one Iraqi prima facie refugee
was deported to Iraq after he was apprehended in Greece and readmitted
to Turkey. The UNHCR sometimes had difficulty gaining access to
interview potential refugees who had already been detained or arrested
by security forces for illegal entry into the country.
The government's visa policies generally facilitated easy entry.
In general, Iraqi citizens were able to obtain a 90-day tourist
visa upon arrival at the border gates in Turkey. Denial of entry to
Turkey is possible if a foreigner has violated visa policy and exceeded
visa time limits during a previous stay in the country. Apart from
these cases, the UNCHR reported no denial of visa or entry during the
year.
Refugee Abuse.--The government detained refugees and asylum seekers
who entered the country illegally, a practice that Amnesty
International criticized during the year. Detainees could be held
indefinitely.
Human rights groups reported that nearly 200 LGBT refugees from
Iran were living in the country at year's end. The groups reported that
these refugees faced numerous problems in the country in addition to
their refugee status due to their sexual orientation or gender
identity.
Access to Basic Services.--In 2010 the Ministry of Interior issued
a circular containing provisions and administrative measures that would
facilitate access to asylum procedures by detained irregular migrants
from removal centers. The UNCHR reported this improved the condition of
these centers. Provincial governments, working with local NGOs, are
responsible for meeting the basic needs of UNHCR-recognized refugees
and other asylum seekers who have been assigned to satellite cities in
their jurisdictions, including by providing access to employment,
healthcare, and education. Basic services are dependent on the goodwill
of local officials. Governors have significant discretion in working
with refugees and with NGOs, and the response of local officials to
refugee presence varied widely.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
to asylum-seekers who may not qualify as refugees, including people of
non-European origin. Syrians began fleeing into Turkey in significant
numbers in June in response to the Syrian government's crackdown on
protesters in border areas. The government maintained an open border to
Syrian arrivals (and to voluntary returns) and responded robustly to
the humanitarian needs of the displaced Syrians. As of October the
government had provided temporary refuge and assistance to 18,957
Syrian citizens in camps in Hatay. Refugees needed permission from
local authorities to travel to Istanbul or Ankara, including for
meetings with the UNHCR or resettlement agencies.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and law provide citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage. However, the government restricted the activities of some
political parties and leaders.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The June
12 parliamentary elections were held under election laws that the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found
established a framework for democratic elections in line with
international standards. The law requires a party receive at least 10
percent of the valid votes cast nationwide to enter parliament. Some
political parties and human rights groups criticized the 10 percent
threshold as unduly high. Three of the 15 parties eligible to run
crossed the threshold in the 2011 elections. Candidates who ran as
independents were able to bypass the threshold.
In the June 12 election, 36 independent candidates endorsed by the
BDP won seats in parliament. On June 21, the Supreme Electoral Board
stripped Hatip Dicle, one of the successful BDP candidates, of his seat
on procedural grounds, ruling he was ineligible to run for office to
begin with because he had been convicted of ``supporting propaganda of
a terrorist organization'' in the past. His seat went to an AKP member.
Even though members of parliament are entitled to immunity from
prosecution while they are in office, courts in Diyarbakir blocked the
release from prison of an additional five successful BDP candidates,
two successful Republican People's Party candidates, and one
Nationalist Movement Party candidate previously imprisoned on KCK-,
Ergenekon-, and Balyoz-related charges, respectively. The BDP and CHP
boycotted the parliament to protest the courts' decision, and the BDP
initiated a civil disobedience campaign. On July 11, the CHP ended its
boycott. On October 1, the BDP ended its boycott and joined with
independent lawmakers to form a parliamentary bloc. The BDP stated it
would continue to work to change the laws to enable the release of the
BDP members of parliament it endorsed who were in prison.
In its observation report following the 2011 parliamentary
elections, the OSCE noted a comprehensive legal framework for elections
and generally assessed that the government demonstrated a broad
commitment to holding democratic elections. The OSCE also noted the
previous legal prohibition against using any language other than
Turkish in political campaigning had been partially repealed but
expressed concern that the constitution and implementing legislation
continue to unduly limit freedom of expression, freedom of association,
and electoral rights.
Political Parties.--Political parties and candidates could freely
declare their candidacy and run for election. However, the chief
prosecutor of the Court of Appeals could seek to close political
parties for unconstitutional activities by bringing a case before the
Constitutional Court. During the year police raided dozens of BDP
offices, particularly in the southeast, and detained more than 1,000
BDP officials and members. Prosecutors also opened numerous
investigations and trials against BDP members, mostly for alleged
membership or support of the KCK.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 79 women in the
550-seat parliament and one woman in the 26-member cabinet. There was
one Christian Syriac in the parliament. He was the first Christian to
win a seat in the parliament in approximately 50 years.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and some
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The EU Commission
noted in its October report that the ``scope of parliamentary
immunities'' in cases of corruption was ``too wide'' and that there
were incomplete measures to ensure transparency in areas such as
political party financing and election campaigns.
The law requires government officials to provide a full financial
disclosure including listing physical property every five years and
officials generally fulfilled this requirement. The Prime Ministry's
Inspection Board, which advises the Corruption Investigations
Committee, is responsible for investigating major corruption cases.
Nearly every state agency has its own inspector corps responsible for
investigating internal corruption. Parliament can establish
investigative commissions to examine corruption allegations concerning
cabinet ministers or the prime minister. A majority vote is needed to
send these cases to the courts for further action.
The law provides for public access to government information.
However, the government occasionally rejected applications on national
security and other grounds, and there were no opportunities to appeal.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated
in many regions but faced government obstruction and restrictive laws
regarding their operations, particularly in the southeast. Government
officials were generally uncooperative and unresponsive to their views,
although cooperation increased during the year. Human rights
organizations and monitors as well as lawyers and doctors involved in
documenting human rights violations occasionally faced detention,
prosecution, intimidation, harassment, and closure orders for their
activities. Human rights organizations reported that official human
rights mechanisms did not function consistently and failed to address
grave violations. During the year Amnesty International reported that
some human rights defenders were prosecuted for monitoring and
reporting human rights violations.
In October 2010 the trial against Muharrem Erbey, president of the
HRA in Diyarbakir and vice president of the national HRA, began along
with the trial of other suspects in the KCK case in Diyarbakir. The HRA
and many international human rights organizations continued to assert
that Erbey was arrested for his work at the HRA and as a human rights
lawyer. The trial continued at year's end. Additional HRA executives
and employees were arrested during the year on KCK-related charges and
remain imprisoned at year's end.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Human Rights Presidency (HRP)
was authorized to monitor the implementation of legislation relating to
human rights and to coordinate the work of various government agencies
in the field of human rights. There were provincial human rights
councils under the HRP in all 81 provinces and their constituent
subprovinces. The HRP was generally accorded little to no credibility
by human rights organizations.
While constitutional amendments adopted in 2010 called for the
establishment of an ombudsman's office and an independent human rights
commission, as of year's end, neither institution had been established.
Through November 3, the Turkish Parliament Human Rights Committee
received 1,512 complaints based on human rights violations.
Approximately one-third of the complaints were related to judicial
issues, primarily the right to a fair trial, as well as requests to
improve the physical conditions and end poor treatment in prisons.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, religion,
disability, language, or social status. The government did not enforce
these prohibitions effectively. The constitution allows measures to be
taken to advance gender equality, as well as measures to benefit
children, seniors, persons with disabilities, widows, and veterans
without violating the constitutional prohibition against
discrimination. The government maintained hotlines to prevent the
exploitation of women, children, persons with disabilities, and senior
citizens, although some human rights groups questioned their
effectiveness.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
including spousal rape, with prison terms of two to seven years for
sexual assault. However, the government did not effectively enforce the
law or protect victims. Victims often waited days or weeks to report
incidents due to embarrassment or reprisals, hindering effective
prosecution of assailants. Human rights organizations claimed that
cases of abuse and rape were heavily underreported. The law prohibits
violence against women, but the government did not effectively enforce
it. The criminal code does not specifically forbid ``spousal abuse''
but provides punishment based on the underlying crime, such as assault,
wrongful imprisonment, or threats. The civil code states that spousal
abuse is a reason for granting divorce. Courts regularly issued
restraining orders during the year to protect abused women, but human
rights organizations reported that police rarely effectively enforced
them. There are also problematic gaps in the law. Law 4320 to protect
women against domestic violence, for example, excludes divorced and
unmarried women from protection procedures. Some organizations reported
that societal acceptance of domestic abuse in some cases contributed to
underreporting.
Domestic human rights organizations reported these laws were
partially effective. More women called the police emergency hotline to
report domestic violence and went to police stations to file abuse
reports than in previous years. Women's NGOs also reported an increase
in violence towards women who attempted to use their legal rights.
Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a serious and
widespread problem both in rural and urban areas. Government statistics
on violence against women are inadequate. The Turkish Women's
Association Federation reported that in the first 10 months of the
year, 208 women were killed. They reported 65 cases of suspected deaths
or suicides and 33 attempted murders, in addition to a number of
reports of violence and rape. Women's NGO Flying Broom reported that of
women killed during the year, 66 percent were killed by family members.
Through October the government's hotline received 19,377 calls from
women. The Institution for Social Services and Orphanages operated 52
women's shelters with a total capacity of 1,133 female victims of
domestic violence and rape. Municipalities operated 24 women's shelters
with a capacity of 554 persons and NGOs operated one women's shelter.
Regulations call for women's shelters in any city with a population of
more than 50,000. Observers noted that there were an inadequate number
of shelters, or no shelters at all, in many such cities.
So-called honor killings of women continued to be a serious
problem. Individuals convicted of honor killings may receive life
imprisonment. Most honor killings occurred in conservative families in
the rural Southeast or among families of migrants from the Southeast
living in large cities. Because of sentence reductions for juvenile
offenders, observers noted that young male relatives often were
designated to perform such killings.
Due to penalties for honor killings, family members sometimes
pressured girls to commit suicide to preserve the family's reputation.
Government officials worked with advocacy groups to hold town hall
meetings and set up rescue teams and hotlines for women and girls at
risk of being the target of honor killings.
In July the Federation of Women's Associations prepared a report
showing the number of female suicides in Sanliurfa increased
significantly during the past two years. There were five suicides
reported in 2009, 124 in 2010, and 149 in only the first six months of
2011. Human rights organizations suspected many of these suicides were
actually disguised honor killings, and most involved a history of
domestic violence.
On May 12, the Ankara First High Criminal Court sentenced Istikbal
Yetkin to a life sentence for the premeditated and deliberate murder of
his former wife, Ayse Pasali. In December 2010 Yetkin stabbed Pasali 11
times. Before her death, Pasali received dozens of death threats from
her ex-husband. She applied to the courts for protection from him but
was rejected because they were divorced.
Sexual Harassment.--The law provides different penalties for the
crimes of sexual harassment and sexual assault, requiring two to seven
years' imprisonment for sexual assault and three months to two years'
imprisonment plus a fine for sexual harassment. Women's rights
activists maintained both laws were rarely enforced.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals in most cases have
the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of children and
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination. Women
and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment
for sexually transmitted infections.
The Ministry of Health reported the maternal mortality rate in 2010
to be 16.4 deaths per 100,000 pregnancies. The World Economic Forum
2011 Gender Gap report estimated skilled attendants assisted an
estimated 91 percent of all births; while 71percent of married women
used some method of birth control.
Discrimination.--The constitution permits measures, including
positive discrimination, to be taken to advance gender equality. While
women enjoy the same rights as men under the law, societal and official
discrimination were widespread.
Women continued to face discrimination in employment and were
generally underrepresented in managerial-level positions in business
and government. According to an October EU Commission report, the level
of women's employment and political participation were low. A large
percentage of women were employed in agriculture and in the retail,
restaurant, and hotel sectors as unpaid family labor in family-owned
businesses. The World Economic Forum evaluated that during the year
that women earned 58 percent of what their male counterparts did for
similar work. The government reported that men and women were offered
equal opportunities in work and received equal pay for equal work.
Children.--The constitution permits positive discrimination for
children and measures to protect children against exploitation, and
commits the government to furthering children's welfare and working to
expand opportunities in education and health.
Birth Registration.--There is universal birth registration in the
country and births were generally registered immediately. Citizenship
is passed through a child's parents, not through birth on Turkish soil.
Only one parent needs to be a Turkish citizen to pass citizenship to a
child. In special cases where a child is born in Turkey who due to the
status of his/her parents cannot receive citizenship from any other
country, then Turkish citizenship is granted to the child.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was a problem, and comprehensive social
services to provide medical, psychological, and legal assistance were
limited. Through the end of the year, the government's domestic
violence hotline received 4,071 calls from children.
Child Marriage.--The law defines 17 as the minimum age for
marriage, although children as young as 12 were at times married in
unofficial religious ceremonies. Child marriage occurred, particularly
in poor, rural regions. Women's rights activists reported there were
fewer underage marriages but that the problem remained serious. In July
the parliament's Committee on the Equality of Opportunity for Women and
Men issued a report stating that many families in eastern Turkey did
not consider underage marriage improper. A Hacettepe University
Institute of Population Studies' report stated that 28 percent of women
were married by the time they were 17.
Media reports noted an underage girl who was eight months pregnant
was hospitalized in Bolu after being brought to the hospital by her 25-
year-old husband, to whom she was wed in a religious ceremony with no
legal standing. The hospital did not initiate any formal process for
child or sexual abuse, despite the minor's age, and sent her back home
with her husband.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The constitution provides that
the state shall take measures to protect children from exploitation.
The law criminalizes sexual exploitation of children and mandates a
minimum sentence of eight years in prison. There were reports that
children were subject to commercial sexual exploitation. A person
convicted of encouraging or facilitating children into prostitution can
receive a prison sentence of between four and 10 years; if violence or
pressure is involved, the sentence can be doubled.
The age of consent in the country is 15. The law provides for
imprisonment for six months to two years for statutory rape; the
sentence is doubled if the offender is more than five years older than
the victim. The law prohibits producing or disseminating child
pornography and provides for a sentence of six months to two years as
well as a fine.
In October the Court of Appeals supported the 2010 decision by a
court in Mardin to reduce the sentences of 26 men, charged in 2002 with
rape and unlawful sex with a minor, after it concluded the then 13-
year-old victim had consented to have sex and on account of the ``good
conduct'' on the part of the accused perpetrators. None of the
defendants received a sentence of more than four years and 10 months in
prison.
Incest is a problem. According to the Van Women's Association, in
the first eight months of the year, 26 percent of women who came to it
with a complaint of violence said they were subject to incest at some
point in their life.
Child Soldiers.--The terrorist group PKK regularly recruited
children. Academic research indicated that 38 percent of PKK members
were under the age of 18.
International Child Abductions.--The country is a party to the
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There were some reports of anti-Semitic incidents
against members of the Jewish community, which numbered approximately
23,000.
Jewish leaders in the country believed that occurrences of anti-
Semitism were directly related to events in the Middle East, although
members of the Jewish community reported that they did not feel they
were held responsible for these events by most of the public. After the
``Free Gaza'' flotilla incident in May 2010, government leaders at all
levels emphasized through public speeches that Turkish Jews were
distinct from both Israeli citizens and the Israeli government and
asserted that the country's Jews should be protected. Jewish community
leaders noted that after the event they received extra police
protection, which prevented a few acts of vandalism against community
property.
A variety of newspapers and television shows continued to feature
anti-Jewish as well as anti-Christian messages, and anti-Semitic
literature was common in bookstores.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution permits positive
discrimination for persons with disabilities and the law prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and in the provision of other state
services. The government did not always enforce the law effectively.
The law requires all responsible institutions to make necessary
arrangements for easy access for the disabled in open areas and on mass
transportation by July 2012, but little progress had taken place by the
end of the year. In June a new entity responsible for protecting
disabled persons, the Disabled and Senior Citizens Directorate General,
was formed under the Family and Social Policies Ministry. During the
year the government's domestic violence hotline received 11,003 calls
from individuals with disabilities and 1,401 from the elderly.
In 2010 (with arrangements in the FY 2010 budget) the state
employed an estimated 7,500 citizens with disabilities. On February 13,
a law was passed introducing a central examination to facilitate
employment of the disabled by the state. The law, which went into
effect on October 3, also tasks employers not to give certain
assignments, such as night shifts, to personnel with disabilities and
to ensure them flexible working hours.
On April 7, the Disabled and Senior Citizens Directorate General
inaugurated a program aimed at mobilizing governors in selected
provinces in Central Anatolia and the eastern Black Sea regions to
implement awareness programs, include disabled citizens in social life,
and train caretakers for the disabled.
The law mandates access to buildings and public transportation for
persons with disabilities, but access in most cities was extremely
limited, and there is no clear system of fines or other punishment for
noncompliance. On April 26, the Ministry of Interior issued a circular
directing that municipality buses be upgraded to accommodate disabled
citizens.
During the June 12 parliamentary elections, for the first time, the
Supreme Election Board automatically assigned citizens registered with
disabilities to vote at polling sites with easy access for disabled
persons.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution provides a
single nationality designation for all citizens and does not expressly
recognize national, racial, or ethnic minorities. In October the EU
Commission's progress report observed the country's approach to
respecting and protecting minority and cultural rights remained
restrictive.
The country's law is interpreted to recognize only three religious
and ethnic minorities: Armenian Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Greek
Orthodox Christians. Other ethnic or religious minorities, such as
Alevis, Assyrians, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Caferis, Yezidis,
Kurds, Arabs, Roma, Circassians, or Laz, are prohibited from fully
exercising their linguistic, religious, and cultural rights, and
continued to face varying levels of pressure to assimilate.
Citizens of Kurdish origin constituted a large ethnic and
linguistic group. More than 15 million of the country's citizens
identified themselves as of Kurdish origin and spoke Kurdish dialects.
Kurds who publicly or politically asserted their Kurdish identity or
promoted using Kurdish in the public domain risked censure, harassment,
or prosecution. In practice children whose first language is Kurdish
could not be taught in Kurdish in either private or public schools.
Restrictions remain on use of languages other than Turkish in
political and public sector spheres. On March 17, the Constitutional
Court rejected the request of a Turkish citizen to use a Syriac
surname, stressing that the law regulating surnames was vital for
national unity.
Some parents were allowed to register the birth of their children
under names derived from the Kurdish language, although the letters W,
X, and Q could not be used because they do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet.
Some progress occurred on preserving cultural rights. In July
Mardin Artuklu University began offering Syriac language courses in
addition to Kurdish literature and culture courses added in 2010 under
its ``Living Languages Institute.'' In October 2010 the university
began classes for its inaugural undergraduate Kurdish Language and
Literature Department degree program, the country's first such
undergraduate program.
There is no firm estimate of the number of Roma in the country.
Roma continued to face problems with access to education, health care,
and housing. In January the parliament approved removing the word
``gypsy'' from a discriminatory clause in the law on the movement and
residence of aliens which authorized the Ministry of Interior to
``expel stateless and non-Turkish gypsies and aliens that are not bound
to the Turkish culture.'' The EU Commission's October progress report
noted steps to address long-standing problems regarding the Roma but
stated a comprehensive policy to address the needs of the Roma was
still missing.
In July the government employment agency (Is-Kur) started
implementing three- to six-month vocational training programs for Roma
in 15 provinces. The European Roma Rights Center, the Helsinki Citizens
Assembly, and the Edirne Roma Culture Research and Solidarity
Association conducted a program during the year to train the Romani
community on civil society organization and activism. Literacy courses
for Romani women offered by the Roma Culture and Solidarity Association
of Izmir continued. Numerous associations celebrated International Roma
Day in Ankara.
In the Sulukule neighborhood of Istanbul, redeveloped housing
continued to sell for four to five times the amount that the original,
mostly Romani occupants received as compensation for leaving the area.
Most former residents declined the government's offer of new housing on
the outskirts of the city. In Edirne many members of the Romani
community also declined the government's offer of new apartment-style
housing on the grounds that it did not meet their needs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While the law does not
explicitly discriminate against LGBT individuals, organizations working
with LGBT persons stated that references in the law relating to
``offenses against public morality,'' ``protection of the family,'' and
``unnatural sexual behavior'' were sometimes used as a basis for abuse
by police and discrimination by employers. The law also states that
``no association may be founded for purposes against law and
morality.'' Authorities applied this law in attempts to shut down or
limit the activities of NGOs working on LGBT matters.
In March RTUK started legal proceedings to fine Digiturk Channel 2
for airing the film Sex and the City 2 on February 18 due to scenes in
the film depicting gay marriage that the RTUK claimed ``violated
national and spiritual values and Turkish family structure.''
Police provided protection to some ``pride'' events in Istanbul and
other cities, and no incidents of violence were reported.
There were active LGBT organizations in at least six cities in the
country: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Eskisehir, and Diyarbakir, and
unofficial groups in smaller cities and on university campuses. All
groups complained of harassment by police and government authorities.
Most had problems registering as an official organization or
maintaining their registration once granted. Many university groups
complained that they had tried to organize but had been denied
permission by the rector. Local governors' offices attempted to close
LGBT groups through civil law cases on the grounds that the
associations violate Turkish morals.
LGBT individuals continued to suffer discrimination, intimidation,
and violent crimes. LGBT groups claimed police harassed and practiced
arbitrary arrest against transgender individuals during the year. Human
rights organizations reported many prosecutions for ``offending public
morals.'' The law on misdemeanors was often used to impose fines on
transgender persons when they frequented stores or walked on city
streets. Police claimed they were acting on complaints they had
received.
According to the Pink Life (Pembe Hayat) LGBT organization, the
Antalya TNP announced that, through the end of August, it had fined
transgender individuals a total of 226,000 lira ($122,000) in 1,400
administrative actions.
On October 25, an Ankara court convicted three transgender persons
(who were also human rights defenders) from the LGBT organization Pembe
Hayat with crimes including resisting police and gave them sentences of
between five months and one year, with two sentences postponed. The
charges related to a June 2010 incident in which police stopped the car
with the three inside and insisted they come to the police station.
When asked why, they were told ``Because you are transvestites.'' The
police then allegedly violently forced them to the station. The three
filed complaints against the police officers for mistreatment, but
there was no public investigation by year's end.
During the year at least six transgender persons were killed. On
October 6, the brother of a transgender woman shot and killed her in a
Gaziantep hospital. The woman was in the hospital for injuries after
she allegedly accidently fell down stairs on October 4. The brother
allegedly went to the police in the hospital and stated, ``I killed my
brother.he was a transvestite. I cleaned my honor.'' The case was
ongoing at year's end.
The Black Pink Triangle (Siyah Pembe Ucgen) LGBT NGO alleged there
were more than 100 incidents of violence against LGBT individuals in
Izmir alone during the year.
In November an Antalya Heavy Penal Court sentenced Nihat Altug to
life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of transgender woman
Hayati Yilmaz. Altug stabbed Yilmaz 28 times in her bed in February
2010 in Antalya.
Openly gay men were not allowed to perform military service for
``health reasons'' due to their sexual orientation. Gay men requesting
military exemption for reasons of sexual orientation had to undergo an
invasive burden of proof and many times were denied even after
proclaiming their sexual orientation and undergoing treatment and
examination at several military medical facilities. LGBT groups
complained that gay men were required to show photos of themselves in
overtly sexual positions and to undergo thorough medical evaluations to
prove their homosexuality to military officials. The groups further
complained that military officials ``outed'' gay men to their families
and communities.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The Ministry of Health
reported 301 accounts of HIV/AIDS in the first six months of the year
compared with 627 during 2010. The Positive Life Association (PLA) and
other NGOs complained that the media and medical professionals often
did not respect the privacy of individuals with HIV/AIDS and often
reported their names in the media. Many people living with HIV/AIDS
reported discrimination in housing, public services and benefits, and
health care. The PLA conducted programs during the year for people
living with HIV/AIDS but faced ongoing funding difficulties.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides most but not all workers with the right to form and
join unions of their choice, to conduct their activities without
interference, and to bargain collectively. Certain public employees,
such as the military and police, cannot form unions. There are no
restrictions on membership or participation of people or unions in
regional, national, or international labor organizations, but such
participation must be certified by a notary public and reported to the
government. Unions are required to notify government officials prior to
holding meetings or rallies (which must be held in officially
designated areas) and to allow government representatives to attend
their conventions and record the proceedings. Public sector employees
are not allowed to bargain collectively. The law provides for the right
to strike but prohibits strikes by white collar civil servants; public
workers engaged in safeguarding life and property; and workers in the
coal mining and petroleum industries, sanitation services, national
defense, banking, and education. Workers in the coal mining, petroleum,
sanitation services, national defense, banking, and education sectors
were required to resolve disputes through binding arbitration. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination. The government reported that
363,544 workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements in
1,623 workplaces.
The 2010 constitutional amendments provide for the recognition of
many new labor rights, such as allowing a person to be a member of more
than one union in the same work branch, allowing a person to
participate in solidarity strikes, and providing public sector workers
the right to collective bargaining. However, as of year's end, the
government had not adopted legislation to implement these amendments.
The government maintained a number of restrictions on the right of
association. A minimum of seven workers are required to establish a new
trade union without prior approval. By law, to become a bargaining
agent, a union must represent 50 percent plus one of the employees at a
given work site and 10 percent of all the workers in that particular
industry. This requirement favored established unions. Labor law
prohibits union leaders from becoming officers of or otherwise
performing duties for political parties, from working for or being
involved in the operation of any profit-making enterprise, and from
displaying any political party logos or symbols in any union or
confederation publications.
In practice, despite restrictions, workers exercised their rights
of association and collective bargaining. The Ministry of Labor
reported that, through September 30, there were nine private sector
strikes involving 26 workplaces. There were no public sector strikes.
However, on December 21, the Public Workers Unions Confederation
organized a strike to protest the government's economic policies and
human rights practices. Public workers, including those from the field
of education, participated in the strike. An Education Union lawyer
reported that domestic laws prohibit certain civil servants, including
educators, from striking, although the country is a signatory to ILO
conventions and the European Human Rights Charter that allow such
actions, while the constitution gives supremacy to international
obligations over domestic legislation. However, the government did not
recognize the right to strike in practice and initiated disciplinary
investigation against those who participated in the strike. In practice
government restrictions and interference limited the ability of unions
to conduct their activities, including collective bargaining. Police
were frequently present at union meetings and conventions.
Antiunion discrimination occurred occasionally. If a court ruled
that a worker was unfairly dismissed and should either be reinstated or
compensated, the employer generally paid compensation to the employee
along with a fine. Service sector union organizers reported that
private-sector employers sometimes ignored the law and dismissed
workers to discourage union activity.
Threats, violence, and systemic lay-offs were common responses to
unionized work places. In April all 110 Birlesik Metal-Is union members
at the MAS DAF company's Makina Sanayi operations were fired without
explanation after protracted negotiations with management after the
illegal firing in 2010 of 22 unionized workers. In February Turkish
workers for United Parcel Service, Inc. who were laid off were allowed
to return to work after a year-long process filled with threats,
shootings, firings, and general intimidation.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were
reports that adults and minors were trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation and labor exploitation.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, and the
government effectively implemented the law with some exceptions. The
use of child labor was found in agriculture, carpentry, the shoemaking
and leather goods industry, the auto repair industry, small-scale
manufacturing, and street sales, although the incidence was thought to
be low and difficult to detect. Some parents forced their children to
work on the streets selling tissues or food, shining shoes, or begging.
The law prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 and
prohibits children under 16 from performing arduous or dangerous work.
The government prohibits children under 18 from working in certain
professions or under hazardous conditions, such as working at night or
in underground mining. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security
effectively enforced these restrictions in most workplaces.
While all places of business are subject to labor inspections,
resource limitations meant many workplaces that employed children did
not receive routine inspections, including farms employing 300 or fewer
workers, maritime and air transportation, family handicraft businesses,
and small shops employing up to three persons. These workplaces could
still be inspected based on complaints submitted to the Ministry of
Labor and Social Security.
Notwithstanding government enforcement of the law, child labor was
moderate. In a child labor survey conducted in the fourth quarter of
2006 and released in 2007, the State Statistical Institute reported
there were 960,000 child laborers between the ages of six and 17. The
study found that 84.7 percent of children between the ages of six and
17 attended school and that the 31.5 percent of children in that age
group who were employed also attended school at least part time.
Employment of young boys and young girls was not uncommon. Girls
were rarely seen working in public, but many were kept out of school to
work in handicrafts or light assembly at home, particularly in rural
areas. According to the 2006 child labor survey, 40.9 percent of child
labor occurred in the agricultural sector, as52.4 percent of employed
children worked in rural areas.
To reduce the employment of children, the Ministry of Education
conducted several programs from 2005-07 in cooperation with UNICEF
designed to increase enrolment of children at school, improve the
quality of education, and improve access to primary education for
children, particularly at-risk girls. During the year the Ministry of
Labor and Social Security also continued to implement a project to
improve the work and social lives of seasonal mobile agricultural
workers in 28 provinces.
Children legally employed at small enterprises and registered with
a Ministry of Education training ``Lifelong Learning Center'' were
required to go to the center once a week for training. The centers were
obligated by law to inspect their workplaces.
The government identified the worst forms of child labor as working
in the streets, in the informal urban economy, seasonal commercial
agriculture, and domestic service workers. A credible 2010 report on
the worst forms of child labor indicated that 8,298 children worked on
the streets in 2009.
The Social Services and Child Protection Institution operated 37
centers in 29 provinces to assist such children. The Social Services
and Child Protection Institution operated a hotline for reporting child
exploitation and negligence, and with TNP cooperation, street children
spotted in the streets and who were at risk were directed to child
centers for care and reintegration into the educational system.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was
837 lira ($452) per month. The official poverty level is 3,063 lira
($1,656) per month according to unions. All workers covered by the
labor law are also covered by the law establishing a national minimum
wage. This law was effectively enforced by the Ministry of Labor
Inspection Board. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development indicated that the national minimum wage did not take
sufficient account of regional variations in productivity and living
costs.
The law establishes a 45-hour workweek with a weekly rest day and
limits overtime to three hours per day for up to 270 hours a year.
Premium pay for overtime is mandated, but the law allows for employers
and employees to agree to a flexible time schedule. The Labor
Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor effectively enforced wage and
hour provisions in the unionized industrial, service, and government
sectors. Workers in other sectors had difficulty receiving overtime pay
to which they were entitled by law. The law prohibits excessive
compulsory overtime.
While the law mandates occupational health and safety regulations,
in practice the Ministry of Labor Inspection Board did not carry out
sufficient inspection and enforcement programs. During the year the
number of labor inspectors increased to 851. The board began a program
during the year to conduct preliminary observations in workplaces and
counsel the employers on violations that would be fined later if no
action was taken. The program resulted in an increase in awareness and
enforcement of labor laws and a reduction in fines. In 2010, 62,903
workplace accidents occurred, causing 1,444 deaths persons and 1,976
injuries.
__________
UKRAINE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Ukraine is a republic with a presidential-parliamentary system of
government. The constitution provides for a directly elected president,
a prime minister who is appointed by the president and confirmed by
parliament, and a unicameral parliament (Verkhovna Rada). Recent
changes to the constitution strengthened the presidency at the expense
of other branches of government. Viktor Yanukovych took office as
president in February 2010 following two rounds of voting that met most
international standards for democratic elections. Security forces
generally reported to civilian authorities.
The most serious human rights development during the year was the
politically motivated detention, trial, and conviction of former prime
minister Yulia Tymoshenko, along with selective prosecutions of other
senior members of her government. The second most salient human rights
problem was the government's measures to limit freedom of peaceful
assembly. Under political pressure courts denied permits for the vast
majority of protests that were critical of the government. For those
protests that were approved an overwhelming police presence discouraged
participation; actions by protesters were limited and tracked by the
authorities. The third major problem was increased government pressure
on independent media outlets, which led to conflicts between the media
owners and journalists and to self-censorship.
Other serious problems included police abuse and deaths in custody,
beatings and torture of detainees and prisoners, and an inefficient,
corrupt judicial system. In addition, the following problems were
reported: harsh conditions in prisons and detention facilities,
arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention, government pressure on
nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and pervasive corruption in all
branches of government. Societal problems included violence against
women, trafficking in persons, xenophobic attacks and hate crimes, and
societal discrimination, harassment, and attacks on religious and
ethnic minorities.
The government generally did not prosecute security officials who
committed abuses, especially against ethnic minorities and prisoners.
Prosecutions for corruption, which were frequent, were often
criticized as selective. Impunity was a problem throughout the
government.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed any politically
motivated killings.
According to the Association of Ukrainian Monitors of Human Rights
in Law Enforcement, 35 deaths were attributed to illegal actions or
negligence by the authorities. This included persons who died either in
police custody or shortly after being released from custody.
On April 4, authorities arrested three police officers in
connection with the alleged beating death of Kharkiv resident Yevhen
Zvenyhorodskyi. According to a report in the Hazeta po-ukrainsky
newspaper, police detained Zvenyhorodskyi on March 30. He was beaten in
custody, left outside a police station, and later died in a hospital as
a result of his injuries. A police sergeant was charged with the
beating and for exceeding authority. Two senior officers were charged
with failing to prevent the beating, failing to provide medical
assistance, and exceeding authority. Their trial continued at year's
end.
On March 24, the Prosecutor General's Office charged former
president Leonid Kuchma with abuse of office that allegedly resulted in
the 2000 killing of investigative journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. On July
7, the Pechersk District Court in Kyiv began the trial of Oleksiy
Pukach, a former senior Ministry of Internal Affairs official;
according to authorities, Pukach confessed to strangling and beheading
Gongadze. A panel of judges ordered the trial closed to the public and
rejected repeated motions by the prosecution to open the proceedings.
In August the media reported that Pukach had implicated Kuchma, then
parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, and former deputy minister of
internal affairs Mykola Dzhyha in a plot to kill Gongadze. In December
the court dismissed charges against Kuchma, citing a ruling by the
Constitutional Court that the evidence against him was improperly
obtained. The case against Pukach continued at year's end.
On April 20, the Dniprovskiy District Court sentenced Viktor
Lozynskiy, a former member of parliament, to 15 years in prison for his
part in the 2009 death of Valeriy Oliynyk. According to police
Lozynskiy and two other local officials pursued Oliynyk into a wooded
area where they assaulted him, broke his leg, and shot him multiple
times. Lozynskiy appealed the ruling. The court also sentenced two
accomplices in the killing. One was serving nine years in prison; the
second received a five-year suspended sentence.
On December 23, a district court granted amnesty to a police
officer who was found guilty of negligence and exceeding authority in
the May 2010 death in custody of university student Ihor Indylo. The
trial of a second officer charged in the case was pending at year's
end. Indylo's family alleged that police officers beat the student and
failed to provide medical assistance.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit such practices;
however, there were reports that police continued to abuse and torture
persons in custody. For example the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights
Union (UHHRU), a coalition of human rights organizations, reported it
received 240 complaints of torture and abuse during the year.
On August 17, police officers allegedly detained and abused
Cherkasy lawyer Dmytro Karpenko. According to Karpenko the officers
handcuffed, tortured, and beat him for an hour in a police vehicle
following an argument with the officers that his client should be
released from detention. Karpenko reported the incident to the Cherkasy
prosecutor's office. On August 30, the Cherkasy prosecutor charged
Karpenko with resisting arrest and injuring the officers. On September
13, a city court dismissed the charges, but in November the Kirovohrad
oblast prosecutor's office charged Karpenko with the same offenses. On
December 30, a Leninskiy district court in Kirovohrad dismissed the
charges.
On December 8, court officials conducted a 14-hour hearing inside
the jail cell of former prime minister Tymoshenko. Her defense counsel
reported that she remained bedridden throughout the proceedings and
that authorities refused to provide her with proper medical treatment.
According to Nina Karpachova, the human rights ombudsman, the
proceedings in Tymoshenko's cell violated the law and were a ``flagrant
violation'' of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the
State Penitentiary Service said that 270 court hearings were held in
pretrial detention facilities between 2010 and 2011.
The law does not prohibit introducing into evidence statements made
under duress by defendants and witnesses, and police officers
reportedly relied excessively on confessions to solve cases because
they lacked training and equipment to gather evidence through proper
investigations. An ineffective system to investigate allegations of
abuse and the lack of access to defense lawyers and doctors hindered
efforts to curtail police abuse.
In a 2009 report, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
cited multiple concerns based on a monitoring visit in 2008 to 21
facilities in eight cities. Among them were ``numerous, consistent, and
often credible allegations from various sources...of confessions
obtained under torture'' from persons detained by the police force. The
working group also noted that the Prosecutor General's Office indicted
few officials even when it was presented with well-founded accusations
that evidence was obtained by methods that violated proper procedures.
Of some 100,000 such complaints registered in 2008, the prosecutor
general considered 30 to be violations. According to the working group,
``impunity for perpetrators of ill-treatment largely prevails.''
While the government acknowledged the U.N. report, it did not
provide a substantive response on how to correct the problems and
abuses. In latter half of the year, the NGO Donetsk Memorial published
a report on prison conditions. It cited the ``unjustifiably high'' use
of pretrial detention and widespread corruption among prison staff. The
report concluded that no substantial progress toward observing the
rights of prisoners had been made during 2010 and the first half of
2011.
The media reported several cases of abuse by police. For example,
on April 7, Hazeta po-ukrainsky reported that in March police officers
of Mohyliv-Podilskyi district in Vinnytsia Oblast stopped Firdovsi
Safarov, a local resident of Azerbaijani origin. According to Safarov,
the officers made racist comments, handcuffed, and beat him. He was
later hospitalized with a concussion. Police claimed Safarov refused to
show vehicle documents and resisted arrest. On August 2, the Vinnytsia
oblast prosecutor's office opened a criminal case against the officers
for abuse of authority. The investigation continued at year's end.
During the year authorities prosecuted 92 police officers who had
allegedly abused persons in detention.
In November the UHHRU reported that unknown persons attacked, beat,
and assaulted Andriy Fedosov, a disability rights activist and
investigator who uncovered poor living conditions and abuse in
psychiatric hospitals in Crimea. Fedosov confirmed the attack and left
the country with assistance from human rights organizations. In
December he requested asylum in France. Both Human Rights Watch (HRW)
and Amnesty International had previously expressed concern about
Fedosov, saying the attacks appeared to be in retaliation for his
activist work.
Physical hazing and violence continued to be a problem in the armed
forces. According to the State Judicial Administration, 107 hazing-
related guilty verdicts were issued in the first six months of the
year. The Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that during the year
239 servicemen were convicted of hazing and 132 hazing-related criminal
cases involving servicemen were forwarded to the courts.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions remained poor. Overcrowding, abuse, inadequate
sanitation, and the lack of adequate light, food, and medical care were
persistent problems, although prisoners had some access to potable
water. The government permitted monitoring visits by independent human
rights observers, and some visits occurred during the year.
At year's end, according to the latest available statistics from
the State Penitentiary Service (SPS), the service held 154,029 persons
in its facilities; of these, 37,632 were in pretrial detention
facilities. Approximately 9,480 were women, and 2,092 were juveniles.
During the year 1,169 individuals died in custody; the number included
60 suicides and four homicides.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, approximately
235,000 persons were held in police-controlled temporary holding
facilities during the first 11 months of the year. The ministry
confirmed 22 deaths in these facilities; 11 were reported to be by
suicide and 11 due to illness.
Conditions in police temporary holding facilities and SPS pretrial
detention facilities were harsher than in low- and medium-security
prisons. The former were often overcrowded and lacked adequate
sanitation and medical facilities. At year's end 228 individuals
serving life sentences were held in pretrial detention facilities,
according to the SPS.
Overcrowding in prisons and pretrial detention centers continued to
be a problem. For example, as of September, there were 3,899 inmates at
Kyiv's Lukyanivskiy detention center, which has capacity for 2,850. As
a result 1,049 detainees were forced to sleep on the floor or rotate
their sleeping places with cellmates.
According to a December 2010 report by the Prosecutor General's
Office, overcrowded conditions at pretrial detention facilities
operated by the State Penitentiary Service in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk,
Kharkiv, Kherson, and Kyiv, were especially difficult. The law sets the
average space for detainees at 26.9 square feet. According to the State
Penitentiary Service, at year's end 37,632 detainees were held in
facilities with a capacity for 34,817, making the actual average space
per detainee 24.8 square feet.
At year's end an estimated 4,052 persons in custody had
tuberculosis, according to the SPS. In tuberculosis hospitals under the
responsibility of the SPS, 42 percent of patients were terminally ill
with tuberculosis, and 44 percent of patients were terminally ill with
HIV/AIDS, according to the most recent available statistics. The
penitentiary service acknowledged that tuberculosis was a widespread
problem because of poor conditions and inadequate medical resources for
examining and treating tuberculosis-infected persons in pretrial
detention facilities.
The penal code prohibits racial, ethnic, religious, and other types
of discrimination against inmates in penitentiary institutions and
stipulates which individuals may visit prisons without special
permission, including the justice minister, members of the Council of
Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), and members of
civic commissions monitoring prison conditions.
Prisoners generally were allowed to receive visitors and were
permitted religious observance, although those who were under a
disciplinary regime could not receive visitors. Prisoners and detainees
were also allowed to file complaints with the ombudsman about
conditions in custody, but human rights organizations noted that prison
officials continued to censor or discourage complaints. By law the
prosecutor and ombudsman were obliged to disclose the names of inmates
who filed complaints to prison and police authorities.
The government allowed independent monitoring of prison conditions
and detention centers by local and international human rights groups
during the year. According to local human rights activists, the
monitoring was infrequent and focused primarily on providing social
services to detainees. There was no record of the number of visits that
were made.
From November 29 to December 6, a CPT delegation conducted an ad
hoc visit to review treatment of persons detained at facilities in
Kyiv, Kharkiv, and in other police pretrial detention facilities. The
delegation also examined the health care provided to certain prisoners
held in Kyiv, including former acting defense minister Valeriy
Ivashchenko, former minister of internal affairs Yuriy Lutsenko, and
former prime minister Tymoshenko.
Also in November the CPT released its report on its 2009 visits to
detention facilities in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Luhansk. The report
noted that the frequency and consistency of allegations heard by the
delegation ``suggest that methods of severe mistreatment and torture
continue to be used with impunity by Internal Affairs Ministry
officers.''
In addition, the report noted little progress in providing
detainees with access to lawyers before questioning by authorities and
concluded that Internal Affairs Ministry staff had pressured many
detainees to sign statements waiving their right to a lawyer.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice serious
problems remained.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Internal Affairs is responsible for maintaining internal security and
order; it reports directly to the president and oversees the police and
other law enforcement personnel. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU)
is responsible for all state security, nonmilitary intelligence, and
counterintelligence. It too reports directly to the president. The
State Tax Administration, which exercises law enforcement powers
through the tax police, is accountable to both the president and the
cabinet.
The law provides for civilian control of the armed forces and law
enforcement agencies and authorizes members of parliament to conduct
investigations and public hearings into national security and defense
issues. The parliament's human rights ombudsman is also authorized to
initiate investigations into the relevant activities of security
forces. There were reports that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and
SBU at times acted with impunity and appeared to act to further the
political interests of the presidential administration.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, during the year 72
criminal cases of police torture or inhuman and degrading treatment
were opened, and 91 cases involving 174 law enforcement officers were
sent to court.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the year 575
criminal cases were opened against police officers. Of these, 166 were
linked to abuse of office or power. The other charges included 98 cases
of exceeding authority, 17 cases of forgery, 33 cases of negligence,
and 61 cases of bribery, as well as 200 cases linked to other offenses.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, 127 law enforcement
personnel were convicted of torture or inhuman treatment during the
year.
In October 2010 rapporteurs from the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe expressed concern about credible reports that the SBU
was monitoring civil society, noting they had received numerous
reports, often substantiated and credible, of pressure by the SBU on
journalists, politicians, and civil society activists or on people or
businesses close to them.
In July the NGO Foundation of Regional Initiatives reported that an
SBU official contacted one of its activists in Zhytomyr and demanded a
meeting to discuss the foundation's activities in protesting against
the Law on Higher Education. In November more reports surfaced of SBU
surveillance of civic groups outside of Kyiv. Some SBU personnel
reportedly attended meetings to gather information on activities of
specific individuals, while others called activists to ask in-depth
questions about their political affiliation and work.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--By law,
authorities may detain a suspect for three days without a warrant,
after which an arrest order must be issued. The courts may extend
detention without an arrest warrant for an additional 10 days and grant
extensions for a maximum of 18 months. The law permits citizens to
contest an arrest in court or appeal it to the prosecutor. The law
requires that detained persons be informed of their rights and that
officials notify family members immediately concerning an arrest;
however, in practice police often did not follow the procedures
required by law.
The law stipulates that a defense attorney must be provided without
charge to indigent detainees from either the time of detention or the
date of the filing of charges. However, in practice this often did not
occur because of an insufficient number of defense attorneys or because
attorneys refused to take on indigent clients, citing low government
remuneration.
The law provides for bail, but it was rarely granted. Many
defendants could not pay imposed bail amounts. Courts sometimes imposed
travel restrictions as an alternative to pretrial confinement. However,
courts generally opted to place individuals in pretrial detention.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Authorities reportedly continued to make
arbitrary arrests in part to extract evidence that could be used
against detainees. There were reports of unsanctioned arrests, and
police at times failed to keep records or register detained suspects.
Additionally, courts often extended detention to allow police more time
to obtain confessions.
On August 5, during her trial on abuse of office and exceeding
authority, former prime minister Tymoshenko was arrested for allegedly
avoiding the investigation and disrupting court proceedings. She
remained in detention for the duration of her trial on grounds that if
freed she would impede the court's inquiry. According to local and
international legal analysts, Tymoshenko's detention was not justified
and disproportionate to the charges. Despite her deteriorating health,
the court denied repeated requests for bail, and she remained in
dentition until her conviction on October 11. On December 23, an
appeals court upheld Tymoshenko's conviction and seven-year prison
sentence.
Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention remained a serious
problem. Individuals often remain in pretrial detention for months or,
in some cases, years.
A 2009 report by the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
noted a number of problems related to the country's detention
practices, including the continued practice of detaining until trial
persons suspected of minor crimes, a perceived lack of independent and
effective control by the judiciary over the detention process, and
unlawful restrictions on pretrial detainees, such as denying them
contact with their families and medical treatment before court trials.
In December 2010 police detained former minister of internal
affairs Lutsenko on charges of embezzlement and abuse of office. His
defense team filed repeated motions to release him on bail due to his
poor health, but the motions were dismissed. His detention was extended
several times until his trial began on May 27.
Former acting defense minister Valeriy Ivashchenko was detained in
August 2010 on charges of exceeding authority and abuse of office for
sanctioning the reorganization of Feodosiya ship repair plant in
Crimea. His trial began in November 2010 and continued at year's end.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary remained
subject to political pressure, corruption, and inefficiency and lacked
public confidence. In certain cases the outcome of trials appeared
predetermined.
According to local and international legal experts, the following
individuals were victims of politically motivated prosecutions and were
denied the right to a fair public trial: former prime minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, former minister of internal affairs Yuriy Lutsenko, former
acting defense minister Valeriy Ivashchenko, and former head of customs
Anatoliy Makarenko, among others.
The right to a fair trial was impeded by lengthy court proceedings,
particularly in administrative courts, and by political pressure on
judges, inadequate court funding, a shortage of qualified legal
assistance for defendants, and the inability of courts to enforce
rulings. Judges also continued to complain about pressure from high-
ranking politicians seeking improper resolution of cases.
All courts, except for the Supreme Court, were funded through the
State Judicial Administration, which was also responsible for staffing.
The ministries of justice and education were responsible for training
judges.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution includes provisions for a fair
trial, including the right of suspects or witnesses to refuse to
testify against themselves or their relatives. However, these rights
were limited in practice by the absence of implementing legislation,
which left a largely Soviet-era criminal justice system in place. While
the law entitles defendants to a presumption of innocence, the tendency
of courts to detain defendants prior to conviction and a 0.2 percent
acquittal rate undermined that presumption.
The constitution provides for juries, but a jury system has not
been implemented. Most cases are decided by a single judge, although
trials on charges carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the
highest penalty in the criminal justice system, were heard by two
judges and three public assessors who have some legal training.
By law trials must start no later than three weeks after criminal
charges are filed. However, the overburdened court system seldom met
this requirement and months frequently passed before a defendant was
tried, with complicated cases usually taking longer.
The law specifies that a defendant may consult a lawyer in private.
However, human rights groups reported that officials occasionally
monitored meetings between attorneys and their clients. The law also
requires legal counsel be provided without charge to all defendants,
but such counsel was often unavailable. Defendants have the right to
confront witnesses, present their own witnesses and evidence, and
access government-held evidence. These rights were repeatedly violated
in the trials of former prime minister Tymoshenko and former minister
of internal affairs Lutsenko.
Investigative files must contain signed documents attesting that
defendants were informed of the charges against them, of their right to
an attorney at public expense, and of their right not to give evidence
against themselves or their relatives. Although the law requires trials
to be held in public, courtroom space was often limited, and media were
at times prohibited from observing court proceedings.
The law provides for an appeals process. Appeals courts may dismiss
convictions or order new trials if certain documents signed by the
defendant are missing from the case file. However, officials sometimes
verbally and physically abused defendants to force them to sign copies
of the missing documents to avoid dismissal of the conviction or a new
trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities selectively
detained and prosecuted members of the political opposition.
On January 14, the Czech Republic granted political asylum to the
former minister of economy, Bohdan Danylyshyn, who was accused of
abusing his office and misspending approximately 14 million hryvnia
($1.75 million). Czech authorities had initially detained Danylyshyn in
Prague in October 2010 on an extradition request from Ukraine.
Between August and December 2010, the prosecutor general charged
former prime minister Tymoshenko, former minister of internal affairs
Lutsenko, and six other high-level members of Tymoshenko's government
with abuse of power and misuse of state funds. Since President
Yanukovych came to power, charges have been filed against 13 senior
members of Tymoshenko's government: Tymoshenko, four ministers, five
deputy ministers, two agency heads, and the head of the state gas
monopoly. Many domestic and foreign observers and governments
considered the prosecutions politically motivated.
On August 4, the Public Committee for Defending against Political
Prosecution, a coalition of 14 domestic human rights NGOs, issued a
report that designated Tymoshenko and Lutsenko political prisoners
because they were deprived of their liberty and remained in detention
on politically motivated charges. The coalition stated that its
conclusion was based on ``an analysis of the rulings regarding [the
court's] choice of restraint measures and the circumstances of [the
defendants'] arrest and remand in custody.''
Tymoshenko's trial began June 24 at the Pechersk District Court of
Kyiv. Her attorneys filed numerous motions to protest violations of her
right to a fair trial, such as failure to admit certain types of
evidence, failure to call defense witnesses, failure to provide counsel
sufficient time to study the case, and limitations on cross-
examination. International jurists who observed the trial criticized
the trial judge's conduct, noting that Tymoshenko's detention was
unjustified and her right to defense likely violated because her
attorneys did not have adequate time to prepare for trial. Tymoshenko
was sentenced on October 11 to seven years in prison and ordered to pay
the government approximately 1.5 billion hryvnia ($188 million) for
losses allegedly caused by a 2009 natural gas agreement that Tymoshenko
signed with Russia. The conviction also prohibited her from running for
political office for three years after conclusion of her prison term.
On August 10, Tymoshenko lodged a complaint with the European Court
of Human Rights (ECHR) concerning her detention and trial. On December
14, the ECHR announced it would ``give priority to the case Tymoshenko
v. Ukraine. in view of the serious and sensitive nature of the
allegations raised.''
The trial of former minister for internal affairs Lutsenko on
charges of abuse of office and embezzlement began May 27. He was
detained in December 2010 on grounds that he was not reviewing case
materials in a timely manner. The charges stemmed from an alleged
overpayment of 40,000 hryvnia ($5,000) to a ministry driver. On January
21, Lutsenko lodged a complaint with the ECHR.
In November Tymoshenko's husband, Oleksandr, fled the country and
applied for political asylum in the Czech Republic. His request was
pending at year's end.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--Individuals may apply to
the ECHR to redress alleged violations by the state of human rights as
provided under the European Convention on Human Rights. During the year
the ECHR handed down 105 judgments against the country. Most of the
judgments involved violations of the right to a fair trial, unduly long
proceedings, protection of property, the right to liberty and security,
and inhumane or degrading treatment. In 2010 the ECHR issued 107
decisions against the country for violations of the European Convention
on Human Rights. At year's end 10,271 applications against Ukraine were
pending before the ECHR.
Independent observers noted that while the government paid damages
to those who won ECHR cases involving financial issues, it failed to
institute reforms to address the root causes of many of the cases
brought before the court.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and laws
give citizens the right to challenge any decisions, actions, or
omissions of national and local government officials that violate their
human rights. However, the right of redress was limited by an
inefficient and corrupt judicial system. Individuals may also file a
collective legal challenge to legislation that they believe may violate
basic rights and freedoms. Individuals may appeal to the human rights
ombudsman and to the ECHR after they have exhausted all legal remedies
in the country.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, in
practice authorities generally did not respect these prohibitions.
By law, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) may not conduct
surveillance or searches without a court-issued warrant. The Office of
the Prosecutor General has the constitutional responsibility to ensure
that all law enforcement agencies observe the law. Citizens have the
legal right to examine any dossier concerning them in the possession of
the SBU and the legal right to recover losses resulting from an
investigation. However, authorities generally did not respect these
rights in practice because implementing legislation was not enacted,
and many citizens were not aware of their rights or that their privacy
had been violated by authorities.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution and laws provide for freedom of speech and
press. However, in practice government pressure on the media
intimidated journalists and media owners into practicing self-
censorship in some cases. There were numerous reports that central and
local authorities attempted to direct media content. There were also
reports of intimidation and violence against journalists by national
and local officials and unknown perpetrators.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could criticize the government
publicly and privately, and independent and international media were
active and expressed a wide variety of opinions. However, there were
reports during the year that some SBU officers attended meetings of
civic organizations to gather information on their activities and the
political nature of their work.
Freedom of Press.--While private print and broadcast media outlets
generally operated free of state control or interference, both
independent and state-owned media demonstrated a tendency toward self-
censorship on stories that were critical of the government. Although
private newspapers and magazines ran on a commercial basis, they
frequently operated at a loss, depending on their owners for revenue
and thereby giving up editorial independence.
During the year the state of media freedom was the subject of
increasing concern by international watchdog groups. For example, in
February Freedom House downgraded the country's overall status from
``free'' to ``partly free'' due in part to deteriorating media freedom.
In a follow-up report in April, Sounding the Alarm, Freedom House noted
the ``increasingly close relationship between media control and
political power, and with it a growing degree of self-censorship.''
In June the International Press Institute issued a report based on
a fact-finding mission to the country from May 31 to June 3. The report
found deteriorating conditions for the media due to a lack of respect
for a divergence of views, impunity for attacks on journalists, and
corruption at multiple levels of society. In particular the report
noted that media freedom was perceived to have deteriorated following
Yanukovych's election in 2010 and that the financial crisis, which
began in 2008, ``has pushed more and more media into the hands of
oligarchs'' who tended to support the government.
In August Reporters without Borders and local media NGOs sharply
criticized the National Television and Radio Council for its
nontransparent awarding of licenses to local and national broadcasters
for digital broadcasting starting in 2015. Some new companies with no
history of broadcasting in the country and opaque ownership registered
in Cyprus received multiple licenses. In addition, leading local
broadcasters in several regional markets that were seen as unsupportive
of local authorities were denied digital licenses.
Violence and Harassment.--According to Reporters without Borders,
during the first nine months of the year, at least 20 journalists were
physically attacked. At least 18 other journalists were subjected to
intimidation, and police arrested six in the course of their duties.
Many of the incidents occurred at the local level and were attributed
to individual politicians, businessmen, organized criminal groups,
local police, or unknown assailants.
On July 31, unknown persons in Donetsk set fire to the apartment of
Oleksiy Matsuka, the chief editor of Novyny Donbasa Internet Edition,
and left behind a mock wreath mourning his demise. Matsuka considered
the attack an attempt on his life because of his work as a journalist.
On September 7, a Zaporizhzhya official beat Alina Kotenko, a
journalist with the Reporter newspaper.
There were no developments during the year in the disappearance and
likely death of Vasyl Klymentyev in August 2010. Klymentyev was editor
in chief of the Novy Styl newspaper, which had written about corruption
among law enforcement officers and other officials in the Kharkiv
region. President Yanukovych took personal control of the case and
ordered top law enforcement officials to make every effort to solve
it..
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--On June 20, the Kyiv-based NGO
Institute of Mass Information (IMI) reported that local authorities in
Donetsk had reverted to issuing ``temnyki''--written orders on news
coverage--to local state-run television and radio stations. The
practice was prevalent under former president Kuchma's administration
but ceased after he left office.
On August 16, the NGO Common Business alleged that all state oblast
television stations were instructed to make 10 negative prime-time
broadcasts about former prime minister Tymoshenko. According to the
NGO, stations in Trans-Carpathia and Kherson oblasts had complied.
According to the IMI, regional state-funded print media were under
significant pressure to praise local officials and governors. Articles
often had to be approved by the corresponding headquarters of the
ruling Party of Regions. The IMI also reported that political parties
frequently ordered placement of stories in regional print media in
violation of the law. Some journalists maintained that low salaries
encouraged reporters to supplement their incomes by writing politically
slanted articles in exchange for payments from benefactors seeking to
influence news reporting.
On April 15, the United Kingdom-based owner of the English-language
Kyiv Post fired chief editor Brian Bonner after a he ran a story
critical of the agriculture minister. The firing led to a public outcry
and a strike by the paper's staff. On April 21, the owner rehired
Bonner, but as part of a new four-person editorial board.
In August the Kharkiv television station ATN went off the air,
followed on September 14 by the stations A/TVK and Fora. The immediate
cause was the refusal of intermediary companies to relay the stations'
signals. ATN attempted to send signals with its own radio transmitter,
but the local sanitary office denied the required health certificate,
citing the supposed negative health effects of the transmissions. ATN
was owned by an opposition politician who narrowly lost the Kharkiv
mayoral election in 2010. ATN alleged that the mayor pressured the
intermediary companies not to transmit the station's signal and also
ordered the sanitary office to deny the needed certificate. The
stations remained off air at year's end.
Libel Laws.--Libel is considered a civil offense, and the law
limits the amount of damages that may be claimed in libel lawsuits; the
press can publish inoffensive, nonfactual judgments, including
criticism, without penalty, and public officials enjoy fewer legal
protections from criticism than other citizens.
Local media observers expressed concern over high monetary damages
that were demanded, and sometimes awarded, for alleged libel.
Government entities and public figures in particular continued to use
the threat of civil suits based on alleged damage to a ``person's honor
and integrity'' to influence or intimidate the press and investigative
journalists.
On November 1, a new libel law took effect that reduced the
monetary bond required to initiate a libel case. Local media analysts
expressed concern about the new law because the previous law protected
media companies from potentially bankrupting libel suits by requiring
plaintiffs to deposit 10 percent of the claimed damages. This in effect
dramatically reduced the number of lawsuits against media companies and
journalists. The new law reduced the bond to a set fee of 2,955
hryvnias ($370), regardless of the amount of damages claimed.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet, including by e mail. However, law
enforcement bodies engaged in Internet monitoring. While online media
remained free of direct state control, there were at least two cases of
interference by law enforcement agencies with prominent bloggers and
online publications.
On January 12, police searched the apartment of well known blogger
Olena Bilozerska and seized her computer, laptop, camera, and video
camera. The search was reportedly triggered by a video made by a
radical group that Bilozerska reposted on her blog, showing an arson
attack on the Party of Regions office in Kyiv. The police previously
searched her apartment in March 2010.
On June 25, police opened a criminal investigation against the news
Web sites Ukrainska Pravda and Korrespondent.net after a member of
parliament from the Party of Regions complained about threats contained
in comments posted by readers. On June 30, police questioned journalist
Serhiy Leshchenko of Ukrainska Pravda and demanded that the operators
of the Web site reveal information from their servers. However, there
was no further legal action in the case at year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution generally provides for freedom of assembly.
According to local NGOs, however, the government frequently infringed
on this right by influencing members of the judiciary to side with
local and national governments in challenging the legality of planned
protests.
According to the constitution, organizers must inform authorities
in advance of a planned demonstration. After notice is given, local
authorities have the option to challenge the legality of the protest in
court. The courts have wide discretion either to allow or refuse
permission on grounds of protecting the public from a possible
disturbance or crime.
According to the leader of the initiative ``For Peaceful Protest,''
Volodymyr Chemerys, during the year courts sided with local authorities
in 94 percent of cases to deny permission to the protesters. In 2010
the denial rate was 83 percent. Although there are no official numbers,
according to numerous NGO sources, the denial rate for protests that
were challenged in Kyiv was close to 100 percent.
In cases where protests were not challenged in court, or when
protests were conducted in violation of a court order, the government
deployed disproportionate numbers of police, sometimes greater in
number than protesters. This significantly discouraged public
participation. In contrast, police generally allowed progovernment
protests to proceed undisturbed.
On May 9, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) released
a report outlining its concerns over trends in violations of basic
human rights, including freedom of assembly. According to KHPG, there
were ``far more'' violations of freedom of peaceful assembly during all
of 2010 and the first five months of the year than in the period
between 2005 and 2009.
On August 24, an estimated 13,000 opposition activists rallied to
mark the 20th anniversary of the country's independence from the Soviet
Union and to protest the arrest of former prime minister Tymoshenko.
Demonstrators attempting to march on the president's office were
prevented by police in riot gear who outnumbered the peaceful
protesters.
On November 18, a court supported a petition from the Kyiv city
council to ban mass gatherings by opposition and progovernment groups
on the city's central square that were planned for November 22. Police
blocked opposition protesters from setting up tents but allowed some
400 progovernment protesters to set up and use sound amplifying
equipment. The police presence was heavy, but no arrests were made.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association. While the government generally respected this
right in practice, some restrictions remained. Although there were
extensive registration requirements for organizations, there were no
reports that the government used them during the year to disband
existing organizations or to prevent new ones from being formed.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl//irf/
rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration,
and repatriation and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
to provide protection to asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
Citizens who wished to travel abroad were able to do so freely. The
government could deny passports to individuals in possession of state
secrets, but denials were rare and could be appealed.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government
has established a system for providing protection to refugees. In
practice, however, authorities failed to provide effective protection
for refugees and asylum seekers.
On July 8, the parliament adopted a law on refugees and persons in
need of complementary or temporary protection. The law contains
provisions designed to improve and streamline procedures for seeking
asylum. In particular, it provides that asylum seekers be issued
documents which identify them as asylum seekers lawfully present in
Ukraine; recognizes minor children as refugees simultaneously with
their adult parents; and grants permanent residence immediately after
recognizing individuals as refugees, which facilitates their
integration in Ukrainian society. The UNHCR noted that the law was not
completely in line with international standards, in particular because
the definition of ``persons of concern'' entitled to complementary
protection was narrower than in the EU Qualification Directive. Under
this law only those who actively apply for asylum are considered
``persons of concern'' and entitled to complementary protection. Those
who do not apply for asylum are not considered ``persons of concern,''
even though they may be in need of international assistance.
In December 2010 the president abolished the State Committee for
Nationalities and Religions (SCNR) and established the State Migration
Service (SMS) as part of wide-ranging administrative reforms to reduce
the size of government. Coordinated by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, this central executive body is responsible for migration
management. As of October, regional offices of the SCNR were being shut
down; however, the SMS had yet to set up its regional offices. These
changes, together with the implementation of the new law on refugees,
resulted in processing delays for those seeking refugee and asylee
status.
During the first nine months of the year, the SMS received 523
asylum claims. At year's end 170 asylum decisions had been issued.
Furthermore, according to the UNHCR, the reshuffling of ministerial
positions and responsibilities led to a complete halt in all asylum
processing for at least four months.
Administrative courts responsible for reviewing appeals of denied
asylum applications were overwhelmed by a backlog of cases, leading the
Kyiv Administrative Court of Appeals to postpone its review of
deportation appeals until 2012.
There are no legal provisions for voluntary return. However, the
local office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in
cooperation with the State Border Guards Service (SBGS) and the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, continued to operate a program on
assisted voluntary return to help stranded migrants and failed asylum
seekers to return to their countries of origin. Five local NGOs in the
Mukachevo, Chernihiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Volyn oblasts participated in
the voluntary return program.
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to a country where there was reason
to believe their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of
their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social
group or political opinion. However, there were some exceptions. During
the year the UNHCR recorded three incidents involving the expulsion of
13 individual asylum seekers or refugees, compared with six individuals
in 2010. Incidents included cases in which individuals were denied
access to the territory of Ukraine.
In March Russian environmental activist Denis Solopov sought
political asylum in the country. While he obtained refugee status from
the UNHCR, Ukrainian authorities denied his asylum application. Because
Solopov was on the international wanted list, authorities placed him
under arrest pending review of Russia's extradition request. According
to media reports, Solopov was released in July and went to the
Netherlands, where he was granted political asylum.
Refugee Abuse.--On March 16, Amnesty International reported
mistreatment of and attempts to deport eight Afghan asylum seekers
detained by the SBGS in Boryspil Airport. UNHCR spokesman Maksym
Butkevych stated the situation showed that ``the asylum system in
Ukraine does not work.''
In December 2010 HRW reported that asylum seekers and undocumented
migrants in the country ``risk abusive treatment and arbitrary
detention.'' Although torture was ``not systemic,'' the testimonies of
refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers indicated that it did
sporadically occur. While conditions in some migration detention
facilities had improved, detainees alleged that inhuman or degrading
treatment, including beatings, kicking, and food deprivation occurred.
``All of these abuses took place in a climate of impunity, with victims
fearful of reporting the abuse and perpetrators not held to account,''
the report stated.
Regulations initiated by the SBGS in 2009 require foreign nationals
transiting the country to Western Europe and stateless persons to
posses no less than ``70 subsistence levels,'' or 12,620 hryvnia,
($1,580) to sustain their stay in the country. In September 2010 the
UNHCR stated that this change ``should not affect access to the asylum
procedure or undermine the nonrefoulement principle.''
Human rights groups noted that the current law on refugees does not
expressly provide protection for war refugees, victims of
indiscriminate violence, or failed asylum seekers who could face the
threat of torture or loss of life or freedom if deported.
According to the UNHCR and local human rights groups, the
complicated and burdensome registration system often left asylum
seekers without documents during the protracted review of their cases
and the appeal process. This left them vulnerable to frequent police
stops, detention, and fines. Refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from
Africa and Asia, were at times victims of violent, racially motivated
attacks. Asylum seekers in detention centers were sometimes unable to
apply for refugee status within prescribed time limits and had limited
access to legal and other assistance. The problem was further
complicated by the lack of access to qualified interpreters to complete
registration documents. In addition, some migration service centers
closed as part of the administrative reform, limiting the access of
asylum seekers to services.
During the year the UNHCR and local NGOs worked with approximately
138 unaccompanied children seeking asylum. The majority were not
registered with asylum authorities and were unable to access
appropriate services and care, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation
and abuse.
The country remained a destination and transit country for
migrants. According to the SBGS, 8,100 irregular migrants were
identified during the year, 59 fewer than in 2010. Of that number,
approximately 6,300 were not allowed into the country, and 1,800 were
apprehended when illegally crossing the border. According to the SBGS,
34 Chechens and 1,493 Uzbeks were also apprehended in the first nine
months of the year.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the year 282
detained irregular migrants were held in two new facilities in
Chernihiv and Volyn oblasts, compared with 350 in 2010. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs reported that 205 refugees were housed in two
facilities in the Trans-Carpathia and Odesa oblasts. The combined
capacity of these two facilities was 270.
Durable Solutions.--Refugees who have resided in the country for
three years may apply for citizenship.
Stateless Persons.--According to the law, citizenship is derived by
birth, territorial origin, naturalization, restored citizenship, and
adoption.
According to UNHCR estimates, there were 40,353 stateless persons
in the country at the end of 2010.
Stateless persons also included an unknown number of persons who
either lived in the country for decades but failed to clarify their
citizenship status after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 or
arrived in the country as students or visitors both before and after
1991. Many did not obtain residency documents or take other steps to
register according to the regulations of their country of origin.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution and the law provide citizens the right to change
their government peacefully. The law guaranteed citizens the right to
vote in periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
However, some recent elections did not meet international standards of
transparency and fairness.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
first round of the presidential elections took place in January 2010.
International and domestic observers assessed the vote as having met
most international standards. As no candidate received 50 percent of
the vote, the two candidates with the most votes--Viktor Yanukovych and
Yulia Tymoshenko--competed in a runoff election three weeks later.
Observers assessed the runoff as largely free and fair. Yanukovych won
by a narrow margin with 48.9 percent of the vote.
Local elections in October 2010 did not meet the standards for
openness and fairness set by the presidential election. According to
domestic and international observers, numerous procedural and
organizational irregularities marred the vote. Specifically, observers
noted shortcomings, such as insufficient training for electoral
commission members. Other problems were attributed to a new local
election law adopted two months prior to the vote. The law blocked
participation of new parties, allowed for improper use of
administrative resources during the electoral campaign, established
unbalanced electoral commissions, and created complicated registration
and voting procedures. Election observers also reported incidents of
law enforcement authorities pressuring monitors and candidates and
election officials selectively barring or removing candidates from
ballots. The president's ruling party won clear majorities in most
regions and big cities throughout the country.
On November 17, the parliament approved a new law on parliamentary
elections that will take effect ahead of parliamentary elections in
October 2012. The law introduced a mixed electoral system in which half
of the candidates for parliament are elected from proportional party
lists and the other half directly elected in single-member districts.
The law also raised from 3 percent to 5 percent the percentage of the
total votes required for a party to hold parliamentary seats and
disallowed party blocs from running.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 36 female
members of the 450-seat parliament, and a woman held the post of
secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. The 18-member
Constitutional Court included two female justices.
The exact number of minorities in parliament and the cabinet was
not available due to privacy laws.
Crimean Tatar leaders continued to call for changes in the election
law to give them greater representation in the Crimean and national
parliaments. The law does not allow for the creation of regional
political parties, and Crimean Tatars had to join national political
parties or blocs. Only one Crimean Tatar was a member of the national
parliament.
In October, Refat Chubarov, the deputy leader of the Crimean Tatar
Mejlis (governing body), voiced concerns that representation of Crimean
Tatars, who made up 13 percent of Crimea's population, in local
government continued to decrease. According to Chubarov, Crimean Tatars
were represented at the level of 4-5 percent in local Crimean
government. Crimean Tatars occupied seven seats in the 100-member
Crimean parliament. The Mejlis was not recognized by national
authorities.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, corruption was ineffectively prosecuted, and penalties were
rarely imposed. Corruption remained a pervasive problem and was
widespread in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of
government and in society. Government officials at all levels often
engaged in corrupt practices.
On April 7, the parliament adopted the Law on Basic Principles of
Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption, which entered into effect
on July 1. The law expanded the list of persons that can be found
liable for corruption to include (in addition to civil servants)
persons who provide public services, such as notaries, and aides to
parliamentarians. It introduced a requirement for public officials to
declare their income and expenses and restricted the ability for
officials to receive gifts, employ close relatives, or use information
they learned in the course of their work for personal gain. The law
tasked the Ministry of Justice with designing and maintaining a
database of persons guilty of corruption.
On May 27, GRECO (the Council of Europe's Group of States against
Corruption) expressed concern that the country's anticorruption efforts
lacked an overall, independent anticorruption body and a detailed plan
of action for the implementation of the National Anticorruption
Strategy.
In April 2010 President Yanukovych announced that the Prosecutor
General's Office had opened more than 30 criminal cases against members
of the previous government. Opposition politicians and human rights
groups claimed the cases were politically motivated. Domestic and
international observers also raised concerns about the charges noting
that while the government had a right to investigate corruption, the
prosecution should not be selective or politically motivated. President
Yanukovych refuted the charge of selective prosecution and stated that,
``hundreds of criminal cases have been launched against representatives
of current and previous administration.'' However, these officials do
not include any high-ranking officials of the current government.
The trials of five former government officials on corruption
charges and abuse of authority continued at year's end. Georgiy
Filipchuk and Anatoliy Makarenko were released from pretrial detention
and prohibited from travel. Yevhen Korniychuk was amnestied. Two others
remained in custody, former internal affairs minister Lutsenko and
former acting defense minister Valeriy Ivashchenko, who has been in
custody since August 2010.
On January 21, the Crimean prosecutor's office started a criminal
case against Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a member of the Party of Regions and
former speaker of the Crimean parliament, on charges of sanctioning
fraudulent privatization of state-owned lands between 2001 and 2005.
Hrytsenko was arrested on January 25 and remained in custody at year's
end.
Police corruption remained a problem. The Prosecutor General's
Office reported that during the year prosecutors initiated and
forwarded to courts criminal corruption cases against 385 police
officers, 120 tax officials, 36 customs officers, 18 prosecutors, six
Security Service officers, five border guards, and 86 penitentiary
service officers.
Judges are immune from prosecution and may not be detained or
arrested unless parliament rescinds their immunity. During the year the
Prosecutor General's Office confirmed that it had initiated 33
corruption cases against judges and forwarded 35 corruption cases
against judges to court. During the year 16 judges were found guilty of
wrongdoing, 12 were convicted of bribery, one of knowingly issuing an
unjust decision, and three of abuse of power or office.
On September 20, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology
released the results of a survey on corruption in the country: 60
percent of respondents indicated they had been involved in corrupt
transactions with government officials in the previous 12 months.
The constitution and the law authorize public access to government
information unless it pertains to national security. Government bodies
are required to respond to requests within 10 days and to provide
information within 30 days. Denials can be appealed to a higher level
at the agency concerned and then to a court. However, access to
official information remained difficult. Government officials often did
not understand the law and at times withheld information.
In April a new law on access to government information came into
force that requires government officials to provide information to the
public upon request. However, local media and NGOs reported that the
government's implementation of the law had been uneven, and there were
reports that officials refused to provide requested information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A variety of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. However, government
officials were not uniformly cooperative or responsive to their views,
and in some instances a climate of mistrust existed between the NGOs
and officials. Despite reports of intimidation by the SBU, NGOs
continued openly to criticize the government's human rights
performance.
On May 17, the parliament passed the first reading of the draft law
on NGOs to simplify registration requirements and remove restrictions
on their activities. Civil society groups, which took active part in
developing the draft, welcomed the step and urged the parliament to
adopt the law. The draft legislation did not advance further in
parliament during the year and was not adopted by year's end.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The constitution provides for a
human rights ombudsman, officially designated as the Parliamentary
Commissioner on Human Rights. On January 14, human rights ombudsman
Nina Karpachova presented a constitutionally mandated report to
parliament on the human rights situation in the country in 2010. Human
rights groups criticized the report for being too short, and the
ombudsman for poor cooperation with human rights organizations and not
opening regional offices. They acknowledged that the ombudsman's office
was active but expressed concern that its efforts were not leading to
systemic changes.
According to the ombudsman's office, 164,146 persons filed
complaints with the office during the year. Of that number,
approximately 45 percent related to civil rights, in particular the
right to a fair trial, abuse by law enforcement personnel, and timely
implementation of court rulings. The remaining complaints involved
violations of social rights (15 percent); economic rights (13 percent);
individual rights (13 percent), including right to life, respect for
personal integrity, and prohibition of torture in detention; and
political rights (12 percent).
A parliamentary committee on human rights, national minorities, and
interethnic relations continued to operate during the year. The
committee's subcommittees work on issues such as interethnic relations,
gender policy, indigenous peoples, national minorities and ethnic
groups, deported persons, victims of political repression, ethnic
policy, prevention of domestic conflict, refugees, and migration.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, language,
social status, or other circumstances. However, both governmental and
societal discrimination persisted, and the government did not
effectively enforce the prohibitions. The constitution and law prohibit
discrimination based on race, skin color, and ethnic and social origin.
The law criminalizes deliberate actions to incite hatred or
discrimination based on nationality, race, or religion, including
insulting the national honor or dignity of citizens in connection with
their religious and political beliefs, race, or skin color.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape but
does not explicitly address spousal rape. A law against ``forced sex
with a materially dependent person'' may allow prosecution for spousal
rape. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the year
police recorded 586 incidents of rape or attempted rape, a decrease of
2.3 percent from the same period in 2010.
Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. Spousal
abuse is illegal but was common. Advocacy groups asserted that the
percentage of women subjected to physical violence or psychological
abuse at home remained high.
The law permits the administrative arrest of a person for up to
five days for offenses related to domestic violence.
During the year the Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded 162,768
complaints of domestic violence, including 81,304 men and 5,876 women
placed under police supervision for domestic violence. At year's end,
according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 109,468 persons were
under police supervision for domestic violence, compared with 102,133
in 2010.
Police issued 76,100 warnings and 3,700 protective orders related
to domestic violence in the first nine months of the year. During the
same period, administrative charges were brought against 98,928
individuals for domestic violence and for disobeying protective orders.
The law requires the government to operate a shelter in every major
city, but in practice it did not, in part due to the lack of municipal
funding.
According to the Ministry of Social Policy, there were 21 centers
for social-psychological assistance and 15 assistance centers for
mothers and children in 18 oblasts, Crimea, and the cities of Kyiv and
Sevastopol. During the year these centers provided assistance to 7,722
persons, of whom at least 226 were victims of domestic violence.
Additionally the centers provided telephone consultations to 5,526
callers. NGOs operated additional centers for domestic violence victims
in Vinnytsia, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Chernihiv, Poltava, Sumy and
Khmelnytskiy oblasts.
According to women's advocacy groups, privately and municipally
funded shelters were not always accessible. Some did not function
throughout the year, and shelters in Kyiv did not admit women who were
not registered as Kyiv residents. Government centers offered only
limited legal and psychological assistance to victims of domestic
violence.
Sexual Harassment.--The law on equal rights and opportunities puts
sexual harassment in the same category as discrimination; however,
women's rights groups asserted that it does not contain an effective
mechanism to protect against sexual harassment. Women's groups reported
that there was continuing, widespread sexual harassment and even
coerced sex in the workplace.
While the law prohibits coercing a ``materially dependent person,''
which includes workers and employees, to have sexual intercourse, legal
experts regarded the safeguards against harassment as inadequate. La
Strada-Ukraine, an NGO that focuses on gender issues, operated a
national hotline for victims of violence and sexual harassment. During
the year 12,162 persons called the hotline for assistance. Of that
number, 4.7 percent of the calls related to sexual violence.
Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism remained a problem; however, there were
no official statistics on its extent. On June 29, Kateryna Levchenko,
president of La Strada-Ukraine, stated in interview with the BBC that
the number of visitors for sex tourism continued to grow. During the
year a local feminist group, FEMEN, held demonstrations against the
increase of sex tourism in the country. In 2009 then internal affairs
minister Lutsenko stated in an interview with Segodnya that ``Ukraine
is becoming a paradise for sex tourism.''
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics and local health
NGOs were permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on
family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There are
no restrictions on the right to access contraceptives.
Quality prenatal and postnatal care remained inaccessible to many
women because state-funded clinics were underfunded and lacked quality
equipment and services in private clinics were expensive. According to
the Ministry of Health, the maternal mortality rate was 17.6 per
100,000 births during the year. Some of the reproductive health
concerns affecting the system included rapidly growing rates of
sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, poor quality sexual
and reproductive health services in state-funded hospitals, low
awareness of modern contraceptives, and the expense of high-priced
medical services in private clinics that made them inaccessible to
large groups of local residents.
Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, but local health NGOs and clinics
reported that women were more likely than men to seek treatment and
refer their partners. Romani rights groups reported that Romani women
experienced racial discrimination in standards of medical care and
lacked access to information on health matters.
Discrimination.--Under the law women enjoyed the same rights as
men, including equal pay for equal work, a principle that generally was
observed. However, industries dominated by female workers had the
lowest relative wages. Women received lower salaries due to limited
opportunities for advancement and the types of industries in which
women were employed.
Children.--On August 11, President Yanukovych signed a decree
creating the position of a president's ombudsman for children's rights.
The envoy monitors compliance with the country's domestic and
international commitments on children's rights, participates in
developing presidential decrees and draft laws on this subject, and
works with the public to inform about the rights and interests of
children.
Birth Registration.--Citizenship is determined by birthplace or
parentage. A child born on the territory of the country in a family of
stateless persons residing permanently in the country is a citizen. The
law requires that parents register a child within a month of birth.
Education.--While education was free, universal, and compulsory
until age 15, the public education system continued to suffer from
chronic underfunding, and children from poor families continued to drop
out of school before turning 15.
According to a 2009 report by a coalition of 14 children's rights
NGOs, more than 20,000 children did not attend school in the period
2002-08. Many children were employed in agriculture and illegal coal
mines or, in some cases, forced by their parents to beg. NGOs reported
that a lack of schooling remained a significant problem among the rural
population and within the Romani community. In some cases rural schools
were closed due to the small number of school-age children, forcing
children to travel long distances, often at personal expense, to attend
schools in other villages.
Child Abuse.--Children continued to be victims of violence and
abuse. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in the first 11
months of the year, 9,926 minors were victims of crime, including 57 of
intentionally inflicted bodily injury. The Ministry of Internal Affairs
also recorded 124 cases of child rape and 256 cases of corruption of
minors during the first 11 months of the year.
The law sets penalties of up to three years in custody for forcing
children into begging.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 17 for women and
18 for men. The law provides that a court may grant a child as young as
14 permission to marry if it is in the child's interest. According to
UNICEF statistics, 10 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24
reported being married or in a union before they were 18. Romani rights
groups reported that early marriages involving girls under 18 were
common within the Romani community.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Commercial sexual exploitation of
children remained a serious problem. Domestic and foreign law
enforcement officials reported that a significant amount of child
pornography on the Internet continued to originate in the country. In
her statement on June 1, human rights ombudsman Karpachova quoted
Interpol statistics that estimated the domestic child pornography
market to be worth $100 million per year. Karpachova also stated that
in the past five years close to 3,000 persons were convicted of sexual
crimes against children.
The law uses an internationally recognized definition of child
pornography. The courts have the authority to limit access to Web sites
that disseminate child pornography and to impose financial penalties
and prison sentences for those running the Web sites.
The minimum prison sentence for child rape is 10 years. Molesting
children under 16 is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years.
The same offense committed against a child under 14 is punishable by
imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.
Displaced Children.--According the Ministry of Education, Science,
Youth and Sports, as of November there were 117 children shelters and
assistance centers across the country in all oblasts and the cities of
Kyiv and Sevastopol. The shelters had a capacity for 4,243 children;
during the first nine months of the year, 10,700 children came to these
shelters.
International Child Abductions.--The country is party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--According to government census data and
international Jewish groups, an estimated 103,600 Jews lived in the
country, or approximately 0.2 percent of the population. Local Jewish
leaders estimated the number of persons with an ethnic Jewish heritage
to be as high as 370,000.
There were a number of acts of anti-Semitism, some involving
vandalism of Jewish property. According to the Association of Jewish
Organizations and Communities of Ukraine (VAAD), there were 11
incidents of vandalism during the year compared with 16 incidents in
2010 and 19 incidents in 2009. There were no reports of violent
incidents of anti-Semitism during the year.
In April paint was thrown on a Jewish community building in Sumy.
Other acts of vandalism during the year targeted a Holocaust monument
in Lviv Oblast in March, a synagogue in Yevpatoriya in March, and a
Holocaust memorial in Feodosia in June.
At year's end there were no reports that authorities had identified
suspects or made arrests in cases of vandalism against Jewish property
in 2010, which included paint splashed on the monument marking the
birthplace of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson in Mykolayiv.
Members of marginal populist and nationalist parties and
organizations continued to make occasional extremist, intolerant, and
anti-Semitic statements. Spray-painted swastikas were a common sight
throughout Kyiv.
According to representatives of the Jewish community in Kherson,
the trial of Serhiy Kyrychenko--who made frequent anti-Semitic remarks
in media appearances--continued at year's end. Kyrychenko accused Jews
of robbing the country's people and plotting to enslave Ukrainians and
exterminate Slavs. A judge ordered Kyrychenko to undergo a psychiatric
evaluation, but he filed appeals and motions, which delayed the case.
In November 2010 the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council
warned the Kherson Television and Radio Company about racist and anti-
Semitic remarks Kyrychenko made in 2009 on a local radio show.
Anti-Semitic articles continued to appear in small publications,
although their number and circulation continued to decline. According
to VAAD, 18 anti-Semitic articles were published in major print media
outlets during the year compared with 25 in 2010 and 46 in 2009.
Senior government officials and politicians from various political
parties continued efforts to combat anti-Semitism by speaking out
against extremism and social intolerance and by criticizing anti-
Semitic acts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs,
State Border Guard Committee, State Customs Service, State Committee
for Tourism, and other agencies cooperated to support Jewish
pilgrimages to the burial site in Uman of Rabbi Nakhman, founder of the
Bratslav Hasidic movement. According to media reports, approximately
26,000 pilgrims traveled to Uman in September. Growing numbers of
Jewish pilgrims visited burial sites of prominent spiritual leaders in
Medzhybizh, Berdychiv, and Hadyach.
During the year VAAD reported a spike in anti-pilgrimage and anti-
Semitic rhetoric in Uman. In June and July a group called ``My
Umanchany'' (We are Uman residents) organized several rallies against
an annual Jewish pilgrimage to the city. In mid-September another group
wrote a letter to President Yanukovych proposing to transfer Rabbi
Nakhman's remains to Israel to prevent conflicts with pilgrims. At the
end of September the right-wing political party Svoboda and the right-
wing group Sokil announced their plan to hold a march called ``Uman
without Hasidim.'' The court banned this march and police dispersed the
Svoboda protesters, briefly detained 67 people, and issued them
citations for violating the court order.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and other
state services; however, the government generally did not enforce these
laws.
As of January, according to the State Committee for Statistics, the
number of persons with disabilities was 2,709,982, including 165,121
children. NGOs complained that the government did not allocate adequate
resources to help those with disabilities.
According to Semen Gluzman of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association
(UPA), patients in mental health facilities remained at risk of abuse,
and many psychiatric hospitals continued to use outdated methods and
medicines. According to the UPA, insufficient funding, the absence of
public watchdog councils at psychiatric hospitals, patients' lack of
access to legal counsel, and poor enforcement of legal protections
deprived patients with disabilities of their right to adequate medical
care.
According to the law, employers must allocate 4 percent of
employment opportunities to persons with disabilities. NGOs noted that
many of those employed to fill these positions received a nominal
salary to meet the requirement but did not actually work at their
companies. During the first nine months of the year, 7,900 persons with
disabilities received jobs through government employment-placement
services, according to the Ministry of Social Policy.
The Ministry of Education confirmed there were 382 specialized
secondary schools and boarding schools with a total of 46,327 children,
as well as 40,371 classes with inclusive education serving 69,621
children with special educational needs. In general secondary schools
there were 508 classes for children with disabilities serving 4,845
children.
Advocacy groups maintained that despite existing legal guarantees
most public buildings remained inaccessible to persons with
disabilities. Access to essential services and activities such as
employment, education, health care, transportation, and financial
services remain difficult. NGOs expressed concern over the lack of
programs to promote the integration of students with disabilities into
the general student population and noted that the lack of needs
assessment programs by state-funded employment centers led to the
placement of graduates with disabilities in inappropriate jobs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Mistreatment of minority groups
and harassment of foreigners of non-Slavic appearance remained a
problem, although NGO monitors reported that hate crime incidence
continued to decrease. While incitement to ethnic or religious hatred
is a crime, human rights organizations stated the requirement to prove
actual intent, including proof of premeditation and intent to incite
hatred, made its legal application difficult. Police and prosecutors
generally prosecuted racially motivated crimes under laws against
hooliganism or related offenses.
The government acknowledged that racism and ethnically motivated
attacks were a problem. However, some officials continued to minimize
their seriousness, maintaining that xenophobia was not a problem and
violent attacks were isolated incidents. Law enforcement authorities
often recommended that Africans studying in the country stay at home
after dark and generally stay away from areas where young people
congregate.
No official statistics were available on the number of racially
motivated attacks. However, the Diversity Initiative monitoring group,
a coalition of international and local NGOs headed by the IOM mission
in Kyiv, reported 23 attacks involving 40 victims during the year.
During the same period in 2010, seven attacks were reported. According
to the Diversity Initiative, police initiated eight criminal cases in
the attacks they documented during the year.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, courts received three
cases involving criminal intent to incite hatred, and investigations
into three other cases remained pending at year's end. During the year
five persons were found guilty of violating the law against inciting
hatred, compared with three in 2010 and four in 2009. According to the
Prosecutor General's Office, four of the five people received amnesty
and the fifth person was freed because of ``active repentance.'' The
IOM noted that members of law enforcement agencies are generally poorly
trained on the application of the law against inciting hatred, and
police generally applied laws against hooliganism to make arrests in
such cases.
The criminal code provides increased penalties for hate crimes.
Premeditated killing on grounds of racial, ethnic, or religious hatred
carries a 10- to 15-year prison sentence. Other hate crimes can be
punished by a fine from 3,400 to 8,500 hryvnias ($425 to $1,063) or up
to five years in prison.
Advocacy groups asserted that police occasionally detained dark-
skinned persons and subjected them to far more frequent and arbitrary
document checks. At times victims of xenophobic attacks were prosecuted
for acting in self-defense.
Some of the most active xenophobic groups were the unregistered
Ukrainian National-Labor Party, the Patriots of Ukraine organization,
the Ukrainian Movement against Illegal Immigration, White Power-
Skinhead Spektrum, the country's branch of Blood and Honor, and the
World Church of the Creator Ruthenia. Such groups appeared to be
marginal and poorly organized.
Roma continued to face governmental and societal discrimination.
Romani rights groups estimated the country's Romani population to be
between 200,000 and 400,000. Official census data placed the number at
47,600. The discrepancy was due in part to a lack of legal
documentation and poor record keeping in the Romani community.
According to experts, there were 200 Romani NGOs, of which two were
national.
Approximately two-thirds of Roma were illiterate, 15 percent were
infected with tuberculosis, and 60 percent of Romani children in Trans-
Carpathia were infected with tuberculosis. One-third of Roma had no
funds to pay for medicine or doctors' services.
Representatives of Romani and other minority groups claimed that
police officials routinely ignored and sometimes abetted violence
against Roma and referred to Romani ethnicity in crime reports. Romani
rights NGOs reported several incidents in Lviv Oblast, where police
entered Romani settlements, detained men, and brought them to police
stations for fingerprinting and identification. According to these
reports police did not identify the reason for detention or
fingerprinting and mistreated the detained Roma.
There were fewer reports of government cooperation with the Romani
community than in 2009. The chairman of the Roma Congress of Ukraine,
Petro Hryhorychenko, was formerly a member of the presidential council
on ethnic-national policy and a member of the NGO advisory council with
the SCNR.
The constitution provides for the free development, use, and
protection of Russian and other minority languages. According to the
Ministry of Education, 1,149 educational facilities used Russian as the
main language of instruction, serving 685,806 schoolchildren. According
to ministry figures, 1,242,184 students studied Russian as a separate
subject in secondary schools, and 13,147 secondary school students
studied Russian as an extracurricular course.
Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar minorities in Crimea continued to
complain of discrimination by the ethnic Russian majority on the
peninsula and in Sevastopol. They urged that the Ukrainian and the
Crimean Tatar languages be given a status equal to Russian.
As of January 1, the Crimean Republican Committee for Interethnic
Relations reported that approximately 264,500 registered Crimean Tatars
lived in the country, including in Crimea and in Kherson Oblast.
According to the committee, Crimean Tatars resided in 300
settlements on the Crimean Peninsula, and authorities allocated 24.9
million hryvnias ($3.1 million) for their integration during the year.
Crimean Tatars asserted that discrimination by local officials deprived
them of equal opportunities for employment in local administrations and
that propaganda campaigns, particularly by pro-Russian groups, promoted
hostility against them. On October 5, during a meeting with the
representatives of the diplomatic community of Ukraine, Mustafa
Jemilev, the chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, warned of increasing
discrimination against Crimean Tatars. He stated that many Crimean
Tatars were beginning to think that the ``government considers them as
second class people.''
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community continued to suffer societal stigma
and discrimination. Those who openly declared their sexual orientation
experienced discrimination in education, the workplace, and access to
medical treatment and to information on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
According to the registered LGBT rights group Our World (Nash Mir),
law enforcement representatives were involved in 69 identified
instances of discrimination against gay men and lesbians during 2010-
11. The group also maintained that police mistreated and collected
personal data on gay men and lesbians, while the Ministry of Internal
Affairs ignored homophobic attitudes among its personnel.
On February 20, according to the Nash Mir, there was an incident in
Makiivka, Donetsk oblast, in which several young men broke into a room
where a Christian LGBT organization was making a presentation, threw
firecrackers, and shouted homophobic slogans. The head of the
organization filed a complaint with police. As of October the police
had not announced the results of the investigation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
faced discrimination and at times lacked access to treatment. The All-
Ukrainian Network of Persons Living with HIV continued to note that
persons with HIV/AIDS faced discrimination in the workplace, job loss
without legal recourse, harassment by law enforcement officials and
prosecutors, social isolation, and stigmatization.
HIV service providers reported that police checks of substitution
therapy clinics, which began at the end of 2010, continued throughout
the year. On January 18, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued an
order for law enforcement to collect personal data of patients enrolled
in opiate-substitution programs. According to HRW, police raided drug
treatment facilities, demanded that patients disclose confidential
information, ``including their HIV status and criminal records,'' and
ordered that HIV service providers surrender their project documents,
``effectively paralyzing essential HIV prevention and outreach programs
for drug users.''
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the right to form and join unions without
previous authorization. By law all trade unions have equal status, and
the establishment of a trade union does not require government
permission.
The law provides for the right of workers to strike on condition
that a strike does not jeopardize national security, public health, or
the rights and liberties of others. The right was generally respected
in practice. The right to strike does not apply to personnel of the
Prosecutor General's Office, the judiciary, armed forces, security
services, law enforcement agencies, the transportation sector, or
public servants. Personnel from these entities may seek redress through
the judicial system.
Federations and confederations of unions are not entitled to
strike. A strike may be organized only if two-thirds of the workers of
an enterprise vote for it, which trade unions considered to be an
unfairly high threshold. The law permits trade unions to organize and
participate in collective bargaining. It calls for joint worker-
management commissions to resolve differences over wages, working
conditions, and the rights and duties of management at the enterprise
level. The National Mediation and Reconciliation Service mediates labor
disputes. There are no legal mechanisms to prevent antiunion
discrimination.
The right to form unions was generally respected in practice. To
function, a union must be registered by the government. Unions reported
that the registration process was extremely burdensome, entailing
payments of multiple fees and visits to as many as 10 different
offices. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
characterized the registration requirement as ``a restriction
unacceptable by international labor standards.'' Unions affiliated with
the Federation of Trade Unions (FPU), which inherited assets from
Soviet-era unions, have enjoyed an advantage in organizing workers.
In addition, the recent passage and implementation of the Social
Dialogue Law has increased the burden on smaller and independent unions
to meet representation criteria to take part in tripartite
negotiations, participate in social insurance programs and represent
labor at a national and international level. While this does not
directly impact workers' freedom of association, it affects the ability
of smaller independent unions to effectively represent their members'
interests by limiting which unions meet criteria. The ITUC published an
opinion in December indicating its doubt as to the true independence
and objectivity of the agency that determines which unions meet the
Social Dialogue's representation criteria.
Unions not affiliated with the FPU, including the Confederation of
Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (CFTU), continued to be denied a share of
the former Soviet trade unions' real estate and financial holdings.
These included social insurance benefit funds, which gave the FPU a
benefit that independent unions could not offer. Leaders of non-FPU
trade unions and some government officials claimed that the FPU
improperly sold some Soviet-era assets to thwart their future
distribution. While a 2007 parliamentary moratorium on the FPU's sale
of property remained in place during the year, the current government
dissolved a commission formed during the previous administration to
inventory union assets. On the whole, the manner in which the law was
applied disadvantaged the bargaining process against newer and more
independent unions and favored FPU-affiliated unions.
The joint worker-management commissions were not always effective,
and enforcement was uneven. The commissions were at times dominated by
management and union representatives co-opted by management. Renouncing
membership in an FPU-affiliated union and joining a new union was
bureaucratically onerous and typically discouraged by management.
In practice the right to organize and bargain collectively was not
always respected. Members of a major CFTU-affiliated union were pushed
out of collective bargaining negotiations and the signing of a branch
agreement with the Ministry of Education, Science, Youth, and Sports.
The ministry later concluded the branch agreement with the FPU-
affiliated union alone. The CFTU-affiliated union succeeded in
postponing the branch agreement registration process and was not a
party to it at year's end.
Another CFTU-affiliated union was kept from joining a previously
signed branch agreement between the FPU and the Ministry of Health. The
ministry refused the CFTU union's accession to the agreement,
justifying the decision based on the new Social Dialogue Law. Union
representatives reported that an independent health care union
attempted to join a branch collective bargaining agreement concluded
with an FPU affiliate but was denied without justification in June.
Members of CFTU-affiliated unions claimed that management sometimes
forced them to carry out additional work assignments without
compensation or threatened them with dismissal if they refused to leave
their unions. There were continuing complaints that FPU-affiliated
unions deducted union dues from the salaries of workers who had chosen
to join a different union.
There were several reports that employers pressured union members
to leave a CFTU-affiliated union. In several instances the union member
or local leader was demoted, fired, or threatened with dismissal. In
one case an employee was reportedly beaten and hospitalized after
refusing to leave the union. The employee appealed to local law
enforcement, but the case was delayed and finally dropped.
Another employer reportedly pressured employees to write a
statement relinquishing their membership in the local CFTU union.
Approximately half of the company's CFTU union members left the union.
In a highly publicized situation in October, small ad hoc groups of
retired Chernobyl cleanup workers that were not associated with any
traditional unions petitioned and camped outside several government
buildings in several cities against a possible reduction in retirement
benefits. In one city in November, law enforcement forcefully
disassembled a tent camp of the cleanup workers before the ad hoc group
voluntarily dissolved. During the disassembly of the tent camp, a 69-
year-old protester had a heart attack and died later at the hospital.
The cause of the heart attack was not fully determined; local officials
reported that the protester had complained earlier of chest pain.
After several months of pressure, FPU chairman Vasyl Khara resigned
from his post late in the year. Labor experts believed his resignation
was unrelated to any of the organization's labor activities but instead
was due to ownership questions over the FPU's real estate assets. His
resignation did not affect the organization's labor activities.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports
that women, men, and children were trafficked for labor.
Trafficked women worked as housekeepers, seamstresses, dishwashers,
or workers at small and large manufacturing plants abroad. Some women
with small children and persons with disabilities were trafficked
abroad for begging. Men were exploited in construction and
manufacturing. Internal trafficking of Ukrainian citizens and
exploitation of foreigners also occurred. The IOM assisted 568 adult
victims (men and women) of labor exploitation as well as 12 minors.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip/.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, but the
government did not always effectively enforce the law.
The labor code sets 16 as the minimum age for most employment.
Children 15 years of age may perform ``light work'' with a parent's
consent, but the law does not clearly define the term. Children can
legally do some forms of work beginning at age 14 as part of an
apprenticeship in the context of vocational educational training.
The Child Labor Division of the State Labor Inspectorate under the
Ministry of Social Policy is responsible for enforcing child labor
laws. The Department on Adoption and Children's Rights Protection in
the Ministry of Social Policy and the Criminal Police for Children's
Affairs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are responsible for
identifying children in the informal sector involved in the worst forms
of child labor. The Internal Affairs Ministry's Department on
Cybercrimes and Trafficking is responsible for the enforcement of laws
against child trafficking. The office of ombudsman for children's
rights, instituted by presidential decree in August, was given official
responsibility for monitoring children's rights.
The worst forms of child labor were found primarily in the informal
sectors, including on family farms and in open-air markets.
The criminal code criminalizes exploiting children for labor.
According to the Ministry of Health, there were very few recent or
official statistics about exploitation of child labor. The most recent
research on the issue of child labor was more than a decade old. The
1999 research study conducted by the State Statistics Committee and the
International Labor Organization found that 350,000 children were
employed, 46 percent in agriculture, 26 percent in commerce, and 19
percent in the service industry. The average age at which a child began
employment was 12.
Enforcement remained inadequate to deter violations. The State
Labor Inspectorate inspected 579 enterprises in September. It
identified 1,065 working minors, 230 of whom were 14-15 years of age
and 37 of whom were under 14. The other 798 minors were 16-18 years
old. Almost all cases of labor involving children under age 14 were in
the agricultural sector. The inspectorate found approximately the same
number of children under age 14 involved in child labor as in 2010.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage is
1,004 hryvnias ($126), or approximately six hryvnias ($0.75) per hour.
The government set the monthly subsistence income at 952 hryvnias
($119) as of December 1. Workers in the informal sector may receive
wages below this established minimum.
The State Labor Inspectorate employs 551 labor inspectors
nationwide (while its staff schedule contains 754 labor inspector
positions) and is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage. The
organization was unable to monitor all employers because its staff
during the year was inadequate to conduct sufficient inspections.
Wage arrears increased slightly in the first third of the year but
ended November below the January figures. According to the State
Statistics Committee, arrears stood at 1.1 billion hryvnias ($138
million) at the end of November. Most arrears accumulated in industry
but also significantly impacted construction, transport,
communications, and agricultural enterprises.
The law provides for a maximum 40-hour workweek, a 24-hour period
of rest per week, and at least 24 days of paid vacation per year. The
law provides for double pay for overtime work and regulates the number
of overtime hours allowed. However, regulations covering rest periods,
maximum hours, and overtime were not always effectively enforced.
Although the law contains occupational safety and health standards,
the standards were frequently ignored in practice. Lax safety standards
and aging equipment caused many injuries on the job. During the first
half of the year, 6,835 workplace injuries were reported, as compared
with 5,628 for the same period in 2010; these included 817 job-related
fatalities, compared with 644 in 2010.
During the year there were 161 mining fatalities, 23 percent more
than in 2010. During this period 4,255 coal miners were reported
injured. The fatality rate was two deaths per million tons of coal
mined. The total number injured at work during the year was 10,657
(down 9 percent from 2010), while work fatalities during the year
increased to 685, a 6 percent increase from 2010.
The law provides workers the right to remove themselves from
dangerous work without jeopardizing their continued employment;
however, the Solidarity Center stated that employers in the metal and
mining industries often violated the rule and retaliated against
workers by pressuring them to quit.
Some unions reported good cooperation with government labor
inspectors. The CFTU signed a publicized memorandum of understanding
with the Labor Inspectorate to cooperate more closely that gives local
union leaders and health and safety specialists the right to inspect
places of work jointly with labor inspectors. The Solidarity Center
reported that these joint inspections proved important in the mining
sector.
However, the CFTU reports that an affiliated trade union, the
Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine, was excluded from the
special government commission that investigated the July 29 accident
that killed 29 miners--including seven CFTU members--at the
Sukhodilska-Skhidna coal mine. This was the highest-profile mining
accident during the year and garnered the attention of the national
press. The exclusion contravened the law, which includes heads of
branch unions in investigative commissions. The union successfully
appealed against the exclusion.
__________
UNITED KINGDOM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK)
is a constitutional monarchy with a multiparty, parliamentary form of
government. Citizens elect representatives to the House of Commons, the
lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament. They last did so in free and
fair elections in May 2010. Members of the upper chamber, the House of
Lords, occupy appointed or hereditary seats. Scotland, Northern
Ireland, and Wales each have elected legislative bodies and devolved
administrations, with varying degrees of legislative and executive
powers. The UK has 14 overseas territories. Each of the overseas
territories has its own constitution while the UK government is
responsible for issues relating to external affairs, security, and
defense. Security forces throughout the UK and its territories reported
to civilian authorities.
During the year there were significant reported incidences of
sexual crimes, including the sexual exploitation of children. Racial
and ethnic discrimination continued to be a problem in many areas.
Child labor was a reported problem, both in the UK and in some of its
overseas territories.
Other human rights problems include reported deaths in prison,
threatened eviction of rioters' families from their public housing
after the August riots, unequal pay for equal work between men and
women, child abuse, anti-Semitic crimes, relations with Travellers (a
distinct nomadic ethnic group with its own history and culture),
trafficking in persons, homophobic crimes, and limitations on the
freedom to strike. In Bermuda the law provides no protection against
discrimination based on sexual orientation or age.
The government investigated all allegations of official wrongdoing,
and there were no reported cases of impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--On August 4, police
shot and killed Mark Duggan during an attempt to arrest him.
Circumstances leading to the shooting were unclear. An inquiry into
Duggan's death, conducted by the Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC), continued at the end of the year.
Also in August police faced criticism when three suspects died
after officers used stun guns or pepper spray while arresting them.
Investigations by the IPCC into the exact causes of their deaths
continued.
Police faced criticism over the use of violence against
demonstrators, particularly in the 2009 death of Ian Tomlinson, a
newspaper seller who died during protests in London against the G20
summit. A May 2011 inquest found Tomlinson was ``unlawfully killed.''
Simon Harwood, the police officer who allegedly hit Tomlinson with his
baton immediately prior to Tomlinson's death, was on trial for
manslaughter at year's end.
In September a government-commissioned inquiry into the death of
Iraqi civilian Baha Moussa released its report. The inquiry, led by
retired appeal court justice Sir William Gage, examined allegations of
abuse stemming from the death of Moussa in 2003 while in custody of the
British military. Gage found a lack of ``proper MoD [Ministry of
Defense] doctrine on interrogation,'' leading to widespread ignorance
of the law by British soldiers. His report condemned the actions of the
soldiers responsible for the detainee group that included Moussa but
noted that the events ``did not amount to an entrenched culture of
violence'' throughout the rest of the British military. The Crown
Prosecution Service's decision on whether to take further action based
on the inquiry's recommendations was pending at year's end.
On April 3, Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Constable
Ronan Kerr, a Catholic, was killed by a bomb placed under his car at
his home in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Following a three-month cross-
border search, police arrested five alleged members of a dissident
republican splinter group for the crime. Press reports suggested that
these groups, which rejected the peace agreement in Northern Ireland
and sought the full reunification of the island, actively targeted
Catholic members of security forces to hinder ``normalization'' in
Northern Ireland. At year's end the trial was pending.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of disappearances or
politically motivated abductions or kidnappings.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no
reports that government officials employed them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, including
access to potable water, and the government permitted visits by
independent human rights observers. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
for England and Wales is charged with investigating complaints from
prisoners, as well as deaths that occur in custody. Separate ombudsmen
are charged with similar duties for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.
Nonviolent offenders can receive community sentences, which can involve
unpaid community work, government supervision, paying compensation to
victims, and participation in alcohol or drug rehabilitation or mental
health treatment.
According to the Ministry of Justice, at the end of October the
prison population in England and Wales was 86,754, in a prison system
with an official capacity of 76,848. Higher-than-average conviction
rates for those charged with participating in the August riots in
London and other UK cities boosted the prison population. According to
the UK justice ministry, women made up 4.8 percent of the total prison
population of England and Wales; juveniles comprised 1.8 percent.
According to Inquest, a UK nonprofit organization, during the year 170
deaths were reported in prisons in England and Wales, of which 52 were
classified as self-inflicted, 98 were non-self-inflicted with an
additional death caused by ``other non-natural causes,'' two were
homicides, and 17 were awaiting classification. Two deaths in custody
were reported in Northern Ireland; both were young people held in
Hydebank Wood.
At the end of September there were 8,167 prisoners and detainees in
Scottish jails, which have an official total capacity of 7,294.
Juveniles accounted for 1.6 percent of prisoners in Scottish prisons,
and 5.7 percent were women. The prison population in Northern Ireland
consisted of 1,673 persons of whom 3.1 percent were women, while
juveniles comprised 1 percent. The official capacity of the Northern
Irish penal system was 1,765 persons.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions. However, critics charged that some procedures justified
by the government as necessary to combat terrorism constituted
detention without charge. The law allows the government to hold
terrorism suspects in detention without charge for up to 28 days.
On July 11, the Bermudian Parliament passed the Firearms Amendment
Act 2011, which provides that suspects alleged to be involved in a
crime with a firearm can be incarcerated in prison prior to being
charged in order to ease overcrowding in police detention cells. It
also passed the Bail Amendment Act 2011 authorizing police to arrest
individuals if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they are
likely to breach the conditions of their bail. In addition, the law
allows police to consider a suspect's safety in deciding whether to
grant bail.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
maintain internal security and report to the Home Office. The army,
under the authority of the Ministry of Defense, is responsible for
external security but may be called upon to support the Metropolitan
Police in extreme cases. Scotland's judicial, legal, and law
enforcement system is fully separate from that of the rest of the UK.
Police forces that enforce the law in Scotland report cross-border
crime and threat information to the national UK police and respond to
UK police needs in Scotland upon request. Scottish police forces report
to the justice minister and the Lord Advocate, which is the Crown's
Prosecutor in Scotland, both appointed by the Scottish government.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security
forces, and the government has effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving the security forces during the year. There were allegations
that police officers received cash payments from journalists at the
now-defunct newspaper, the News of the World, and possibly other media
outlets in return for providing contact information on private
citizens. The two most senior officers of the Metropolitan Police both
resigned during the year in the context of the scandal. A series of
police inquiries into the allegations continued.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In most cases
police must have a warrant to arrest a person. The police may make an
arrest without a warrant if they have reasonable grounds for suspecting
a person has committed or is about to commit one or more listed
``arrestable offenses,'' or if a police officer believes an arrest is
necessary to prevent physical injury or damage to property.
Police may detain an ordinary criminal suspect for 96 hours without
charges. Detention for more than 24 hours must be authorized by a
senior police official, and detention of more than 60 hours requires
the approval of a magistrate. Only terrorism suspects may be detained
without charge for longer than 96 hours. All detainees are entitled to
counsel during this period. Detainees may make telephone calls and have
legal representation, including government-provided counsel if they are
indigent. Defendants awaiting trial have the right to bail, except for
those judged to be flight risks, likely to commit another offense,
suspected terrorists, or in other limited circumstances.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government routinely respected judicial
independence in practice.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary routinely enforced this right. Defendants
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Criminal proceedings must be public
except cases in juvenile court or those involving public decency or
security. In a trial under the Official Secrets Act, the judge may
order the court closed, but sentencing must be public.
The law generally allows for jury trials. In England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland the law provides for judge-only trials when there is a
``real and present danger that jury tampering would take place.''
Scotland allows jury trials in criminal and civil cases. Bermudian law
provides for jury trials in criminal cases and for trial by judge in
civil cases.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to
consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Indigent defendants have
the right to free counsel of their choice, with some exceptions.
Defendants may question witnesses against them.
Defendants have access to government-held evidence relevant to
their cases, with some exceptions, such as instances in which
information pertaining to a suspect relates to national security.
Defendants have the right to appeal to successively higher courts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees. However, many observers criticized
the judicial process after the August riots, noting that sentences
given to rioters for theft, handling stolen goods, or public order
offenses were 25 percent to 40 percent longer than sentences for the
same offenses committed in other contexts.
Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The country is a party to
the European Convention on Human Rights and subject to the jurisdiction
of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). During the year the court
made numerous rulings involving the United Kingdom. In July the ECHR
ruled that Britain violated the rights of the families of four Iraqi
men killed by British forces by not investigating the deaths. In a
separate ruling, the ECHR declared the UK had violated the rights of a
man it interned in Iraq for three years without trial. In practice the
UK government in most cases complied with the court's judgments.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals in the UK may
seek civil remedies for human rights violations and have the right to
appeal decisions to the ECHR.
Bermudian law authorizes the Human Rights Commission to investigate
violations of the Human Rights Act. In 2010 the commission referred no
cases to a board of inquiry for adjudication; statistics were not yet
available for the year.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected those prohibitions in practice. After the August
riots in London and other UK cities, the local council of Wandsworth
served an eviction notice on a teenage rioter and his family, who lived
in public housing. Other councils, including Southwark, sent letters to
rioters awaiting trial, informing them that convictions might lead to
eviction notices. According to public housing tenancy agreements,
tenants can be evicted if they, members of their household, or visitors
engage in criminal activity. The BBC quoted the British prime minister
as stating that these possible evictions were a way of ``enforcing
responsibility in our society.'' However, human rights and legal
experts argued that such evictions amounted to a form of collective
punishment without due process, and that any attempts by the government
to implement such a policy would immediately put it at odds with its
obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. The
Wandsworth council said it would pursue the eviction only if the
teenager was found guilty of the riot-related charges.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the
government routinely respected these rights in practice. An independent
press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political
system combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.
During the year the continuing telephone-hacking scandal at the
News of the World led to allegations of illegal practices in the media
and corruption among politicians and police. Prime Minister David
Cameron appointed a commission to examine these problems. At the end of
the year the commission's work continued.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression
of views via the Internet, including by e mail. During and after the
August riots, police reportedly monitored social media sites such as
Twitter and Facebook and received cooperation from Blackberry over its
Messenger service after rioters used these outlets to organize
disturbances; the media reported that some British citizens who used
Facebook to incite riots were given jail sentences. Following the
riots, Prime Minister Cameron suggested in public comments that the
government would consider whether it would be appropriate to curtail
the use of social media in similar circumstances in the future to
prevent rioting. However, the Home Office ultimately stated that the
government ``did not seek any additional powers to close down social
media networks.''
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for this right, and the government
routinely respected it in practice. In some cases human rights
organizations criticized police for the practice of ``kettling''
peaceful protesters, or forcing them into tight groups by using metal
barricades.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides this right, and the
government routinely respected it in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the International Religious Freedom
Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government routinely respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The UK's laws provide
for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
The government grants varying levels of assistance to refused
asylum seekers, including return flights and financial assistance.
An asylum seeker whose claim is upheld is granted ``refugee
status'' and has access to the benefits enjoyed by British citizens,
including employment opportunities, health benefits, and education.
Bermuda's constitution and laws protect the fundamental rights and
freedoms of the individual but do not specifically provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status, nor has the government
established a system for providing protection to refugees. A refugee
would be accorded all the protections, rights, and freedoms accorded to
non-Bermudians and would receive benefits as a Bermudian if the
government made special provisions for that refugee.
Safe Country of Origin/Transit.--The government places the burden
of proof on asylum seekers who arrive from safe countries of origin,
who pass through a country where they are not considered to be at risk,
or who remain in the country for a period of time before seeking
asylum. The law permits authorities to remove an asylum applicant to
another country that is deemed responsible for adjudicating an
applicant's claim. The UK is subject to the EU's Dublin II regulation
and considers all other EU member states to be countries of safe origin
or transit.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided protection
against the return of persons to a country where their lives or freedom
would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality,
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
However, the UNHCR objected to the government's forced return of
asylum seekers to areas of Iraq it considered dangerous. These returns
reportedly continued from 2010.
Human rights groups including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty
International, and Freedom from Torture criticized the British
government for forcibly deporting to their country of origin failed
Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka in September. These groups alleged
the asylum seekers risked detention and torture upon returning to Sri
Lanka.
In November a report published by a human rights nongovernmental
organization (NGO), Justice First, cited a number of cases of asylum
seekers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, forcibly returned by
the UK government between 2007 and 2011, who were reportedly subjected
to repression, torture, and other rights violations upon return.
Temporary Protection.--The government may also provide temporary
protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the
categories of humanitarian protection and discretionary leave.
Employment.--Asylum seekers are not allowed to work. They receive
state support at 30 percent below the normal rate for the duration of
their asylum claim.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic free and fair elections held on the basis of universal
suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The most
recent elections, for local representatives in May and for Parliament
in May 2010 and in Bermuda in 2007, were held in accordance with
international standards. There were no reports of abuses or
irregularities.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--In the 2010 national
elections 144 women were elected as members of Parliament (MPs). Women
comprised 22 percent of all MPs, the highest number and proportion of
female representatives in history. In Northern Ireland 20 women were
elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, making up 18.5 percent of the
total 108 seats. In Scotland 35 percent of the Scottish Parliament's
members were women, and women made up 40 percent of the National
Assembly for Wales. Bermuda's 36-seat House of Assembly had seven
women, with four women in the 11-member Senate. One-third of the
British members elected to the European Parliament were women.
Four of the 23 UK cabinet posts (17 percent) were held by women. Of
119 government ministers, including the cabinet, whips, lords in
waiting, and 12 unpaid positions, 19 (16 percent) were held by women.
Four women (38 percent) served in Bermuda's 13-member cabinet.
There were 27 MPs, or 4 percent of the total, from ethnic minority
backgrounds. In Scotland two ethnic minority candidates, or 1.5 percent
of the members, were elected to the Scottish Parliament. In the
National Assembly for Wales there were also two ethnic minority
representatives, accounting for 3.3 percent of the total. The Northern
Ireland Assembly had one minority member, or 1 percent of all members.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government routinely implemented these laws effectively.
Repercussions continued from the 2009 scandal over expenses claimed by
MPs, with more than a dozen lawmakers charged with false accounting and
ordered to pay back thousands of pounds claimed in false expenses.
The UK publishes the names, grades, job titles and annual pay rates
for most civil servants with salaries over 150,000 pounds
(approximately $234,000). Government departments publish the business
expenses of and hospitality received by their most senior officials.
Under the ministerial code issued by the Prime Minister's Office
government, ministers are expected to follow standards of conduct,
including the disclosure of gifts and travel. In October, Secretary of
Defense Liam Fox resigned after a report by Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus
O'Donnell concluded Fox had been in ``a clear breach of the ministerial
code.''
All MPs are required to disclose their financial interests. The
Register of Members' Interests is published online and updated
regularly. These public disclosures include paid employment, property
ownership, shareholdings in public or private companies, and other
interests that ``might reasonably be thought to influence'' the MP in
any way.
The law provides for public access to information, and authorities
generally granted access to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign
media. There are exceptions to the availability of government
information, including those relating to national security and defense,
personal privacy, and possible risks to health and safety. There are no
fees for requesting information; however, there may be a bill for
materials and postal fees. There is a mechanism to appeal denials.
On June 15, the Bermuda Police Service announced that it would
investigate whether former premier Ewart Brown committed any criminal
offenses involving requests for commissions and board memberships. On
August 3, the Bermudian Parliament passed the Good Governance Act 2011
to improve transparency and accountability.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings of human rights cases. Government officials were
generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Parliament has a Joint Committee
on Human Rights composed of 12 members selected from the House of Lords
and the House of Commons. The committee undertakes inquiries into human
rights matters in the country and scrutinizes legislation affecting
human rights. It can call for testimony from government officials, who
generally comply. During the year the committee produced reports on
education, police reform, the terrorism act, and extradition policy,
among others.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government routinely
enforced the law effectively. The human rights commissions in England,
Wales, and Scotland have mandates to combat discrimination based on
race, sex, religion and belief, sexual orientation, and age. The
Bermudian constitution and laws protect the human rights of inhabitants
of Bermuda, with the exception of protection against discrimination
based on sexual orientation and age.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
spousal rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and sexual
harassment, and the government routinely enforced the law effectively
when cases were reported. The courts imposed punishment ranging up to
life imprisonment, the maximum legal penalty for rape. The law also
provides for injunctive relief, personal protection orders, and
protective exclusion orders (similar to restraining orders) for female
victims of violence. The government provided shelters, counseling, and
other assistance for victims of battery or rape and offered free legal
aid to battered women who were economically dependent on their abusers.
The Home Office reported 14,624 cases of rape of a female during the
year, down 1 percent from 2010; the sanction detection rate for these
offenses was 24 percent.
In March the UK launched an action plan to halt violence against
women; the action plan includes 88 ``cross-government actions'' and
commits the government to work towards changing attitudes and behaviors
that condone violence against women.
In December a freedom of information request by the Iranian and
Kurdish Women's Rights Organization revealed that in 2010 UK police
reported 2,823 ``honor attacks.'' Of the 39 police forces reporting, 12
also provided figures from 2009, which showed that 2010 saw a 47
percent rise in such incidents in those areas. In 2010, the last year
for which data was available, the UK's Forced Marriage Unit gave advice
or support related to a possible forced marriage in 1,735 instances.
In Bermuda police reported 26 cases of sexual assault in the first
nine months of the year. Police estimated 20-30 reported incidents of
domestic abuse per week; of these, 10-15 resulted in a formal complaint
of which two or three moved forward to prosecution. In February one
person received a 25-year prison sentence for a 2009 domestic abuse
death.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals can decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children, and generally
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. Contraception, prenatal care, obstetric and
postpartum care, access to family planning advice, treatment for
sexually transmitted infections, and skilled attendance during
childbirth were all widely available.
Discrimination.--Women enjoy the same legal status and rights as
men under the judicial system. According to the World Economic Forum's
Global Gender Gap report, women in the UK during the year earned 71
percent of men's earnings for similar work. The Home Office oversees
implementation of the law and the Equality Strategy, which was
published in June and commits the UK government to work with the
private sector and civil society to promote equal treatment and equal
opportunity for all.
Children.--Birth Registration.--All births must be registered
within 42 days in the district where the baby was born, and
unregistered births were uncommon. Local authorities have procedures
for the late registration of babies. A child born in the UK receives
the country's citizenship at birth if one of the parents is a British
citizen or legally settled resident. Children born in Northern Ireland
may opt for British, Irish, or dual citizenship. A child born in an
overseas territory is a British overseas territories citizen if at
least one of the child's parents has citizenship. There are special
provisions for granting citizenship for persons who might otherwise be
stateless. Overseas territories citizens have some restrictions
regarding their ability to live and work within the UK; similarly,
there are some restrictions on British citizens living and working in
the overseas territories. However, Bermudians with UK passports may
live and work in the UK without restrictions.
Child Abuse.--The UK government did not publish specific statistics
on the incidence of child abuse every year, but it actively combated
child abuse through policies to protect children from abusive adults,
overhauling child protection services, and encouraging better reporting
of abuse crimes.
Child protection registers contain confidential details of children
who are at continuing risk of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or
neglect, and for whom there is a child protection plan. Registers cover
each local authority area in the UK and are managed by individual
social services departments. The latest figures available from March
2010 showed 46,705 children on child protection registers in the UK. Of
these, 39,100 were in England, 2,357 in Northern Ireland, 2,518 in
Scotland, and 2,730 in Wales.
In Northern Ireland 663 cases of child abuse were reported between
July 2010 and June. During this period children made up 17 percent of
the total number of victims of violent crime and 56 percent of the
total number of victims of sexual offenses, according to the PSNI.
In Bermuda in 2010, the latest date for which statistics were
available, there were 111 cases of physical abuse of children up to the
age of 18. The Department of Child and Family Services substantiated 48
of the physical abuse cases. Of the rest, 34 cases were
unsubstantiated, 22 were suspected, and seven were pending.
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
(NSPCC), a leading NGO, reported that incidents of child abuse and
mistreatment in the UK dropped significantly over the last decade. The
NSPCC concluded that public education campaigns, heightened public
awareness, and high levels of media coverage of child abuse have led to
a positive attitudinal shift in how people treat children.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The minimum age of consensual sex
in the UK is 16. In Bermuda the legal minimum age for consensual sex is
16 for heterosexuals and lesbians and 18 for gay men.
There are strict penalties for sexual offenses against children and
the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The law also prohibits
child sex tourism and allows authorities to prosecute citizens or
residents for offenses committed abroad. Some sexual offenses carry
penalties up to life imprisonment. Anyone convicted of sexual offenses
must register with the police. Registrants are required to notify
police any time they change their name or address, or travel outside of
the UK.
As of March 2010, 34,939 individuals were registered as sexual
offenders in England and Wales; however, this figure did not
distinguish between offenses against adults and children. The Home
Office reported that 32 percent of all sexual crimes (including rape,
sexual assault, sexual activity, and sexual grooming) recorded during
the year, or 17,727 incidents, were committed against children under
16. In Bermuda 115 cases of sexual abuse of children up to the age of
18 were recorded in 2010.
International Child Abductions.--The UK including Bermuda is party
to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction. Due to its distinct and separate legal system,
Scotland has its own independent body for dealing with Hague Convention
cases and communicates directly with Hague Convention authorities.
Anti-Semitism.--The UK Jewish population numbers approximately
280,000.
Incidents of anti-Semitism against the UK Jewish community fell 13
percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period in
2010. The Community Security Trust (CST), a UK body that monitors anti-
Semitism, reported that in the first half of the year there were 41
violent assaults, 35 incidents of damage and vandalism to Jewish
property, and 186 incidents of abusive behavior, such as verbal abuse,
hate mail, and anti-Semitic graffiti. In total there were 283 incidents
in early 2011, a drop from the 325 incidents registered in the same
period of 2010.
According to the CST, there were 16 anti-Semitic incidents
affecting Jewish students, academics, student unions, or other student
bodies in the first half of the year, compared with 28 such incidents
in the first six months of 2010, a fall of 43 percent. CST figures show
there were five anti-Semitic incidents affecting Jewish students or
academics off campus in the first half of the year, compared with 13
such incidents in the first half of 2010.
The London-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research reported that
between October 2010 and March more than 40 percent of Jewish
university students witnessed or experienced an incident of anti-
Semitism. Anti-Semitic language continued to be found in recent
additions of textbooks supplied by the Saudi Arabian government and
used to teach 5,000 pupils in private weekend schools outside of the
UK's public school system.
During the year there were several incidents of football fans
chanting anti-Semitic slogans during matches. In response the Football
Association launched an initiative to tackle faith-based
discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Kick it Out,
an antiracism organization, sponsored a short film starring several
soccer players to address racist abuse by fans.
In December, Conservative MP Aidan Burley was removed from his post
as the parliamentary private secretary to the Transport Minister after
attending a party where one guest wore a Nazi uniform and some guests
toasted Third Reich figures.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the
provision of other state services, and the government effectively
enforced this in practice.
The law requires that all public service providers (except in the
transportation sector) make ``reasonable adjustments'' to ensure their
services are available to persons with disabilities. The law forbids
employers from harassing or discriminating against job applicants or
employees with disabilities. In August the Bermudian Parliament enacted
the Human Rights (Unreasonable Hardship) Amendment Act 2011 to protect
the rights of the disabled in the workplace; the act requires employers
to ``modify the circumstances of employment'' to accommodate persons
with disabilities, so long as there is no ``unreasonable hardship'' on
the employer.
The mandate of UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
included work on behalf of persons with disabilities to stop
discrimination and promote equality of opportunity. The EHRC provided
legal advice and support for individuals, a hotline for persons with
disabilities and employers, and policy advice to the government. It may
also conduct formal investigations, arrange conciliation, require
persons to adopt action plans to ensure compliance with the law, and
apply for injunctions to prevent acts of unlawful discrimination.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits racial
discrimination, but Travellers, as well as persons of African, Afro-
Caribbean, South Asian, and Middle Eastern origin, at times reported
mistreatment on racial or ethnic grounds.
On October 19, after a legal process that began in 2005, Essex
police began an operation to clear an illegal Travellers' encampment at
Dale Farm in Basildon, Essex. Thirty-nine protesters were arrested.
Amnesty International estimated that 300 to 400 persons were evicted
from the illegal settlement. Although some claimed this action was
anti-Traveller, the evictions were in accordance with established legal
procedures, and the Basildon Council offered alternative housing to
those evicted.
In 2010/2011 the Home Office reported 2,982 racially or religiously
motivated assaults with bodily harm or other injury; there were 4,058
such assaults without injury. These figures represent a 15 percent and
a 6 percent decline, respectively, from 2009/2010 figures. It was
frequently difficult to determine whether hate crimes had ethnic,
xenophobic, or religious motives, and abuses directed at members of
ethnic minorities from Muslim countries were officially reported as
being ``anti-Islamic.''
In Scotland the August 2010 murder of a Chinese man, Simon San,
continued to have a high profile. In August police issued a public
apology acknowledging their failure to investigate the attack as a
racist incident. Two men convicted in the attack on San were sentenced
to two years in prison, while a third was sentenced to five years. The
lawyer of the victim's family said the accused would have faced tougher
sentences if racial bias had been considered. However, the Crown Office
stated there would be no inquiry into how prosecutors handled the case.
In Bermuda there were multiple instances of graffiti and one
instance of stone throwing in July and August that were aimed at Asian
and Indian migrant workers. In October several vehicles belonging to
Filipinos were set ablaze. An MP and Amnesty International Bermuda
condemned the acts. The Human Rights Commission responded by reminding
the public that every person has equal dignity and an obligation to
respect the rights of others.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation; however,
sporadic incidents of homophobic violence were reported. The law
encourages judges to impose a greater sentence in assault cases where
the victim's sexual orientation was a motive for the hostility, and
many local police forces demonstrated an increasing awareness of the
problem and trained officers to identify and moderate these attacks.
During the year the Metropolitan Police reported 122 incidents of
homophobic crime in greater London by July, a 16-percent decrease from
the 145 incidents registered in the same period in 2010.
In Scotland racial, sexual, or other discriminatory motivation can
be an ``aggravating factor'' in crimes. In May the Scottish Prosecution
Service reported that in the year since the law came into effect, 448
charges had been made in which homophobia was an ``aggravation.'' In 14
cases gender identity was an ``aggravation.'' However, NGOs
representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons claimed the
real rate of homophobic violence was much higher, since many victims
did not report homophobic attacks to police.
In Bermuda the law does not protect against discrimination based on
sexual orientation. There is no official recognition of same-sex
relationships. The Bermuda Bar Association updated its professional
code of conduct in December 2010 to ban members from discriminating and
extending its coverage to include protection from discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence against persons with HIV infection during the year.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right of workers to form and join independent
unions without previous authorization or excessive requirements. The
government protected this right in practice, and the law prohibits
blacklisting of workers for trade union membership or activity. Workers
have the right to strike. However, according to the International Trade
Union Confederation, the right to strike in the UK is ``limited'' due
to prohibitions against political and solidarity strikes, lengthy
procedures for calling strikes, and the ability of employers to seek
injunctions against unions before a strike has begun if the union does
not observe all proper steps in organizing the strike. The law does not
cover workers in the armed forces, public sector security services,
police forces, and freelance or agency work.
Unions and management typically negotiated collective
``agreements,'' which were less formal than collective bargaining
contracts. Collective agreements were considered ``implied'' individual
work contracts and were legally enforceable as such.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The government
prohibits all forms of forced and compulsory labor, including by
children, and effectively enforced these laws. However, there were some
reports that forced labor by men, women, and children occurred in
practice. In September, Bedfordshire police freed 24 men who had been
held captive and forced to work without pay. Five people were arrested
on charges of slavery offenses.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--UK
law prohibits the employment in any capacity of children under 13.
Those under 16 are not permitted to work in an industrial enterprise,
including transportation or street trading; their work hours are
strictly limited and may not interfere with school attendance. Children
ages 13 to 16 must apply for a work permit from a local authority, and
the local authority's education and welfare services have primary
responsibility for oversight and enforcement. Authorities effectively
enforced these laws. In Bermuda children under 13 may work in light
work of an agricultural, horticultural, or domestic character if the
parent or guardian is also the employer of the child.
The Departments of Health, Trade, and Industry, and Education and
Skills have regulatory responsibilities related to child labor, and
government departments enforced these laws effectively. There were
reports that some children in the British overseas territories of
Anguilla and Montserrat were engaged in the worst forms of child labor,
specifically in commercial sexual exploitation.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On October 1, the government
increased the UK's national minimum wage. The rate varied depending on
the age of the worker, starting at 3.68 pounds ($5.78) per hour for 16-
17-year-olds; 4.98 pounds ($7.78) for 18-20-year-olds; and 6.08 pounds
($9.50) per hour for those 21 and over. Tax authorities may issue
compliance orders against employers who are not paying the minimum
wage, but employment tribunals handle disputes. The government
aggressively monitored employers' compliance with minimum wage law.
Unions and NGOs were also actively involved in ensuring employees'
awareness of their rights. In the UK the official poverty line is
defined as an income of 60 percent or less of the median annual income
for a given year. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, in 2009/
2010 approximately 13.5 million persons in the UK were living in
poverty when income was calculated after housing costs.
The law limits the workweek to 48 hours when averaged over a 17- to
26-week period; however, the regulations do not apply to senior
managers and others who can exercise control over their own hours of
work. There are also exceptions for the armed forces, emergency
services, police, domestic workers, sea and air transportation workers,
and fishermen. Workers can opt out of the 48-hour limit. The law
provides for one day of rest per week, 11 hours of daily rest, and a
20-minute rest break when the working day exceeds six hours. The law
also mandates a minimum of four weeks of paid annual leave, including
eight national holidays. However, the average worker received five
weeks of paid annual leave plus eight national holidays as part of
collective agreements. An individual employee may agree through a
contract to work overtime for premium pay. The law does not prohibit
compulsory overtime, but overtime is limited by the 48-hour-workweek
restriction.
The law stipulates that the health and safety of employees not be
placed at risk, and it was effectively enforced by the Health and
Safety Executive (HSE), which is an arm of the Department of Work and
Pensions and can initiate criminal proceedings in appropriate cases. As
of April the HSE's Field Operations Department, which conducts
workplace inspections, employed 1,171 persons. In 2010/2011 the HSE
reported that it had instituted legal proceedings in 551 cases; 517 of
those resulted in convictions, with an average fine of approximately
36,000 pounds ($56,000) per conviction. In that same period of time,
the HSE also reported 171 fatalities in the workplace, 51 of which
involved self-employed persons. This was an increase from the year
before, when 147 workers suffered fatal injuries; 43 of those were
self-employed. Sectors with the highest numbers of workplace fatalities
were the construction and service sectors. There were 115,379 reported
nonfatal injuries in the workplace in 2010/2011. Workers may legally
remove themselves from dangerous work conditions without jeopardy to
their continued employment.
Bermuda's law does not provide for a minimum wage, but it requires
that work in excess of 40 hours per week be paid at the overtime rate
or with compensatory time off; employees may waive rights to overtime
pay. The law also requires employees have a rest period of at least 24
consecutive hours per week. It provides for paid public holidays and
two weeks' paid annual leave. Regulations extensively cover the safety
of the work environment and are enforced by the Department of Labor and
Training.
__________
NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
----------
ALGERIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Algeria is a multiparty republic whose head of state and government
(president) is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The
president has the constitutional authority to appoint and dismiss
cabinet members and the prime minister. A 2008 constitutional amendment
eliminated presidential term limits, and in April 2009 President
Abdelaziz Bouteflika won reelection to his third term in office. Some
opposition parties boycotted the election, arguing that restrictions on
freedom of association skewed the election in favor of the incumbent.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Riots sparked by increases in staple food prices spread across 24
of the country's 48 provinces in January. A fledgling political
opposition coalition failed to garner widespread public support, and
the government prevented the group from staging weekly marches in
Algiers. In February the government lifted the state of emergency that
had been in effect since 1992 but continued to prohibit marches in the
capital and restrict freedom of association throughout the country.
Beginning in March and extending through mid-April, dozens of groups
staged protests and sit-ins in public spaces and in front of government
ministries in Algiers, demanding higher wages, improved benefits, and
better working conditions. Most protests remained peaceful and ended
after the government agreed to meet most demands. In December both
houses of parliament passed a series of reform laws on elections,
political parties, female representation in elected bodies,
associations, and media.
The three most significant continuing human rights problems were
restrictions on freedom of assembly and association; the inability of
citizens to change their government, notably in light of the 2008
constitutional revisions that allow the president to run for unlimited
terms of office; and the failure to account for disappearances,
especially those cases from the 1990s. On February 9, the government
repealed the state of emergency, in force for 19 years, and
subsequently adopted two ordinances that replaced provisions related to
the state of emergency that allow the army to intervene in terrorist
offenses and subversive acts.
Other human rights concerns were reports of unlawful killings,
overuse of pretrial detention, poor prison conditions, abuse of
prisoners, and lack of judicial independence. Additionally, widespread
corruption accompanied reports of limited government transparency.
Authorities used security grounds to constrain freedom of expression
and movement. Women faced violence and discrimination, and the
government maintained restrictions on workers' rights.
Impunity remained a problem. The government did not always provide
public information on actions taken against police and security service
officials.
The government continued to pursue terrorist groups that committed
a significant number of attacks against government officials, members
of security forces, and, to a lesser extent, civilians. Kidnapping for
ransom--by taking European hostages--has become a key funding source
for terrorist groups operating in the southern portion of the country.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government or its agents committed unlawful killings.
During rioting in the first week in January, four protesters and
one police officer were killed, and more than 789 others were injured,
among them 736 members of security forces and 53 protesters, according
to government figures. On January 6, police shot and killed Azzedine
Lebza in the M'sila region, 155 miles southeast of Algiers. On the same
day Akriche Abdelfattah died in the town of Bou Smail, 25 miles west of
the capital, after being struck by a can of tear gas. On January 8, a
man died after suffering a bullet wound to the head when he was trying
to prevent looters from entering his father's business. On January 9, a
taxi driver died after inhaling tear gas fired by police in Annaba in
eastern Algeria. The government maintained that only two protesters
were killed.
The government and the press attributed most terrorist attacks
during the year to the terrorist group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb
(AQIM), which emerged in 2007 after the Salafist Group for Preaching
and Combat allied itself with al-Qaida in 2006. Former minister of
interior Noureddine Zerhouni stated in 2008 that an estimated 400
terrorists operated in the country; the figure remained the most recent
one available. During the year press reports indicated that security
forces killed or captured approximately 800 suspected terrorists.
According to press reports, terrorists killed 38 civilians and 34
security force members.
b. Disappearance.--Enforced disappearances, reportedly numbering in
the thousands, were a significant problem during the 1990s. In August
2010 the government listed the official number of disappeared cases as
6,544, which represented a significant reduction in the official number
reported in previous years. During a 2009 conference in Geneva,
representatives of the government's human rights advisory office, the
National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights (CNCPPDH), stated that 8,023 persons remained missing or
disappeared as a result of government actions between 1992 and 1999.
The 2006 Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation granted
amnesty to and prevented investigation into the conduct of the National
Popular Army, the security forces, state-sponsored armed groups, and
persons who fought on behalf of the government during episodes of civil
strife in the 1990s. The amnesty also covered certain persons involved
in Islamist militant and terrorist activities. Persons implicated in
mass killings, rapes, or bomb attacks in public places were not
eligible for amnesty. Some local NGOs, including SOS Disparus,
Djazairouna, Somoud, and the Algerian Human Rights Defense League
(LADDH), criticized the charter for enabling terrorists to escape
justice and security forces for acting with impunity.
The law provides measures for compensating victims of
disappearances, although families of the disappeared reportedly
experienced complications and delays in receiving compensation.
On June 1, the U.N. Human Rights Committee asked the government to
investigate the disappearance of Brahim Aouabdia in the province of
Constantine. There was no information on the case at year's end.
In January 2010 the local human rights NGO Alkarama presented to
the government human rights commission the disappearance case of
Lakhdar Bouzenia, who allegedly was arrested by security forces in 1993
and tortured. The case remained unresolved at year's end.
Armed criminals conducted abuses against civilians, including
kidnappings, false checkpoints, and extortion, particularly in areas
east of Algiers and in the southern portion of the country. In May
security officials reported that 177 kidnapping cases occurred in 2010.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but NGO and local human
rights activists reported that government officials sometimes employed
abusive treatment to obtain confessions. Government agents can face
prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years for committing such acts,
and some individuals were tried and convicted. Nonetheless, impunity
remained a problem.
Local human rights lawyers maintained that abusive treatment
occurred in detention facilities, most often against those arrested on
``security grounds.'' Amnesty International (AI) and other
international organizations documented the mistreatment of terror
suspects, where they have been ``at unrecognized detention centers
where they were at risk of torture or other ill-treatment.''
In December 2010 two senior police officers working in the main
police station of the eastern province of Constantine received 12-month
prison sentences, with six-month suspended sentences, on charges of
negligence and disrespect for pretrial detention procedures for not
removing the shoelaces of Tifouti Kamel, who hanged himself in his cell
during pretrial detention.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions
generally did not meet international standards, and the government did
not permit visits to military, high-security, or standard prison
facilities or to detention centers by independent human rights
observers. Overcrowding remained a problem in many prisons. Prisoners
had access to potable water, and steps have been taken to improve
recordkeeping and the use of alternative sentencing for nonviolent
offenders. Conditions for female prisoners were generally better than
those for men. According to human rights lawyers, prison overpopulation
was explained partially by the government's excessive use of pretrial
detention. In 2008 the CNCPPDH conducted 34 prison visits and
highlighted concerns with overcrowding, insufficient bed space, and
problems with lighting, ventilation, nutrition, and hygiene.
According to the director general of the Prisons Administration,
there were 56,000 prisoners, including 411 minors, in the country's 133
prisons. Prisons held men and women separately. The Ministry of Justice
has undertaken a prison building program to alleviate crowding
problems. New prisons opened during the year provide training,
education, and reinsertion programs for prisoners and comply with
international standards. Prison guards are also receiving renewed
training. Officials permitted prisoners weekly visits by their
families, and family members have the right to bring in food and
clothes. Prisoners also could observe religious events and had a place
to perform prayers. All Muslim religious days were observed within
prisons. In each prison inmates can submit complaints to the
penitentiary administration or their lawyers. An ombudsman does not
exist to serve on behalf of prisoners or detainees.
The penal code permitted the substitution of community service in
lieu of imprisonment for first-time offenders with a maximum prison
sentence of three years.
The government held political prisoners and suspected terrorists in
military prisons where international observers were not allowed. In a
2008 report, the U.N. Committee Against Torture expressed concern over
reports that the Department of Intelligence and Security (DRS), the
intelligence agency tasked with internal security, maintained secret
detention centers inside military barracks that operated outside
judicial authority. During the year AI reported significant concerns
that torture and abuse occurred in DRS detention facilities.
The lifting of the state of emergency in February resulted in some
individuals formerly detained by the intelligence and security services
being transferred to facilities under Justice Ministry jurisdiction.
During the year the government permitted the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Crescent Society to visit
regular, nonmilitary prisons. ICRC visits to persons held in places of
detention run by the Ministry of Justice and to those detained in
police stations and gendarmeries took place in accordance with ICRC
standard practices. Visitors to selected prisons saw no signs of
torture or mistreatment.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, overuse of pretrial detention
occurred in practice. On July 9, the government-appointed head of the
CNCPPDH, Farouk Ksentini, stated that pretrial detention was ``a
significant weakness of the Algerian legal system.'' He questioned the
official rate given by the Ministry of Justice that only 11 percent of
detainees were under pretrial detention, stating that the rate was
certainly higher. Ksentini noted in August 2010 that judicial error
resulted in cases of ``unjustified'' pretrial detention due to a lack
of incriminating evidence.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police
force, consisting of more than 140,000 members, falls under the control
of the Ministry of Interior and has national jurisdiction. The National
Gendarmerie, under the Ministry of Defense, also performs police-like
functions outside urban areas. Organizationally the DRS reports to the
Ministry of Defense and exercises internal security functions, but it
also performs functions comparable to the police in terrorism cases.
Impunity remained a problem. The government did not always provide
public information on the numbers, infractions, or punishments of
police, military, or other security force personnel.
The criminal code provides mechanisms to investigate abuses.
During the year police responded to 10,910 civil disturbances
nationwide, according to Abdelghani Hamel, director general of the
national police.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to
the law, police must obtain a summons from the Prosecutor's Office to
require a suspect to appear in a police station for preliminary
questioning. Summonses also are used to notify and require the accused
and the victim to attend a court proceeding or hearing.
Police may make arrests without a warrant if they witness the
offense. Public lawyers reported that procedures for warrants and
summonses usually were carried out properly.
The constitution specifies that a suspect may be held in detention
for up to 48 hours without charge. If more time is required for
gathering additional evidence, the police may request that the
prosecutor extend the suspect's detention to 72 hours. Those suspected
of terrorism or subversion may be held legally for 12 days without
charge or access to counsel under the law. Such individuals are
obligated to answer questions posed to them by security forces, and
they are not authorized to contact anyone. By law the initial court
appearance in terrorism matters is not public.
At the end of the 12-day period, the detainee has the right to
request a medical examination by a physician of choice within the
jurisdiction of the court. Otherwise the judicial police appoint a
doctor. The certificate of the medical examination is then entered into
the detainee's file.
Following the 12-day period, individuals involved in terrorism
cases are placed under judicial control, which requires them to report
weekly to a local police precinct and to reside at an agreed-upon
address. Travel within the country is unrestricted. Travel abroad is
not generally authorized.
Judges rarely refused prosecutorial requests for extending
preventive detention, which by law can be appealed. Should the
detention be overturned, the defendant has the right to request
compensation.
There is no system of bail, but in nonfelony cases, suspects often
were released on provisional liberty referred to as ``judicial
control'' while awaiting trial. Under provisional liberty status,
suspects are required to report weekly to the police station in their
district and are forbidden to leave the country.
Most detainees have prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, and
the government provides legal counsel to indigent detainees. The penal
code requires that detainees in pretrial detention be informed
immediately of their rights to communicate with family members, receive
visitors, and be examined by a doctor of their choice at the end of
detention. In addition any suspect can request a medical examination
once on police premises or before facing the judge. In practice there
were continued reports during the year that these rights were not
extended to all detainees. Typically detainees had access to a doctor
only at the end of detention. Some detainees were held incommunicado
without access to their families or lawyers.
Pretrial Detention.--Prolonged pretrial detention remained a
problem. The law does not provide a person in detention the right to a
prompt judicial determination of the legality of the detention. Those
charged with acts against the security of the state, including
terrorism, may be held in pretrial detention as long as 20 months,
according to the penal code, and the prosecutor must show cause every
four months for continuing pretrial detention. Hundreds of rioters in
January charged with looting or public disorder were held in pretrial
detention, usually for 24 hours, but sometimes for several days.
Rioters, protesters, and activists were normally released without being
charged.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the president exercises supreme judicial
authority, and the executive branch limited judicial independence. The
constitution provides for the right to a fair trial, but in practice
authorities did not always respect legal provisions regarding
defendants' rights. The High Judicial Council is responsible for
judicial discipline and the appointment of all judges. President
Bouteflika serves as the president of the council.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and have the
right to be present and to consult with an attorney, provided at public
expense if necessary. Most trials are public and all are nonjury.
Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them or present
witnesses and evidence on their behalf. Courts occasionally denied
defendants and their attorneys access to government-held evidence , but
there were fewer reports of such incidents than in past years.
Defendants have the right to appeal. The testimony of men and women has
equal weight under the law.
On July 18, a court in Tizi Ouzou sentenced Malik Madjnoun and
Abdelhakim Chenoui to 12 years in prison for assassinating singer
Lounes Matoub in 1998. Madjnoun and Chenoui had been held in jail 12
years awaiting trial but had yet to be released by year's end.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of dozens of
individuals detained for political reasons, including peaceful assembly
in Algiers. In virtually all of the instances, police detained
activists participating in protests or marches and held them either in
the backs of riot trucks on site or transported them to nearby police
precincts. Police released the activists without charges once the
protests had subsided.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was neither
independent nor impartial in civil matters and lacked independence in
some human rights cases. Family connections and status of the parties
involved could influence decisions. Individuals may bring lawsuits, and
there are administrative processes related to amnesty, which may
provide damages to the victims or their families for human rights
violations and compensation for alleged wrongs.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, although in
practice government authorities infringed on citizens' privacy rights.
According to human rights activists, the government monitored the
communications of political opponents, journalists, human rights
groups, and suspected terrorists. Security officials reportedly
searched homes without a warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech and of
the press, the government restricted these rights in practice through
accusations of defamation; informal pressure on publishers, editors,
and journalists; and the continued closure of broadcast media to
private entities. In September, the government passed a law
decriminalizing press offenses.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals generally were able to criticize
the government privately, although there could be occasional reprisals.
In practice citizens practiced self-restraint in voicing public
criticism. The government attempted to impede criticism by monitoring
political meetings and in some cases not allowing nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) to hold meetings. The law specifies that freedom
of speech must respect ``individual dignity, the imperatives of foreign
policy, and the national defense.'' A 2006 presidential decree
continued to criminalize speech about the conduct of the security
forces during the internal conflict of the 1990s.
Freedom of Press.--Many political parties, including legal Islamic
parties, had access to the independent press and used it to express
their views. Opposition parties also disseminated information via the
Internet and published communiques. Journalists expressed frustration
over the near-impossibility of receiving information from public
officials, and journalists and political cartoonists regularly
criticized the government.
Radio and television were government-owned and frequently
broadcasted coverage favorable to the government. Sources maintained
that broadcast media did not grant sufficient access to opposition
parties and critical NGOs. During nonelection periods opposition
parties and spokesmen regularly were denied access to public radio or
television. Political parties and independent candidates received the
same amount of radio access time during the three-week campaign period
prior to the 2009 presidential election.
Internet Freedom.--Access to the Internet generally was unimpeded,
although the government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms.
Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via the
Internet, including by e-mail. Individuals posted on YouTube thousands
of videos of the early January protests and their aftermath. In
addition to reporting information and showing actual events, several
videos presented political opinions and popular reactions, expressing
in some cases support for protesters and criticism of government
policies, while others condemned acts of violence. Some media reports
indicated that Facebook was blocked by the government's attempt to
stifle communication among protesters during the early months of the
year. Other users reported no difficulty accessing Facebook throughout
the riots. Facebook administrators reported that they were
investigating the complaints but did not release official findings. The
minister of information and communication denied that the government
blocked Facebook.
The law on cybercrime establishes procedures for using electronic
data in prosecutions and outlines the responsibilities of service
providers to cooperate with authorities.
By law Internet service providers face criminal penalties for the
material and Web sites they host, especially if subject matters are
``incompatible with morality or public opinion.'' The ministries of
justice, interior, and information have oversight responsibilities. The
cybercrime law provides sentences for six months to five years in
prison and fines between 50,000 and 500,000 dinars ($677 to $6,770) for
users who do not comply with the law, including the obligation to
cooperate with law enforcement authorities against cybercrime.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom generally
was restricted. Academic seminars and colloquiums occurred with limited
governmental interference, but there were delays in issuing visas to
international participants and instances where authorities denied
international experts entrance.
In August government officials expelled Tunisian singer Bendir Man
and reportedly banned him from returning to the country following
August 11 and 12 concerts when he sang about democracy and dedicated a
song to ``all of the dictators in the Arab world,'' including ``yours,
Bouteflika.''
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Although the
constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, the
government severely restricted the exercise of these rights in
practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of
assembly, but government practice continued to curtail this right. A
decree implemented in 2001 banning demonstrations in Algiers remained
in effect and was put into practice during the year. Authorities
required citizens and organizations to obtain permits from the
government-appointed local governor before holding public meetings. The
government continued to restrict licenses to political parties, NGOs,
and other groups to hold indoor rallies and frequently granted
permissions on the eve of the event, thereby impeding publicity and
outreach. In December local government officials refused to authorize
two conferences that the LADDH planned to hold in Algiers and Boumerdes
to celebrate International Human Rights Day.
Every Saturday from February 12 to late April, government security
forces prevented protesters with the political opposition group
National Coordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD) from staging a
march in Algiers. On several occasions, CNCD organizers submitted
paperwork to local officials requesting permission to march, but the
requests were denied on security grounds. In some cases police arrested
protesters and injured some of them as a result of participation in
unsanctioned protests.
Between 3,000 and 5,000 university students on April 12 staged the
first successful public march in Algiers since 2001, despite police
efforts to prevent it. Students were largely nonviolent, but there were
approximately 100 injuries.
The LADDH reported continuing difficulties in obtaining permission
to hold outdoor meetings and seminars. Groups opposing the Charter on
Peace and Reconciliation also had difficulty securing permission to
hold public gatherings.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association, but the government severely restricted this right in
practice.
The law grants the government wide-ranging oversight of and
influence in the day-to-day activities of civil society organizations.
The law's extensive requirements and uneven enforcement serve as major
impediments to the development of civil society. It requires
organizations to register with the government and obtain a license.
Local organizations must register at the level of the provincial
governor, and a national organization must register with the Interior
Ministry. The law mandates that organizations must have at least 10
founding members on an executive board to register and provide
professional and personal information about executive board members,
articles of association, and minutes of the statutory meeting. Once
registered, organizations must inform the government of their
activities, funding sources, and personnel, including notification when
there are personnel changes. If organizations fail to provide such
information to the government, they are subject to fines between 2,000
and 5,000 dinars ($27-$68). The government has the right to suspend the
activities of any NGO it deems to be acting illegally or against public
order or public decency, although what constitutes a violation of
public order or decency is not defined. If organizations continue to
operate after being suspended, members can face between three months
and two months in prison and fines between 50,000 and 100,000 dinars
($677-1,350).
The Ministry of Interior must approve all political parties before
they are considered legally established. The government restricted the
registration of certain NGOs, associations, and political parties on
security grounds but declined to provide evidence or legal
justification for refusing to authorize other organizations that could
not be disqualified on security grounds. The government frequently
failed to grant in an expeditious fashion official recognition to NGOs,
associations, religious groups, and political parties. The ministry may
deny a license to or dissolve any group regarded as a threat to the
government's authority or to public order. For example, the law
implementing the 2006 amnesty prohibits political activities by anyone
responsible for having used religion leading to the ``national
tragedy,'' that is, the 1990s civil conflict, thereby theoretically
banning Islamic political parties.
The government issued licenses and subsidies to domestic
associations, especially youth, medical, and neighborhood associations.
The Interior Ministry regarded organizations unable to attain
government licenses as illegal. Domestic NGOs encountered bureaucratic
obstacles to receiving financial support from abroad. Although not
illegal, financial support from abroad is conditioned by law on a
series of authorizations from the ministries of interior and national
solidarity. These authorizations remained difficult to obtain.
According to the Ministry of Interior, there were 80,000 registered
associations. Of that total, only a few hundred are functioning and
credible independent national NGOs. SOS Disparus remained unrecognized
and continued to operate facing government interference.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement, but the government restricted the exercise of this right
in practice.
The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
In-Country Movement.--The government maintained restrictions for
security reasons on travel into the southern locales of El-Oued and
Illizi, near hydrocarbon industry installations and the Libyan border,
respectively. The government also prevented overland tourist travel
between the southern cities of Djanet and Tamanrasset, citing the
threat of terrorism. The government did not permit young men eligible
for the draft but who had not yet completed their military service to
leave the country without special authorization, although the
government granted such authorization to students and persons with
special family circumstances.
Foreign Travel.--The family code does not permit those under 18 to
travel abroad without a guardian's permission. Married women under 18
years of age may not travel abroad without permission from their
husbands.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status and the government
has established a system for providing protection to refugees. However,
there were no reports that the government granted refugee status and
asylum to new refugee applicants during the year. According to the
UNHRC, the government did not accept UNHRC-determined refugee status
for individuals from sub-Saharan Africa fleeing conflict. Through
August the office registered 510 cases, 570 individuals, and had 141
recognized refugees, mostly sub-Saharan African nationals. There were
reports that the government deported some asylum seekers after trials
without legal counsel given to the applicant. Refugees holding valid
UNHRC documentation were less likely to be deported, but two recognized
refugees were arrested on the basis of illegal entry and stay and were
deported in the course of the year.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government provided some
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group,
or political opinion, as was the case with the Sahrawi refugees.
Authorities did not extend legal protections to asylum seekers from
sub-Saharan Africa residing in Algiers. Nonetheless, authorities
tolerated the presence of these asylum seekers in the country.
After violence in neighboring Libya, Algeria established a series
of transit centers for refugees along its 1,000km border with Libya.
Libyans were allowed to cross the border to purchase goods. Independent
estimates of the number of refugees crossing into the country from
Libya during the year ranged from 18,000 to 20,000, but government
officials claimed an estimated 5,000 refugees entered from Libya.
Refugees who crossed the border at official checkpoints normally spent
two to three days at the transit centers, where they could contact
their national embassies for help with repatriation. Independent
observers found the transit centers to be in excellent condition with
ample beds, proper medical treatment, restroom facilities, and free
phone and laptop usage.
Refugees from Libya who entered Algeria illegally occasionally were
arrested, held in detention centers for a period of one to two weeks
for questioning, and then transported to Algeria's border with Mali and
Niger, depending on the person's country of origin.
The government provided protection to an estimated 90,000 Sahrawi
refugees who departed Western Sahara after Morocco took control of the
territory in the 1970s. The UNHRC, World Food Program, Algerian Red
Crescent, and other organizations also assisted Sahrawi refugees.
Neither the government nor refugee leadership allowed the UNHRC to
conduct a registration or complete a census of the Sahrawi refugees.
Access to Basic Services.--Sahrawi refugees lived predominantly in
camps near the city of Tindouf, administered by the Popular Front for
the Liberation of the Saguia el Harma and Rio de Oro (Polisario). The
remote location of the camps and lack of government presence resulted
in lack of access to employment, basic services, education, police, and
courts for Sahrawis.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully through periodic elections based on universal
suffrage. The constitutional change in 2008, allowing for the president
to run for unlimited terms of office, greatly increased the difficulty
for citizens to change their government peacefully. Restrictions on
freedom of assembly and association, as well as restrictions on
political party activities, also limit this right.
Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution mandates
presidential elections every five years. In 2008 President Abdelaziz
Bouteflika announced his intention to seek parliamentary approval for a
set of constitutional amendments that included removal of presidential
term limits. One month later the parliament approved the proposed
amendments by a wide margin with minimal debate.
Recent Elections.--In 2009 the government held a contested,
multiparty presidential election in which the incumbent was elected to
a third term. Official election statistics indicated that President
Bouteflika won the election with 90.2 percent of the votes and a voter
turnout of 74.6 percent. Opposition parties and defeated candidates
estimated voter turnout was actually in the range of 18 to 55 percent.
Some international experts commented that observers monitored only
election-day procedures and were not on the ground to evaluate
preelection activities. Two opposition parties, the Rally for Culture
and Democracy (RCD) and the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), boycotted the
election. The LADDH pointed to a lack of critical debate in the media
and favorable treatment of the incumbent by state-owned media.
Political Parties.--The Ministry of Interior did not approve any
political parties during the year. In April Interior Minister Daho Ould
Kablia indicated that the ministry had received 42 requests to
authorize new political parties. In November Ould Kablia indicated that
there were only five or six political parties that would meet the
government's conditions for approval. Opposition candidates complained
that the ministry regularly blocked registered parties from holding
meetings and denied them access to larger and better-equipped
government conference rooms while facilitating the activities of the
pro-Bouteflika National Liberation Front (FLN).
A party must have received 4 percent of the vote, or at least 2,000
votes, in 25 wilayas (provinces) in one of the last three legislative
elections to participate in national elections, making it very
difficult in practice to create new political parties.
During the year the government banned independent groups, such as
the March 19th Facebook group, from meeting and demonstrating. During
the first four months of the year, police routinely prevented groups
and individuals from staging protests or marches in Algiers by
surrounding protesters with overwhelming numbers of police. Most
notably, police prevented the CNCD from holding weekly marches in
Algiers every Saturday from February until the group abandoned its
efforts to march in April.
Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party
banned in 1992, remained illegal due to the party's ties to the
violence of the 1990s, which is estimated to have claimed 200,000
lives. The law also bans political party ties to nonpolitical
associations and regulates party financing and reporting requirements.
According to the law political parties cannot receive direct or
indirect financial or material support from any foreign parties. The
law also stipulates that resources are collected from contributions of
the party's members, donations, and revenue from its activities, in
addition to possible state funding.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--In accordance with the law,
the government promoted political rights for women by encouraging
increased female representation within elected assemblies. In November
both houses of parliament passed a law setting the terms for expanding
women's representation in elected assemblies. In future elections,
women must make up between 20 and 50 percent of candidates depending on
the population and number of seats the wilaya holds in parliament's
lower house.
There were three women in the cabinet. Women also held 30 of the
389 seats in the Popular Assembly of the Nation, the lower legislative
chamber, and seven of the 144 seats in the Council of the Nation, the
upper chamber. A woman led the Workers Party, and three major political
parties--the FLN, National Rally for Democracy, and RCD--had women's
divisions headed by women.
The ethnic Amazigh (Berber) population of approximately 10 million
participated freely and actively in the political process and
represented one-third of the government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties of two to 10 years in prison
for official corruption, and the government implemented the law more
effectively than in previous years to address reports of continuing
government corruption. World Bank governance data reflected the
existence of a corruption problem.
Although a 2006 law established a national anticorruption program,
it does not require elected and senior officials to declare their
assets. The law does not provide parliamentary immunity in certain
cases. Two presidential decrees published in 2006, however, make high-
level government officials subject to financial disclosure laws. The
decrees also stipulate the formation of an anticorruption agency, and
the government announced its creation in August 2010 as well as new
policies to strengthen the role of the accounting court.
Irregularities, including the excessive use of private agreements,
often affected public procurement. According to the Ministry of Public
Works, following the president's 2005 prohibition on the use of private
agreements, including sole-source contracts, government agencies began
implementing a public tender policy for all infrastructure and large
government projects. For those public tenders, evaluations were not
released to participating companies, and evaluation methods and
techniques were not clearly defined. Some agencies, however, continued
to use direct contracts for public works projects. In July 2010 a
presidential decree mandated that all financial transactions involving
more than 500,000 dinars ($6,770) be conducted by credit card, check,
or other noncash method in an effort to increase financial
transparency, track illegal financing of terrorism, and reduce the
possibility of corruption. Since January customs officials suspended
109 agents for corruption and sent 20 cases for prosecution.
A notable corruption case in 2010 involved several private
businessmen and senior executives at the country's national oil
company, Sonatrach. The men apparently awarded contracts in violation
of the public procurement code. In January 2010 police arrested several
top company officials. Following the incident, in May 2010 then energy/
mines minister Chakib Khelil was relieved of his position during a
broad cabinet reshuffle. On May 4, a judge in Oran sentenced former
Sonatrach chief executive officer (CEO) Mohamed Meziane to two years in
prison with one year suspended. Sonatrach's former deputy chairman
Abdelhafid Faghouli and three executives received eight-month suspended
sentences for illegal contract letting and fraud.
In April 2010 an Algiers court ordered the arrest of the current
and former directors of the Port of Algiers and four other port
officials for misappropriation of public funds. On June 19, the Algiers
Appeals Court sentenced former port CEOs Bourouai Abdelhak and Farrah
Ali to six years in prison, while private businessmen Titache Redouane
and Miloud Mohamed also received six years in prison for their roles.
Four other port officials also received prison sentences of six years.
Although permitted under the constitution, authorities restricted
access to government information, and there is no law facilitating
access to information. Throughout the year the Ministry of Justice, in
cooperation with the U.N. Development Program, improved access to
information about the country's judicial system and developed a modern
information management system for penitentiaries. As a result citizens
were able to request personal legal records from the courts and receive
the documents the same day.
In May 2010 the government created the Ministry of Prospective
Planning and Statistics. However, lack of government transparency
remained a serious problem. Although the government generally did not
release many economic statistics, the new ministry released such
figures. Most ministries had Web sites, but not all were regularly
maintained to provide updated information. The Justice Ministry
provided information on citizens' rights and legislation. In August the
government launched a Web site, El Mouwatin, that contained a wide
variety of information on municipal and national government services.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government continued to restrict and to harass some local NGOs
and impeded the work of international NGOs. Although some human rights
groups, including the Algerian League of Human Rights (LADH) and LADDH,
were allowed to move about freely, the most active and visible
organizations reported interference by government authorities,
including surveillance, monitoring of telephone calls, difficulty in
securing meeting spaces, and difficulty in obtaining approval for
international speakers to address sensitive issues.
The government was not responsive publicly to reports and
recommendations from domestic and international human rights NGOs and
interfered with attempts by some domestic and international human
rights groups to investigate. Domestic NGOs must be licensed by the
government and are prohibited from receiving funding from abroad
without approval from the ministries of national solidarity and
interior. However, more than 100 unlicensed NGOs, such as women's
advocacy groups and charity organizations, operated openly. Unlicensed
NGOs did not receive government assistance, and citizens were at times
hesitant to associate with these organizations.
The most active independent human rights group was the LADDH, a
legally recognized NGO with members throughout the country. The LADDH
was not permitted access to government officials for human rights
advocacy or research purposes or to prisons, except for normal lawyer-
client consultations. The smaller LADH, a separate organization based
in Constantine, was licensed, and members throughout the country
monitored individual cases.
By law NGOs not legally recognized by the Interior Ministry can
conduct human rights investigations. Sometimes, however, the government
prevented even legally recognized NGOs from conducting investigations.
For example, the LADDH did not have access to prisons or detention
centers.
International NGOs continued to experience delays in obtaining
visas, and outright refusals occurred. The government maintained that
legislation did not allow branches of foreign NGOs to operate legally
in the country.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government continued to
deny requests for visits from the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or
Involuntary Disappearances (pending since 1997), the U.N. special
rapporteur on torture (pending since 1997), the U.N. special rapporteur
on extrajudicial executions (pending since 1998), the U.N. special
rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism (pending since 2006),
and the U.N. special rapporteur on arbitrary detention (pending since
2009). The government accepted visits of U.N. special rapporteurs on
violence against women in 2007 and freedom of religion or belief in
2002.
In April U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and
Expression Frank La Rue visited the country and initially could not
meet with unrecognized or unlicensed movements, political parties, or
NGOs. He rejected this condition and held successful meetings with
civil society representatives. In a departing press conference, La Rue
offered numerous, critical recommendations to the government, including
a plea to allow the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances to visit the country. Days after La Rue's departure,
Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said that the recommendations were
``inappropriate'' and added that ``those who want to give us lessons
must be careful not to do so.''
Farouk Ksentini, president of the CNCPPDH, was appointed by the
president and paid by the government. The CNCPPDH publishes an annual
report that provides measured criticism of the government. Ksentini
routinely criticized human rights-related reports from domestic and
international NGOs and foreign governments.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on birth, race,
gender, language, and social status. In general the government enforced
the nationality and family codes, although women continued to face
legal and social discrimination.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, spousal and nonspousal,
occurred. The law criminalizes nonspousal rape but does not address
spousal rape. Prison sentences for nonspousal rape range from one to
five years. Claims filed by women for rape and sexual abuse continued
to face judicial obstacles, and many women did not report incidents of
rape because of societal pressures and bureaucratic problems in
securing convictions. During the year women's rights activists reported
a significant increase in reports of violence against women.
Spousal abuse occurred. The penal code states that a person must be
incapacitated for 15 days or more and present a doctor's note
certifying the injuries before filing charges for battery.
Domestic NGOs reported that physical violence against women
increased. A report during the year from the national police reported
that within the first six months of 2010, more than 4,000 women lodged
domestic violence complaints with police. The report emphasized that
social status or educational background did not prevent domestic
violence. According to the police report, four women died in the first
months of 2010 because of domestic violence. In December the national
police reported that approximately 7,000 women were victims of domestic
violence during the first nine months of 2011. There were 13 call
centers to provide legal and psychological assistance.
During the year local women's NGOs, including SOS Femmes en
Detresse, the Wassila Network, and Bent Fatma N'Soumer, spoke against
violence in the family. SOS Femmes en Detresse and the Wassila Network
provided judicial and psychological counseling to abused women. Women's
rights groups experienced difficulty in drawing attention to spousal
abuse as an important social problem, largely due to traditional
societal attitudes. Several rape crisis centers run by women's groups
operated, but they had few resources. The Working Women section of the
General Union of Algerian Workers established a counseling center for
women suffering from sexual harassment in the workplace. SOS Femmes en
Detresse operated one call center in Algiers, but a second call center
in Batna was closed. During the first eight months of the year, the
Algiers call center received more than 1,400 calls.
Sexual Harassment.--The punishment for sexual harassment is one to
two years' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 dinars
(approximately $677 to $1,350). The punishment is doubled for a second
offense. According to the final report of the U.N. rapporteur, women
reported 99 cases of sexual harassment to the police between January
and October 2010. The majority of reported cases of harassment occurred
in the workplace. SOS Femmes en Detresse provided legal advice and
counseling to 860 women; however, only 40 of the women seeking
assistance filed formal complaints.
Reproductive Rights.--The government did not impose restrictions on
the right of couples and individuals to decide the number, timing, and
spacing of their children. There were no restrictions on access to
contraceptives, yet contraceptives were harder to obtain for single
women or women in rural areas. In 2009 the Health Ministry's Office of
Family Planning conducted a public health awareness campaign. According
to the office, 62 percent of women, mainly married, regularly used
contraceptives. Government hospitals provided skilled attendance during
childbirth as well as obstetric and postpartum care and equally
diagnosed and treated women for sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV. Due to restrictions women face under the family code,
which places women under the guardianship of men, as well as the social
influence of the country's religious movements, women encounter
pressure in making independent decisions about their health and
reproductive rights.
Discrimination.--Although the constitution provides for gender
equality, some aspects of the law and many traditional social practices
discriminate against women. In addition, religious extremists advocated
practices that restrict women's behavior, including freedom of
movement. In some rural regions, women faced extreme social pressure to
veil as a precondition for freedom of movement and employment. The
family code contains elements of Sharia (Islamic law). The family code
prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, although this
regulation was not always enforced. A woman may marry a foreigner and
transmit citizenship and nationality to both her children and spouse.
Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women.
Women can seek divorce for irreconcilable differences and violation
of a prenuptial agreement. In a divorce the law provides for the wife
to retain the family's home until children reach 18 years of age.
Custody of children normally is awarded to the mother, but she may not
make decisions on education or take the children out of the country
without the father's authorization. In practice, more women retained
the family's home if they had custody of the children.
The family code affirms the Islamic practice of allowing a man to
marry as many as four wives. According to the family code, polygamy is
only permitted upon the permission of the first wife and the
determination of a judge as to the husband's financial ability to
support an additional wife. In practice, however, this occurred in 1 to
2 percent of marriages.
Amendments to the family code supersede the Sharia requirement that
a male sponsor consent to the marriage of a woman. Although this
requirement has been formally retained and the sponsor continues to
contract the marriage, the woman may choose any man that she wishes to
be the sponsor. The sponsor represents the woman during the religious
or civil ceremony. Some families subject women to virginity tests
before marriage.
Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims and were
entitled to a smaller portion of an estate than male children or a
deceased husband's brothers. The law purports that such a distinction
is justified because other provisions require that the husband's income
and assets be used to support the family, while in principle the wife's
remain her own. In practice women did not often have exclusive control
over assets that they brought to a marriage or that they earned.
Married women may take out business loans and use their own financial
resources. Despite constitutional and legal provisions providing for
gender equality, in practice women faced discrimination in employment.
Leaders of women's organizations reported that discriminatory
violations were common and that women were less likely to receive equal
pay for equal work or receive promotions. In urban areas, there was
social encouragement for women to pursue higher education and/or a
career. Girls graduated from high school more frequently than did boys.
According to 2010 statistics, women represented 55 percent of the
medical profession, 60 percent of the media profession, 30 percent of
the upper levels of the legal profession, and more than 60 percent of
the education profession. In addition, 36 percent of judges were women.
Women served at all levels in the judicial system, and female police
officers were added to some precincts to assist women with abuse
claims. Of nine million workers nationally, two million were female.
Women may own businesses, enter into contracts, and pursue careers
similar to those of men.
Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship and nationality are
transmitted from the mother or father. Under the law, children born to
a Muslim father are Muslim, regardless of the mother's religion.
Child Abuse.--Child abuse is illegal but continued to be reported
as a problem. NGOs specializing in children cited continued instances
of domestic violence against children, which they attributed to a
``culture of violence'' stemming from civil strife in the 1990s,
including social dislocations caused by the movement of rural families
to the cities to escape terrorist violence. Experts assumed that many
cases went unreported because of familial reticence. The National
Foundation for Health Progress and Research Development (FOREM), a
children's rights watchdog NGO with EU funding, estimated that
approximately 10,000 children suffered some form of abuse, and 16 died
from physical violence. FOREM also reported that 36 children were
kidnapped in June. The national police report released in January
stated that 5,418 children were victims of physical abuse in 2010;
girls made up 2,072 of the victims. The same report revealed that 20
children died of severe physical abuse, and 177 were kidnapped in 2010.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The criminal code prohibits
solicitation for prostitution and stipulates prison sentences of
between 10 and 20 years when the offense is committed against a minor
under the age of 18 years. According to the law, the age for consensual
sex is 16 years. The law stipulates a prison sentence of between 10 and
20 years for rape when the victim is a minor, but this sentence was
rarely carried out. The law prohibits pornography and establishes
prison sentences of between two months and two years as well as fines
up to 2,000 dinars (approximately $27).
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.
Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish population numbered fewer than
2,000 persons, and there were no functioning synagogues. The government
did not promote antibias education, and there is no hate crime
legislation.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to
health care, or the provision of other state services, although in
practice the government did not effectively enforce these provisions,
and there was widespread social discrimination against persons with
disabilities. Few government buildings were accessible to persons with
disabilities. Public enterprises that downsized generally ignored a
requirement that they reserve 1 percent of jobs for persons with
disabilities. Social security provided payments for orthopedic
equipment. The Ministry of National Solidarity provided some financial
support to health-care-oriented NGOs, but for many NGOs such financial
support represented approximately 2 percent of their budgets.
The ministry maintained that there were two million individuals
with disabilities in the country, of whom the largest percentages were
classified as ``chronically ill'' or ``other'' (38 and 30 percent,
respectively). However, according to the Algerian Federation of
Wheelchair Associations, there were three million persons with
disabilities living in the country. The government estimated that
approximately 44 percent of disabled citizens had some form of motor
disability, 32 percent had communication difficulties, and 24 percent
suffered from a visual disability. The government classified
approximately 193,000 individuals as ``fully disabled'' and claimed
during the year to have appropriated 9.54 billion dinars (approximately
$129 million) for their welfare.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes
public homosexual behavior for males and females, and there is no
specific legal protection for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and
transgender (LGBT) persons. The law stipulates penalties that include
imprisonment of two months to two years and fines of 500 to 2,000
dinars (approximately $7 to $27). If a minor is involved, the adult may
face up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 dinars
(approximately $135).
According to the NGO Heartland Alliance, during the year a woman
engaged in grassroots LGBT activism received several death threats and
felt compelled to flee the country. There was societal discrimination
against homosexual conduct. While some LGBT persons lived openly, the
vast majority did not, and most feared reprisal from their families or
harassment from authorities
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was widely
considered a shameful disease in the country. From 1985 to September
2011, 6,615 Algerians were either HIV-positive or living with AIDS,
according to Ministry of Health statistics. During the year the
Ministry of Health identified 514 new HIV cases. However, the National
Foundation for Health Promotion and Research Development, an NGO,
released a study during the year that reported there are 12,000
infected with HIV in the country. There were 61 centers offering free
testing services to detect HIV/AIDS. Only 51 percent of women, both
single and married, noted use of condoms to prevent infection. In
response to societal discrimination, during the year the Ministry of
Health and the NGO AIDS Algerie launched an HIV/AIDS prevention
campaign, stressing the need to prevent discrimination, especially in
the workplace, against those with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution allows workers who are citizens to join unions of
their choice but requires workers to obtain government approval to form
a union. The law requires that the Ministry of Labor approve or
disapprove a union application within 30 days and allows for the
creation of autonomous unions. However, the government may invalidate a
union's legal status if its objectives are perceived by authorities as
contrary to the established institutional system, public order, good
morals, or the laws or regulations in force. The General Union of
Algerian Workers (UGTA) was the only legally recognized labor
confederation, representing a majority of public sector workers. The
law allows workers to form independent unions, but the union needs 20
percent representation and must obtain prior authority from the
government.
Unions have the right to form and join federations or
confederations. Unions may also recruit members at the workplace. The
law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members and
organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union complaints
of antiunion practices by employers.
The law permits unions to affiliate with international labor bodies
and develop relations with foreign labor groups. For example, the UGTA
is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
However, the law prohibits unions from associating with political
parties and also prohibits unions from receiving funds from foreign
sources. The courts are empowered to dissolve unions that engaged in
illegal activities.
The law provides for collective bargaining for all unions, and the
government permitted the exercise of this right, in practice, for
authorized unions; however, the UGTA remained the only union authorized
to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. According to the UGTA,
nine million workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements,
not including foreign migrant laborers.
The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised
this right in practice, subject to conditions. Striking requires a
secret ballot of the whole workforce and the government can restrict
strikes on a number of grounds, including economic crisis, obstruction
of public services, or possibility of subversive actions. Furthermore,
due to the emergency law in force, all public demonstrations, including
protests and strikes, must receive prior government authorization.
According to the law on industrial relations, workers may strike only
after 14 days of mandatory conciliation or mediation. On occasion, the
government offered to mediate disputes. The law states that decisions
reached in mediation are binding on both parties. If no agreement is
reached in mediation, the workers may strike legally after they vote by
secret ballot to do so. The law requires that a minimum level of
essential public services must be maintained during public-sector
service strikes. The International Labor Organization (ILO) noted that
the list of essential services is broad and includes services such as
banking and radio/television. The ILO expressed concern regarding what
it deemed excessive penalties ranging from eight days to two months
imposed by the government on workers participating in peaceful strikes.
There were no new independent unions formed during the year. Many
trade unions were not recognized as the government interfered with
attempts to register. For instance, since 2002 the National Union of
Vocational Training Workers (Syndicat National des Travailleurs de la
Formation Professionnelle), was unable to register.
Attempts by new unions to form federations or confederations also
were obstructed by delaying administrative maneuvers, such as delays in
processing registration requests. Since 1996 the Autonomous Unions
Confederation, which functions without official status, repeatedly
attempted to organize the autonomous unions, without success. The
government did not allow the Autonomous Union of Public Sector Workers
(SNAPAP) to register as a national confederation. SNAPAP and other
autonomous unions faced government interference throughout the year,
including official obstruction of general assembly meetings and police
harassment during sit-in protests. Furthermore, unions in multinational
companies, specifically in oil and gas production, were nonexistent due
to antiunion practices and threats and harassment by employers.
On May 8, unknown persons stole two computers from the Union House
in Algiers, a place where the CNCD was created. In June the
International Trade Union Confederation released a report on trade
union rights denouncing the government's ability to deem strikes
illegal. It also reported that the flexibility of independent unions in
the public sector is tightly controlled and that the creation of unions
is hampered by excessive restrictions and government intervention.
Several dozen strikes occurred throughout the country. Authorities
rarely give permits for public gatherings. The authorities tolerated
strikes but continued to enforce a ban on marches and demonstrations in
Algiers that has been in effect since 2001.
From March 7 to May 23, physicians and medical residents carried
out a strike demanding higher pay and the cancellation of the civil
service duty, performed in difficult conditions. On April 4, Health
Minister Djamel Ould Abbes called this strike movement ``illegal and
unacceptable.''
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were
reports from the Ministry of Labor and NGOs that such practices
occurred. Forced labor conditions existed for migrant workers that were
not fully protected by labor law. Construction workers and female
domestic workers were reportedly vulnerable.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits participation by minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or
harmful work or in work that is considered inappropriate because of
social and religious considerations. The minimum legal age for
employment is 16 years, but children that are younger may work as
apprentices with permission from their parents or legal guardian. The
law prohibits minors from working in dangerous or harmful work, but it
does not establish a list of hazardous occupations prohibited to
minors, nor does it cover work in the informal sector.
On June 11, UNICEF representative in Algiers stated that 340,000
children worked in various sectors in the country, adding that the
phenomenon is taking on alarming proportions. Children faced forms of
child labor primarily in agriculture and the construction sector, and
in the informal sector as domestic servants. However, specific data was
unavailable.
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor
laws, but enforcement was limited. The ministry conducted and in some
cases investigated companies suspected of hiring under aged workers.
However, monitoring and enforcement practices for child labor were not
consistent and were hampered by an insufficient number of inspectors.
During the year the NGO FOREM implemented a public awareness campaign
to encourage children to remain in school until 16 years of age, rather
than participating in the workforce. Approximately 100,000 students
dropped out of school annually to join the workforce, according to
FOREM.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of
15,000 dinars (approximately $203) per month was established in 2009
following a tripartite social pact between business, government and the
official union. This did not provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. In September the tripartite agreed to increase the
monthly minimum wage to 18,000 dinars (approximately $244). Autonomous
unions, which were not included in tripartite talks, reported the
increase was inadequate and would not affect the majority of workers
who already earn more than the minimum wage. Families making only 8,000
dinars (approximately $108) per month are considered to be living in
poverty.
The standard workweek was 40 hours, including one hour for lunch
per day. Employees who worked longer than the standard workweek
received premium pay on a sliding scale from time-and-a-half to double-
time, depending on whether the overtime was worked on a normal workday,
a weekend, or a holiday.
The law contains occupational health and safety standards, which
were not fully enforced. There were no known reports of workers being
dismissed for removing themselves from hazardous working conditions. If
workers face such conditions, they reserve the right to renegotiate
their contract or, failing that, resort to the courts. While this legal
mechanism exists, the high demand for employment in the country gave an
advantage to employers seeking to exploit employees. Economic migrants
from sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere working in the country without
legal immigration status were not protected by the country's labor
standards, making them vulnerable to exploitation. Labor law does not
adequately cover migrant workers, who primarily are employed in the
construction and domestic help sectors.
In general the Ministry of Labor enforced labor standards,
including ensuring compliance with the minimum wage regulation and
safety standards. However, broad enforcement remained ineffective and
insufficient.
__________
BAHRAIN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Bahrain is a monarchy. Noncitizens make up slightly more than half
of the population. King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, the head of state,
appoints the cabinet of ministers; approximately half are members of
the Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family. The parliament consists of an
appointed upper house (the Shura Council) and the elected Council of
Representatives. Approximately 17 percent of eligible voters
participated in parliamentary by-elections on September 24. Independent
human rights organizations did not consider these elections to be free
and fair; a boycott by opposition political societies affected the
outcome in the already extensively gerrymandered districts. Security
forces reported to civilian authorities during most of the year.
Beginning in February the country experienced a sustained period of
unrest, including mass protests calling for political reform. Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) Peninsula Shield Forces (PSF) troops were
stationed in the country as a result of the unrest. Royal Decree Number
18 implemented an emergency State of National Safety (SNS) from March
15 to June 1 in accordance with the constitution. Military and civilian
security forces carried out extensive security operations, including
attacks on peaceful protesters at the former GCC Roundabout (commonly
referred to as the Pearl Roundabout and subsequently renamed Al Farooq
Junction) in Manama on February 17. Fifty-two confirmed deaths during
the year may be linked to the unrest. There were 35 deaths between
February 14 and April 15 alone, according to the Bahrain Independent
Commission of Inquiry (BICI), and there were reports of an additional
17 related deaths throughout the rest of the year. Five of the 35
persons died as a result of torture inflicted by elements of security
services during the SNS. During the year rioters attacked South Asian
residents, killing at least two.
The most egregious human rights problems reported in 2011 included
the inability of citizens to peacefully change their government; the
dismissal and expulsion of workers and students for engaging in
political activities; the arbitrary arrest and detention of thousands,
including medical personnel, human rights activists, and political
figures, sometimes leading to their torture and/or death in detention;
and lack of due process.
Other significant human rights concerns included arbitrary
deprivation of life; detention of prisoners of conscience; reported
violations of privacy and restrictions on civil liberties, including
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious
practices. In some instances the government imposed and enforced travel
bans on political activists. Discrimination on the basis of gender,
religion, nationality, and sect persisted, especially against the Shia
population. The government demolished multiple Shia religious sites and
structures during the year. There were reports of domestic violence
against women and children. Trafficking in persons and restrictions on
the rights of foreign workers continued to be significant problems.
The king established the BICI on June 29 and granted it authority
to investigate and report on the events in February and March and their
aftermath. The BICI report, released on November 23, identified a
``culture of impunity'' in the security services and expressed concern
about the lack of accountability for human rights violations, among
other findings.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were a number
of reports that government security forces committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. The BICI report attributed 19 civilian deaths in the
spring to security forces; of these it attributed 14 to the Ministry of
Interior (MOI), three to the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF), one to the
Bahrain National Security Agency (BNSA), and one to an unnamed security
agency. Thirteen of these deaths were due to the use of firearms, five
to torture in custody, and one to physical injuries as the result of
beating. Of the 14 deaths attributable to the MOI, the BICI concluded
that nine resulted from excessive use of force and three from
mistreatment in custody; there was not enough evidence to determine
cause of death in the other two cases. Of the five persons whose deaths
resulted from torture, three died in MOI custody, one four days after
being released from MOI custody, and one at the BDF Hospital after
being transferred from BNSA custody (see section 1.c., Prison and
Detention Center Conditions). The BICI report also discussed 11 deaths
that took place beyond the February-March period covered by its report,
for which it did not assign responsibility. It noted, however, that the
deaths may have been the result of incidents related to protest
activity or excessive use of force by security forces (see also section
2.b., Freedom of Assembly). Local human rights organizations maintained
that six additional deaths were linked indirectly to clashes between
protesters and security forces, particularly due to exposure to tear
gas.
On March 16, Isa Radhi Abdali Ahmed Alradhi died in Sitra from
injuries that included a fractured skull and internal bleeding in the
brain caused by head trauma. The BICI report noted that clashes between
residents and police broke out in Sitra on March 15, when a large
operation by plainclothes police and military personnel took place. A
witness stated he saw 15 police officers beat Alradhi for approximately
20 minutes. The BICI concluded that his death was the result of
excessive use of force. A forensic report confirmed that the deceased
sustained multiple injuries consistent with beatings. The MOI initiated
an investigation into this incident but gave no further details.
On March 19, Hani Abdulaziz Abdulla Jumaa, who was seen being
chased by approximately 15 riot police in the predominantly Shia
village of Al Khamis, died of gunshot injuries to the right leg, left
leg, and left arm. It was unclear why police were pursuing Jumaa. He
was reportedly beaten, shot, and abandoned. He was taken to
International Hospital and then BDF Hospital where he died later that
day. A forensic report showed that the wounds were caused by three or
more shots at a distance of three feet or less and that the deceased
also sustained many bruises on his head, face, chest, and shoulders.
The MOI stated that it was investigating Jumaa's death and identified
the officer responsible, who was subsequently suspended from duty.
b. Disappearance.--The BICI stated it was not able to identify
instances of enforced disappearance. Nevertheless, there were cases in
which the government concealed or withheld information about detainees'
whereabouts for days or weeks from detainees and/or their families (see
section 1.c.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits ``harm[ing] an accused person
physically or mentally.'' Nevertheless, domestic and international
human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the BICI
documented numerous instances of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment during the SNS. Detainees asserted
that security officials beat them, sometimes while they were
blindfolded and often with clubs, whips, or rubber hoses. Officials
reportedly used electric shocks on their victims; suspended them upside
down; placed them in solitary confinement, sometimes in extreme
temperatures; and burned body parts with lighters. Many reports
followed a similar pattern of abuse: arbitrary arrest, beating without
interrogation, beating with interrogation, harassment and intimidation
without further physical abuse, and then release of the detainee after
any visible wounds or signs of mistreatment had healed. Most victims
were Shia.
On April 27, the Office of the Inspector General at the MOI
announced in a press statement that it had received more than 1,200
calls on its hotline for reporting abuse. During the period following
the establishment of the SNS, the quasigovernmental National Human
Rights Institute also established a hotline to report abuses.
The BICI investigated 559 complaints concerning the treatment of
detainees, of which all but nine were Shia. Fifty-nine of those who
submitted complaints underwent forensic examination. A general pattern
of mistreatment emerged from the investigations. Three government
agencies--the MOI, BNSA, and BDF--were involved in interrogating
detainees in relation to the unrest in February and March. The primary
interrogation facilities in which detainees reported mistreatment
included the Al Adliya MOI Criminal Investigation Division (CID),
BNSA's Al Qalaa, and police stations in Al Rifaa, Al Qudaibiya,
Samaheej, Al Nuaim, Nabih Saleh, Al Budaiya, and Sitra. There were also
some complaints of mistreatment in Al Qurain (BDF), Dry Dock Detention
Center (MOI), Jow Prison (MOI), and Isa Town Detention Center for Women
(MOI), the locations where most detainees were held. Detainees at Al
Qurain reported that their mistreatment ceased after June 10, when the
military attorney general took control of the facility. Reports of
detainee mistreatment continued at other facilities. A large number of
the 179 detainees held by the BNSA reported mistreatment, including
torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The
most common techniques included blindfolding detainees; forcing them to
stand for prolonged periods; beating, punching, and hitting them with
rubber hoses, cables, whips, metal, wooden planks or other objects;
electrocution; sleep-deprivation; exposure to extreme temperatures;
verbal abuse; threats to rape the detainee or family members; and
insulting the detainee's religious sect (Shia).
The physical and psychological mistreatment by the BNSA and MOI was
aimed in some cases at extracting confessions and statements under
duress, while in other cases was intended for the purposes of
retribution and punishment. The BICI concluded that the two
institutions engaged in the systematic physical and psychological
mistreatment of a large number of detainees that, in many cases,
amounted to torture. The ``culture of impunity'' that the BICI report
identified meant that security officials had few incentives not to
mistreat prisoners or to take action to prevent mistreatment by other
officials.
Subsequent to the commencement of BICI investigation, the MOI
reported to the BICI that it had received 132 claims of mistreatment.
The MOI investigated 84 of these and prosecuted 10. The BNSA reportedly
commenced a general investigation, but no further details were
available. On December 24, the public prosecutor announced he would
assume responsibility for all cases related to allegations of torture
or mistreatment of detainees by MOI personnel.
In one case, 14 prominent political activists--Ibrahim Sharif
Abdulraheem Mossa, Hassan Ali Mushaima, Abdulwahab Hussain Ali,
Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singace, Mohammed Habib Al
Safaf (aka Mohammed Habib Miqdad), Saeed Mirza Ahmed, Abduljalil
Mansoor Makki (aka Abdul Jalil Miqdad), Al Hurra Yousif Mohammed,
Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos, Salah Hubail Al Khawaja, Mohammed Hassan
Jowad, Mohammed Ali Ismael, and Abdulhadi Abdullah Mahdi Hassan--
reported mistreatment while in the custody of BNSA between mid-March
and April 13, during which time they were transferred to BDF custody at
Al Qurain Prison. The BDF reported that a medical doctor examined the
detainees when they arrived at that facility and that some showed signs
of physical abuse. According to the BICI, detainees at Al Qurain Prison
reported that abuse ceased and conditions improved dramatically after
June 10.
During the SNS court trial of medical personnel charged with felony
crimes at Salmaniya Medical Complex in Manama, the defendants filed a
motion alleging torture while in CID custody beginning in mid-March.
They stated that confessions had been extracted from them under
torture. In interviews with the international press, at least 20
medical personnel reported that unidentified security officials used
electric shocks; kicked and beat them with sticks, plastic hoses, and
shoes; and threatened them with rape and/or injury to family members.
The SNS Court rejected the defendants' motion and ruled that the
confessions were admissible in the trial. All of the defendants were
convicted and received prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years.
Defendants appealed the judgment to the civilian appellate court, and
the attorney general amended the charges and disallowed the
confessions. The appeal was ongoing at year's end.
At times children were also subjected to torture and other cruel,
inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment. The BICI report found
that authorities detained children, sometimes under the age of 15, and
subjected them to various forms of mistreatment, including beating,
slapping, kicking, lashing with rubber hoses, and verbal abuse that was
sectarian in nature. In one incident, on August 1, BICI investigators
visited the Budaiya police station and witnessed several detained
teenage boys standing blindfolded and handcuffed. All had been beaten,
and one 14-year-old boy had cigarette burns on his chest. The BICI
report also concluded that security forces caused psychological trauma
to young children during forced-entry raids of private homes,
frequently forcing them from their beds and separating them from their
parents.
On February 21, the king suspended the high-profile trial and
ordered the release from prison of 23 Shia activists arrested in August
and September 2010 and charged with attempting to ``overthrow the
government,'' among other offenses. The defendants reportedly were
tortured in detention. Some of the 23 were rearrested following the
imposition of the SNS and were part of the trial of the 14 prominent
political activists who reported abuse while in the custody of the BNSA
and the BDF. On June 22, those who were rearrested were convicted in
the SNS court on separate charges, including attempting to ``overthrow
the government,'' and sentenced to terms ranging from 15 years to life
in prison. They remained in Jow Prison at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in detention
centers were often harsh and sometimes life-threatening. It was unclear
whether prison conditions changed following the lifting of the SNS and
the establishment of the BICI. In addition to alleged torture and abuse
of detainees at police stations and detention centers across the
country during the SNS, the BICI report identified cases of four
detainee deaths during pretrial detention. For example, Ali Isa Ibrahim
Saqer, who was accused of running over a police officer with a car,
reportedly turned himself over to police on April 5 after his house was
raided several times. He died in MOI custody on April 9. In May the
interior minister announced the arrest of five prison guards in
connection with Saqer's death. Two of the accused were charged in the
MOI military court with manslaughter while the other three were charged
with failing to report a crime. All were charged with engaging in
action contrary to military dignity. On December 30, the public
prosecutor announced that a new trial would begin in early January 2012
in the civilian courts. According to the prosecutor, the two
individuals accused of manslaughter would face charges of torture and
the three others would face negligence charges for not reporting the
incident.
The BICI reported numerous allegations of poor detention
conditions. Several detainees were refused access to toilet facilities
for prolonged periods, most often at the CID and Al Asri detention
centers. There were reports of lack of access to water for drinking and
the washing necessary during the preparation for prayer, the lack of
shower facilities and soap, and the unhygienic state of toilet
facilities. Detainees were sometimes subjected to extreme temperatures.
The MOI reported that Jow prison housed more than 1,100 prisoners.
During the SNS, detainees were held at detention centers across the
country as well as at the BDF facility, Qurain Prison. There was no
information as to whether the conditions of female prisoners were
different than those of male prisoners. Juveniles above the age of 15
were held together with adults. Pretrial detainees were not typically
held with convicted detainees, although this practice did occur at some
facilities, including Qurain Prison, during the SNS period. Political
and security prisoners faced significantly harsher treatment than other
prisoners during the SNS period. Following the establishment of the
BICI, their treatment reportedly improved. No known steps were taken
during the year to improve recordkeeping or to use alternatives to
sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
Detainees were generally permitted visits, but access was severely
restricted during the SNS. Some detainees during the SNS period said
they were prevented from praying, generally during their first or
second day after arrest, but this was not a common complaint. During
the SNS period, prisoners reported that complaints of inhumane
conditions, especially those addressed to the military prosecutor, went
unacknowledged. It was unknown if there were prison ombudsmen.
On December 8, the MOI announced that the interior minister had
signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC) allowing the ICRC to visit inmates at its
reformation and rehabilitation centers and detention centers in
accordance with ICRC standards. The last time the government permitted
the ICRC to monitor prison conditions was in 2001. By year's end no
visit had taken place.
According to the BICI, on April 20, the MOI established an internal
committee to supervise and review both its long-term and police-station
detention centers. The committee is required to conduct spontaneous
inspections to ensure that appropriate safety and security safeguards
are in place and that detainees' rights are respected. The committee
was tasked with reporting any problems approximately twice monthly to
the inspector general. These reports were not made public, and it was
unknown whether they were submitted as planned. In August the MOI
finalized posters aimed at prison officers detailing the rights of
detainees under domestic and international law. The BICI was informed
that these were on display in all prisons and detention centers.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. However, local and international human
rights organizations reported that during and subsequent to the SNS
there were many cases of arbitrary arrest.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI is responsible
for public security and controls the public security force and
specialized security units that are responsible for maintaining
internal order. The BDF is responsible for defending against external
threats and provides internal security. It was deployed within the
country on February 17-19 and again on March 15-June 1 during the SNS.
During the SNS, four security agencies, following directives issued by
the BDF commander in chief, had primary responsibility for internal
security: the BDF, MOI, BNSA, and National Guard.
The BICI found that a ``culture of impunity'' pervaded the security
apparatus during the SNS. Security forces were not wholly effective in
maintaining order prior to the SNS and were often accused of using
excessive force during and after the SNS. The MOI maintained a hotline
for citizens to report police abuses, but most in the Shia community
believed the government condoned police misconduct and therefore did
not report allegations of abuse. Although internal mechanisms for
investigating abuses existed under the MOI Office of the Inspector
General, the BICI found that MOI personnel committed abuses without
significant consequences. The internal and external mechanisms for
investigating allegations of abuses by BNSA officials were unclear. On
December 8, the MOI announced that the ICRC would begin training
courses on human rights and international humanitarian law for MOI
personnel. The MOI commenced ICRC training courses before year's end.
There were instances during the first half of March in which
security forces inadequately responded to violence, and a sense of
insecurity and lawlessness grew during this period. Popular committees
to protect neighborhoods were created in both Shia and Sunni areas,
culminating in sectarian confrontations, the worst of which took place
at the University of Bahrain on March 13. Police did not respond in
time to prevent sectarian clashes between hundreds of students and
vigilantes.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law,
in order to apprehend a felony suspect, police must under most
circumstances present evidence to a judge, who decides whether to issue
an arrest warrant. This process was not always enforced. However,
during the SNS there was no requirement for a warrant. According to the
law, an individual who is arrested must be interrogated immediately by
the arresting authority and cannot be detained for more than 48 hours,
after which the detainee must either be released or transferred to the
Public Prosecution for further questioning. The Public Prosecution is
required to question the detainee within 24 hours and the detainee has
the right to legal counsel during questioning. In order to hold the
detainee longer, the Public Prosecution must issue a formal detention
order based on the charges against the detainee. Detention may be
extended for a period of up to seven days for further questioning. If
any further extension is required, the detainee must be brought before
a judge, who may authorize a further extension not exceeding 45 days.
Any extensions beyond that must be authorized by the Higher Criminal
Court and renewed in 45-day intervals. In the case of alleged acts of
terror, law enforcement officials may detain individuals for five days,
with a 10-day extension granted by the Public Prosecution, and the
initial detention authorized by the Public Prosecution can be 60 days.
In most cases, attorneys must seek a court order to confer with
clients. The state provided counsel to indigent detainees. There was a
functioning system of bail that provided maximum and minimum bail
amounts based on the charges. The bail law allows the presiding judge
to determine the amount within these parameters on a case-by-case
basis.
According to the BICI, during the SNS, many detainees were held for
weeks or months with limited, if any, access to the outside world.
There was no access to the courts to challenge the lawfulness of
detention. Detainees were denied access to lawyers, sometimes for long
periods and sometimes until the day of their trials. In addition the
government withheld information from detainees and/or their families
about the detainees' whereabouts for days or weeks. In a few cases, the
government failed to acknowledge it was holding individuals in
detention for up to two weeks. There were multiple reports of detainees
held incommunicado for weeks or months.
Arbitrary Arrest.--During the period of the SNS, the BNSA, BDF,
National Guard, and MOI (in particular the CID and the Public Security
Forces, which include the riot police) arbitrarily arrested numerous
individuals. The SNS decree authorized the military prosecutor to issue
arrest warrants for an indefinite period of time without having to
state the evidentiary basis or to secure judicial authorization. During
the SNS, police and other authorities were not required to produce an
arrest warrant before arrest. There were numerous reports that
detainees were not allowed access to relatives or lawyers for weeks
following arrest.
On May 2, a group of armed masked men wearing civilian clothes and
using civilian cars reportedly ambushed Matar Ibrahim Matar, a former
member of parliament and member of the Shia opposition political
society Al-Wifaq, in the street without an arrest warrant. They forced
him from his car at gunpoint, then drove him away for what family
members were told would be an investigation. According to media sources
and human rights organizations, Matar was held incommunicado for three
weeks before he was allowed to contact his family. Matar's attorney
requested the government to allow him to attend his client's
interrogation and trial, but his request was denied. The attorney and
Matar's family received information on an informal basis about his
trial at the SNS courts and were granted permission to attend just in
time for the trial. Matar was released on August 7, but his trial was
transferred to civilian courts and was ongoing at year's end. He faced
charges of ``participating in illegal gatherings'' for the purpose of
``disrupting public security,'' ``calling for illegal gatherings,'' and
``inciting the overthrow of the regime.''
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the king controls the judicial system.
According to the constitution, the king appoints all judges by royal
decree. He also serves as chairperson of the Supreme Judicial Council,
the body responsible for supervising the work of the courts, and the
public prosecutor. During the year the government used a hybrid
military-civilian court to try civilians, including opposition leaders,
political activists, rights activists, and others who supported or were
perceived as supporting the protest movement.
Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution, defendants are
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil and criminal trial
procedures provide for a public trial. There are no jury trials. By law
and in practice, defendants have the right to prompt consultation with
an attorney of their choice within 48 hours (unless they are charged
pursuant to counterterrorism legislation). The government provided
counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants have the right to present
witnesses and evidence on their behalf and question witnesses against
them. No law governs defendants' access to government-held evidence and
such evidence is available at the discretion of the court. Defendants
have the right to appeal. Women's legal rights varied according to Shia
or Sunni interpretations of Islamic law (see section 6).
The SNS court system, created by Royal Decree Number 18 on August
18, was composed of a lower court and a higher appellate chamber. Each
chamber was composed of a presiding military judge appointed by the BDF
commander in chief and two civilian judges. The military prosecutor
handled all SNS cases. The SNS courts had jurisdiction over crimes
deemed related to the SNS law, such as protest activities, violence
against public officials, weapons violations, acts of terror, and those
that relate to foreign or local security threats to the state. Although
the trials were not public, family members and members of the
international community and the human rights community were allowed to
attend sessions of trials if granted permission by the military
judiciary. The courts were conducted in military fashion, and the
presiding judge often dismissed claims of torture by defendants,
according to the BICI. According to activists and human rights
organizations, SNS trials were unfair, and violations of due process
occurred during proceedings. Common allegations were that detainees
were not informed of charges against them, provided adequate access to
legal counsel, given full access to evidence presented against them, or
permitted to testify on their behalf in court. There were also
allegations that statements made under torture or threat of torture
were admitted by courts.
Following the issuance of Royal Decree Number 18, a series of royal
decrees allowed appeals of SNS convictions in, and later the transfer
of SNS cases to, the civilian court system. Royal Decree Number 48
requires the Court of Cassation to review death sentences issued by the
SNS courts. On June 29, Royal Decree Number 62 announced the transfer
of all cases and appeals not yet adjudicated by the SNS courts to
civilian courts. This was partially reversed on August 18, when Law-by-
Decree Number 28 was issued stating that ongoing felony cases would
take place in the SNS courts whereas ongoing misdemeanor cases would be
subject to civilian court review. In addition, the law-by-decree
expanded convicted persons' right to appeal SNS appellate court
judgments to the Public Prosecution and in the Court of Cassation
(including those who had not received death sentences). The SNS courts
officially closed on October 7. Some of the cases transferred to the
civilian courts were suspended while others were ongoing at year's end.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Human rights organizations and
the BICI reported that many of those arrested during the SNS period
were targeted because of their political activism. Some detainees were
leaders of, or affiliated with, political groups, including Ibrahim
Sharif, secretary general of the secular, pansectarian, Wa'ad political
society, and Shaikh Mohammed Ali Al Mahfoodh, secretary general of the
registered Shia opposition political society Amal. On June 22, a SNS
court sentenced Sharif to five years' imprisonment on various dubious
charges that included ``attempting to overthrow the regime.'' On
October 4, a SNS court convicted Al Mahfoodh on charges that included
seeking to overthrow the regime by force, inciting public hatred, and
spreading false news. At year's end both cases were under appeal in the
civilian system, and both men remained in prison.
According to the NGO Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), during
the SNS period more than 1,800 citizens were detained for activities
related to the unrest. Many were arrested for their alleged involvement
in protests or political activities, but it is unclear how many could
be classified as political prisoners.
Political prisoners during the SNS were not given the same
protections as other prisoners, according to the BICI, and were not
given access to international humanitarian organizations.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may bring civil
suits before a court seeking cessation of or damages for some types of
human rights violations. However, in many such situations, the law
prevents citizens from filing civil suits against security agencies. On
August 28, the king announced a compensation fund for individuals who
were ``materially, morally, or physically harmed'' by security forces
or public officials during protests during the year.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the constitution prohibits such actions, the
government violated these prohibitions during the SNS, and there were
reports by human rights organizations that such violations may have
continued after the end of the SNS. Human rights organizations reported
that security forces entered homes without authorization. The BICI
reported that ``in many cases, the arresting units forcibly entered
.homes., destroyed personal property, including cars, failed ..to
identify themselves or . inform the arrested individual of the reasons
for arrest or to show arrest warrants, and acted in an aggressive and,
at times, terrorizing manner towards members of the household,
including women and children.''
The government is required to obtain a court order before
monitoring telephone calls, e-mail, and personal correspondence.
Many Shia citizens and human rights organizations believed there
were extensive police informer networks, but they were unable to
provide concrete evidence.
According to the BICI report, the BNSA monitored the activities of
individuals and groups inside the country thought to constitute a
threat to national security during the events of February and March.
According to the BICI report, detainees often received threats from
security officials that their family members would face reprisals for
the detainees' activities.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press,
``provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not
infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or
sectarianism are not aroused.'' In practice the government limited
freedom of speech and press through a variety of means, including the
active prosecution of individuals in both civilian and SNS courts under
the press law, libel and slander laws, and national security-related
laws.
Freedom of Speech.--The law forbids any speech that infringes on
public order or morals. While individuals openly expressed critical
opinions regarding domestic political and social issues in private
settings, those who publicly expressed such opinions faced
repercussions. There were multiple reports that government and
parastatal employers dismissed or suspended workers for statements made
either in person or through social media. During the year the
government also prosecuted individuals in SNS and civilian courts for
incitement against the government and insulting public officials.
On March 27, police arrested Fadhila Mubarak Ahmed at a security
checkpoint for ``playing music calling for the overthrow of the
regime.'' Security forces claimed she refused to turn down the music
and physically and verbally insulted a police officer. She was taken to
a police station in Riffa and was later transferred to a police station
in Isa Town. Security forces allegedly beat her while she was in
custody. On May 18, the lower SNS court sentenced Ahmed, along with
eight others, to four years' imprisonment for insulting a public
official, calling openly for hatred of the regime, and taking part in
illegal protests. On June 8, an appeals court reduced her sentence to
18 months. She remained in prison at year's end.
On March 30, Ayat Al Qurmozi, a university student, turned herself
in to authorities following multiple raids on her family home. Al
Qurmozi had risen to prominence following her recitation of original
poems critical of the government at two demonstrations at the GCC/Pearl
Roundabout in February and March. On two earlier occasions, masked
members of the security forces raided her parents' house and threatened
to kill her brothers unless she came forward, according to Amnesty
International. She was held incommunicado for the first 15 days of her
detention, during which time she was reportedly tortured. On June 13, a
SNS court convicted Al Qurmozi of inciting hatred against the regime
and taking part in an illegal gathering. On July 13, she was released
from prison. On November 21, Al Qurmozi's defense attorney announced
that the court of appeal had suspended the case upon the request of the
public prosecutor.
Freedom of Press.--The government did not own any print media, but
the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) and other government entities
exercised considerable control over privately owned domestic print
media. The government refused visas to many international media
representatives.
On March 15, unknown vandals attacked the offices and printing
presses of the independent Al Wasat newspaper, forcing it to stop
publishing and to relocate its offices. On April 2, the IAA briefly
suspended Al Wasat and blocked its Web site after a program called Al
Rasid (The Observer) on state-run Bahrain Television alleged that the
newspaper had published false news and photographs. On April 3,
security officials detained Al Wasat's cofounder and board member,
Abdul Kareem Fakhrawi, after he responded to a Sanabis police station
summons. He died as a result of torture while in BNSA custody,
according to the BICI. The IAA stated that Al Wasat was suspended for
``unprofessional and unethical'' reporting and ordered an inquiry into
the newspaper's activities. The government published a 30-page report
alleging that Al Wasat intended to ``target'' the country's security
and stability by misleading readers through ``lies, falsification, and
plagiarism.'' The newspaper resumed publication on April 4, following
the resignation of another founder and editor in chief, Mansoor Al-
Jamri, and other senior staff members. Al-Jamri was rehired as editor
in chief in August.
The government owned and operated all domestic radio and television
stations. Radio and television broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi, and English
from countries in the region, including by satellite, were generally
received without interference. The IAA reviewed all books and
publications prior to issuing printing licenses. The Ministry of
Justice and Islamic Affairs reviewed books that discussed religion.
Violence and Harassment.--According to Reporters without Borders,
there were many reports of journalists being harassed, arrested, or
attacked due to their reporting during the year. The Committee to
Protect Journalists and Reporters without Borders documented the
detention of and physical assaults on journalists, including the deaths
of two in custody, as well as government-sponsored billboards and
advertisements smearing journalists and activists. The government also
denied entry to, deported, and harassed foreign journalists during the
year. For example, on March 16, the IAA required CNN reporter Mohammed
Jamjoom to leave the country. The authorities did not provide a reason
for his expulsion, but observers believed it was likely due to his
critical reporting.
On May 22, police summoned and interrogated Nazeeha Saeed, a
journalist for France 24 and Monte Carlo Radio. Authorities accused her
of participating in protests and calling for the downfall of the
regime, charges that she denied. She claimed that interrogators
insulted her and questioned her about journalistic reports she had
written for international media outlets. She reported that police
officers repeatedly kicked and beat her with a rubber hose, applied
electric shocks to her arm, poured urine on her face, forced a shoe
into her mouth, and plunged her head into a toilet to simulate
drowning. At the end of the interrogation, officials forced her to sign
a document that she was not permitted to read. The journalist later
filed a report of the incident with the MOI. On May 24, physicians from
Doctors without Borders examined her, following which she traveled to
Paris for medical treatment. On May 25, the interior minister announced
an investigation into the reported abuse; there was no update at year's
end.
Censorship and Content Restrictions.--Government censorship
occurred. IAA personnel actively monitored and blocked stories on
matters deemed sensitive, especially those related to sectarianism,
national security, or criticism of the royal family, the Saudi royal
family, or the judiciary. Journalists widely practiced self-censorship.
According to some members of the media, government officials contacted
editors directly and told them to stop writing about certain subjects
or told them not to publish a press release or a story.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The government enforced libel and
national security-related laws restricting freedom of press. The law
provides for fines of as much as 10,000 dinars ($26,500) and prison
sentences of at least six months for criticizing the king or inciting
actions that undermine state security, as well as fines of up to 2,000
dinars ($5,300) for 14 related offenses. Punishable activities include
publicizing statements issued by a foreign state or organization before
obtaining the consent of the IAA president, publishing any reports that
may adversely affect the dinar's value, reporting any offense against a
head of a state that maintains diplomatic relations with the country,
and publishing offensive remarks about an accredited representative of
a foreign country because of acts connected with the person's position.
On June 14, the government announced it would sue British newspaper
The Independent for libel over an article written by correspondent
Robert Fisk. The government accused the newspaper of deliberately
``orchestrating a defamatory and premeditated media campaign'' and
``failing to abide by professional impartiality and credibility in its
one-sided news-coverage and reports.'' The status of the libel case
remained unknown at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted Internet freedom and
monitored individuals' online activities, including via social media,
punishing many during the year.
The governmental Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA)
ordered service providers to block Internet users' access to certain
Web sites, including sites those officials considered antigovernment,
anti-Islamic, or likely to incite sectarian tensions. During the year
the government blocked the Web site of at least one human rights NGO,
the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). The government also blocked
the Web sites of a number of opposition groups, including the Wifaq and
Wa'ad political societies, for extended periods. Public discussion of
blocked Web sites was widespread, and many users were able to access
blocked sites through alternate servers.
On March 30, security forces arrested Mahmood Al Yousif, one of the
country's most prominent bloggers, in a 3 a.m. raid on his home. After
questioning, he was released from custody on March 31.
The BICI reported that detainees complained that security forces
monitored or demanded access to their e-mail.
On April 9, the management of Al-Watan newspaper asked a journalist
to resign without giving her a reason for her dismissal. A former
colleague later informed her that she had been dismissed because a
member of parliament had complained to her editor about the content of
news articles she had been posting on her personal Facebook page,
according to the BICI.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--During the year the
government dismissed professors and suspended or expelled hundreds of
university students for their participation in demonstrations and
political activities. Some academics censored themselves, avoiding
discussion of contentious political issues.
The University of Bahrain suspended and subsequently dismissed 19
academics on charges ranging from participation in demonstrations to
spreading false news. As of year's end, eight of the 19 academics had
been reinstated with ``final warnings,'' allowing the university to
legally dismiss them in the future without further warnings.
On April 17, Abdulla Al Derazi was suspended from his position at
the University of Bahrain for participating in demonstrations, talking
to foreign media, and spreading false information. On August 11, he was
dismissed after the university's investigative committee found him
guilty of those charges. He was reinstated on December 4 after being
issued a final warning.
According to a Human Rights Watch report, beginning in April,
university authorities suspended or expelled at least 500 students for
their alleged participation in antigovernment protests. Most of the
students were enrolled at the University of Bahrain or Bahrain
Polytechnic. Students reported that university committees did not
permit them to defend their actions but made their decisions
perfunctorily after 20 minutes to an hour of questioning. Official
university statements prior to the expulsions indicated that students
would be punished for violent actions only, but this did not appear to
be the case. One student was reportedly expelled for planned absences
from class and participation in rallies without prior permission from
university authorities. University of Bahrain administrators reportedly
advised professors not to write recommendations for expelled students.
When it reopened in May, the University of Bahrain reportedly forced
all students to sign ``loyalty pledges'' swearing their ``complete
loyalty to the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain represented by His
Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.'' The pledge included a promise
``not to organize or participate in any activity within the campus or
outside that is irrelevant to student and academic affairs and
authorized research.'' On August 25, the Ministry of Education reversed
the majority of disciplinary decisions taken against students and
reinstated their scholarships.
There were reports of cultural institutions declining to offer
programs considered too politically sensitive during the year.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of free assembly,
but the law restricts the exercise of this right, and security forces
intervened against many demonstrations during the year. Organizers must
submit requests for permission to hold public gatherings or
demonstrations to the MOI at least 72 hours in advance. The law states
that funeral processions may not be turned into political rallies and
security officials may be present at any public gathering. Organizers
of an unauthorized gathering face prison sentences of three to six
months.
The government limited and controlled political gatherings. The law
regulates election campaigning and prohibits political activities at
worship centers, universities, other schools, government buildings, and
public institutions. The government did not allow mosques, ma'tams
(Shia religious community centers), or other religious sites to be used
for political gatherings unless permission was first obtained.
While the government tolerated some spontaneous gatherings,
authorities severely restricted freedom of assembly at various times.
On several occasions government forces used unnecessary and
disproportionate force to disperse protesters. The BICI found that the
government used excessive force on February 17 when it used tear gas,
shotguns, batons, sound bombs, and rubber bullets to disperse
protesters from the GCC/Pearl Roundabout. Approximately 1,000 MOI
personnel entered the GCC/Pearl Roundabout at 3 a.m. to disperse
camping protesters. Personnel from the BNSA, CID, and BDF Intelligence
were also on site. Security forces fired numerous rounds of tear gas to
disperse protesters and engaged protesters directly. The MOI indicated
that a number of protesters assaulted police officers with rocks,
sticks, metal rods, swords, knives, and other sharp objects. As a
result, more than 40 officers sustained injuries, including severe cuts
to limbs. The clearing operation and subsequent clashes between
security personnel and protesters led to the deaths of four individuals
from shotgun wounds and injuries to 50 protesters. Soon after the
police crackdown, BDF tanks occupied the GCC/Pearl Roundabout to stop
demonstrators from occupying the area. On February 19, security forces
withdrew from the GCC/Pearl Roundabout, allowing demonstrators to
retake control of the area.
On February 17, Isa Abdulhasan Ali Hussain died from a shotgun
injury to the head inflicted near the GCC/Pearl Roundabout. According
to an eyewitness account, Hussain was part of a group of protesters
clashing with police when an officer fired his weapon at Hussain at
close range. On August 8, police officer Ameen Ahmed Musid, a Yemeni
citizen, went on trial in a military court for manslaughter in
connection to Hussain's death. At year's end the case and similar cases
were referred to the Public Prosecution.
While the SNS was in effect, gatherings were not permitted, and the
government detained and prosecuted many individuals on charges of
participating in ``illegal gatherings.'' On March 16, authorities again
cleared the GCC/Pearl Roundabout of protesters and, on March 18,
demolished the Pearl Monument. State-run Bahrain Television announced
later that the ``vile'' antigovernment protests had ``violated'' and
``desecrated'' the monument and it had to be ``cleansed.''
Following the lifting of the SNS on June 1, opposition political
societies regularly applied for, and in most cases received, permission
to conduct rallies. However, the ``February 14 Youth Movement''
conducted numerous unregistered political protests, at times blocking
roads with debris and throwing Molotov cocktails and iron bars.
Security forces often responded and sometimes used excessive force.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
freedom of association. In practice the government limited this right.
Although the government does not allow the formation of political
parties, it authorized registered political societies to run candidates
for office and participate in other political activities.
The government required all groups to register: civil society
groups with the Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development,
political societies with the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs,
and labor unions with the Ministry of Labor. The government decided
whether a group was social or political in nature, based on its
proposed bylaws. The law prohibits any activity by an unlicensed
society as well as any political activity by a licensed civil society
group.
To apply for registration, a political society must submit its
bylaws signed by all founding members, a list of all members and copies
of their residency cards, and a financial statement identifying the
society's sources of funding and bank information. The society's
principles, goals, and programs must not run counter to Sharia or
national interest, as interpreted by the judiciary, nor may the society
be based on sectarian, geographic, or class identity.
A civil society group applying for registration must submit its
bylaws signed by all founding members, together with minutes of the
founding committee's meetings containing the names, professions, places
of residence and signatures of all founding members. The law grants the
Ministry of Human Rights and Social Development the right to reject the
registration of any civil society group if it finds the society's
services unnecessary, already provided by another society, contrary to
state security, or aimed at reviving a previously dissolved society.
Associations whose applications are rejected or ignored may appeal to
the High Civil Court, which may annul the ministry's decision or refuse
the appeal.
Many NGOs and civil society activists asserted that the Ministry of
Human Rights and Social Development routinely exploited its oversight
role to stymie the activities of NGOs and other civil society
organizations. While some local NGOs asserted that bureaucratic
incompetence characterized the ministry's dealings with NGOs, numerous
others stated that officials actively sought to undermine some groups'
activities and impose burdensome bureaucratic procedures on NGO board
members and volunteers.
On April 7, the Ministry of Justice suspended the secular, moderate
Wa'ad political society, allegedly for statements ``defaming the
military and security forces.'' Officials shut Wa'ad headquarters and
blocked its Web site. On June 18, the Ministry of Justice, declaring
that the political society had issued a retraction, lifted the
suspension; the political society was operating at year's end.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. However, the government did not always respect these
rights in practice.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons
(IDPs), refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern.
Foreign Travel.--The law provides that the government may reject
for ``reasonable cause'' applications to obtain or renew passports, but
the applicant has the right to appeal such decisions before the High
Civil Court. In practice authorities relied on determinations of
``national security'' when adjudicating passport applications.
Authorities prevented several activists from leaving the country, and
it was reported that defense lawyers were subject to travel bans during
the SNS.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law does not
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. In practice the government provided protection against the
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political
opinion. Such individuals generally had access to certain social
services, education, and employment.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is generally derived from the
father. Noncitizen men who marry citizen women are not entitled to
citizenship, and as a result children from such marriages may be
stateless. In December the king granted citizenship to 335 persons born
to citizen mothers and foreign fathers. It was unknown how many
stateless persons resided in the country.
Stateless persons had access to limited social services, education,
and employment. They were eligible to receive housing and other
government services but were excluded from receiving scholarships.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change their government or their
political system. However, the constitution provides for a
democratically elected Council of Representatives, the lower house of
parliament. The king may dissolve the Council of Representatives at his
discretion. He also has the power to amend the constitution and to
propose, ratify, and promulgate laws.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
September 24 Council of Representatives by-elections were marred by
irregularities. Several registered political societies declined to
participate. The by-elections which were organized to replace 18
members from the largest Shia political society, Wifaq, who resigned in
February to protest government actions against demonstrators. The
opposition political societies asserted that the government
gerrymandered electoral districts in 2002 to provide for a
progovernment, mostly Sunni, majority in the Council of
Representatives. Progovernment political societies declined to run
candidates in the election, primarily because the 18 districts in
contention were majority Shia districts and progovernment Sunni
candidates faced likely defeat, although those societies encouraged
their members to vote. Approximately 17 percent of eligible voters
participated in the two rounds of voting on September 24 and October 1.
The majority of the winning candidates were self-declared independents,
with only two candidates claiming ties to official political societies.
Many alleged that the government engineered the victory of some
female and Shia candidates by encouraging their competitors to withdraw
from the race, and there were accusations that some opposition
political societies attempted to intimidate voters. Despite
instructions to their members by the main opposition groups to refrain
from harassing those citizens who chose to vote, MOI officials reported
that members of an unnamed opposition group attempted to disrupt voting
at a predominantly Shia precinct in A'ali by throwing rocks to
intimidate candidates and voters. Some candidates alleged there was a
concerted effort by Shia election boycotters to force them to withdraw
from the race. One newly elected candidate reported that a homemade
explosive hit his house the evening that his victory was announced.
Political Parties.--The government did not allow the formation of
political parties, but more than a dozen ``political societies''
developed political platforms, held internal elections, and hosted
political gatherings. Individuals active with these societies and other
opposition political society groups faced repercussions during the
year. The government arrested and detained individual members of some
political societies, including Wifaq and Wa'ad, for their political
activities. They were charged with various crimes, including inciting
hatred of the regime and attending an illegal gathering. Six members of
the General Secretariat of the Amal political society were detained,
tried, and convicted in as SNS court; the defendants remained
imprisoned and their cases were under appeal at year's end.
During the year a number of elected municipal councils suspended
several Wifaq political society municipal councilors because of their
participation in antigovernment protests. In municipal councils where
Wifaq members constituted a minority, Sunni members voted for their
expulsion, sometimes in contradiction to the councils' bylaws. The
minister of municipal affairs and urban planning petitioned the king's
cabinet to dissolve municipal councils in which Wifaq members
constituted the majority, but the cabinet did not address the petition
during the year, and those councils continued to function without
hindrance.
A new, predominantly Sunni, political society, the National Unity
Gathering, received legal recognition in June.
Political societies were highly critical of provisions in the law
requiring them to notify the government before contacting political
groups abroad.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The newly elected
parliamentarians included three women, one of whom won by default when
her opponents withdrew and two of whom won contested races, a first in
the country's history. The elections brought the number of female
members of the elected chamber to four. The Shura Council, the
appointed 40-member upper house, included 11 women. Two women served as
cabinet members, five women sat as judges on the criminal courts, and
one was a judge on the Constitutional Court.
Although Shia and Sunni citizens have equal rights before the law,
Sunnis dominated political life even though the majority of citizens
were Shia. The Shura Council included 19 Shia members, including the
speaker, as well as one Jewish member and one Christian member. Four of
the 26 cabinet ministers were Shia, including one of the four deputy
prime ministers.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption.
However, the government did not implement the law effectively, and some
officials reportedly engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. In
September, in response to multiple corruption cases in 2009 and 2010,
parliament passed a law making government employees at all levels
subject to prosecution if they used their positions to engage in
embezzlement or bribery, either directly or indirectly.
Penalties can be up to 10 years' imprisonment. In interviews with
local press, the Bahrain Transparency Society (BTS) stated that, while
progress had been made, there were ongoing concerns about corruption in
parastatal companies, including Gulf Air and Aluminum Bahrain (Alba),
and in the privatization of public land, which was a major concern of
protesters. Significant areas of government activity, including the
security services, lack transparency. The press reported that, in a
number of cases, authorities jailed or fined law enforcement officials
for misconduct, most often for accepting bribes. While an
anticorruption unit was established in the MOI, the government did not
announce any investigations. The law does not require government
officials to make financial disclosure statements.
At year's end an appeal of the November 2010 verdict against two
former managers of Alba continued. Activists alleged that the two
employees of the aluminum firm, in which the government's sovereign
wealth fund was the majority shareholder, were scapegoats for more
senior Alba and government officials who engaged in illegal and corrupt
activity.
The law does not provide citizens access to government-held
information. Most companies and ministries have public Web sites, but
specific budgetary information, such as individual expenditures and
income, was not available. There was an ongoing internal push within
some parts of the government to improve transparency, which has been
resisted by other officials.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Restrictions on freedom of association and expression and increased
government scrutiny and harassment during the year hindered
investigation and public criticism of the government's human rights
policies. Nevertheless, local and international NGOs continued to
publish reports on human rights.
The BHRS is the main independent, licensed human rights
organization in the country. After having been effectively shuttered in
September 2010, it filed a lawsuit later that year appealing the
ministerial decree dissolving its board of directors. On February 9,
the case was resolved in the NGO's favor, and a new board of directors
was elected on July 17, with the former secretary general reelected to
his post.
The BCHR, which the government officially dissolved in 2004,
continued to issue reports and had strong ties to international human
rights NGOs. The BCHR regularly coordinated its activities with leaders
of unregistered political groups. The government detained and
questioned BCHR personnel several times during the year. An associate
organization, the Bahrain Youth Human Rights Society, also continued to
operate as an unregistered NGO.
Other local human rights organizations included the independent
Migrant Workers Protection Society and several women's rights NGOs,
notably the Bahrain Women's Association, the Bahrain Women's Union, and
the Young Ladies Society. The Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society was
generally supportive of government policies but issued critical reports
at times during the year.
In response to the general state of fear that pervaded society
during the SNS period, Wifaq created an ad hoc human rights group to
record violations. Information provided by Wifaq's human rights
committee was cited throughout the BICI report.
The government refused to allow representatives of multiple
international human rights organizations to enter the country beginning
in mid-February. The government also barred entry to representatives of
foreign NGOs working on strengthening institutions and civil society
and labor organizations.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Several members of the
quasigovernmental National Human Rights Institute (NHRI) resigned in
protest following the imposition of the SNS. The NHRI is a royally
appointed body outside the control of the government ministries.
On June 29, the government convened the BICI, whose staff included
respected international human rights experts, and tasked it with
investigating allegations of human rights violations in February and
March and making recommendations for reform. The government generally
cooperated with the BICI. The government allocated the commission its
own funds, which it used to employ local and international staff. The
public generally accepted the report's findings. The BICI report,
released on November 23 and accepted by the government, described a
``culture of impunity'' in the security services and documented
excessive use of force, including torture, and a range of other human
rights violations by security forces during the unrest. The report also
criticized the conduct of some protesters and made a number of
recommendations to the government. By year's end the government had
begun to implement some of the recommendations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality, equal opportunity, and the
right to medical care, welfare, education, property, capital, and work
for all citizens. These rights were protected unevenly, depending on an
individual's social status, sect, or gender. The law does not
specifically prohibit discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, religion, sect, or social status. The law deprives foreign
workers, who make up approximately half the population, of many
fundamental legal, social, and economic rights.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal. The law does
not address spousal rape. Penalties for rape include life imprisonment
and execution in cases where the victim is a minor younger than 16 or
in cases where the rape leads to the victim's death. The government
reported 425 cases of sexual harassment and rape during the year but
did not provide further details. During the year, 222 defendants were
put on trial and 132 were convicted. The press reported cases of men
arrested for rape, including a few in which fathers of rape victims
sought lighter sentences for perpetrators. There were numerous reports
of employers raping female domestic workers, but most victims did not
seek legal redress since guilt cannot be proven in court without the
testimony of witnesses to the crime.
No government policies or laws explicitly addressed domestic
violence. Human rights organizations alleged that spousal abuse of
women was widespread. Women rarely sought legal redress for violence
due to fear of social reprisal or stigma. Little public attention was
devoted to the problem.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment with
penalties of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of 100 dinars
($265) if the victim was 14-21 years old and up to three months in
prison and a fine of 20 dinars ($53) if the suspect is convicted of
insulting or committing an indecent act towards a female in public. The
government enforced the law in practice. Sexual harassment remained a
widespread problem for women, especially foreigners employed as
domestic workers and in other low-level service jobs. The press
reported a number of cases of men arrested for sexually harassing
women. The government reported 425 cases of sexual harassment and rape
during the year but did not provide further details. In those cases,
222 suspects were put on trial and 132 were convicted.
Reproductive Rights.--Reproductive health services, including birth
control and maternity care, were available without charge to all women.
Health centers required women to obtain spousal consent in order to
undergo sterilization; this consent requirement did not apply to
provision of other family planning services. There was no information
as to whether women received equal diagnosis and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women faced discrimination under the law. A woman
cannot transmit nationality to her spouse or children (see section
2.d., Stateless Persons). Women have the right to initiate divorce
proceedings, but religious courts may refuse the request. In divorce
cases the courts routinely granted mothers custody of daughters younger
than age nine and sons younger than age seven. Custody usually reverted
to the father once the children reached nine and seven, respectively.
Regardless of custody decisions, the father retains guardianship, or
the right to make all legal decisions for the child, until a child
reaches the age of 21. A noncitizen woman automatically loses custody
of her children if she divorces their citizen father ``without just
cause.''
Women may own and inherit property and represent themselves in all
public and legal matters. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shia
women may inherit all their husband's property, while Sunni women
inherit only a portion, as governed by Sharia, and the brothers or
other male relatives of the deceased divide the balance. In practice
better-educated families used wills and other legal tools to mitigate
the negative effects of these rules.
Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women. However,
discrimination against women was systemic in the country, especially in
the workplace, as evident from the high official figures for sexual
harassment. The influence of cultural barriers and religious
traditionalists sometimes hampered women's rights.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
father. Women cannot transmit their nationality to their children;
therefore, children of some citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers are
born stateless (see section 2.d., Stateless Persons). Births are not
registered immediately. From birth to the age of three months, children
are registered with the mother's primary health-care provider. Upon
reaching three months, the birth is registered with the Ministry of
Health Birth Registration Unit, which then issues the official birth
certificate. Children not registered by one year of birth must obtain a
registration by court order. The government will not provide public
services to a child without a birth certificate.
Education.--Government-run primary schools are segregated by
gender, although girls and boys are educated with the same curricula
and textbooks. Schooling is compulsory for children only through the
age of 14, but it is provided free of charge to citizens and legal
residents through grade 12.
Child Abuse.--NGOs reported an increase in the number of child
abuse cases in recent years but were unsure whether it was due to an
actual increase in abuse or a greater willingness to report it. Sharia
courts, not civil courts, address crimes involving child abuse,
including violence against children. NGOs expressed concern over the
lack of consistent, written guidelines for prosecuting and punishing
offenders and the leniency of penalties involving child abuse cases.
The Be Free Center, an associate of the Bahrain Women's Association
that focuses on child abuse awareness and prevention, dealt with
approximately 400 child abuse victims during the year. The government
reported 848 cases of child abuse during the year.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits exploitation of
a child for various crimes, including prostitution. Penalties include
imprisonment of no less than three months if the accused used
exploitation and force to commit the crime and up to six years if more
than one child was exploited, as well as penalties of at least 2,000
dinars ($5,340) for individuals and at least 10,000 dinars ($26,600)
for organizations. Penalties vary depending on the specific law
involved. The law also prohibits child pornography. There is no minimum
age of consensual sex as the law assumes there is no consensual sex
outside of marriage. The minimum age of marriage is 15 for females and
18 for males, but special circumstances allow marriage below these ages
with approval from a Sharia court. Cases of commercial sexual
exploitation of children were rare.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For country-specific information see travel.state.gov/
abduction/country/country--3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--According to the Ministry of Human Rights and
Social Development, there were 37 Jews in the country. There were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons
with disabilities, and a variety of governmental, quasigovernmental and
religious institutions are mandated to support and protect persons with
disabilities. The government respected these rights in practice. New
public buildings in the central municipality must include facilities
for persons with disabilities. The law does not mandate access to other
nonresidential buildings for persons with disabilities.
There were no official reports of discrimination against persons
with disabilities in employment, education, or access to health care.
According to anecdotal evidence, however, disabled persons routinely
suffered lack of access to education and employment. The one government
school for children with hearing disabilities did not operate past the
10th grade. Some public schools had specialized education programs for
children with learning disabilities, physical handicaps, speech
impediments, and Down syndrome, but the government did not fund private
programs for children who could not find appropriate programs in public
schools.
The law requires the government to provide vocational training for
persons with disabilities who wish to work. The law also requires any
employer of more than 100 persons to hire at least 2 percent of its
employees from the government's list of workers with disabilities.
However, the government did not monitor compliance. The government
placed persons with disabilities in some public sector jobs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law grants citizenship to
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 15 years and non-
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 25 years. There was
a lack of transparency in the naturalization process, and there were
numerous reports that the citizenship law was not applied uniformly.
There were allegations that the government allowed foreign Sunni
employees of the security services that had lived in the country for
fewer than 15 years to apply for citizenship. There were also reports
of Arab Shia who had resided in the country for more than 15 years and
non-Arab foreign residents who had resided more than 25 years, who had
not been granted citizenship.
Although the government asserted that the labor code for the
private sector applies to all workers, the International Labor
Organization (ILO) and international NGOs noted that, in practice,
foreign workers faced discrimination in the workplace (see section 7).
According to the BICI, in mid-March rioters beat to death two South
Asians and attacked 87 others. According to testimony provided to the
BICI, the attackers targeted the individuals due to their ethnicity.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not criminalize
consensual same-sex sexual activity between consenting persons who are
at least 21 years of age. However, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) activities were not socially accepted, and
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity was
common. The Lower Criminal Court convicted 49 male Gulf nationals for
allegedly practicing prostitution and other illicit acts while
attending a ``gay wedding,'' according to local press reports. The High
Criminal Court upheld the charges in December, and the men were
sentenced to six months' imprisonment.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The media reported few
cases of HIV/AIDS. There were no known reports of societal violence or
discrimination against persons based on HIV/AIDS status, but medical
experts acknowledged publicly that discrimination existed. The
government mandated screening of newly arrived migrant workers for
infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Migrant workers found to be
HIV-positive faced deportation.
Promotion of Acts of Discrimination.--According to the BICI, during
the disturbances that began in February, the government used official
media outlets, especially state-owned Bahrain Television, to produce
biased and sensationalist coverage of the unfolding events and to
promote sectarianism. During the year Bahrain Television ran a series
of programs in which citizens were identified as having participated in
demonstrations and it broadcast confessions by detainees and video
footage of criminal acts prior to trials. One sports program
interrogated national athletes, such as former national soccer team
players Alaa Hubail and Sayed Mohammed Adnan, on air about their
involvement in protests during the February and March period. Days
after the program aired, the two men were arrested.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution and labor code recognize the right to form trade
unions independent of government and political parties and the right to
strike, but both rights were restricted and the law was not
consistently applied. Unions are independent of government and
political parties. The right to collective bargaining is not protected
by the law. Public sector trade unions are prohibited, but public
sector workers may join private sector trade unions and professional
associations. Members of the military services are also prohibited from
joining unions. With the exception of domestic servants, foreign
workers, who made up approximately 60 percent of the workforce, are
allowed to join unions. The law prohibits unions from engaging in
political activities and states that all trade unions are required to
join the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU).
The law prohibits strikes in 10 ``vital'' sectors, the scope of
which exceed international standards, including the oil, gas,
education, telecommunications, transportation, and health sectors, as
well as in pharmacies and bakeries. The law imposes excessive
requirements for strikes to be legal and specifies that only a trade
union can organize and declare strikes. Workers must approve a strike
with a simple majority by secret ballot and provide 15 days'
notification to the employer before conducting a strike.
The government and employers violated labor laws and international
standards and practiced antiunion discrimination in the aftermath of
the unrest. The BICI found the government and employers unfairly
dismissed workers for union activities, violated workers' right to
conduct legal strikes, targeted union leaders and union members,
dismissed or suspended employees without due process, and discriminated
against workers (specifically Shia workers) for their political
opinions or religious beliefs, in contravention of the constitution and
domestic law.
On February 19, after security forces raided the GCC/Pearl
Roundabout, the GFBTU, which represented more than 70 trade unions
cumulatively representing more than 20,000 workers, called for a
general strike demanding the government withdraw security forces and
allow peaceful demonstrations. On February 21, the GFBTU suspended the
strike.
On March 13, the GFBTU called for a second general strike to
protest excessive use of force by security forces and to voice general
socioeconomic grievances affecting the workforce. The March 15
imposition of the SNS restricted union activities, including the right
to assemble. On March 22, the GFBTU called off the second strike after
the minister of labor promised that workers would not face punitive
measures for participating in strikes. Nevertheless, from March through
May, employers dismissed 2,462 workers from the private (parastatal)
sector and 1,945 from the public sector, including 57 union leaders (26
percent of the country's union leadership), and suspended hundreds
more, according to the BICI report, citing statistics from the Ministry
of Labor and Civil Service Bureau. The GFBTU reported 2,010 private and
372 public sector dismissals, according to November statistics.
The most common reason employers cited for dismissal was absence
from work, which coincided with the dates of the general union strikes.
However, the BICI report concluded that the majority of dismissals were
motivated by a desire to retaliate against employees suspected of being
involved in demonstrations. In some cases employers dismissed workers
without any reason or due process, according to the BICI report and an
international labor organization. Some workers and union members
reported they had never been absent from work. Others reported that
they were forced to tender their resignations under duress or were
physically and verbally abused at their workplaces. In many cases
employers threatened to refer employees for criminal investigations.
Employers and the government targeted union leaders. In March the
management of the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard dismissed all the
leaders of its trade union, effectively dissolving the union and
stopped the transfer to union coffers of dues deducted from members'
salaries.
According to the BICI report and other reports, on March 28 and 31,
security forces arrested, interrogated, and in some cases physically
assaulted workers, especially Shia employees of Gulf Air. Gulf Air
officials later admitted the company did not follow proper procedures
when it dismissed 219 workers. It cited general insecurity as a reason
it could not send the legally required written dismissal notices, while
simultaneously rejecting absentee workers' claims that the security
situation prevented them from reaching their workplaces.
On April 29, the prime minister established a committee to examine
all dismissals in the private/parastatal sector, with the goal of
reinstating workers who were illegally terminated, based on
recommendations from the ILO. In July the committee, chaired by the
minister of labor, determined that 1,371 employees were illegally
terminated and recommended their reinstatement. On August 28, the king
ordered all concerned organizations to reinstate dismissed workers. By
year's end a number of reinstatements had occurred and many others were
underway. The process of reinstatement was characterized by lengthy
delays, a complicated appeals processes, and inaction or outright
refusal to act on the part of some companies and government
organizations.
Throughout the year the number of dismissals and reinstatements was
a source of disagreement between the government and GFBTU, which
sharply disagreed over the methodology for measuring both. At times the
Ministry of Labor claimed that dismissals regarded by the GBFTU as
unlawful were justified by national security interests. In its report
the BICI listed 820 private-sector reinstatements. On October 27, the
Ministry of Labor reported 1,623 dismissals and 1,136 reinstatements in
the private/parastatal sector. On November 17, the GFBTU reported 1,673
total dismissals but could confirm only 336 reinstatements in the
private/parastatal sector. Some reinstated workers were given unfair
conditions for reinstatement, including demotion, reduction in
responsibility, docking of wages and/or annual leave, reinstatement
under ``final-warning'' status, or compulsory signing of ``loyalty
pledges'' to the government. The issues remained unresolved at year's
end.
On December 13, the minister of labor announced the formation of a
tripartite committee to reinvestigate all dismissal cases from the
unrest period. The committee consisted of representatives from the
Ministry of Labor, the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and
the GFBTU.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports
that such practices occurred, particularly among domestic workers and
others working in the informal sector, none of whom are fully protected
by the legal code.
Unskilled foreign workers, with the exception of domestic workers,
are covered by labor laws, but enforcement was lax, and cases of debt
bondage were common (see section 7.d.).
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits child labor and establishes protections for children from
workplace exploitation, and in general the government effectively
enforced these laws. Some children were believed to work in family-run
businesses, but the practice was not widespread. There were reports of
children trafficked into the country for domestic service.
The minimum age for employment is 16. The Ministry of Labor made
rare exceptions on a case-by-case basis for juveniles between the ages
of 14 and 16 who have an urgent need to assist in providing financial
support for their families. Minors may not work in industries that the
Ministry of Health deems hazardous or unhealthy, including
construction, mining, and oil refining. Minors may work no more than
six hours a day and may be present on the employment premises no more
than seven hours a day. These regulations do not apply to family-
operated businesses in which the only other employees are family
members.
According to NGOs, government labor inspectors monitored and
enforced child labor laws effectively in the industrial sector. The
government did not report any child labor violations during the year.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum
wage. Public sector workers are covered by a standardized government
pay scale, with a set minimum of 300 dinars ($798) pay per month.
Citizens who earned less received a government stipend to offset the
difference. There was no official poverty level.
The standard workweek is 48 hours. Workers are entitled to paid
annual holidays and premium pay for overtime. Excessive compulsory
overtime in excess of 60 hours per week requires permission from the
Ministry of Labor.
The Ministry of Labor enforced the labor law and mandated
acceptable conditions of work for all adult workers except domestic
workers. According to NGOs, workplace safety standards were generally
adequate, but inspection and compliance were substandard. During the
year the Ministry of Labor employed 43 labor inspectors. The ministry
set occupational safety and health standards and sporadically enforced
them with a team of six engineers from multiple specialties. Inspectors
had the authority to levy fines and close worksites if employers did
not improve conditions by specified deadlines. There were reports of
employers being fined for violations. Penalties include fines of at
least 50 dinars ($133) and up to 300 dinars ($798).
A ministerial decree prohibits outdoor work between noon and 4 p.m.
during July and August. The ban is not strictly enforced and violations
were common. The Ministry of Labor reported that 24 companies were
cited for violating the summer work restriction. Penalties include
fines of at least 50 dinars ($133) and up to 300 dinars ($798).
During the year the media reported several workplace deaths owing
to a combination of inadequate safety procedures, worker ignorance of
those procedures, and inadequate safety standards for equipment. Exact
figures were not available. Particularly hazardous sectors included
construction and automotive repair.
Unskilled foreign workers, mostly from South and Southeast Asia,
made up approximately 60 percent of the workforce (76 percent of the
private-sector workforce). They were particularly vulnerable to forced
labor and in some cases were subject to withholding of passports,
restrictions on movement, contract substitution, nonpayment of wages,
threats, and physical and sexual abuse. A 2009 study by the country's
Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) found that 65 percent of
foreign workers had not seen their employment contract and that 89
percent were unaware of their terms of employment. Some foreign workers
arrived in the country under the sponsorship of an employer and then
switched jobs while continuing to pay a fee to their original sponsor,
which made it difficult to monitor and control their employment. Some
employers illegally charged workers exorbitant fees to remain in the
country and work for other employers. Estimates of the proportion of
migrant workers in the country under illegal ``free visa''
arrangements--a practice that can contribute to debt bondage--ranged
from 10 to 25 percent. In numerous cases employers withheld salaries
from foreign workers for months or years and refused to grant them
permission to leave the country. The fear of deportation or employer
retaliation prevented many foreign workers from complaining to
authorities.
The government and the courts generally worked to rectify abuses
brought to their attention. Workers may lodge complaints with the
Ministry of Labor. The ministry reported that it received 2,820
complaints, including joint complaints, brought during the year by a
total of 4,398 female and 861 male workers. During the year inspectors
visited 354 labor camps to verify that workers' accommodations met
required safety and hygiene standards. Violations were found in 348
camps; 230 were issued orders to rectify the violations, nine cases
were transferred to the public prosecution for legal action, and the
other cases remained under investigation as of year's end. Inspectors
are authorized to inspect only premises that have a commercial
registration and could not inspect private homes where most domestic
workers lived or unregistered ``private'' camps where many unskilled
laborers lived.
The labor law does not protect domestic workers, and this group was
particularly vulnerable to exploitation. There were credible reports
that many of the country's 70,000 domestic workers, most of them women,
were forced to work 12- to 16-hour days, had to give their identity
documents to employers, had little time off, were malnourished, and
were subject to verbal and physical abuse, including sexual molestation
and rape. On average the Ministry of Labor received three complaints
from domestic workers per month. Reports of employers and recruitment
agents beating or sexually abusing foreign women working in domestic
positions were common. Numerous instances were reported to embassies,
the press, and police. Most victims were too intimidated to sue their
employers, although they had the right to do so. If a victim brings
suit against her employer, she cannot leave the country for the
duration of the case. Ministry of Labor officials stated that they were
able to resolve most of these cases through mediation. The public
prosecutor took the remaining cases for investigation. Complaints that
cannot be settled though arbitration must be referred to the court
within 15 days. However, the vast majority of cases involving abused
domestic workers did not reach the Ministry of Labor or the public
prosecutor.
During the year the Migrant Workers Protection Society shelter
assisted 128 female domestic workers. The Migrant Workers Protection
Society continued to support victims who took their cases to court, but
compensation to victims was reportedly meager.
The government continued to conduct workers' rights awareness
campaigns, publish pamphlets on foreign resident workers' rights in
several languages, provide manuals on these rights to local diplomatic
missions, and operate a telephone hotline for victims.
__________
EGYPT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Egypt is a republic governed at year's end by the Supreme Council
of the Armed Forces (SCAF), a transitional authority of senior military
officers that rules by decree. The appointed civilian Cabinet of
Ministers carries out the SCAF's executive responsibilities.
Legislative elections began on November 28 and were scheduled to end in
February 2012. Nongovernmental (NGO) observers reported the first two
rounds of elections that took place during the calendar year to be
generally free from state interference. There were instances in which
elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian
control.
On February 11, then president Muhammad Hosni Mubarak transferred
executive authority to the SCAF following antigovernment demonstrations
that began on January 25. On February 13, the SCAF suspended the 1971
constitution and dissolved the popularly elected People's Assembly and
the partially elected Shura (Consultative) Council. On March 19, voters
approved a constitutional referendum that mandated new legislative
elections and the drafting of a new constitution. The referendum
balloting was considered free and fair. On March 30, the SCAF issued a
provisional constitution. Presidential elections were scheduled to be
held in May 2012.
The most significant human rights problems during the year were
attacks on demonstrators, violence against religious minorities, the
use of military courts in civilian cases, and arbitrary arrest,
especially as permitted under the Emergency Law. Authorities harassed
and pursued a broad-based investigation of nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and their staff; state media and government
figures branded many civil society activists ``traitors'' in a campaign
against foreign funding of civil society groups. Security forces and
civilian thugs attacked demonstrators during the year; these attacks,
along with clashes among opposing groups of demonstrators, killed at
least 930 persons. Beginning on January 28, authorities arrested and
tried approximately 12,000 civilians in military courts that lacked
fundamental due process procedures for offenses ranging from
``thuggery'' to ``insulting the military.'' The SCAF expanded the
Emergency Law, in place almost continuously since 1967, to include
broad offenses such as ``causing internal tensions.'' Under the
Emergency Law, citizens were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention
and unfair judicial procedures, although the transitional authorities
primarily applied the code of military justice, rather than the
Emergency Law, against demonstrators during the year.
Other human rights problems included physical abuse and torture by
security forces, poor prison conditions, and governmental restrictions
on freedom of expression, assembly, and association. Authorities
detained journalists and bloggers for criticizing the military. The
previous government severely restricted Internet freedom when it cut
connections to telecommunication networks during the peak of
antigovernment demonstrations. After the revolution security forces,
including military police, used excessive force to disperse protesters
and specifically harassed female protesters. Authorities continued to
enforce onerous restrictions on non-Muslims establishing and repairing
places of worship, and non-Muslims were targets of government and
societal violence. The government continued to shoot African migrants
attempting to cross the Sinai Desert en route to Israel. Domestic
violence and societal discrimination against women was widespread.
Official impunity was a problem. In rare instances, such as the
high-profile June 2010 killing of Khaled Saeed, the government took
steps to prosecute security forces.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. The National Security Sector (NSS) and the national
police were the units most often involved in alleged deaths in custody.
The Ministry of Interior's Central Security Forces and military police
were accused in casualties related to excessive use of force during
demonstrations.
On January 4 or 5, NSS officers reportedly tortured Salafist
preacher Sayed Bilal to death. Bilal's death came within 24 hours of
his arrest on January 4 for alleged involvement in the January 1
bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria. Security officials
claimed that the 31-year-old died of a heart attack while being
questioned, but photographs of his body reportedly showed signs of
torture. Members of Bilal's family said authorities threatened that
they would be arrested if they did not stop talking to the media and
human rights organizations. On October 26, a judge in Alexandria
ordered five NSS officers to stand trial for Bilal's death; however, at
year's end, the trial had not started, and only one of the five accused
officers was in custody.
According to Ministry of Health statistics, clashes between
security forces, thugs, and demonstrators killed more than 930
protesters during major incidents in January, February, October,
November, and December. Deaths occurred when security forces used
disproportionate force to clear demonstrators from public squares,
including the use of large amounts of tear gas, ammunition, and/or
rubber-coated steel bullets. NGOs, activists, and doctors treating the
wounded reported deaths by live ammunition, although the government
consistently denied using live ammunition, instead blaming unknown
``infiltrators.'' In some cases demonstrators threw rocks or Molotov
cocktails at security forces.
Video evidence from an October 9 protest by Coptic Christians
clearly depicted armored personnel carriers running over unarmed
civilians. In that case the military blamed ``distraught'' soldiers who
feared for their lives due to the large, violent crowds and announced
it had begun to try three soldiers for involuntary manslaughter related
to their actions on October 9. On December 27, the military court
handling the case temporarily adjourned the trial to allow time to
gather more evidence and to question additional witnesses.
Trials beginning on August 1 continued at year's end to determine
the culpability of then president Mubarak, then minister of interior
Habib Al Adly, and six Interior Ministry codefendants for deaths during
the January and February demonstrations.
There were developments in one notable case from 2010. On December
26, the Public Prosecutor's Office appealed an October 26 decision in
which an Alexandria criminal court sentenced police officers Mahmoud
Saleh and Awad Ismail to seven years in prison for killing Khaled Saeed
in June 2010, on the grounds that the seven-year sentence was too
lenient. A government autopsy concluded that Saeed died from choking on
a bag of cannabis. However, on August 28, the Alexandria court ordered
the government's Forensics Investigations Committee to reexamine the
official autopsy results after independent autopsy results submitted by
Saeed's family indicated he had been tortured and the bag of cannabis
placed in his mouth after he died.
b. Disappearance.--According to the 2011 U.N. Human Rights Council
Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances,
there were 41 outstanding disappearance cases. The government made no
efforts to prevent or investigate these incidents. Domestic and
international human rights organizations claimed there were hundreds
and perhaps thousands of unreported cases of citizens who disappeared
into military detention during and after the revolution. The government
insisted that all those detained during the revolution were released.
Some of those released said the military accused them of being foreign
spies and tortured them.
On October 13, for example, persons belonging to ``a security
agency'' allegedly kidnapped the physician Ahmed Atef, leader of a
doctors' syndicate strike, and interrogated him for three days in an
unknown location before releasing him.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional constitution
prohibit the infliction of ``physical or moral harm'' upon persons who
have been arrested or detained; however, the law fails to account for
mental or psychological abuse, abuse against persons who have not been
formally accused, or abuse occurring for reasons other than securing a
confession. Police, military and security personnel, and prison guards
often tortured and abused prisoners and detainees.
Domestic and international human rights organizations reported that
the NSS, police, and military used torture to extract information from
detainees. In numerous trials defendants alleged that police tortured
them during questioning. Before and after the revolution, police and
NSS officers reportedly employed methods such as stripping and
blindfolding victims; suspending them by the wrists and ankles in
contorted positions or from a ceiling or door frame with feet just
touching the floor; beating them with fists, whips, metal rods, or
other objects; using electric shocks; dousing them with cold water;
sleep deprivation; and sexual abuse, including sodomy. There were
reports that security officials sexually assaulted some detainees or
threatened to rape them or their family members. The absence of legally
required written police records effectively stymied investigations.
On March 9, according to Amnesty International and other sources,
military police reportedly detained 17 women protesting in Tahrir
Square, beat and used electric shocks on them, then strip-searched and
sexually assaulted seven of them through forced ``virginity tests.'' On
March 11, a military court tried the women for disorderly conduct,
destroying property, and obstructing traffic and issued suspended
sentences to some. While the government denied the ``virginity test''
allegations, in May a senior Egyptian general confirmed them in an
interview, stating they performed the tests to protect the military
from rape allegations. Samira Ibrahim, who pursued charges against the
military for the alleged abuse, reported receiving telephone calls
threatening rape or death. On December 27, the military stated that it
was investigating an army doctor in connection with the tests.
On October 27, after they found him in possession of a mobile phone
SIM card, security forces allegedly tortured to death Essam Ali Atta,
who was serving a two-year sentence in Cairo's Tora prison for
``illegally occupying an apartment.'' Atta's mother, who said in an
interview with a local media outlet that she witnessed the torture
while visiting her son, told police that prison guards turned a water
hose on and inserted it alternately into Atta's mouth and anus. The
police did not investigate the claim and stated that Atta died as a
result of ingesting drugs.
One media report indicated an effort by the government to
intentionally commit a sane person to an institution for the mentally
ill. On October 23, media reports confirmed by family members alleged
that a military court referred detained blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad to
an institution for the mentally ill in Cairo. The facility reportedly
refused to admit him and released a statement suggesting the referral
was made for political purposes.
On June 21, the public prosecutor formed a committee of three
judges to review and investigate torture complaints submitted after the
revolution. At year's end it was unclear whether this committee was
functioning.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the
country's prisons and detention centers remained harsh. According to
international NGO observers, prison cells were overcrowded, with a lack
of medical care, proper sanitation, food, clean water, and proper
ventilation. Tuberculosis remained widespread. Provisions for
temperature control and lighting generally were inadequate. Abuse was
common, especially of juveniles in adult facilities, and guards
brutalized prisoners. Ministry of Interior officials claimed that the
ministry began renovating prisons after the revolution.
Prison unrest during the revolution resulted in the release or
escape of approximately 23,000 inmates and the deaths of at least 189.
According to NGO observers, guards killed more than 100 prisoners and
injured hundreds of others between January 29 and February 20.
There were approximately 66,000 prisoners. Juveniles were not
always separated from adults. Pretrial detainees sometimes were held
with convicted prisoners. Prison conditions for women were marginally
better than those for men. There was no information as to whether the
government had taken steps to improve recordkeeping or use alternatives
for sentencing nonviolent offenders.
The penal code provides for reasonable access to visitors. However,
according to NGO observers and relatives of inmates, the government
sometimes prevented visitors' access to detainees. Prisoners were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners to
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to
request investigation of alleged inhumane conditions. However, NGO
observers claimed that prisoners sometimes were reluctant to do so out
of fear of retribution from prison officials. In addition authorities
rarely investigated such allegations.
The government permitted a small number of independent human rights
observers to visit some prisons and detention centers during the year,
but most remained completely closed to the public. As required by law,
the public prosecutor continued to inspect regular prisons. NSS
detention centers were excluded from inspections. On August 16, a
delegation from the quasi-governmental National Council for Human
Rights (NCHR) visited Cairo's Tora Prison, where authorities were
holding former president Mubarak's sons and some of his associates. The
delegation reported that the high-profile prisoners did not enjoy
special privileges and that the hospital provided only basic services.
They also noted that inmates requested longer recreation hours,
permission to pray at the prison mosque, and more telephone calls. The
NCHR considered itself an ombudsman serving on behalf of prisoners, but
there was no official government ombudsman.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The 1971 constitution and the
provisional constitution prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention.
However, police, NSS, and military forces engaged in such practices
before, during, and after the January and February demonstrations,
including large-scale detentions of hundreds of individuals without
charge.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Interior controls the national police, which operate in large cities
and governorates; the NSS, established on March 15 after the government
announced the dissolution of the State Security Investigative Services,
which conducts investigations; and the Central Security Forces (CSF),
which maintain public order. NSS and CSF officers are responsible for
law enforcement at the national level and for providing security for
infrastructure and key domestic and foreign officials. Single-mission
law enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist and Antiquities Police
and the Antinarcotics General Administration, also work at the national
level.
Before January 25, the security forces operated under a central
chain of command. Working in concert with a large network of formal and
informal informants, they were considered generally effective in
combating crime and terrorism and maintaining public order. During the
revolution the Ministry of Interior lost significant organizational
capacity. The postrevolution police, NSS, and CSF were not generally
considered effective at preventing and investigating crime or
maintaining public order. The Egyptian Armed Forces, previously
responsible only for external security, became primarily responsible
for internal security in urban areas. During the year the national
police slowly began to take back authority for basic tasks such as
directing traffic, and the NSS regained some investigative capacity,
but the incidence of petty and violent crimes increased. During
demonstrations, which occurred frequently throughout the year, CSF and
military police were generally responsible for maintaining order.
Impunity was a significant problem. Security forces were accused of
using excessive force and intimidation in numerous incidents. For
example, on October 9, military police and civilian thugs killed
approximately 25 persons and wounded an estimated 330 during a
demonstration in Cairo by Coptic Christians. Security forces also
failed to effectively prevent or respond to incidents of societal
violence, including the September 9 mob attacks on the Israeli embassy
and other diplomatic facilities. There were no systematic or effective
internal or external mechanisms to investigate security force abuses,
although the government occasionally investigated and prosecuted
instances of abuse. For example, on May 23, a Cairo criminal court
sentenced police officer Mohammed Mahmoud Abdel Monem to death, in
absentia, for killing 20 protesters on January 28. However, at year's
end authorities had not apprehended Abdel Monem. Throughout the year
the interior minister reassigned some personnel and accepted the
resignations of others in an effort to respond to popular demands to
reform the ministry.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The government
arrested and detained individuals under the Emergency Law, code of
military justice, and penal code, each of which gives the government
broad powers. All three legal regimes operated simultaneously. Before
the revolution most cases were prosecuted under the penal code.
In September the SCAF announced that the Emergency Law would
continue to be applied until June 2012 and amended the law to include
new violations such as ``attacks on freedom of work,'' ``blocking
traffic or closing roads,'' and ``intentionally publishing or
broadcasting false news and rumors.'' The Emergency Law allows arrest
without a warrant and detention of an individual without charge for as
long as 30 days, after which a detainee may demand a court hearing to
challenge the legality of the detention order. A detainee may resubmit
a motion for a hearing at one-month intervals thereafter; however,
there is no limit to the detention period if a judge continues to
uphold the order or if the detainee fails to exercise the right to a
hearing, and there is no possibility of bail. Although the Emergency
Law stipulates access to an attorney and, if indigent, an attorney
provided by the state, many detainees remained incommunicado in state
security detention facilities without access to family members or to
lawyers before their cases were transferred to trial, and some faced
torture in detention.
Beginning January 28, the government enforced the code of military
justice, initially in lieu of and subsequently in addition to the penal
code. It allows the arrest of military personnel and civilians accused
of ordinary crimes as well as offenses against the armed forces and
those that ``harm national security.'' Military judges issue warrants,
and detainees may be held for up to 60 days without charge pending
investigations. There is no bail in the military justice system. The
law provides for access to an attorney and, if indigent, an attorney
provided by the state, but these regulations were not always observed
in practice. Detainees frequently were not informed of the charges
against them until their trials, which generally occurred within days
of arrests.
Arrests under the penal code occurred openly and with warrants
issued by a public prosecutor or judge. A prosecutor must bring charges
within 48 hours of arrest or release the suspect. Detainees sometimes
were not informed promptly of the charges against them. Authorities may
hold a suspect for a maximum of six months while they investigate the
case. There was a functioning system of bail for persons detained under
the penal code. Criminal defendants have the right to counsel promptly
after arrest and access to family members at the court's discretion.
The court is obliged to provide a lawyer to indigent defendants. In
practice, however, defendants often faced administrative obstacles and
were unable to secure regular access to lawyers or family visits.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrests occurred regularly during the
year, frequently in the environs of large demonstrations. For example,
on January 28, state security personnel arrested Google Middle East
executive and political activist Wael Ghoneim, who in the summer of
2010 set up a Facebook page that activists used to coordinate
demonstrations. Security personnel handcuffed and blindfolded him and
held him incommunicado for 12 days before releasing him without
charges. Ghoneim became an emblem of the revolution when he spoke
publicly about his experience.
During demonstrations throughout the year, authorities sometimes
detained and questioned local and international journalists covering
demonstrations. For example, on February 6, soldiers detained,
handcuffed, and questioned Al Jazeera English reporter Ayman Mohyeldin
for nine hours.
Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detention was a problem during the
year. Pretrial detainees sometimes were held with convicted prisoners,
and the Emergency Law and code of military justice allowed for extended
periods of pretrial detention with no bail system and without
systematic application of provisions requiring access to an attorney.
Backlogs in the criminal courts were a problem before and after the
revolution, also contributing to protracted periods of pretrial
detention.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The 1971 constitution and the
provisional constitution provide for an independent judiciary, but in
practice both before and after the revolution the judiciary was subject
to executive influence and corruption. Both documents provide for the
independence and immunity of judges and forbid interference by other
authorities in the exercise of their judicial functions. The government
generally respected court orders in nonpolitical cases.
After the revolution military courts at first superseded and then
operated in conjunction with civilian criminal courts. On September 10,
the SCAF expanded the Emergency Law, and the Supreme State Security
Court supplanted the military courts in cases not involving violations
of the military code of justice. It operated in conjunction with the
civilian criminal courts and was used to try ordinary crimes and
security-related offenses.
Trial Procedures.--In all three court systems defendants legally
are presumed innocent, although in practice military court procedures
called this presumption of innocence into question. There are no
juries. Civilian criminal trials usually are public, although observers
must obtain government permission to attend. Military and state
security courts are not open to the public. Defendants have the right
to consult an attorney in civilian courts, and the government provides
counsel if the defendant cannot afford a lawyer. Defendants in military
courts have the right to consult an attorney but frequently were denied
timely access to counsel and sometimes were denied access to counsel
altogether. Defendants in the Supreme State Security Court also have
the right to consult an attorney. In all three systems, the law allows
defendants to question witnesses against them and to present witnesses
and evidence on their own behalf, and it provides defendants and their
attorneys the right to access government-held evidence.
In civilian and military courts, defendants have the right of
appeal up to the Court of Cassation. Sentences by military courts are
subject to certification by the president. All death sentences must be
confirmed by the president and the Grand Mufti. Supreme State Security
Court decisions are not subject to appeal; however, the president may
alter or annul such decisions. The SCAF did not certify verdicts after
the president resigned, but it annulled verdicts and issued pardons.
Lawyers and NGOs argued that military court trials did not meet
basic standards of due process, as defendants were often tried in a
matter of hours, often in groups, and sometimes without access to an
attorney. On September 5, the SCAF announced that between January 28
and August 29, military courts tried 11,879 civilians, convicting
8,071, with 1,225 convictions awaiting ratification. On November 3, the
SCAF pardoned 334 of those convicted. In one case, on March 2, a
military court sentenced demonstrator Amr al-Beheiry to five years in
prison following a trial that lasted less than five minutes, with no
defense lawyer present, according to NGO reports. He remained in prison
at year's end.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Human Rights Association
for the Assistance of Prisoners estimated that before the revolution,
the government held as many as 4,000 persons in administrative
detention without charge or trial under the Emergency Law. Most of
those detained were allegedly members of Islamic extremist groups
arrested in the 1990s. The government did not permit regular access to
the detainees by international humanitarian organizations. After the
revolution the government claimed it released thousands of political
detainees by year's end, including individuals arrested prior to and
during the revolution (see section 1.d.). NGOs argued that hundreds of
political prisoners remained incarcerated.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals had access to
civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations and filed
such lawsuits during the year. However, the courts were not entirely
independent and displayed bias in some politically high-profile cases.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional constitution
provide for the privacy of the home, correspondence, telephone calls,
and other means of communication. However, the Emergency Law, which
remained in place after the revolution, suspends the constitutional
provisions regarding the right to privacy, and the government used it
to limit these rights. Under the Emergency Law, the government is
permitted to disregard constitutional protections of privacy of
communications and personal residences. The Emergency Law empowers the
government to place wiretaps, intercept mail, and search persons or
places without warrants. Before and after the revolution, security
agencies placed political activists, suspected subversives,
journalists, foreigners, and writers under surveillance, screened their
correspondence, examined their bank records, searched their persons and
their homes, and confiscated personal property. Security services also
employed extensive informer systems.
On the evening of February 14, according to a human rights lawyer
representing families of individuals killed during the revolution,
security services personnel broke into his office. He was sleeping
there and heard the building's doorman reveal the location of his
office. When security forces attempted to enter, the lawyer confronted
the men, who fled afterward saying they were looking for a different
office.
On September 26, another human rights lawyer claimed that security
services personnel broke into his office that day and searched his
computer and paper files for incriminating tax information.
Before and after the revolution, there were reports of government
agents threatening family members of activists, including threatening
sexual assault of female relatives. On September 20, Mark Nabil, the
brother of imprisoned blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, alleged that police
threatened him that day with imprisonment as a result of his public
activism on behalf of his brother.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional constitution provide
for freedom of speech and press. However, the government partially
restricted these rights through harassment, censorship, and arrests and
detentions, sometimes under the Emergency Law and in other instances
under provisions of the penal code that prohibit incitement or
discrimination.
Freedom of Speech.--Citizens generally expressed their views openly
on a wide range of political and social topics, including the
revolution and the resulting political transition. After the revolution
citizens primarily faced harassment if they directly criticized the
SCAF or military, and many reported self-censorship on this issue.
Before and after the revolution, citizens vigorously criticized senior
government officials and policies in the independent press, on
satellite television, and on social media. On May 30, a military
prosecutor summoned blogger and activist Hossam Hamalawy and television
show host Reem Maged for questioning regarding critical statements that
Hamalawy made on Maged's show on the subject of military police
torturing detained activists. The prosecutor did not file formal
charges against Hamalawy or Maged. On May 10, Cairo University referred
13 students for prosecution on charges of defamation after they
organized sit-ins demanding the removal of the university president. A
court suspended and subsequently dismissed these charges late in the
year.
Freedom of Press.--The independent print and broadcast media were
active and expressed a wide range of views on political and social
issues, with the exception of direct criticism of the SCAF or the
military. The penal code and the press and publications law govern
press issues. After the revolution the government licensed many new
independent television stations and newspapers. Most of the same state-
owned media outlets continued to operate.
The government controlled the licensing, printing, and distribution
of newspapers, including independent papers and those of opposition
political parties. The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers
to public or private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political
parties.
The government took some formal steps to censor satellite
television stations. On September 7, the Ministry of Information
directed the General Investment Authority (GIA), which issues satellite
television broadcast licenses, to stop issuing licenses and announced
that it would close unlicensed satellite television channels and take
legal action against those that threatened national security. On
October 4, the GIA advised domestic satellite television stations in
writing that they must not criticize the SCAF.
On September 11, following coverage of the mob attack on the
Israeli embassy, authorities forced Al Jazeera Live--which had
broadcast in the country since February--off the air and detained one
of the station's staff members for refusing to hand over documents. The
authorities said that the company providing Al Jazeera Live's satellite
uplink capability was not licensed. The head of the channel claimed the
channel had requested authorization on March 20 and that the Ministry
of Information assured that it could continue to operate until the
ministry issued the license. On September 29, plainclothes police again
raided Al Jazeera Live, confiscating a camera, a laptop computer, and
other equipment. The station continued to broadcast at year's end.
Violence and Harassment.--The Committee to Protect Journalists
reported two journalists killed while covering demonstrations during
the year. During demonstrations throughout the year, security forces
and civilian thugs physically attacked, harassed, detained, and
intimidated international and local journalists. During major
demonstrations celebrating the resignation of former president Mubarak
on February 11, a group of men beat and sexually assaulted a female CBS
News correspondent. On November 23, security forces allegedly detained
an Egyptian-American journalist for 12 hours, blindfolded her, and
sexually assaulted her. On December 17, according to Human Rights
Watch, military forces beat Hassan Shahin, an editor with the
independent Al Badil newspaper, after he came to the aid of a woman
stripped, beaten, and stomped on by uniformed men. Shahin reported that
the uniformed men then attacked him with clubs, fists, and boots,
causing bruises and abrasions to the body and face. There were no
investigations into these incidents.
Journalists also reported harassment outside of demonstrations. For
example, on December 11, the media reported that television host Amr
al-Leithi filed a complaint with the public prosecutor after he
received death threats following reports on his show covering
radicalism in the country.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Emergency Law authorizes
censorship for reasons of public safety and national security. In
September the SCAF expanded the Emergency Law to include
``intentionally spreading false information.'' The Ministry of
Information monitored and censored the media during the year. At
various times during the year the SCAF or the military banned reporting
on specific topics. For example, on March 17, the military released a
statement calling on all media not to publish ``opinions, suggestions,
or analysis'' during the constitutional referendum. Domestic media also
practiced self-censorship on issues such as the military and the
intelligence service due to fear of government reprisal.
On September 24, the Ministry of Information halted the printing of
independent daily newspaper Sawt Al Umma, reportedly due to either an
article on alleged corruption within the General Intelligence Service
or an article that violated a gag order imposed by the judge in the
trial of former president Mubarak.
On September 27, the editor in chief of state-owned daily newspaper
Rose El Yousef reported that ``a sovereign body'' (a reference to the
General Intelligence Service) objected to an article in that day's
issue. The entire edition was withdrawn from distribution.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Under the law an editor in chief can
be considered criminally responsible for libel contained in any portion
of a newspaper. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), as of late
November military prosecutors had summoned at least nine activists and
journalists on charges of criminal defamation after they criticized, or
discussed alleged abuses by, the military or SCAF. For example, on
August 13, activist Asmaa Mahfouz received a summons to appear before
the military prosecutor for questioning. The military prosecutor
questioned her for more than three hours about her comments on Twitter
and media interviews during protests on July 23 in which she criticized
the military for failing to intervene to protect protesters. On August
16, the state news agency reported that the prosecutor decided to refer
Mahfouz's case to court on charges of insulting the military. The SCAF
pardoned Mahfouz on August 18.
Nongovernmental Impact.--Civilian thugs also attacked journalists
and inhibited freedom of expression during the year. For example, on
December 17, unidentified men entered the offices of independent
outlets CBC and CBC+2, which were broadcasting images of demonstrations
and violence by security forces against demonstrators. According to
witness accounts obtained by HRW, the men destroyed equipment and
threatened the staff.
Internet Freedom.--Outside of a six-day period during late January,
Internet communications were largely open and unrestricted, but the
government monitored them. When protesters entered the NSS building
after the revolution, many reportedly found copies of their own
electronic communications and documents. Local service providers
blocked access to Web sites if they contained material, such as child
pornography, that is illegal under the law. The government blocked
access to Twitter and Facebook beginning on January 25. On January 27,
the government ordered local service providers to suspend Internet and
cellular telephone services. The government restored all services and
access to social networking sites on February 2. During the year the
government prosecuted some bloggers and other individuals for the
expression of their views online.
On October 22, a Cairo criminal court sentenced Ayman Yousef
Mansour to three years in prison for insulting Islam and the Prophet
Muhammed on a Facebook page he created. Responding to alleged citizen
complaints, the Ministry of Interior's Department for Combating
Electronic Crimes identified Mansour as the creator of the page. He
remained in prison at year's end.
On December 14, a military court sentenced blogger Maikel Nabil
Sanad to two years in prison after an appeal of his original three-year
conviction for ``insulting the military institution and distributing
false news that disturbs public security,'' based on his documentation
of human rights abuses and in part on his writing against forced
conscription. He remained in prison at year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom increased
after the revolution, with increased levels of discourse on subjects
such as the role of religion in society, but self-censorship remained
on the role of the military. Professors reported a decrease in self-
censorship and published frank assessments of the country's political
and socioeconomic issues. When the SCAF did not ratify a cabinet
decision to remove all incumbent university heads appointed under
Mubarak and to hold elections to replace them, faculty at universities
across the country organized strikes beginning October 1, the first day
of the academic year.
On May 18, Cairo University suspended nine students who called for
the removal of the dean of the Faculty of Mass Communications.
The Ministry of Culture must approve all scripts and final
productions of plays and films. It censored foreign films to be shown
in theaters but generally did not censor the same films sold as DVDs.
During the year domestic plays and films addressed political and
socioeconomic issues in a critical manner and were shown without
interference.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional constitution
provide for freedom of assembly, but the government restricted this
right. During major demonstrations between January 25 and February 11,
security forces, plainclothes police, and civilian thugs killed
approximately 850 persons, predominantly demonstrators. In several
cases during this period, security forces failed to prevent attacks on
peaceful demonstrators and clashes precipitated by ``progovernment''
civilians. The government attempted to thwart demonstrations by
interfering with Internet and cellular communications from January 25
to February 2.
Throughout the remainder of the year, security forces allowed many
large demonstrations to proceed without interference, although
periodically military police and CSF forces forcibly ended
demonstrations and sit-ins, often precipitating clashes with
demonstrators. In most such events, security forces first used large
amounts of tear gas to attempt to disperse demonstrators, accompanied
by rubber-coated steel bullets and firing blank rounds into the air.
Security forces also frequently punched and kicked demonstrators, threw
stones, and beat them with batons. Some female demonstrators reported
being sexually assaulted or raped. On some occasions protesters
responded by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. Doctors, human
rights groups, and autopsy reports indicated that many fatalities among
demonstrators in these instances were caused by gunshots fired by
security forces, although the government blamed ``outside elements''
and insisted that security forces were not equipped with live
ammunition. On March 23, the government approved a SCAF decree
criminalizing strikes, protests, demonstrations, and sit-ins that
disrupt private or state-owned businesses or impede the economy;
however, the government rarely invoked this law when explaining its
actions to disperse demonstrations or sit-ins.
On October 9, military police and thugs in plain clothes killed
approximately 25 persons and wounded an estimated 330 during a
demonstration by Coptic Christians in Cairo (see section 1.a.).
Following a large demonstration on November 18, security forces
attempted to forcibly disperse a small number of demonstrators camping
overnight in Tahrir Square. According to Ministry of Health statistics,
security forces and thugs killed approximately 45 persons and wounded
more than 2,000 in clashes that took place over the ensuing several
days.
On December 16, security forces forcibly dispersed a sit-in at the
cabinet building, leading to multiday clashes in which security forces
and thugs killed 17 persons and injured more than 900.
Freedom of Association.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional
constitution provide for freedom of association, but the government
restricted this right. The government enforced a law passed by the
Mubarak government requiring NGOs to register with the Ministry of
Social Solidarity (MOSS) in order to receive foreign funding but
refused to register some organizations and delayed registering others.
The law provides the minister of social solidarity the authority to
dissolve NGOs by decree.
On August 4, the Central Bank ordered banks operating in the
country to inform it and the MOSS of any foreign transactions made by
NGOs and charity groups and to ensure that the NGOs possessed valid
MOSS licenses allowing them to receive funds from abroad.
On August 8, the Ministry of Justice began an investigation into
NGOs accused of violating the law, and on September 27, Minister of
Justice Mohamed Abdel Aziz Al Guindy ordered the formation of a
committee to investigate bringing criminal charges against 39
unregistered NGOs for receiving foreign funding without a MOSS license.
In December investigating judges summoned and questioned domestic
and international NGO representatives and presented at least two with
charges of working for an unregistered or illegal organization and
accepting foreign funding without government approval.
On December 29, officials representing the public prosecutor,
accompanied by armed CSF personnel, raided the offices of at least
seven local and international NGOs, temporarily detaining local and
international staff; confiscating files, equipment, and cash; and
sealing access to most of the offices. Upon arrival officials did not
provide warrants, explain the reason for the search, or provide an
inventory of the confiscated items (see section 5).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice, albeit with some notable exceptions, including the handling
of refugees and asylum seekers. The government provided protection for
some recognized refugees but did not cooperate fully with the Office of
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to asylum seekers
and other persons of concern.
In-Country Movement.--Citizens and foreigners may not travel in
areas of the country designated as military zones.
Foreign Travel.--Men who have not completed compulsory military
service may not travel abroad or emigrate. Completion of military
service is indicated on national identification cards. Married Baha'i
and their children faced difficulties obtaining national identification
cards because the government does not recognize Baha'i marriages as
legitimate. As a result some Baha'i men of draft age were unable to
establish that they had fulfilled or were exempt from military service
and therefore were unable to obtain passports. Police officials
reportedly forced unmarried women younger than 21 to present their
father's written permission to obtain a passport and to travel,
although this is not required by law.
Exile.--The 1971 constitution and the provisional constitution
prohibit forced exile, and the government did not use it during the
year. A number of citizens living outside the country in self-imposed
exile returned after the resignation of former president Mubarak.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The 1971 constitution
and the provisional constitution provide for the protection of
political refugees, but the country's laws do not provide for the
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has not
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The UNHRC
has the authority to make refugee status determinations based on a 1954
memorandum of understanding with the government. However, the
government frequently denied UNHRC representatives access to detention
facilities. Detained refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants were
subject to criminal penalties and administrative detention for
unauthorized entry or residence. They were often held in jails,
military camps, and regular prisons with convicted criminals (see
section 1.c.).
Nonrefoulement.--In October authorities forcibly returned at least
10 Eritreans to Eritrea; 62 others returned voluntarily, although human
rights advocates reported that many voluntary returns of Eritreans were
in fact coerced since detained Eritreans were given only two options:
volunteer to return to Eritrea or remain indefinitely in detention. The
government provided few with access to the UNHRC and the option of
seeking refugee status. The circumstances surrounding another return in
October of approximately 115-120 Eritreans were not known, because they
were denied access to appeal mechanisms and to the UNHRC for asylum
protection.
Refugee Abuse.--Police shot and killed at least 13 migrants during
the year to prevent them from entering Israel through the Sinai
Peninsula. NGOs alleged that authorities held as many as 500 Africans
in detention centers in Sinai at year's end. NGOs and victims reaching
Israel alleged that Bedouin smugglers subjected migrants to extortion,
long-term detention, rape, and torture, sometimes resulting in death.
Smugglers demanded ransoms of up to LE 239,000 ($40,000) per person.
Prison guards subjected African detainees to race-related beatings, and
African refugees faced societal discrimination based on race.
Employment.--Most refugees were not granted legal authority to work
in the country. Those seeking unauthorized employment faced challenges
due to both lack of jobs and discrimination against sub-Saharan
Africans. Refugees that found work generally took low-paying jobs, and
employers often exploited them.
Access to Basic Services.--Refugees, in particular those from sub-
Saharan African countries, continued to face limited access to
education, health services, and housing. Refugees did not have a legal
right to education, health, or other social services. The UNHRC
provided the most vulnerable refugees with modest support for refugee
education and health care through NGOs. Some schools enrolled children
of refugees, but most did not, citing overcrowding and lack of
resources. Government hospitals were required by law to provide free
medical care to refugees, but many of the hospitals refused to provide
care on the grounds that they did not have adequate resources.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived through a combination of
the principles of birth within the country's territory and from one's
parents. Stateless persons, who account for less than 1 percent of all
registered refugees and asylum seekers (approximately 44,570 persons),
frequently did not qualify for protection under the local refugee
apparatus. Many stateless persons faced indefinite detention. There
were approximately 70,000 Palestinians living in the country, an
unknown number of whom were stateless, detained in prison, and not
registered with the UNHRC.
Following an announcement in May by then interior minister Eissawy,
the government began to grant citizenship to children born of citizen
mothers and Palestinian fathers. At year's end more than 500 persons
had been issued passports that enabled them to legally live and work in
the country without being detained or deported.
Other stateless persons included the children of Eritrean fathers
and Ethiopian mothers who lacked refugee status and were not considered
citizens by either of their parents' countries. They received no
monetary assistance, lacked the ability to work, and were isolated from
other members of refugee communities.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
There continued to be limitations on citizens' rights to change
their government peacefully during the year. Major demonstrations
between January 25 and February 11 forced a change of government on
February 11. On February 13, the SCAF dissolved the parliament,
suspended the 1971 constitution, and ruled as an executive authority
not subject to electoral approval for the remainder of the year. On
March 30, following a March 19 referendum on amendments to eight
articles of the 1971 constitution, the SCAF issued a provisional
constitution. The provisional constitution provides for citizens to
elect the 508-seat People's Assembly every five years, with 10 of the
seats filled by presidential appointment. The provisional constitution
also provides for two-thirds of the 180-member Shura Council--the upper
house of parliament--to be elected and one-third to be appointed by the
president, every six years. Under the provisional constitution,
citizens directly elect the president, who is limited to two four-year
terms.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On March
19, voters participated in a constitutional referendum to approve or
reject eight amendments to the 1971 constitution. The process generally
was considered fair, but there were scattered reports of voter
intimidation.
Parliamentary elections began on November 28 and were expected to
conclude in February 2012. On October 1, the SCAF announced that it
would permit local and international NGOs to ``witness'' the elections
under guidelines determined by the Higher Elections Commission. The
SCAF's previous position as articulated on July 20 was that it would
not allow international organizations to observe the elections, terming
it an affront to national sovereignty. The segment of the electoral
process completed by year's end generally was considered free from
state interference, but local and international NGOs monitoring the
elections noted administrative issues including delays in opening
polling stations and inadequate supplies of indelible ink, ballot
boxes, and ballots. There were also reports that some parties violated
electoral regulations stipulating that no campaigning could occur
within 48 hours of the elections or in close proximity to polling
stations. In addition, during the electoral period (although not
targeting election participants or locations), security forces used
excessive force to disperse demonstrations, the government censored and
harassed media outlets, and Ministry of Justice investigators raided
the offices of NGOs involved in electoral monitoring and administration
activities.
Political Parties.--The freedom to form, legally register, and
operate political parties improved significantly during the year.
Before the revolution the law stipulated that party ``principles,
targets, programs, policies, or means of practicing activities'' had to
conform to national security and other requirements (as interpreted by
the government). On March 28, the SCAF passed a new law that eased most
restrictions on the legal establishment of new political parties.
However, the law prohibits parties formed on the basis of religion,
class, sect, profession, geography, language, or gender, and new
parties are required to have a minimum of 5,000 members from at least
10 provinces. Previously, new parties were required to have 1,000
members.
Authorities rejected one party application during the year, from
the reportedly Shia-oriented Tahrir Party, on the grounds that the
party was based on religious principles. The committee asked several
parties to provide further documentation to ensure they were in
compliance with the law. Some parties, such as Al-Wasat, had
unsuccessfully sought to register for more than a decade under the
previous government. Approximately 40 new parties successfully
registered after the revolution.
On April 16, an administrative court dissolved the former ruling
National Democratic Party and transferred its assets to the state.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Religious and cultural
barriers strongly inhibited women's political participation and
leadership. The SCAF and political parties, among other groups,
excluded women from the political process during the year. On July 21,
the SCAF announced that it abolished the quota established in 2009 that
reserved 64 People's Assembly seats for women. In late September the
SCAF amended the election law to require at least one female candidate
on each party list competing in the legislative elections.
Media and NGO observer groups reported high voter turnout among
women and Coptic Christians for the first two rounds of parliamentary
elections that took place in November and December. Since the elections
continued at year's end, it was unclear how many women or minorities
would serve in parliament. At year's end the cabinet included one woman
and two Coptic Christians. There were no women or members of religious
minorities serving on the SCAF; women were excluded from military
service, and non-Muslims were generally selected for retirement before
reaching senior active-duty ranks. No women or members of religious
minorities were among the appointed governors of the country's 27
governorates.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not consistently and effectively implement the law,
and impunity was a problem. The Central Agency for Auditing and
Accounting is the government's anticorruption body and submits biennial
reports to the People's Assembly that are not available to the public.
The auditing and accounting agency stations monitors at state-owned
companies to report corrupt practices. Observers did not judge the
agency to be effective.
On September 26, the Administrative Audit Apparatus announced that
65,855 cases of official corruption from the last several years were
pending. Investigations had begun in 39,545 cases.
Authorities brought many corruption cases against former senior
government and National Democratic Party officials during the year. The
Supreme Court trial of former president Mubarak and his sons, Alaa and
Gamal Mubarak, began on August 1. The three were charged with
corruption involving a land deal and the illegal sale of underpriced
natural gas to Israel. The trial continued at year's end.
On September 18, a court sentenced former minister of tourism
Zoheir Garana to three years in prison for violating government decrees
and granting illegal licenses to tourism companies.
There are no financial disclosure laws for public officials, nor is
there a legal framework stipulating how citizens could access
government information. In practice the government was not generally
responsive to requests for documents regarding government activities
and did not provide reasons for its lack of responsiveness.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Government restrictions on local and international NGO activities,
including raiding of some NGO offices, confiscating supplies equipment
and money, and interference with domestic organizations' ability to
accept foreign funding, continued to limit the ability of NGOs to carry
out their work (see section 2.b.).
There were many well-established, independent, domestic human
rights NGOs operating in the country, including the Egyptian
Organization for Human Rights, Human Rights Association for the
Assistance of Prisoners, Arab Penal Reform Organization, Association
for Human Rights and Legal Aid, Cairo Institute for Human Rights
Studies, Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, Ibn Khaldun Center,
Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal
Profession, Arab Network for Human Rights Information, Nadim Center for
the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture and Violence, Association for
Freedom of Thought and Expression, and Egyptian Center for Women's
Rights. Internet activists and bloggers continued to play a significant
role in publicizing information about human rights abuses. Unregistered
organizations generally were allowed to operate, but they did so in
violation of the law and faced harassment along with the prospect of
government interference or closure.
The government exhibited an inconsistent approach to cooperating
with human rights NGOs that generally hardened over the course of the
year. Security services periodically harassed them but until near the
end of the year generally did not interfere with their activities.
Government officials, including members of the SCAF, were selectively
cooperative and responsive to some NGOs' views. Immediately after the
revolution, the government consulted with human rights organizations
and attorneys, but NGOs reported that this cooperation became less
frequent and more perfunctory as the year progressed. At year's end
there were reports that the government was investigating hundreds of
NGOs for conducting programs and receiving foreign funding without
government approval. NGOs asserted that the government's process for
approving programs they sought to implement was intentionally
protracted and often resulted in arbitrary refusals to allow
organizations to conduct some programs, often on subjects the
government deemed ``political,'' such as the performance of security
forces.
Until raids on the offices of five international NGOs on December
29, the government generally allowed international human rights NGOs to
operate. Human Rights Watch maintained an office in Cairo. Other
organizations, such as Amnesty International, made periodic visits as
part of their regional research program and were able to work with
domestic human rights groups. The Higher Elections Commission worked
closely with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems to
prepare for the elections. The government continued to categorize the
registration of the National Democratic Institute and the International
Republican Institute as ``pending'' but allowed them to provide
technical assistance in support of political and civil rights. The
government also granted them permission and badges to monitor
parliamentary elections.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated
with the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) and permitted visits by
representatives examining ways to help youth in poverty. The government
was less open to UNDP election assistance, limiting its role to
providing technical support and training monitors. The Ministry of
Interior cooperated with the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in
identifying 10 greater Cairo communities for a pilot community policing
program. It received but did not respond to UNODC proposals on prison
reform, modernization of the criminal justice system, and enhancement
of police oversight and accountability.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The NCHR monitored government
abuses of human rights and submitted citizen complaints to the
government. It gained credibility after the revolution by operating
independently of the suspended Shura Council, to which it formally is
attached, and replacing its government-appointed board of directors
with prominent human rights activists and attorneys. However, it
struggled with logistical challenges throughout the year. Its offices
were damaged twice by demonstrations targeting other nearby facilities.
The NCHR issued a fact-finding report detailing the government's
failure to prevent and respond adequately to the September 9 attack on
the Israeli embassy, and it also issued a fact-finding report on the
events of October 9, when security forces violently dispersed a
demonstration in Cairo by primarily Coptic Christians.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The provisional constitution prohibits discrimination against
citizens on the basis of race, origin, language, religion, creed,
disability, or social status. Equality of the sexes was included in the
1971 constitution but not in the provisional constitution. Many aspects
of the law discriminate against women and religious minorities, and the
government did not effectively enforce prohibitions against such
discrimination. On October 16, the SCAF issued a decree making it a
crime under the penal code to discriminate on the basis of gender,
origin, religion, language, religion, or creed.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law prohibits rape,
prescribing penalties of 15 to 25 years' imprisonment or life
imprisonment for cases involving armed abduction. The government did
not effectively enforce the law. Police and fear of societal reprisal
actively discouraged women from coming to police stations to report
crimes, resulting in a very small number of cases being investigated or
effectively prosecuted. Spousal rape is not illegal. According to the
Ministry of Interior, approximately 20,000 cases of rape were reported
each year.
Domestic violence continued to be a significant problem. An
academic survey conducted on a random sample of 1,503 households in
Minya, Sohag, Cairo, and Alexandria found that 81 percent of men
believed they have the right to beat their wives and daughters. The law
does not prohibit domestic violence or spousal abuse, but provisions
relating to assault may be applied with accompanying penalties.
However, the law requires that an assault victim produce multiple
eyewitnesses, a difficult condition for domestic abuse victims, making
prosecutions extremely rare.
Several NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and other services to
women who were victims of domestic violence.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not specifically
address honor crimes. There were no reliable statistics regarding the
incidence of honor crimes, but observers said such killings occurred
during the year, particularly in rural areas. According to a report by
the Women News Network on September 27, some women felt forced to
terminate their pregnancy to avoid becoming an honor-crime victim.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment remained a serious problem.
There is no specific law criminalizing sexual harassment, but the
government occasionally prosecuted sexual harassment under existing
law. NGOs stated that sexual harassment was used as a tool of political
repression by government and civilian actors and that women often felt
unsafe peacefully protesting without male protection (see section
2.b.). Harassmap.org, a domestic nonprofit initiative launched in 2010,
enabled women to report where and how they had been harassed so that
other women could avoid those areas.
Sex Tourism.--Sex tourism existed in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and
at resort areas such as Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada. Most sex tourists
came from the Persian Gulf region.
Reproductive Rights.--The government did not restrict citizens'
family-planning decisions, although men and women did not always have
the information and means to make decisions free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. Social, cultural, and religious barriers
restricted individuals' rights to make reproductive decisions. The
Ministry of Family and Population was dissolved in February and became
part of the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health distributed
contraception and provided personnel to attend births, postpartum care
to mothers and children, and treatment for sexually transmitted
diseases at no cost. According to U.N. estimates, 79 percent of births
were attended by skilled health personnel and 58 percent of women ages
15-49 used a modern method of contraception. NGOs reported that
government family planning information and services were not adequate
to meet the needs of the entire population, particularly outside of
large urban areas. For example, NGOs expressed concern over lack of
access to reproductive information and services for adolescent girls in
rural areas.
Discrimination.--NGOs reported an increasingly challenging
environment for women during the year. The National Council for Women
was inactive, and the Suzanne Mubarak Center disbanded following the
revolution. On September 11, a representative of the Association of
Egyptian Female Lawyers said, ``There is no women's agenda now,''
adding, ``Women take no part in decisions of national importance.''
Aspects of the law and traditional practices continued to
discriminate against women. Laws affecting marriage and personal status
generally corresponded to an individual's religion. For example, a
female Muslim citizen may not marry a non-Muslim man without risking
arrest and conviction for apostasy; under the government's
interpretation of Sharia, any children from such a marriage could be
placed in the custody of a male Muslim guardian. ``Khula'' divorce
allows a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce without her husband's
consent, provided she is willing to forego all her financial rights,
including alimony, dowry, and other benefits. The Coptic Orthodox
Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances, such as adultery
or conversion of one spouse to another religion. A Muslim female heir
receives half the amount of a male heir's inheritance, and Christian
widows of Muslims have no inheritance rights. A sole Muslim female heir
receives half her parents' estate, with the balance going to the
siblings of the parents or to the children of the siblings if the
siblings are deceased. A sole male heir--because he is expected to
provide for his female relatives--inherits his parents' entire estate.
A woman's testimony is equal to that of a man in courts dealing with
all matters except for personal status, such as marriage and divorce,
where an adult male relative or representative often will testify on a
woman's behalf. In marriage and divorce cases, a woman's testimony must
be judged credible to be admissible. Usually this is accomplished by
having her convey her testimony through an adult male relative or
representative. A man's testimony is assumed credible unless proven
otherwise.
The law made it difficult for women to access formal credit. While
women were allowed to own property, social and religious barriers
strongly discouraged women's ownership of land.
Women faced extensive discrimination in the labor force. Labor laws
provided for equal rates of pay for equal work for men and women in the
public sector, although pay was not always equal in practice. NGOs
reported that working women earned approximately 77 percent less than
men. Educated women had employment opportunities, but social pressure
against women pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights advocates
claimed that Islamist influence and other traditional and cultural
attitudes and practices inhibited further gains. Women were excluded
from high-level positions in large sectors of the economy controlled by
the military, since women did not serve in the military and thus were
not given access to these jobs. The government reported in May that
women were five times more likely to be unemployed than men. More than
half of female university graduates were unemployed. The Ministry of
Social Solidarity operated more than 150 family counseling bureaus
nationwide to provide legal and medical services to unemployed women
who are unmarried or do not reside with their husband or family.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived through a
combination of the principles of birth within the country's territory
and from one's parents. The government attempted to register all births
but faced resistance from citizens in remote and tribal areas, such as
the Sinai. The government cooperated with NGOs in addressing this
problem. In some cases failure to register resulted in denial of public
services, particularly in urban areas where most services required
presentation of a national identification card.
Education.--Education is compulsory, free, and universal until the
ninth grade. The law provides this benefit to stateless persons and
refugees, but in practice they were often excluded from public
education.
Child Abuse.--An academic survey conducted on a random sample of
1,503 households in Minya, Sohag, Cairo, and Alexandria found that 50
percent of women reported having been physically abused at a young age,
with 93 percent of them suffering abuse from their parents. The survey
also found that 81 percent of men believed they have the right to beat
their daughters. After the revolution there were no effective
government institutions dedicated to addressing these subjects.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).--FGM is illegal, but it remained a
problem. The law criminalizes FGM, except in cases of medical
necessity, with penalties of three months to two years in prison or a
fine of approximately LE 5,000 ($829). Enforcement generally declined
during the year because some organizations working on the issue were no
longer active after the revolution. On September 28, two girls in
Fayoum were hospitalized after experiencing massive blood loss
following FGM procedures performed on them by a traditional birth
attendant (daya). According to the most recent government statistics,
the government received approximately 5,000 reports of FGM cases from
citizens between 2005 and 2009. In 2008 the minister of population and
families stated publicly that FGM rates in Upper Egypt were 65 percent
but did not exceed 9 percent in northern governorates.
Child Marriage.--The legal age of marriage is 18. According to
UNICEF, 17 percent of children were or had been married. As a result of
postrevolution economic hardships, the incidence of child marriage
increased slightly. Enforcement declined slightly due to a general
decline in law enforcement capacity after the revolution. The media
reported that some child marriages were temporary marriages intended to
mask prostitution. Victims sometimes were encouraged by their families
to marry wealthy men from the Persian Gulf region in what are known
locally as transactional or ``summer'' marriages.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law provides specific
penalties for commercial sexual exploitation of children and child
pornography. The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. According to NGO
and media reports, the number of street children in Cairo increased
after the January revolution, and these children were at risk of being
sexually exploited.
Displaced Children.--According to the National Center for Social
and Criminological Studies, there were three million street children
across the country. The Ministry of Social Solidarity offered shelters
for street children, but many chose not to seek refuge in them because
they closed at night, forcing the children back onto the streets.
Religious institutions and NGOs like the Nour al-Hayat Child Welfare
Association provided services for street children, including meals,
clothing, and literacy classes. The Ministry of Health offered mobile
health clinics staffed by nurses and social workers.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as country-specific
information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--Anti-Israel sentiment was widespread. In the state-
owned and private media, it sometimes included anti-Semitic rhetoric
and Holocaust denial or glorification. Editorial cartoons and articles
depicting demonic images of Jews and Israeli leaders, stereotypical
images of Jews along with Jewish symbols, and comparisons of Israeli
leaders with Hitler and the Nazis were published throughout the year,
particularly after the August 18 deaths of five Egyptian soldiers in
Sinai during an Israeli operation against terrorist attackers. The SCAF
advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid anti-Semitism but claimed
that some inflammatory statements in the media were a ``legitimate''
reaction to alleged Israeli efforts to destabilize Egypt as well as to
Israeli government actions against Palestinians. There were reports of
imams using anti-Semitic rhetoric in their sermons. There were no
reports of anti-Semitic violence directed toward Jews living in Egypt.
The Israeli embassy was the scene of several demonstrations
featuring anti-Semitic slogans. A wall erected around it by the
government in early September was quickly covered in anti-Semitic
graffiti, including swastikas.
In September squatters occupied part of Cairo's 800-year-old
Bassatine Jewish cemetery and destroyed some headstones and monuments.
The government evicted them after complaints.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides that all businesses
must designate 5 percent of their positions for persons with physical
or mental disabilities, but activist groups reported that this
provision was not enforced. There are no laws prohibiting
discrimination against persons with disabilities in education, access
to health care, or the provision of other state services, nor are there
laws mandating access to buildings or transportation. Widespread
societal discrimination continued against persons with disabilities,
particularly mental disabilities, resulting in a lack of acceptance
into mainstream society. Government-operated treatment centers for
persons with disabilities, especially children, were poor.
On March 3, approximately 200 persons with disabilities protested
in Cairo, calling for better protection of their rights. On October 31,
12 persons with disabilities threatened to set themselves on fire near
the cabinet building in order to draw attention to the lack of
employment opportunities available to them.
The Ministries of Education and Social Solidarity shared
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
There was a Supreme Council for Disabilities within the Ministry of
Social Solidarity, but activists reported it was inactive. Persons with
disabilities rode government-owned mass transit buses free of charge
and received special subsidies to purchase household products,
wheelchairs, and prosthetic devices. Persons with disabilities also
received expeditious approval for the installation of new telephone
lines and received reductions on customs duties for specially equipped
private vehicles. The government also worked closely with U.N. agencies
and other international aid donors to design job-training programs for
persons with disabilities.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not explicitly
criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, but it allows police
to arrest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons on
charges of ``debauchery.'' Gay men and lesbians faced significant
social stigma in society and in the workplace, impeding their ability
to organize or publicly advocate on behalf of the LGBT community.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV-positive
individuals faced significant social stigma in society and the
workplace. The National AIDS Program in the Ministry of Health
conducted public awareness campaigns to educate people on HIV
prevention and transmission.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for the right to freedom of association,
although the legal status of independent labor remained unsettled. The
Mubarak-era Trade Union Act of 1976 remains on the books but is neither
legally recognized nor actively applied by the government. The Ministry
of Manpower and Migration issued a decree on March 12 recognizing
complete freedom of association and stating that the Trade Union Act is
illegal because it conflicts with the country's International Labor
Organization (ILO) commitments.
Some employers claimed the Trade Union Act still applied despite
the ministerial decree. It placed significant restrictions on the right
to organize (including a requirement that all unions affiliate with the
government-dominated Egyptian Trade Union Federation--ETUF), legal
strikes, and collective bargaining.
The Unified Labor Law of 2003 (the labor code) permits peaceful
strikes but imposes significant restrictions, including prior approval
by a general trade union affiliated with the ETUF. The labor code also
does not extend protections to domestic servants or some agricultural
laborers. In addition, on March 23, the SCAF approved a cabinet decree
criminalizing strikes, protests, demonstrations, and sit-ins that
disrupt private or state-owned businesses or impede the economy.
The law provides for collective bargaining but imposes significant
restrictions. The scope of collective bargaining is substantially
limited by the fact that the government sets wages and benefits for all
public sector and government employees. The Ministry of Manpower and
Migration also legally oversees and monitors collective negotiations
and agreements in the private sector.
Although the Trade Union Act remains formally in place, on March
12, the Minister of Manpower and Migration issued a declaration
recognizing complete freedom of association. The minister held that the
country's ratification of ILO and U.N. Human Rights Council conventions
superseded existing domestic laws that limited freedom of association.
According to the decree, unions were no longer required to join one of
the 23 officially recognized industrial federations that were part of
ETUF.
In practice workers' ability to exercise freedom of association and
the right to collective bargaining improved over previous years.
Following the March 12 declaration, the Ministry of Manpower and
Migration removed most administrative and practical restrictions placed
on worker organizations under the former regime.
As of October 23, according to the ministry, 211 new trade unions
had registered without interference. NGOs reported that hundreds more
worker organizations formed but had not sought to register by year's
end. On January 30, the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions
(EFITU) declared itself the country's first independent labor
federation. A second independent federation, the Egyptian Democratic
Labor Congress, was launched in October. The two independent
federations each represented hundreds of thousands of workers by year's
end.
While new worker organizations were generally independent of
government and political parties, ETUF, previously the country's only
trade union federation, was not. The government halted direct financial
support for ETUF by midyear but continued to permit ETUF to
automatically deduct dues from workers' salaries. However, it remained
difficult or impossible for workers to disassociate themselves from the
formerly state-affiliated ETUF unions, which continued to control
worker certifications and retirement and social security funds for as
many as five million workers.
On August 4, the cabinet approved a recommendation by the Manpower
Ministry to dissolve the board of ETUF. The minister designated a
provisional board to serve until general elections, initially scheduled
for late 2011 but then delayed by the government until summer 2012.
However, in December the old ETUF board and the heads of ETUF's
subsidiary unions unilaterally decided to extend their own mandates and
governance of ETUF, effectively sidelining the caretaker board.
Beginning in late January and continuing throughout the year, the
country witnessed the highest number of worker strikes and other worker
actions in its modern history. Thousands of worker actions (strikes,
protests, sit-ins) took place, the majority in the government and
public sectors. The government invoked the March 23 antistrike decree
to end strikes and arrest labor organizers in the petroleum, maritime,
postal service, and other sectors. NGOs claimed that hired thugs and
security forces dispersed some strikes.
There were NGO and media reports that employers practiced antiunion
discrimination, particularly against organizers of new independent
unions, and that enforcement efforts were ineffective. Government
enforcement of violations was minimal in part because of a confusing
legal environment: the March 12 declaration recognized freedom of
association and stated that the Trade Union Act is illegal; however,
the previous law remained on the books, and ETUF and some employers
still treated it as applicable. Some employers asserted they were not
legally obligated to recognize new unions as the March decree on
freedom of association was not codified into law.
Labor organizers remained subject to harassment, arrest, and
arbitrary dismissal. A number of striking workers were tried in
military courts, following a broad pattern that applied to other
``crimes'' following the revolution, where they received prison
sentences and fines. Unidentified armed men kidnapped a leading
organizer of doctors' strikes and held him for three days in October
during doctors' syndicate elections for which he was a candidate. The
kidnappers questioned him extensively about efforts to organize strikes
and protests before releasing him unharmed. The EFITU and labor NGOs
reported cases of worker organizers being fired from their jobs for
starting new unions. Reinstatements for workers fired for union
activity were uncommon.
In practice the requirement for tripartite negotiations seldom was
followed, and workers negotiated directly with employers. When the
government did become involved, it most often was for dispute
resolution rather than for genuine collective bargaining. The Manpower
Ministry reported receiving 4,460 individual and group complaints from
workers during the year, and it claimed it assisted in resolving 94
group disputes through collective negotiations between workers and
management.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The 1971
constitution, the provisional constitution, and the law prohibit forced
or compulsory labor. Reports of forced labor were relatively rare and
tended to involve migrant workers and children. There were reports of
cases of foreign female workers in domestic service held in conditions
of forced labor.
See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
Child Law sets the minimum age for regular employment at 15, and at age
12 for seasonal employment. The labor code bars children under age 18
from 44 specific hazardous occupations, while the Child Law prohibits
employment of children (all under 18) from any work that ``puts the
health, safety, or morals of the child into danger.'' Provincial
governors, with the approval of the minister of education, may
authorize seasonal work (often agricultural) for children who are 12 or
older, provided that duties are not hazardous and do not interfere with
schooling. The labor code and Child Law limit working children's hours
and mandate breaks. However, the labor code explicitly excludes
domestic work, work in family businesses, and children working in
agriculture from minimum age and other restrictions.
The Ministry of Manpower and Migration, in coordination with the
National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) and the Ministry
of Interior, enforced child labor laws in state-owned enterprises and
private sector establishments through inspections and supervision of
factory management. The government did not inspect for child labor in
noncommercial farms, and there were no monitoring or enforcement
mechanisms for children in domestic service. The government did not
effectively enforce child labor laws in the informal sector, and child
labor in the informal sector remained prevalent. As a result of limited
and inconsistent funding for training and enforcement, labor inspectors
generally operated without specific training on child labor issues and
performed these inspections as part of their other duties. Training
programs varied in quality by governorate. When offenders were
prosecuted, the fines imposed were often as low as LE 500 ($83) and
thus had questionable deterrent effect.
During the year the Manpower Ministry institutionalized a child
labor monitoring system database at the national level, and provided
training for both the technology support staff and the child labor unit
staff. In July the government estimated that 1.6 million children, just
under 10 percent of the total population of children, were engaged in
labor. The majority of child labor occurred in agriculture and domestic
work, although children also worked in light industry, on construction
sites, and in service businesses such as auto repair shops. According
to government, NGO, and media reports, the number of street children in
Cairo increased after the revolution; such children were at greater
risk of sexual exploitation or forced begging. In some cases employers
abused, overworked, and generally endangered working children.
The government continued to implement a number of social,
educational, and poverty reduction programs to reduce children's
vulnerability to exploitive labor. The NCCM sought to provide working
children with social security safeguards and to reduce school dropout
rates by providing families with alternative sources of income.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The National Council of Wages
established an LE 700 ($120) monthly minimum wage for public sector
workers. At least initially, the minimum wage applied only to direct
government employees and used existing benefits and bonuses to
calculate the total salary. Most government workers, therefore, already
earned a total above the minimum wage. The government initiated a 15
percent wage hike designed to lift those below the threshold above the
LE 700 level.
According to Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics
figures, from July 2010 to June 2011, the poverty line was LE 256 ($41)
per person, per month. The agency defined ``extreme poverty'' as less
than LE 171.50 ($28) per month.
Although the wage council determined working hours for government
and public sector employees, there were no standards for the private
sector. The law stipulates that the maximum workweek is 48 hours. The
law provides for premium pay for overtime and work on rest days and
national holidays. Most private sector employees worked five days per
week, usually Sunday through Thursday.
The law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime, but the government
enforced these prohibitions only in the public sector, and it did so
selectively.
The Ministry of Manpower and Migration sets and enforces worker
health and safety standards; however, enforcement and inspections were
uneven. The law prohibits employers from maintaining hazardous working
conditions, and workers have the right to remove themselves from
hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment. Agricultural
and fisheries workers were not covered by working conditions standards,
and there was no attempt to apply these standards to the informal
sector.
Many private and informal sector workers throughout the country,
including in special economic zones, faced poor working conditions.
Domestic workers were not covered by labor laws, making them vulnerable
to abuse and forced labor. There were reports of employer abuse of
citizen and undocumented foreign workers, especially domestic workers.
__________
IRAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Islamic Republic of Iran\1\ is a constitutional, theocratic
republic in which Shia Muslim clergy and political leaders vetted by
the clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is
based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit restricted--
and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The
current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen by a
directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in
1989. Khamenei's writ dominates the legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces
and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and
other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected
290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majlis. The unelected 12-
member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majlis passes to
ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also
screens presidential and Majlis candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad was reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty
election that was generally considered neither free nor fair. There
were numerous instances in which elements of the security forces acted
independently of civilian control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Note: The United States does not have an embassy in Iran. This
report draws heavily on non-U.S. government sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstrations by opposition groups, university students, and
others increased during the first few months of the year, inspired in
part by events of the Arab Spring. In February hundreds of protesters
throughout the country staged rallies to show solidarity with
protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. The government responded harshly to
protesters and critics, arresting, torturing, and prosecuting them for
their dissent. As part of its crackdown, the government increased its
oppression of media and the arts, arresting and imprisoning dozens of
journalists, bloggers, poets, actors, filmmakers, and artists
throughout the year. The government's suppression and intimidation of
voices of opposition continued at a rapid pace at year's end.
The most egregious human rights problems were the government's
severe limitations on citizens' right to peacefully change their
government through free and fair elections, restrictions on civil
liberties, and disregard for the sanctity of life through the
government's use of arbitrary detention, torture, and deprivation of
life without due process. The government severely restricted freedoms
of speech and the press (including via the Internet), assembly,
association, movement, and religion. The government committed
extrajudicial killings and executed persons for criminal convictions as
juveniles, on minor offenses, and after unfair trials, sometimes in
public or group executions. Security forces under the government's
control committed acts of politically motivated violence and
repression, including torture, beatings, and rape. The government
administered severe officially sanctioned punishments, including
amputation and flogging. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and
detained individuals, often holding them incommunicado.
Other human rights abuses included acts of violence by vigilante
groups with ties to the government, such as the Basij militia. Prison
conditions remained poor, and several prisoners died during the year as
a result. There were few examples of judicial independence or fair
public trials. Authorities held numerous political prisoners and
continued to crack down on women's rights activists, ethnic minority
rights activists, student activists, religious minorities, and
environmental activists. The government severely restricted the right
to privacy. Authorities denied admission to or expelled hundreds of
university students whose views were deemed unacceptable by the regime;
professors faced expulsion on similar grounds. Official corruption and
a lack of government transparency persisted. Violence and legal and
societal discrimination against women, children, ethnic and religious
minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons
were extant. Incitement to anti-Semitism and trafficking in persons
remained problems. The government severely restricted workers' rights
and arrested numerous union leaders as the number of protests increased
during the year. Child labor remained a serious problem.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government and its agents committed multiple acts of arbitrary
or unlawful killings, including those caused by torture, denial of
medical treatment, and beatings (see also section 1.e., Political
Prisoners and Detainees). The government made only limited attempts to
investigate cases, if at all. There were several extrajudicial killings
by government Basij forces surrounding the February protests in support
of the Arab Spring uprisings. Basij forces reportedly killed protesters
during rallies and while pursuing protesters after they had dispersed.
On February 14, security forces killed two university students,
Saneh Jaleh and Mohammad Mokhtari, during a rally in Tehran to
demonstrate solidarity with antigovernment protesters in Tunisia and
Egypt. According to press reports, both were shot by men on
motorcycles, which friends indicated was a hallmark of the Basij.
Progovernment news sources contended that Jaleh and Mokhtari were both
members of the Basij and were killed by the terrorist group Mujahedin-e
Khalq (MEK). Friends and relatives of Jaleh and Mokhtari denied the
accusations.
On March 15, Basij forces in Tehran shot and killed university
student Behnoud Ramezani. According to news reports and nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), two initial forensic reports described the cause
of death as ``multiple blows to the head by a hard object.'' The final
cause of death was announced as a result of the ``explosion of a hand
grenade.'' An eyewitness who provided his account to the opposition
news site Daneshjoo stated that Basij forces hit Ramezani with an
``electric shocker.'' The witness reported that Ramezani's neck and
hand were broken and his right thigh was crushed.
On August 25, the opposition Web site Roozonline published an
interview with Behrang Soudbakhsh, the son of Abdolreza Soudbakhsh, a
doctor killed in 2009 after examining rape victims at Kahrizak Prison.
This was the first time that the family came forward about the killing
due to fear of reprisals from authorities. According to the son, the
elder Soudbakhsh was under pressure to remain silent about those who
died under torture and was shot by men on a motorcycle as he left his
office. The son stated that authorities told his father to report that
the victims of Kahrizak had meningitis, even though he had concluded
they died as a result of torture. Behrang claimed his father was
planning to leave the country the night of his death and suggested he
was killed to prevent him from revealing more information. The elder
Soudbakhsh had given an interview to Deutsche Welle's Persian network a
few weeks before his death in which he mentioned the rapes. At the time
of his death, officials denied Soudbakhsh's killing had anything to do
with his knowledge of events at Kahrizak.
There were developments in one case from a previous year. On
February 6, according to the online legal news site The Jurist, the
government executed two unidentified men convicted of torturing and
killing three university students and protesters--Amir Javadifar,
Mohammed Kamrani, and Mohsen Rouhalamini--at Kahrizak Prison in 2009. A
criminal case against former Tehran prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi
for his involvement was reportedly continuing at year's end, although
Mortazavi announced on July 18 that he had effectively been acquitted
of all charges, explaining that the Civil Servants Court had decided
not to prosecute him. Legal claims filed against Mortazavi by the
families of those killed also remained pending. During the year
Mortazavi continued to serve as the head of the governmental
antismuggling task force.
According to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC),
the government executed 659 persons during the year, many after trials
that were conducted in secret or did not adhere to basic principles of
due process. Some observers noted a figure as low as 277, while other
credible NGOs reported the number of executions, including those
conducted in secret, was more than 700. The U.N. special rapporteur for
human rights in Iran noted in his October report that at least 83
persons, including three political prisoners, were known to have been
executed in January alone. Human rights activists reported that the
government executed an average of two persons a day during the first
six months of the year. Authorities did not release statistics on the
implementation of death sentences, the names of those executed, or the
crimes for which they were found guilty. Exiles and human rights
monitors alleged that many persons supposedly executed for criminal
offenses such as narcotics trafficking were actually political
dissidents. Executions for drug convictions constituted the majority of
capital punishment cases in the country. The law criminalizes dissent
and also applies the death penalty to offenses such as ``attempts
against the security of the state,'' ``outrage against high-ranking
officials,'' ``enmity towards god'' (moharebeh), and ``insults against
the memory of Imam Khomeini and against the supreme leader of the
Islamic Republic.''
While the law does not explicitly stipulate the death penalty for
the offense of apostasy, courts have administered such punishment based
on their interpretation of religious fatwas. In September 2010 a lower
court convicted Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani of ``apostasy'' and
issued a death sentence. The case was under Supreme Court review at
year's end. According to Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, moharebeh is ``imposed
for a wide range of crimes, often fairly ill defined and generally
having some sort of political nature.'' The October report of the U.N.
secretary-general on the human rights situation in the country stated
that more than 20 persons charged with moharebeh were executed during
the year. In a June 22 interview with the semiofficial Iranian Student
News Agency (ISNA), Mashad prosecutor Mahmoud Zoghi confirmed the
``high number of unannounced executions'' carried out in Vakilabad
between March and May.
On January 24, the government executed Kurdish political prisoners
Jafar Kazemi, an editor and publisher of academic books at Amir Kabir
University and 2009 election protester, and Mohammad Ali Haj Aghaie,
also an election protester, after they reportedly refused to give
televised confessions on January 17 in Evin Prison. The two were
convicted of moharebeh for participating in the 2009 protests as well
as chanting slogans and distributing banners for the MEK. Authorities
reportedly did not inform Kazemi's wife or lawyer prior to the
execution. Authorities reportedly tortured the prisoners physically and
psychologically. Their interrogators allegedly threatened to arrest his
wife and children if they did not confess. According to their lawyer,
the government failed to provide access to the case files during the
trial. Aghaie was a long-standing political activist who had been
previously convicted for his participation in the 1980s government
opposition.
On January 29, authorities executed Zahra Bahrami, an Iranian-Dutch
citizen. Bahrami was hanged on reportedly trumped-up charges of drug
smuggling after being arrested during the 2009 Ashura protests. Bahrami
was also charged with moharebeh, ``acting against national security,''
and ``propaganda against the establishment,'' but she was not tried on
these charges. The government denied Bahrami access to Dutch consular
officials. According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in
Iran (ICHRI), her lawyer was not informed of the execution until after
it had occurred.
During the year the government practiced public executions and
group executions.
Public hangings using cranes or off of overpasses in the presence
of onlooking crowds were common practice throughout the year. Amnesty
International (AI) reported that authorities acknowledged public
executions of at least 28 persons during the first six months of the
year. The U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran noted the
release of video footage of the public executions of three persons
convicted of kidnapping and rape in Azadi Square of Kermanshah on July
19. Footage showed a large crowd in attendance, including children.
According to the ICHRI, authorities conducted group executions at
several prisons throughout the country, including Vakilabad, Birjand,
Taybad, Karoon, Ghezel Hessar, Urmiya, and Qom, among others. The ICHRI
reported that officials at Vakilabad Prison carried out group
executions on at least 10 occasions, putting to death at least 118
persons. All those executed had been charged with drug-related crimes.
According to ICHRI sources, group executions inside Vakilabad were
carried out by hanging in a roofless hallway leading to the prison's
visitation hall. The executions were secret, without the knowledge or
presence of the prisoners' lawyers or families. Sources also stated
that group death sentences of this nature were usually issued at the
end of unfair trials that often lasted only minutes.
The government reportedly executed at least four persons for crimes
committed when they were minors. For example, on May 5, according to
AI, the government executed 16-year-old Hashem Hamidi, a member of the
Ahvazi Arab minority, along with four men in Karoun Prison in Ahvaz.
Ahvazi Arab sources said the men were arrested after participating in
demonstrations on April 15, but the charges against them were not
known. Hamidi's trial, in the absence of his lawyer, reportedly took
only 10 minutes. The U.N. secretary-general noted in his September
report that more than 100 juveniles were on death row in the country.
Adultery remained punishable by death by stoning, but there were no
reported executions by stoning during the year. The law provides that a
victim of stoning is allowed to go free if he or she escapes. It is
much more difficult for women to escape as they are buried to their
necks whereas men are buried only to their waists. According to AI,
death sentences by stoning continued to be passed, but no stonings were
known to be carried out. AI reported that at least 15 prisoners, mostly
women, remained at risk of stoning.
Iranian forces regularly bombarded areas along the Iran-Iraq
Kurdish border, targeting purported terrorist activities. The Iranian
shelling resulted in civilian casualties. For example, on July 28,
shelling near the town of Sidakan killed a 13-year-old boy. State media
rarely provided reporting or figures on the number killed or injured.
b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated
abductions during the year. Plainclothes officers or security officials
often seized journalists and activists without warning, and government
officials refused to acknowledge the disappearance or provide any
information as to the fate or whereabouts of those taken. In other
cases authorities detained individuals incommunicado for several days
or longer before permitting them to contact family members (see section
1.d.). Families of executed prisoners did not always receive
notification of their deaths (see section 1.a.).
On June 29, according to a Human Rights Activists News Agency
(HRANA) report, Green Movement activist Mohsen Kashefzadeh Saraie
disappeared. Intelligence Ministry officials reportedly summoned
Kashefzadeh over the phone for questioning two days prior to his
disappearance. He did not turn himself in as requested and disappeared
two days later. Authorities refused to disclose any information on
Kashefzadeh's whereabouts, despite requests from his family, and at
year's end his fate was unknown.
On July 31, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), plainclothes
security forces arrested prominent rights activist and blogger Kouhyar
Goudarzi, along with his friends Behnam Ganji and Nahal Sahabi, at
Ganji's home. Authorities reportedly took Goudarzi to an undisclosed
location and later transferred him to Evin Prison, where his friends
were being held, but refused to acknowledge his arrest or detention.
Friends and family requested information from the Tehran Prosecutor's
Office but were told there was no file regarding Goudarzi's case. Ganji
and Sahabi were released four weeks after their arrest and shared the
details of their arrest and detention with their families and in an
interview with the ICHRI. Both committed suicide shortly after their
release, reportedly due to the trauma they suffered in detention.
Security forces had arrested Goudarzi several times since 2006. In June
2010 Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court convicted him of ``propaganda
against the regime'' and other security-related offenses, sentencing
him to one year in prison, which he completed. Despite this, Goudarzi
remained in prison at year's end.
There were a few developments in cases from previous years.
On September 5, according to AI, authorities reportedly released
Sourena Hashemi, who had been arrested with Alireza Firouzi for their
role in exposing the sexual abuse of a fellow student at Zanjan
University in 2008. Their January 2010 arrest was not officially
acknowledged for more than six weeks. Firouzi reportedly remained in
prison at year's end.
On September 13, authorities reportedly released Fayzolah
Arabsorki, a former deputy minister of commerce, from prison. According
to the opposition Web site Kaleme.com, prison authorities presented him
with release papers and then summoned him back to prison four days
later to complete his sentence.
In 2009 unidentified persons arrested Arabsorki, a member of the
central body of the reformist Islamic Revolution Mujahedin
Organization, without presenting a warrant or identifying themselves as
police. Arabsorki reappeared in 2010 at Evin Prison. On May 26, he and
25 other prominent political prisoners wrote a letter to the chairman
of the governmental Central Board for the Sound Implementation of the
Law Regarding the Respect for Contingent Freedoms and Protecting
Citizen Rights. The letter called for an investigation into the human
rights abuses they and other prisoners had endured in prison. The
government initiated no known investigation.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit torture, but there were
numerous credible reports that security forces and prison personnel
tortured and abused detainees and prisoners. There were no credible
reports of government investigations into reports of torture or cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. The government
repeatedly defended its use of flogging and amputation as
``punishment,'' not torture. On March 1, the U.N. special rapporteur on
torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
noted with concern the various commonly applied methods of
mistreatment, including beatings, stress positions, the denial of
medical attention, and prolonged solitary confinement. He noted that
such mistreatment affected mainly human rights defenders, journalists,
social activists, political activists, religious groups, and
individuals associated with various minority groups, including members
of the LGBT community. On October 18, members of the U.N. Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) criticized the government for the use of inhuman
punishments such as flogging.
Common methods of torture and abuse in prisons included prolonged
solitary confinement with extreme sensory deprivation (sometimes called
``white torture"), beatings, rape and sexual humiliation, long
confinement in contorted positions, kicking detainees with military
boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, threats of execution,
burning with cigarettes, being forced to eat feces, pulling out
toenails, sleep deprivation, and severe and repeated beatings with
cables or other instruments on the back and on the soles of the feet.
To intensify abuse perpetrators reportedly soaked prisoners before
beating them with electric cables, and there were some reports of
electric shocks to sexual organs. Prisoners also reported beatings on
the ears, inducing partial or complete deafness; blows in the area
around the eyes, leading to partial or complete blindness; and the use
of poison to induce illness. There were increasing reports of severe
overcrowding in many prisons and repeated denials of medical care for
prisoners.
Some prison facilities, including Evin Prison in Tehran, were
notorious for cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the
government. Authorities also maintained unofficial secret prisons and
detention centers outside the national prison system where abuse
reportedly occurred. The government reportedly used ``white torture''
especially on political prisoners, often in detention centers outside
the control of prison authorities, including Section 209 of Evin
Prison, which was reportedly under the control of the intelligence
services, according to news sources.
On September 3, according to AI and the U.N. special rapporteur for
human rights in Iran, plainclothes officers arrested activist,
journalist, and member of the Azeri minority, Faranak Farid, while she
was shopping in the northwestern city of Tabriz, beating her so
severely that she temporarily lost hearing in one ear and lost the
ability to move one of her arms. Farid, a member of the One Million
Signatures campaign (see section 6, Women), had most recently been
involved in environmental protests. After beating and interrogating
her, authorities allegedly forced her to sign a confession that she
could not read because they had taken away her glasses. At year's end
she remained detained in the Tabriz Central Prison, facing charges of
``insulting the supreme leader,'' ``propaganda against the regime,''
and ``acting against national security.'' As of September 15, according
to AI and the special rapporteur, Farid's requests to see a physician
had not been met, and she had been allowed to meet only once with a
visitor, her sister, for 45 minutes.
During the year there were several reports of government agents
facilitating or encouraging the rape of prisoners and detainees. On
June 24, based on letters smuggled from prison and information on
Kaleme.com, The Guardian published an article detailing the extent of
sexual abuse in the prison system. According to the letters, prison
guards distributed condoms to incarcerated criminals to encourage
systematic rape of opposition prisoners. Mehdi Mahmoudian, an outspoken
member of Iran's Participation Front, a reformist political party,
wrote, ``[R]ape has become a common act and acceptable.'' An unnamed
family member reportedly stated, ``Criminals are repeatedly seen with
condoms in hand, hunting for their victims.''
On June 10, the IHRDC released a report entitled Surviving Rape in
Iran's Prisons, which provided witness statements from five former
prisoners, two women and three men, who suffered rape and other sexual
abuse during incarceration in previous years. At least three of the
rape victims were politically active, and four were raped by prison
guards. In a May 30 interview with IHRDC, a man named ``Sorrour''
discussed his arrest and rape by prison guards, allegedly in
retaliation for fighting with his father, a member of the Basij.
Sorrour left the country in 2009.
There were a few developments in cases from previous years.
On May 8, authorities released Kayhan columnist, blogger, and
documentary filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, who had been detained in 2009
and reportedly beaten in May 2010, causing what the prison physician
classified as a serious head injury that affected his eyesight.
On July 26, Evin Prison authorities added a year to Mohammed
Davari's five-year sentence. In 2010, according to various sources,
authorities tortured and abused Davari, who served as presidential
candidate Mehdi Karroubi's chief of staff and editor in chief of the
Saham News Web site, to force him to cast doubt publicly on Karroubi's
2009 claim that postelection prisoners had been raped. Davari won the
International Press Freedom award from the Committee to Protect
Journalists (CPJ) for his work exposing abuse and rape in the now-
closed Kahrizak Prison. Relatives told the ICHRI that Davari's health
was deteriorating in prison and that he was suffering from severe
depression.
On March 18, Ebrahim Mehtari reported that two men, one of whom was
Iranian, accosted him outside his home in Paris, tying a rope around
his neck and stabbing him several times. Exactly one year prior,
Mehtari participated in a U.N. panel to relate the abuse and torture,
including sodomy, he endured during his 2009 detention in Iran.
Some judicially sanctioned corporal punishment constituted cruel
and inhuman punishment, including amputation for multiple-theft
offenses, and lashings/floggings. On March 16, in connection with an
amputation case in the province of Khurasan, the deputy judiciary head
stressed that the amputation of limbs is part of the punishment to be
meted out to particular offenders. On June 1, Mohammad Javad Larijani,
secretary general of the governmental High Council for Human Rights,
was quoted by the ISNA as stating that flogging was not torture but
rather a punishment and penalty.
On December 11, the Fars Province public relations office reported
that the Fars Province Courthouse carried out a foot amputation ruling
(Hadd) on Mohammadhossein Q., convicted of armed robbery. His hand had
been amputated for the same crime in 2007; however, the foot amputation
was delayed for unknown reasons.
On October 9, according to online opposition news outlet Rah-e
Sabz, a masked prison guard reportedly carried out a sentence of 74
lashes against journalist and student activist Peyman Aref for writing
an ``insulting'' letter to President Ahmadinejad. The lashing was
conducted as a Hadd flogging, which is the harsher type of flogging
reserved for the most serious crimes, and it produced serious injuries.
In the letter Aref protested the ``penalty point'' system for
politically active university students (see section 2.a., Academic
Freedom and Cultural Events), under which his education was curtailed.
Aref's March 2010 sentence for ``propaganda against the regime'' also
included one year in prison, which he completed, and a lifetime ban on
journalism and political party membership.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were
harsh and life threatening. Prisoners committed suicide as a result of
the harsh conditions, solitary confinement, and torture to which they
were subjected. Prison authorities often refused medical treatment for
injuries prisoners suffered at the hands of their torturers and from
the poor sanitary conditions of prison life. Hunger strikes in protest
of their treatment were common. Prisoners and their families often
wrote letters to authorities, and in some cases to U.N. bodies, to
highlight and protest their treatment. As a result of the letters,
prison officials often beat prisoners and revoked their visitation and
telephone privileges.
In a July 13 letter, imprisoned journalist Issa Saharkhiz accused
authorities of using harsh prison conditions to slowly kill political
prisoners (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners). There were reports
of prison guards and other inmates brutalizing and raping prisoners,
especially political prisoners, with impunity (see also section 1.c.,
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Tratment or Punishment).
In a May 9 letter, Mehdi Mahmoudian, convicted for ``collusion against
the government'' after participation in the 2009 protests, wrote that
rape of young men in Rejai Shahr Prison was ``an accepted and common
everyday matter'' completely ignored by prison officials. Authorities
transferred Mahmoudian to solitary confinement without explanation on
June 8. Prisoners were frequently subjected to harassment and
discrimination. Many prisoners were held in solitary confinement or
were denied adequate food or medical care as a way to force
confessions.
Overcrowding was a significant problem, forcing many prisoners to
sleep on the floor, in the hallways, and even outside in the prison
yard. There were reports of food being tampered with to create stomach
illness among the prisoners. There were frequent water shortages and
sanitation problems. Prisoners were severely restricted in their access
to fresh air and often were granted permission to go outside only
during the hottest or coldest times of the day. There were reports of
officials sending prisoners outside without clothes for prolonged
periods of time. Ventilation in the prison was lacking, with the stench
of poor sanitation and water facilities permeating the cells. Prisoners
were often subjected to sensory deprivation, with either 24-hour light
or complete darkness.
On March 15, according to various NGOs, at least nine and as many
as 150 prisoners were killed in clashes between prisoners and prison
guards at the overcrowded Qezel Heser Prison outside Tehran. At the
same time, the head of the prison system, Gholamhossein Esmaili, said a
judicial investigation had been opened; however, no reports had been
released by year's end. Prison authorities stated that the riot began
when death row inmates and drug traffickers committed arson and
attacked guards in an attempt to escape. However, human rights
advocates told AI that the prisoners were protesting poor conditions
and attempts to transfer some inmates for execution. On March 16, state
media reported that 14 persons had died, including at least nine
prisoners, and 33 had been injured. On March 19, HRANA reported that
telephone privileges for prisoners had been cut off until further
notice.
On July 15, according to human rights and democracy advocacy
groups, Sahar Hadadi committed suicide to protest conditions and brutal
mistreatment of women in Gohardasht Prison in the city of Ray. Prison
guards reportedly regularly used electric batons and chokers to abuse
female prisoners. Hadadi was incarcerated for unknown reasons.
In a July 10 interview on Radio Farda, Ali Tabarzadi, son of
prominent political activist Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, stated that Rejai
Shahr prison authorities were not providing adequate medical care for
his father. The senior Tabarzadi had been transferred to the prison
infirmary because of his heart disease but needed to seek treatment
outside prison. Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, head of the banned opposition
party Iran Democratic Front, was detained by Intelligence Ministry
officials in Tehran after the 2009 Ashura protests and sentenced to
eight years' imprisonment. He had not been allowed to leave prison
since his arrest.
On March 3, reformist news outlet Radio Zamaneh reported that
prisons head Esmaili told a gathering of prosecutors that the total
prison population was 220,000 inmates, which included 70,000 prisoners
awaiting sentencing. The official capacity of the prison system is
approximately 85,000. Esmaili also reportedly stated that the number of
prisoners in the country had risen by 55,000 since he became head of
prisons 18 months earlier. In September he stated that the escalating
number of prisoners was causing a crisis, with regular two-month budget
shortfalls being common. On April 30, Younes Mousavi, a member of the
parliament's judicial commission, stated that prisons were so
overcrowded that some prisoners were obliged to sleep in stairways.
Mousavi also stated that the annual budget of the Prisons Organization
did not cover the cost of food and clothing for prisoners.
On April 8, the ICHRI published an open letter from Seyed Hashem
Khastar, a retired teacher and prisoner of conscience, to the judiciary
head and the intelligence minister, detailing conditions inside
Mashad's Vakilabad Prison. Khastar wrote that his ward held more than
700 prisoners, four times its capacity, and there were as many as 60
individuals in the room where he slept although its official capacity
was 15. Khastar was released September 11 on 1.1 million toman ($1,100)
bail.
During the year many prisoners, especially political prisoners,
went on hunger strikes to protest prison conditions. The health of some
prisoners on hunger strikes deteriorated quickly, but authorities did
not respond quickly with medical help.
On June 20, the ICHRI reported that prison authorities allowed
Hangameh Shahidi medical leave for the first time in eight months (see
section 2.a.).
There were reports of juvenile offenders detained with adult
offenders. Pretrial detainees occasionally were held with convicted
prisoners. Political prisoners were often held in separate prisons or
wards--such as Evin Prison, especially wards 2A, 209, 240, and 350, and
ward eight of Gohardasht Prison, known as the Islamic Republic Guard
Corps (IRGC) ward--or in isolation for long periods of time. Human
rights activists and international media also reported cases of
political prisoners confined with violent felons and drug dealers.
On July 21, the opposition news site Jaras reported that a new
system for obtaining furloughs had been posted on the walls of all the
country's prisons. According to the system, prison authorities would
allocate points based on good conduct. For example, ``cooperating in
establishing order or preventing violations'' merited 20 points every
month and ``participating in Friday prayers and other religious
ceremonies'' earned a prisoner 30 points per month. Most prisoners
required 1,000 points to obtain a furlough, but male prisoners over age
60, women over age 55, women who head households, women who have
children under 10, and all veterans required only 150 points. Jaras
noted that a number of political prisoners had yet to enjoy even one
furlough, even though they belonged to the group that required only 150
points.
Prison conditions for women were generally at least as poor as
those for men. On May 10, Radio Farda reported that the families of
female prisoners transferred to Gharchak Prison south of Tehran had
written to the head of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, Mohammad
Hassan Ziaeefar, asking him to immediately address the prison's
``intolerable conditions.'' In a letter published on the Kaleme Web
site, the families stated the lives of 600 female prisoners were at
risk. The prisoners reportedly lived in a hall without beds or access
to basic washing facilities and sanitation, and prison authorities beat
them when they protested their conditions.
The government did not permit independent monitoring of prison
conditions by any outside groups, including U.N. groups or special
rapporteurs. Prisoners generally had access to weekly visitors, but
this privilege was often revoked, along with telephone and other
correspondence privileges. According to former prisoner accounts,
prison officials often returned unsent letters to prisoners months
after they thought they were sent to their families. Prisoners were
able to submit complaints to judicial authorities, but often with
censorship and retribution for doing so. Authorities did not initiate
credible investigations into allegations of inhuman conditions. There
was no information on whether the penal system employed prison
ombudspersons and no indication that any steps were taken to improve
recordkeeping or use alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders.
To the contrary, the authorities utilized secret detention facilities,
frequently held prisoners incommunicado, and mixed violent and
nonviolent offender populations.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, these practices continued
during the year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several agencies share
responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the
Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Law Enforcement Forces under the
Interior Ministry, and IRGC. The Basij and informal groups known as the
Ansar-e Hizballah (Helpers of the Party of God) were aligned with
extreme conservative members of the leadership and acted as vigilantes.
However, the Basij also served in the IRGC ground forces. While some
Basij units received formal training, many units were disorganized and
undisciplined. During government-led crackdowns on demonstrations, the
Basij were primarily responsible for the violence against the
protesters.
The security forces were not considered fully effective in
combating crime, and corruption and impunity were problems. Regular and
paramilitary security forces such as the Basij committed numerous
serious human rights abuses, but there were no transparent mechanisms
to investigate security force abuses and no reports of government
actions to reform the abusers.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution and penal code require a warrant or subpoena for an arrest
and state that an arrested person must be informed of charges within 24
hours. Authorities rarely followed these procedures in practice.
Authorities held detainees, at times incommunicado, often for weeks or
months without charge or trial, frequently denying them prompt contact
with family or timely access to legal representation. In practice there
was neither a time limit for detention nor judicial means to determine
the legality of the detention. According to the law, the state is
obligated to provide indigent defendants with attorneys only for
certain types of crimes. The courts set prohibitively high bail, even
for lesser crimes, and in many cases courts did not set bail.
Authorities often compelled detainees and their families to submit
property deeds to post bail. Prisoners released on bail did not always
know how long their property would be retained or when their trials
would be held, which effectively silenced them for fear of losing their
families' property.
The intelligence arm of the IRGC reportedly conducted arrests
during the year, sometimes without a warrant. In addition, security
forces executed general warrants to arrest protesters or those
perceived as opponents of the government. The use of these general
warrants precluded the need for individual warrants.
Incommunicado arrest and detention was a common practice. For
example, Farzad Madadzadeh was reportedly held incommunicado during the
year, and Kouhyar Goudarzi has been held incommunicado since July 31
(see sections 1.a. and 1.e.).
In an October 11 interview with the ICHRI, the wife of imprisoned
journalist and member of the Iran Freedom Movement Ali Akrami stated
she had no information on his whereabouts since his October 6 arrest
(see section 2.a.). According to press reports, Akrami was later
released on bail on October 29, although he had been incommunicado
during his entire three-week detention.
The government reportedly put individuals under house arrest
without due process to restrict their movement and communication. In
mid-February authorities suddenly moved former presidential candidates
Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi and their wives, Fatemeh
Karroubi and Zahra Rahnavard, respectively, to an undisclosed location
and held them incommunicado for several weeks. They had been under de
facto house arrest since 2010, and all but Fatemeh Karroubi remained so
at year's end, apparently in response to their calls for protests in
solidarity with prodemocracy activists. According to the September
report by the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, the
Mousavis were unable to communicate freely with family or friends, as
authorities had destroyed or removed all communication devices from the
Mousavis' home. The Karroubis reportedly faced similar conditions, and
authorities also had removed the Karroubis' television and books. Mehdi
Karroubi was reportedly allowed to go outside of his home only once,
for 10 minutes. Radio Zamaneh reported November 10 that Karroubi had
been moved to ``a more appropriate location.'' Karroubi's son said
Intelligence Ministry officials were also living in Karroubi's new
apartment and that authorities were refusing to allow Karroubi's wife
to stay with her husband. Domestic media reported that security
officials raided Mousavi's office twice during the week of November 6,
confiscating books, computers, and personal items. The special
rapporteur also noted that members of both families had been harassed,
intimidated, and/or briefly detained.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Arbitrary arrest was a common practice and was
used by authorities to spread fear and deter activities deemed against
the regime. Often plainclothes officers arrived unannounced at homes or
offices and conducted raids without warrants or other assurances of due
process, confiscating private documents, passports, computers,
electronic media, and other personal items and arresting individuals.
Once in detention centers, individuals languished for extended periods
without charges or trials and in many circumstances were delayed in
communicating their whereabouts to their families. Denial of legal
access during this time was common, as was the imposition of travel
bans if and when the individuals were released. The September 15 U.N.
secretary-general's report on the situation of human rights in the
country noted with concern the use of solitary confinement, lack of
access to lawyers, and use in court of confessions made under duress in
pretrial detention.
On January 30, authorities at Tehran Airport detained Omid Kokabi,
a postdoctoral student studying nuclear physics in the United States.
Kokabi, a Sunni and member of the Turkmen ethnic minority, was accused
of acting against national security through contacts with a ``hostile
country'' and illegitimate earnings based on his scholarship. On July
10, according to media sources, he wrote a letter to the head of the
judiciary protesting his arrest, the 36 days he spent in solitary
confinement, and having been forced to make false confessions. Kokabi
reportedly was not granted access to his lawyer at any time during his
imprisonment. According to Reuters, his lawyer said the trial began on
October 4. There was no further information at year's end.
On February 9, plainclothes police arrested Taghi Rahmani, a
writer, journalist, human rights defender, and husband of imprisoned
human rights activist Narges Mohammadi (see section 5), five days ahead
of a planned antiregime demonstration. According to the Observatory for
the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, individuals entered Rahmani's
apartment without showing identification cards or an arrest warrant,
searched his residence, and confiscated documents. Rahmani was released
on May 15 after posting bail of 150 million toman (approximately
$150,000). On September 21, authorities imposed a travel ban on
Rahmani, preventing him from leaving the country.
There were a few developments in cases from previous years. On
April 17, Branch 26 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced
journalist Nazanin Khosravani to six years in prison for ``assembly and
colluding to act against national security'' and ``propaganda against
the regime.'' Khosravani was arrested in November 2010. In mid-March,
according to Kaleme.com, she had secured bail of 6.5 million toman
($6,500). According to the Web site, her lawyer stated that they would
appeal the sentencing; there was no update on the appeal at year's end.
In December 2010, in return for bail of 800 million toman
($800,000), authorities released former government spokesman Abdollah
Ramezanzadeh early from his six-year sentence for ``acting against
national security.'' In 2009 police arrested and seriously beat
Ramezanzadeh following a letter he cowrote to the head of the judiciary
calling for the prosecution of IRGC officials for their role in the
2009 election and its aftermath. However, on February 26, the Green
Voice of Freedom Web site reported that Ramezandadeh was rearrested
following a scuffle with security forces, and at year's end he
reportedly remained in ward 350 of Evin Prison.
On August 20, a revolutionary court sentenced two of the three U.S.
citizen hikers arrested by border guards on the Iran-Iraq border in
2009 to eight years in prison for espionage and entering the country
illegally. However, on September 21, authorities released the two on
500 million toman ($500,000) bail each, the same as the third hiker who
was released in September 2010. On September 27, authorities detained
the hikers' lawyer, Masoud Shafii, at the airport, confiscated his
passport, and prevented him from travel. Judiciary officials questioned
him for several hours about the American hikers and released him the
following day without filing any charges. The government banned Shafii
from travelling abroad.
At year's end Arash and Kamiar Alaei, physicians specializing in
the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS who were found guilty in 2009
of ``cooperating with an enemy government'' and sentenced to five
years' imprisonment, had left the country. Kamiar was conditionally
released after spending two and one-half years in prison, while Arash
was granted final release after more than three years in prison.
Officials delayed the release of both.
Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detention was often arbitrarily
lengthy, particularly in cases involving alleged violations of national
security laws. Approximately 25 percent of prisoners held in state
prison facilities were reportedly pretrial detainees. According to HRW,
a judge may prolong detention at his discretion, and pretrial detention
often lasted for months. Often pretrial detainees were held in custody
with the general prison population.
On November 4, the UNHRC expressed concern at the length of
pretrial detentions and the absence in the law of a pretrial detention
time limit. The UNHRC also expressed concern that pretrial detainees
are often held incommunicado in unacknowledged detention centers.
Amnesty.--While the government at times released prisoners early or
suspended their sentences, there were no known amnesties granted during
the year to any prisoners, including political prisoners.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides that the
judiciary be ``an independent power;'' but in practice the court system
was corrupt and subject to political influence. According to the
constitution, the head of the judiciary is a cleric chosen by the
supreme leader. The head of the Supreme Court and prosecutor general
also must be clerics. The head of the judiciary chose revolutionary
court judges in part due to their ideological commitment to the system.
On November 4, the UNHRC expressed concern about the lack of judicial
independence, stating that the judiciary was compromised by undue
pressure from the executive branch, including the Office for
Supervision and Evaluation of Judges as well as senior clerics and
high-ranking government officials. Authorities generally respected
court orders, although they also acted extrajudicially at times,
especially concerning arrests, searches, and seizures.
Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution and criminal
procedure code, a defendant has the right to a public trial,
presumption of innocence, a lawyer of his or her choice, and the right
of appeal in most cases that involve major penalties. These rights were
not respected in practice. Panels of judges adjudicate trials; there is
no jury system in the civil and criminal courts. In the Media Court, a
council of 11 persons selected by the court adjudicates cases. No
defendants in any court had the right to confront their accusers, nor
were they granted access to government-held evidence.
The UNHRC and various human rights groups, including AI, HRW, and
Reporters without Borders (RSF) continued to condemn trials in the
revolutionary courts for disregarding international standards of
fairness. On November 4, the UNHRC expressed deep concern about the
frequent violations of fair trial guarantees.
The government often charged individuals with vague crimes such as
``anti-revolutionary behavior,'' ``moral corruption,'' ``siding with
global arrogance,'' moharebeh, and ``crimes against Islam.''
Prosecutors imposed strict penalties on government critics for minor
violations. When postrevolutionary statutes did not address a
situation, the government advised judges to give precedence to their
knowledge and interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia). Under the law
judges may find a person guilty based on their own ``divine knowledge''
(elm-e ghazi), or they may issue more lenient sentences for individuals
who kill others considered ``deserving of death'' (mahdoor-ol-dam),
meaning that the victim had done something contrary to Sharia. Secret
or summary trials of only five minutes duration frequently occurred.
Other trials were deliberately designed to publicize a coerced
confession.
During the year human rights groups noted the absence of procedural
safeguards in criminal trials. There were many examples of the
prosecution providing fabricated evidence, forced confessions, trials
closed to the public, and trials without juries. Courts often used
confessions made under duress or torture. In one instance the court
used private e-mails written while the prisoner was in solitary
confinement as a confession for the purposes of his sentencing.
On June 16, AI reported that three mothers faced execution after
being convicted of drug-trafficking crimes in an unfair trial.
Authorities denied them access to a lawyer to prepare for the trial,
and they had no right to appeal their death sentences, which were
merely confirmed by the prosecutor general as required by the law.
Authorities arrested the three women in 2009 and interrogated them
without the presence of their lawyers. On August 10, AI stated that the
women's cases had likely been sent for review by the Amnesty and
Clemency Commission, but there was no further information at year's
end.
On October 19, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court reportedly
upheld a death sentence--preceded by seven-and-a-half years in prison--
for Saeed Malekpour, who was arrested in 2008 by the IRGC's ``cyber
army,'' a branch of the IRGC used to monitor online activities for
unlawful behavior. While it was established to monitor and prevent
activities including criminal and terrorist behavior, the unit was also
used to monitor opposition to the regime (see section 2.a.). Malekpour
was charged with managing pornographic Web sites. Malekpour maintained
that the Web sites used programs he wrote but that he was not aware of
the nature of the sites. According to the Human Rights House of Iran
(RAHANA), Malekpour's family and attorney made numerous requests for
neutral third-party information technology experts to study and
investigate Malekpour's case and share their findings in court, but the
judge denied their repeated requests. The court handed down its verdict
after only two weeks. At year's end he remained in prison.
On December 18, state media broadcast an interview with a dual
U.S.-Iranian national who ``confessed'' to being a spy against Iran.
The individual was reportedly detained August 29 and held in Evin
Prison without access to an attorney. An espionage trial began on
December 27, with a court-appointed lawyer representing the dual
national. The government refused consular access by the Swiss, who
represent U.S. interests in Iran.
There were developments in a high-profile case from 2006. On
January 17, Zohre Elahian, a Majlis member, stated that judiciary
authorities commuted Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani's sentence from death
by hanging to 10 years in prison. In 2006, after having been convicted
and punished with 99 lashes for involvement in her husband's murder, a
court sentenced Ashtiani to death by stoning for adultery, suspended in
September 2010. On June 22, the chief of the East Azerbaijan Justice
Administration stated that Ashtiani had begun serving her prison term.
However, he further announced that another sentence had not yet been
determined. According to a July 8 report received by the International
Committee against Stoning (ICAS), Ashtiani remained in Tabriz Central
Prison, where she had attempted suicide as a result of psychological
pressure from her incarceration, impending sentence, and deprivation of
family visits. On May 16, a revolutionary court sentenced one of
Ashtiani's lawyers, Houtan Kian, to 11 years in prison for allegedly
having two identity cards and for antiregime activities. According to
reports, Kian had not been allowed to meet with his lawyer or family
and was subjected to significant physical torture and solitary
confinement since his arrest in May. On October 28, HRANA reported Kian
had been moved to the methadone section of Tabriz Prison. Ashtiani's
son, who had also been arrested, was released.
Opposition groups continued to question the legitimacy of the
special clerical court system. The court is headed by a scholar in
Islamic law and is capable of ruling on legal matters through
independent interpretation of Islamic legal sources. Clerical courts,
which investigate alleged offenses and crimes by clerics and which the
supreme leader directly oversees, are not provided for in the
constitution, and they operated outside the domain of the judiciary.
Critics alleged that clerical courts were used to prosecute clerics for
expressing controversial ideas and for participating in activities
outside the sphere of religion, such as journalism or reformist
political activities.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Statistics regarding the number
of citizens imprisoned for their political beliefs were not available,
but human rights activists estimated the number in the hundreds,
perhaps as high as 900. According to the ICHRI, an estimated 500
persons were arbitrarily detained for peaceful activities or the
exercise of free expression, and another 500 prisoners of conscience
had been sentenced to lengthy prison terms following unfair trials. On
June 28, the ICHRI reported there were more than 200 political
prisoners inside Ward 350 of Evin Prison, at least 120 of whom were
imprisoned in the aftermath of the 2009 elections or as Green Movement
supporters.
During the year the government rounded up students, journalists,
lawyers, political activists, artists, and members of religious
minorities (see sections 1.a. through 1.e., 6, and 7.a.). The
government charged many with crimes such as ``propaganda against the
regime,'' ``insulting the regime,'' and apostasy, and treated such
cases as national security trials. According to opposition press
reports, the government also arrested, convicted, and executed persons
on questionable criminal charges, including drug trafficking, when
their actual offenses were reportedly political. The government also
reportedly held some persons in prison for years under charges of
sympathizing with terrorist groups such as the MEK, which were often
baseless charges. Authorities routinely held political prisoners in
solitary confinement for extended periods and denied them due process
and access to legal representation. Political prisoners were also at
greater risk of torture and abuse in detention. The government
generally placed political prisoners in prisons far from their homes
and families. The government did not permit international humanitarian
organizations or U.N. special rapporteurs access to political
prisoners.
In a July 13 letter to U.N. special rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed,
imprisoned journalist Issa Saharkhiz accused authorities of using harsh
prison conditions to slowly kill political prisoners. Saharkhiz stated:
``What is happening now in the prisons is a crime against humanity; it
is just as bad as Stalin's inhumane mandatory labor camps in Siberia.''
Saharkhiz warned that the government's objective was ``to kill the
protesting prisoners silently and gradually.'' Referring to the death
of two political prisoners, Hoda Saber and Mohsen Dokmehchi, he wrote:
``They are deliberately trying to destroy us and have prepared a silent
death for us because they fear our survival even behind bars.''
Saharkhiz, one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press
Freedom in Iran, was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to three years in
prison for ``insulting the leader and the regime.'' He was banned from
political and media activities for five years and prohibited from
leaving the country for a year. At year's end he was at Rejai Shahr
Prison and had not been permitted temporary medical leave despite
severe health problems. Opposition Web site Saham News reported on
August 29 that prison officials beat Saharkhiz on his way to the prison
infirmary.
Authorities occasionally gave political prisoners suspended
sentences or released them for short or extended furloughs prior to
completion of their sentences, but they could order them to return to
prison at any time. Suspended sentences often were used to silence
individuals. The government also controlled political activists by
temporarily suspending baseless court proceedings against them and
allowing authorities to rearrest them at any time, and it attempted to
intimidate activists by calling them in repeatedly for questioning. The
government issued travel bans on former political prisoners (see
section 2.d.).
On April 3, according to opposition media, police arrested Ghassem
Sholeh Saadi, a Tehran University professor and former parliamentarian,
based on a two-and-a-half-year sentence allegedly revoked several years
ago. He was convicted of ``insulting the authorities,'' ``acting
against national security,'' and ``spreading propaganda to agitate
public opinion,'' based on a letter he wrote in 2002 criticizing some
of Ayatollah Khamenei's policies and for giving media interviews on the
same. At year's end he was in prison. His repeated requests to
authorities for medical attention were denied despite his worsening
medical condition, a spinal injury resulting from alleged torture in
prison.
On April 29, journalist Siamak Pourzand, age 80, who was held under
house arrest in recent years due to his advanced age and health
problems, committed suicide by jumping from the sixth-story balcony of
his apartment in Tehran. In 2002 authorities sentenced Pourzand to 11
years in prison for ``spying and undermining state security'' and
``links with monarchists and counterrevolutionaries,'' after torturing
and holding him in solitary confinement for months.
On May 3, the government arrested human rights activist Ashkan
Zahabian so that he could fulfill a six-month prison term for
disturbing public order and for organizing protests at his university.
From December 2010 until his arrest, his family faced harassment from
Intelligence Ministry representatives, including death threats. On June
13, the ICHRI reported that Zahabian remained in solitary confinement
and on August 31, he had begun a hunger strike in Matikola Prison.
Zahabian's father told the ICHRI that prison staff had moved his son to
solitary confinement after he began his strike, even though he was in a
coma, according to other prisoners. His father added that Zahabian had
experienced stomach bleeding for two weeks and authorities refused his
requests for outside treatment. According to the ICHRI, he was
subjected to torture during his incarceration and was housed with
violent criminals. On September 22, Zahabian was released and at year's
end remained out of prison, suffering from stomach bleeding, liver
damage, and other health issues resulting from his reported torture.
On May 4, a court banned Hassan Younesi, a reformist attorney and
the son of a former minister of intelligence, from practicing law for
five years and sentenced him to one year in prison. The sentence was
upheld on appeal on July 4. He was summoned by Evin Prison authorities
to serve his sentence. He went to prison and was released on September
29 on furlough. Forces arrested Younesi during the 2009 postelection
events and detained him for a lengthy period of time in ward 209 of
Evin Prison. At year's end he reportedly was out of prison on furlough.
On May 15, a court presided over by Judge Pir Abbasi sentenced
student activist Mostafa Eskandari to 31 years in prison. Authorities
arrested Eskandari in 2009 while he was participating in a memorial
service at the grave of Neda Agha Soltani, who was killed during the
2009 postelection protests. He was accused of various offenses,
including diversion of public opinion, being interviewed by foreign
media, and harming national security. During his interrogation he was
reportedly violently beaten and tortured; reports stated that
interrogators broke his nose and ribs. According to human rights
activists, Eskandari was arrested with his wife, Kobra Zaghe Doust. She
was imprisoned for two years, during which time she was also violently
interrogated and forced to file for divorce against her husband after
being threatened with a prolonged sentence of imprisonment. Prison
officials prevented Eskandari from seeing his mother on December 16 and
beat him when he tried to give her medicine for her failing health. At
year's end he remained in Gohardasht prison.
On June 1, according to eyewitness accounts, plainclothes police
beat reform activist and women's rights campaigner Haleh Sahabi,
leading to her death from cardiac arrest. Sahabi had been serving a
two-year sentence after being arrested outside the parliament in 2009,
following Ahmadinejad's inauguration. She had been released from prison
to attend the funeral of her father, prominent political activist
Ezzatollah Sahabi. According to eyewitness accounts reported by
international NGOs, including a journalist and member of the Iran
Freedom Movement, police interrupted the funeral procession and beat
mourners, including Sahabi. During a June 14 press conference, Tehran
prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi denied authorities had any role in
Sahabi's death. In mid-December Majlis member Ali Motahari publicly
admitted that the authorities ``did not want her to die, and what
happened was a result of a lack of attention [by the agents].'' At
year's end there had been no investigation.
On June 3, the family of imprisoned journalist Masoud Bastani
reported that a prison guard beat him in front of them after Bastani
asked for more time to say goodbye at the end of visiting hours in
Rejai Shahr prison. According to the family, hospital staff later told
them he arrived unconscious and was treated for minor head injuries. On
June 9, prison officials reportedly transferred him to solitary
confinement, where he later went on a hunger strike to protest the
deaths of Hoda Saber and Haleh Sahabi in prison. Security forces
arrested Bastani in 2009; he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment
for propaganda against the government, creating unrest, and disturbing
public order. At year's end he was in prison. His wife, Mahsa Amrabadi,
also a journalist, was arrested during March 1 protests in Tehran. She
was detained in Evin Prison and released on bail on March 16. On June
16, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge
Moghiseh sentenced Amrabadi to one year in prison for her antiregime
interviews and reporting.
On June 12, according to opposition Web sites, journalist and
rights activist Reza Hoda Saber died of a heart attack reportedly
brought on by a 10-day hunger strike and beatings by prison authorities
without proper medical attention. On June 13, 64 political prisoners in
Evin Prison's ward 350 released a statement blaming Hoda Saber's death
on abuse by prison authorities. Kaleme reported that Hoda Saber began
the strike after Haleh Sahabi died at the funeral of her father on June
1. Prosecutor General Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei immediately refuted
allegations that Hoda Saber died as a result of the hunger strike or
beatings. On June 14, he announced an investigation and stated that his
office was awaiting statements from the prison authorities. The Tehran
Prosecutor's Office gave a press conference at the same time stating
that the prison officials may not have reacted quickly enough to
Saber's health complaints. At year's end no further information on the
investigation was available. Saber had been serving a 10-year sentence.
He was initially arrested in 2000, then released, but detained again
during the 2009 postelection crackdown.
From June 12 to July 9, the government detained Mansoureh Behkish,
a member of the Mourning Mothers, an organization against execution of
prisoners, in Evin Prison. She was previously detained in January 2010,
as well as in 2008 and 2009. She is prohibited from leaving the
country. Several other members of Mourning Mothers were imprisoned
during the year. Parvin Mohktare, mother of Kouhyar Goudarzi, was
sentenced to 23 months following her August 6 arrest for protesting her
son's imprisonment. She remained in prison at year's end. Zhila
Mahdavian was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for protesting her
son's imprisonment for his involvement in post-2009 election protests.
She was later released on bail and remained out of prison at year's
end. Zhila Karamzableh, a poet, was sentenced to five years'
imprisonment for writing a poem for Mourning Mothers. She began serving
her sentence on December 27 and was in prison at year's end. March
media reports indicated that Mourning Mothers member Hakimeh Shokri
remained in prison with deteriorating health. In December 2010
authorities arrested Shokri at Behesht Zahara Cemetery along with
several other mothers celebrating the birthday anniversary of one of
the protesters killed during the 2009 Ashura protests.
On June 15, Mehdi Tajik began his two-year prison sentence in Evin
Prison. Tajik, a graduate student at University of Tehran and an
outspoken student activist and journalist, was also banned from
political activity and journalism for 15 years. He was arrested in his
home following the mass Ashura protests in 2009 for founding a student
activist organization. He was released in March 2010 on bail. However,
on June 15, he was summoned by the Evin Prison enforcement authorities
to serve his sentence and remained in prison at year's end.
On June 21, according to the ICHRI, Intelligence Ministry officers
forcibly entered journalist and photographer Maryam Majd's home,
confiscated personal items, and arrested her a day before a planned
trip to Germany to photograph the Women's World Cup. On the same trip
she was supposed to complete work on a book about female soccer
players. On July 12, a source close to the family told the ICHRI that
Majd had spent more than 20 days in solitary confinement and that she
had developed digestive and kidney problems. She was released in late
July on bail (see section 2.a.).
On July 8, according to HRANA, Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court
in Khuzestan Province sentenced blogger Payman Roshan Zamir to 17
months in prison for ``propaganda against the regime'' and ``insulting
the supreme leader.'' According to the ICHRI, during his May 14 closed
trial Zamir did not present a defense to protest the unjust
proceedings, including the closed nature of the trial, the lack of jury
or representative of the Prosecutor's Office, and fabricated evidence
presented against him. He served one month in Karoon Prison, where he
recounted the harsh conditions there to the ICHRI in an interview. He
was released on bail, and at year's end he likely remained out of
prison.
On July 10, security officials arrested actress and Green Movement
supporter Pegah Ahangarani before she could leave the country to go to
the Women's World Cup, where she was scheduled to participate in
related television programming. She was also released in late July.
In mid-September, according to several opposition Web sites,
authorities arrested three state media journalists--Mehrdad Sarjouei, a
writer for the international sections of the English language daily
newspapers; Amir Ali Alamehzadeh, a journalist at the Iranian Labor
News Agency; and Hadi Ahmadi, a journalist in the economics section of
the ISNA--and detained them in Evin Prison. At year's end they
reportedly remained in prison pending charges and trial.
On October 11, the ICHRI reported that Ali Tari, a former IRGC
member during the Iran-Iraq war and former Mousavi campaign director,
returned to prison to serve his remaining six-month prison sentence for
``publishing falsehoods.'' He had been on medical furlough for his
heart condition. The ICHRI reported that Tari's situation in Mati Kola
Prison was dire and that prison officials were preventing the delivery
of medication for his heart condition. At year's end he remained in
prison.
In mid-October human rights organizations reported that security
forces had arrested disabled war veteran and Mousavi campaign member
Hossein Fayezi at his home and confiscated his personal belongings. At
year's end he remained incommunicado.
On December 17, blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki submitted a letter
to the Tehran Prosecutor's Office protesting his treatment in prison
and at the same time began a hunger strike. Maleki was arrested in 2009
for blogging about the postelection protests. In October 2010 Branch 26
of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
According to interviews by family with the ICHRI, prison officials
usually beat him after each letter he sent to the Prosecutor's Office.
There were developments in several cases from previous years.
On February 8, a revolutionary court sentenced Mehdi Mo'tamedi
Mehr, a member of the Committee to Defend Free, Healthy, and Fair
Elections and the banned political organization, the Freedom Movement
of Iran, to five years in prison for his political activities during
the 2009 election. Authorities detained him after the committee
published a statement about civil society institutions as election
observers.
On January 10, an appeals court upheld a 10-year prison sentence
and ban on political activities for Emad Bahavar, also a member of the
Iran Freedom Movement. In 2009 authorities detained Bahavar for
``spreading propaganda against the regime'' by campaigning for
presidential candidate Mousavi. At year's end he remained in Evin
Prison.
At year's end student activists Mohsen Barzegar and Iman Sadighi
were likely in prison. Their colleague Nima Nahvi was released on
January 12 after serving a 10-month sentence. In February 2010 an
appeals court upheld prison sentences for Barzegar, Sadighi, and Nahvi,
and one-year suspended sentences for Hamid Reza Jahantigh, Hessam
Bagheri, Siavash Salimi Nejad, and Ali Taghipour. The students, most of
whom were also prohibited from attending educational institutions for
one to five years, were convicted of ``actions against national
security'' and ``propaganda against the regime,'' based on their
alleged planning of and participation in protests and contacts with
antigovernment entities. Authorities conditionally released Barzegar
and Sadighi in July 2010, but in November 2010 police rearrested
Barzegar at his home prior to National Students Day, allegedly without
a warrant (see section 2.b.), and again during February 14 protests in
Babol. According to the ICHRI, Barzegar informed his family of his poor
health in solitary confinement at the Sari Intelligence Office Prison,
but authorities reportedly refused to allow his family to bring him
medication. On June 24, multiple news sources reported that Barzegar
had been sentenced to two years in prison for acting against national
security and insulting the supreme leader due to his participation in
the February 14 protests. He was tried in absentia. In February various
news sources reported that security forces had arrested Sadighi during
student demonstrations in Shiraz and taken him to an unknown location.
On August 29, HRANA reported that Sadighi had been sentenced to one
year in prison for ``propaganda against the regime.'' Authorities
reportedly held him in solitary confinement for 20 days and tortured
him into making a televised confession.
At year's end Bahareh Hedayat remained in Evin Prison. She was
convicted in May 2010 of ``insulting the supreme leader'' and sentenced
to six months for ``insulting the president,'' and five years for
``actions against national security, propagation of falsehoods, and
mutiny for congregation.'' News reports on November 3 indicated that
six months were added to her sentence, which was up to 10 years because
of earlier suspended sentences. On June 1, Hedayat's husband was
arrested during reform activist Haleh Sahabi's funeral (see section
1.a.).
On January 24, authorities executed Jafar Kazemi (see section
1.a.).
On January 9, a revolutionary court convicted Nasrin Sotoudeh, a
prominent human rights lawyer and women's rights activist, of ``acting
against the national security,'' ``propaganda against the regime,'' and
``membership in a banned organization,'' namely Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Shirin Ebadi's Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), and
sentenced her to 11 years in prison and a 20-year travel ban. Following
her sentencing, authorities arrested her husband, Reza Khandan, and
detained him for a week. He was released without charge. However, in
early October he was summoned again to the Evin Prison court for a
letter he wrote to the Tehran prosecutor in 2010 regarding the
conditions of his wife's arrest. On June 8, the ICHRI reported that
Evin Prison authorities had forbidden visits to Sotoudeh from her
children in an effort to pressure her into a false confession. In early
August a prison guard harassed Sotoudeh's husband and tried to take
away his notebook, which he had used to write down a list of items
Sotoudeh needed in prison. According to the ICHRI, officials detained
the family for five hours, during which time a female officer
physically abused Sotoudeh's sister. On September 14, Branch 54 of the
Tehran Appeals Court reduced Sotoudeh's sentence to six years. On
October 24, Khandan told the ICHRI that prison officials had banned
visits because Sotoudeh had refused to wear a headscarf inside the
prison, even though there are no laws requiring it. She remained in
prison at year's end, but it was unknown whether she remained in
solitary confinement.
On March 31, RAHANA reported that authorities had banned family
visits at Evin Prison for Mahdieh Golrou, a student activist and member
of the Advocacy Council for the Right to Education who was convicted in
April 2010 for interviewing with foreign media in a tribue to Students
Day, acting against national security, and purported association with
the MEK. She reportedly told the ICHRI that the MEK charge was
``ridiculous.'' On April 9, according to media reports, authorities
moved Golrou to solitary confinement at Evin. On July 16, they
reportedly released her on a short furlough. Golrou suffered from
intestinal problems during her imprisonment.
During the year Shabnam Madadzadeh, a member of the Islamic
Association and deputy general secretary of the student organization
Tahkim Vahdat, and her brother Farzad Madadzadeh wrote separate letters
to the U.N. special rapporteur for Iran criticizing the government's
treatment of prisoners, especially members of the opposition. Shabnam
wrote that prison officials abused her and her brother during
interrogations and held them in solitary confinement in Evin Prison.
Human rights advocates reported that Farzad and three other political
prisoners were subjected to ``severe mental and physical pressure''
from Intelligence Ministry officials after writing the letter. In
January 2010 a revolutionary court sentenced the Madadzadehs to five
years' imprisonment for moharebeh and propaganda against the state. In
late October Shabnam said she was being held in Evin, after having been
transferred to Qarchak Prison from Rejai Shahr Prison earlier in the
year, while Farzad had reportedly been transferred back to Rejai Shahr,
where he was being held incommunicado.
On September 10, security forces arrested Abdolfattah Soltani (see
section 1.f.).
On November 2, the trial began of ailing former foreign minister
and secretary general of the Freedom Movement of Iran Ebrahim Yazdi on
charges of ``assembly and collusion against national security,''
``propaganda against the regime,'' and ``establishing and leading the
Iran Freedom Movement'' after being delayed several times during the
year. At the trial opening, the 80-year-old Yazdi did not offer any
defense; Yazdi's son-in-law told the ICHRI Yazdi chose to remain silent
because he found the Revolutionary Court unqualified to review the
charges against him. According to his son-in-law, Yazdi remained
imprisoned under house arrest, where poor living conditions were
reportedly contributing to his deteriorating health. Authorities
detained Yazdi at least three times after the 2009 elections, most
recently on October 1 for allegedly participating in ``illegal prayer''
while he attended the memorial service for the daughter of a friend in
a private home. During one of his imprisonments, Yazdi spent 50 days in
solitary confinement. Yazdi was recovering from bladder cancer surgery
as well as heart surgery, and his family believed his life was in
danger because of the physical and psychological strains of
imprisonment, lack of medical care, and unsanitary conditions. At
year's end he was out on bail for medical treatment.
On July 19, Branch 4 of Evin Prison Court summoned imprisoned
student activist Abdollah Momeni to face new charges of ``propagating
lies'' and ``creating public anxiety'' for a letter he wrote to the
supreme leader in August 2010 asking him to investigate the use of
torture during interrogations. On July 10, Momeni's wife, Adinehvand,
told Radio Farda that her husband was suffering from intestinal
problems as a result of his recent hunger strike to protest the death
of Hoda Saber. On November 4, she told the ICHRI that she was no longer
permitted to visit him. Momeni, a spokesman for the country's largest
reformist student organization, the Office to Foster Unity, was
arrested during the 2009 postelection crackdown and was sentenced to
four years and 11 months in prison. At year's end he was in ward 350 of
Evin Prison.
During the year authorities continued to prevent an Iranian-
American academic from leaving the country. He was initially arrested
in 2009 on charges of espionage based on his association with the Open
Society Institute and sentenced to 15 years in prison, later reduced to
five years by an appelate court. At year's end he remained under house
arrest and under a travel ban.
On September 1, HRANA reported that judicial and prison authorities
at Rejai Shahr Prison continued to deny medical care to former
university student Misagh Yazdan-Nejad, sentenced in 2009 to 13 years'
imprisonment for participating in a 2007 demonstration. He was
reportedly in critical condition with a respiratory illness. At year's
end he remained in prison in critical condition.
On January 26, Iran Human Rights Voice reported that authorities
had released from detention Mohammad Ozlati-Moghaddam, head of
opposition leader Mousavi's veterans' affairs committee. He was
reportedly arrested in November 2010 for his connections to the Mousavi
campaign.
November 3 media reports indicated that an appeals court upheld a
six-year prison sentence against economist and journalist Saeed Leylaz
for allegedly maintaining ties with foreigners, working to overthrow
the government, and critizing the economic performance of the regime
during 2009 postelection protests. He was released on bail in 2010, and
at year's end it was believed that he remained out on bail.
On June 20, IRGC-linked Jahan News reported that the seven-year
sentence for Emaddedin Baghi, founder of the Committee for the Defense
of Prisoners' Rights, had been reduced to one year on appeal. On June
21, international media reported that the government had released
Baghi, according to his lawyer. In 2010 Baghi was convicted of
``propaganda against the regime'' and ``colluding against the security
of the regime'' in connection with an interview with the late grand
ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri and his work advocating for prisoners'
rights. A revolutionary court also prohibited him from participating in
political activity for five years. Authorities imprisoned Baghi on
previous occasions since 2000 for his activities as a journalist and
his campaigns against the government's execution of juvenile offenders.
On July 27, the ICHRI reported that Atieh Tehari, the wife of
Azerbaijani journalist and ethnic minority rights activist Saeed
Matinpour, said her husband was suffering from untreated back problems
in Evin Prison. He had also had several heart attacks. Authorities
arrested Matinpour in 2007 for participating in a seminar in defense of
Turkish-speaking citizens in Turkey. The court sentenced him to eight
years in prison for ``contact with foreigners'' and ``propaganda
against the regime.''
On February 27, Evin Prison officials reportedly attacked and beat
dissident cleric and regime critic Ayatollah Mohammad Kazemeini
Boroujerdi and forcibly shaved his beard. Some reports suggested
Boroujerdi may have lost vision in one eye and that authorities did not
allow him to leave prison to receive medical treatment. On October 1,
human rights groups reported Boroujerdi suffered a severe heart attack,
which led to pulmonary edema. Intelligence authorities reportedly
rejected demands by prison officials for him to be treated at a
properly equipped medical facility. In addition, sources told the ICHRI
in April that Boroujerdi's relatives and followers reported abuse and
arrests by security forces. Forces in civilian dress allegedly attacked
Boroujerdi's sister Sa'adat and broke her leg, and authorities placed
their brother, Seyed Mohsen Boroujerdi, under house arrest. The
government also arrested supporters of Boroujerdi, including Iman
Khodadai, who reported he and others had been beaten and abused while
in detention. The followers also reported that security forces put
their homes under surveillance and harassed them with threatening phone
calls. Boroujerdi is a cleric who advocated the separation of religion
and government; he was arrested in 2006. At year's end there were
continued concerns over his health and lack of access to medical care.
On June 28, human rights advocates reported that authorities moved
Berouz Javid-Tehrani and three other political prisoners to solitary
confinement at the IRGC prison and later transferred them to ward 209
of Evin Prison. Family members reportedly were not permitted to visit,
and he was reportedly severely tortured throughout the duration of his
imprisonment. He was retried in mid-October and was finally released on
his birthday, December 26. Javid-Tehrani was imprisoned for his
activities during the 1999 student uprising.
All of the following individuals were believed to be in prison at
year's end: writer and student leader, Amin Ghazain Tehran; reformist
cleric and member of the reformist political group Islamic Iran
Participation Front, Hadi Qabel; Office for Consolidating Unity
spokesman, Ali Nikunesbati; former vice president, Muhammad Ali Abtahi;
former interior ministry official Muhammad Atrianfar; intellectual and
prodemocracy activist, Saeed Hajjarian; Kurdish and women's rights
activist, Zeinab Bayazidi; political activist and founder of the Iran
Democratic Party, Abbas Khorsandi; and leader of the reformist party
the Islamic Iran Participation Front, Mohsen Mirdamadi.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--According to the
constitution, the Court of Administrative Justice--under the
supervision of the head of the judiciary--investigates the grievances
of citizens with regard to government officials, organs, and statutes.
In practice citizens had limited ability to sue the government.
Citizens were not able to bring lawsuits against the government for
civil or human rights violations. Dispute resolution councils are
available to settle minor civil and criminal cases through mediation
before referral to courts.
Property Restitution.--The constitution allows the government to
confiscate property acquired illicitly or in a manner not in conformity
with Islamic law, and the government particularly targeted religious
minorities, especially members of the Baha'i faith. On November 9, the
Baha'i International Community reported a wave of attacks on Baha'is
and their property, including incidents in Rasht, Semnan, and Sanandaj.
There were also reports during the year of authorities seizing the
property of members of the Sunni religious minority.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution states that ``reputation, life,
property, [and] dwelling[s]'' are protected from trespass except as
``provided by law,'' but the government routinely infringed on this
right. Security forces monitored the social activities of citizens,
entered homes and offices, monitored telephone conversations and
Internet communications, and opened mail without court authorization.
There were widespread reports that government agents entered, searched,
and ransacked the homes and offices of reformist leaders, activists,
and journalists--including relatives of BBC staff members (see section
2.a.) and political opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi
Karroubi (see section 1.d., Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in
Detention)--in an attempt to intimidate them.
On September 10, after his arrest on charges of waging propaganda
against the regime, establishing the DHRC, assembly and collusion
against national security, and accepting an unlawful prize (the
Nuremberg International Human Rights Award), security forces entered
the offices of prominent human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani and
confiscated several of his personal and family documents. According to
Soltani's wife, Massoumeh Dehghan, authorities later ransacked their
house without showing a warrant, and took CDs, papers, and other
documents. On November 17, Dehghan told the ICHRI that Soltani would
file a lawsuit against the head of the governmental High Council for
Human Rights, Mohammad Javad Larijani, for making false accusations
against him. On November 16, Larijani accused Soltani of being
connected to terrorist groups. Soltani was believed to be in solitary
confinement in Evin Prison at year's end.
On December 10, authorities released a film of journalist Mohammad
Nourizad on YouTube consisting of private video footage made by
Nourizad in his home, which included praise for the supreme leader as
well as criticism of Nourizad's time in solitary confinement for 60
days. He also wrote weekly letters to the supreme leader criticizing
the conditions of solitary confinement in prisons. For his criticism
IRGC officials confiscated the footage along with his camera and other
personal items during a raid on his home. Following the raid the video
was released without his knowledge or consent. According to an
interview with the ICHRI on December 17, Nourizad was concerned that
the government would use the video against him.
There were numerous reports throughout the year of women arrested
for wearing improper hijab or tight-fitting clothing. Authorities also
warned men against wearing necklaces and having ``glamorous''
hairstyles. There were several reports of morality police shutting down
hair salons for dispensing ``inappropriate'' styles for men. Vigilantes
continued their attacks on young persons considered ``un-Islamic'' in
their dress or activities during the year, with no reports of criminal
sanction for their violence. On May 9, the head of the morality police,
Commander Ahmad Rouzbehani, announced that 70,000 officers would be
dispatched to enforce the stringent moral codes, particularly
concerning ``un-Islamic'' dress, among the population. The media
reported several arrests, some with violence, over the summer as these
officers stopped vehicles to arrest women without proper head coverings
and stopped people on the street for ``appearing in public like
models.'' YouTube featured several videos of women being harassed by
uniformed and plainclothes officers for inappropriate dress.
There were reports during the year that the MOIS arrested and
harassed family members of political prisoners and human rights
activists, especially the in-country family members of activists living
outside of the country, prohibiting them from speaking to foreign media
or traveling abroad, blocking their telephone conversations, making
false criminal charges against them, and blocking their access to
higher education.
On January 30, authorities summoned one of opposition politician
Mehdi Karroubi's sons, Mohammad Hussein, to the Evin Prison Court.
According to the Karroubi-affiliated Web site Saham News, authorities
questioned Mohammad Hussein in relation to his father's stance that
prisoners were being abused at the Kazhirak detention facility. On
February 22, authorities arrested another son, Ali Karroubi, and
Mehdi's daughter-in-law, Nafiseh Panahi, at his parents' house. Panahi
was released a few hours later, but Ali Karroubi was reportedly
detained until March 17 and paid a bail of 100 million toman
($100,000). Ali Karroubi alleged he was tortured and beaten throughout
his detention in solitary confinement in Evin Prison.
On October 5, the BBC reported that police and government officials
had been arresting, questioning, and intimidating relatives of BBC
staff members of Iranian origin but who no longer lived in the country.
According to the report, authorities confiscated passports, searched
homes, and urged relatives to tell BBC staff members to stop appearing
on air, return to the country, and secretly provide information about
the BBC.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of expression and of the
press, except when the words are deemed ``detrimental to the
fundamental principles of Islam or the rights of the public.'' The law
states that ``anyone who undertakes any form of propaganda against the
state'' can be imprisoned for as long as one year; the law does not
define ``propaganda.'' The law also provides for prosecution of writers
for instigating crimes against the state ornational security, or for
``insulting'' Islam; the latter offense is punishable by death. The
government severely restricted freedom of speech and of the press, and
it used the law to intimidate or prosecute not just individuals
directly criticizing the government, but also those raising topics such
as women's or minorities' rights. The CPJ stated that the government
maintained a campaign of press intimidation throughout the year.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals could not criticize the government
publicly or privately without reprisal, and the government actively
sought to impede criticism. The government monitored meetings,
movements, and communications of opposition members, reformists,
activists, and human rights defenders. The government accessed private
e-mail accounts during the year and used the information obtained to
harass, intimidate, and arrest account owners. The government often
charged individuals with crimes against national security and insulting
the regime based upon letters, e-mails, and other public and private
communications. During the year there were several cases of the
government increasing prison sentences for prisoners who wrote open
letters criticizing their treatment or other government practices (see
section 1.e.).
On February 3, Branch 28 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court sentenced
Khalil Bahramian to 18 months in prison and prohibited him from
practicing law for 10 years. Bahramian, an attorney who defended many
of the 2009 protesters and other Kurdish prisoners, was found guilty on
charges of ``spreading propaganda against the regime'' and ``insulting
the head of the judiciary.'' The charges were based on interviews he
conducted with foreign and domestic media following the May 2010
execution of five political activists he defended. Bahrami had
discussed in the interview various judicial irregularities that led to
the hangings. At year's end he remained in prison.
On February 20, according to state television, Faezah Hashemi
Rafsanjani, the daughter of former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
and an outspoken political and women's rights activist, was briefly
detained for ``making blunt statements'' and ``chanting provocative
slogans'' at a banned opposition rally in Tehran. Rafsanjani was later
harassed by plainclothes officers at a rally in mid-April for an
interview that she gave opposition news outlet Roozonline, in which she
said that the regime was run by ``thugs and hooligans.'' In mid-
December she had a closed-door trial on charges of insulting the
regime. At year's end she had not been sentenced.
According to Daneshjoo News, during the year the government adopted
a harsher stance and imposed security restrictions against poets deemed
critics of the regime. On March 10, according to various sources,
plainclothes policemen arrested Mostafa Badkoobehi in his home. He was
detained in solitary confinement in ward 209 of Evin Prison before
being released on bail. After the elections Mostafa's poems focused on
criticism of Ahmadinejad's government.
There were developments in one case from 2010. On June 11, a court
sentenced economist Fariborz Rais-Dana to one year in prison. According
to local media, he was charged with membership in a writers'
association, preparing press releases for ``seditionists'' (i.e.,
reformists), and issuing announcements against the regime, all stemming
from his criticism of government-subsidy cuts in a BBC interview in
December 2010. Rais-Dana was arrested in December 2010 and held for
approximately one month. On January 17, he was released on 30 million
toman ($30,000) bail.
Freedom of Press.--There were private print media companies in the
country, but the government held significant influence over all media.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) directs state-owned
media. According to the constitution, the supreme leader appoints the
head of IRIB, and a council composed of representatives of the
president, judiciary, and the Majlis oversees IRIB's activities. The
government's Press Supervisory Board (PSB) is responsible for issuing
press licenses (which it sometimes revoked in response to articles
critical of the government) and for examining complaints filed against
publications or individual journalists, editors, or publishers. During
the year the government banned, blocked, closed, and/or censored
publications that were critical of the government. The government did
not permit members of foreign media outlets to film or take photographs
in the country, required foreign correspondents to provide detailed
travel plans and topics of proposed stories before it granted visas,
and attempted to influence them through pressure to garner more
favorable coverage. Freedom House considered the country ``not free''
in terms of media freedom.
The government severely limited the operation of independent print
media by shutting down or prohibiting opposition and reformist
newspapers, intimidating journalists, and censoring news. Government-
controlled print media were also subject to censorship, restrictions,
and even temporary closures for reportedly insulting the regime.
International NGOs reported that authorities had temporarily shut down
at least 40 publications since 2009. The Media Court ordered
permanently closed more than 10 national publications during the year.
On September 5, according to ISNA, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office
banned Rouzgar, a daily reformist publication, and Shahrvand-e Emrouz,
a weekly reformist magazine, for publishing unacceptable material.
According to ICHRI reports, the charge stemmed from a cover photo of
President Ahmadinejad in traditional garb.
On November 19, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office ordered a two-month
closure of Etemad, a reformist newspaper, for ``disseminating lies and
insults regarding government officials.'' The order cited several
articles, including an interview with Ali-Akbar Javanfekr, President
Ahmadinejad's media adviser, head of the Islamic Republic News Agency
(IRNA), and manager of Iran, in which he criticized the inner circle of
the president. On November 20, a Tehran criminal court sentenced
Javanfekr to one year in prison and banned him from journalism for
three years for ``publishing materials contrary to Islamic norms''
based on an August Iran article questioning the country's dress code
for women. On November 21, security forces raided Iran's offices,
reportedly using tear gas to disrupt a press conference where Javanfekr
was speaking, and detained 30 staff members, including Javanfekr. The
government released Javanfekr and the staff members later in the day.
At year's end he remained free on bail.
The following papers banned in 2009 remained so: Kalameh Sabz,
Etemad-e Melli, the business newspaper Sarmayeh, and Hayat-e no.
According to the constitution, private broadcasting is illegal. The
government controlled and maintained a monopoly over all television and
radio broadcasting facilities through a state-controlled entity, the
Voice and Vision Organization. Radio and television programming--the
principal source of news for many citizens, especially in rural areas--
reflected the government's political and socioreligious ideology.
Although satellite companies broadcast on private networks based in
third countries, the government pressured advertising companies to work
only with state-owned media. In November the police chief publicly
warned companies advertising on satellite television that they might
face criminal charges. In doing so, many independent stations and
programs were forced to close. Foreign programs, such as BBC Persian
and Voice of America (VOA), were subjected to government jamming.
Satellite dishes that received foreign television broadcasts were
forbidden, and the government often confiscated them from homes.
According to opposition Web sites, police confiscated satellite dishes
from rooftops in Tehran ahead of the February 11 anniversary of the
Islamic revolution. In late May authorities launched a new campaign to
remove dishes, and Tehran police confiscated more than 2,000 satellite
dishes in a single day. In mid-August Tehran Special Operations forces
along with plainclothes police used ropes to climb on to balconies and
enter private homes. On October 1, the country's police chief promised
to intensify efforts to confiscate dishes, having earlier claimed that
such efforts had become ``three times more effective'' over the
previous months. On October 20, the assistant commander of state
security forces in Mazandaran claimed to have confiscated more than
6,000 dishes. However, most satellite dishes in individual homes
reportedly continued to operate at year's end.
On December 1, the government banned all foreign media from filming
or reporting on the scene of protests in front of the United Kingdom
embassy, following its storming by students in the previous days. This
banning was notable because although the government has previously
prohibited foreign media from covering opposition rallies, the ones
held in front of the embassy were progovernment.
Book printers were still required to receive prepublication
permission from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which
reviewed and censored all manuscripts. The ministry also inspected
foreign printed materials prior to their domestic release. In January
the government banned all publications and sales of popular author
Paulo Coelho's books due to his support for a journalist who spoke out
after the 2009 post-election violence.
Violence and Harassment.--The government and its agents harassed,
detained, tortured, and prosecuted publishers, editors, and journalists
for their reporting (see also section 1.e., Political Prisoners and
Detainees). The government also harassed many journalists' families,
and journalists were often subjected to solitary confinement in prison.
During the year the government detained, jailed, tortured, or fined
numerous publishers, editors, and journalists (including Internet
media) for their reporting. The RSF reported that 42 journalists
remained in detention at year's end. International NGOs reported that
more than 60 journalists were forced into exile during the year alone,
and authorities had shut down at least 40 publications since 2009.
Eighteen journalists, along with their families, were in exile.
On September 5, police arrested reporter and photojournalist Reza
Entessari during protests to protect the rights of Gonabadi dervishes,
a minority group that is a Sufi sect. In December he was transferred
from ward 209 to ward 350 of Evin Prison, and at year's end he remained
in prison awaiting sentencing.
On September 17, authorities arrested six citizens making a
documentary for the BBC's Persian news service, reportedly without
authorization from the foreign press department of the Ministry of
Culture. Hadi Afarideh, Shahnam Bazdar, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Naser
Saffarian, Katayoun Shahabi, Mohsen Shahrnazdar, and Mehran Zinatbaksh
were charged with providing the BBC material deemed damaging to the
regime. Bazdar was released soon after his detention. Authorities
released Afarideh, Saffarian, and Shahrnazdar on October 10 on bail of
two million toman ($2,000) each; Shahabi and Zinatbaksh were released
on November 10. Mirtahmasb was reportedly released on December 11 on
bail of two million toman ($2,000).
There were developments in two cases from previous years.
On May 31, a court added another year onto Bahar Ahvaz reporter
Abolfazl Abedini Nasr's 11-year prison sentence for crimes of
``propaganda against the regime.'' The reasons for this additional
sentence were not disclosed. In February 2010 security officials beat
and arrested Abedini and transferred him to Evin Prison, where he
reportedly underwent harsh torture during interrogation, resulting in
severe heart damage. In April 2010 Branch One of the Revolutionary
Court sentenced him to 11 years in Karoun Prison in Ahvaz for
association with foreign governments, membership in the NGO Human
Rights Activists of Iran (HRAI), and ``propaganda against the regime''
based on his interviews with foreign media. During the year authorities
denied him medical furlough and family visits.
On June 20, the ICHRI reported that prison authorities allowed
Hangameh Shahidi, an imprisoned journalist, women's rights activist,
and single mother, medical leave for the first time in eight months. A
women's issues adviser to then presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi
during the 2009 elections, Shahidi was imprisoned in 2009 on a six-year
sentence for ``gathering and colluding with the intent to harm state
security'' and ``propaganda against the regime.''
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The law forbids government
censorship, but it also forbids disseminating information that the
government considers ``damaging,'' and during the year the government
censored publications--both reformist and conservative--that were
critical of government actions or contradicted the official version of
a story. ``Damaging'' information included discussions of women's
rights, the situation of minorities, and certain economic affairs.
Government officials also routinely intimidated journalists into
practicing self-censorship. Public officials often lodged criminal
complaints against reformist newspapers, and the PSB referred such
complaints to the Media Court for further action, including closure and
fines. The court conducted its hearings in public with a jury of
appointed clerics, government officials, and editors of government-
controlled newspapers. Some human rights groups asserted that the
increasingly conservative Media Court assumed responsibility for cases
before PSB consideration.
The government banned coverage of the April crackdown on the Arab
minority protests in Khuzestan (see section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic
Minorities) and denied both international and local media access to the
scene of the protests.
The August 2010 ruling by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic
Guidance, which bans the publication of any news or information related
to opposition figures Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi and former
president Mohamad Khatami, reportedly continued in force.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The government commonly used libel
laws or cited national security to suppress criticism. According to the
law, if any publication publishes articles containing insult, libel,
false statements, or criticism of an individual, the individual has the
right to respond in the publication within one month. However, if the
libel, insults, or criticism involves Islam or national security, the
individual can be charged with apostasy and crimes against national
security, respectively. The government liberally applied the press law
throughout the year, often citing statements made in various media
outlets or Internet platforms that criticized the government in any way
to arrest, charge, and sentence individuals for crimes against national
security. During the year the government used national security laws to
prosecute journalists and individuals who gave interviews to Western
media, including journalist Hassan Fathi, arrested after an interview
with BBC Persian.
At the end of January a court sentenced Mostafa Daneshjoo, Farshid
Yadollahi, and Amir Eslami, lawyers and members of the Human Rights
Commission of the Bar Association, to six months in prison for
disturbing public opinion and libel based on their legal work with the
Gonabadi dervishes. The charges were based on their dissemination of
information regarding violations that security and intelligence
officials committed against their clients. Despite their defense and no
proof of malintent in their case, the government found them guilty of
libel and creating public anxiety. In September security forces
arrested the three, along with at least one other colleague. At year's
end they were in the security ward of Evin Prison.
On October 5, according to the CPJ, authorities arrested four
reformist newspaper journalists--Medhi Afsharnik, Ali Akrami, Mohamed
Heydari, and Mohsen Hakim--in their homes and took them to Evin Prison.
All were charged with ``propaganda against the regime'' and ``acting
against national security.'' All had their homes ransacked and personal
items confiscated. They were reportedly released on bail on October 29.
At year's end their cases were pending.
There were developments in three cases from the previous year. On
July 20, prison authorities summoned Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, head of
the journalists' association and a prominent reform journalist, to
serve out his 16-month sentence. In December 2010 Branch 28 of the
Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Shamsolvaezin to 16 months in
prison for ``insulting the president'' and ``weakening'' the
government, based on interviews he gave to international media.
Shamsolvaezin's attorney, Mohammad Seifzadeh, was serving a nine-year
sentence in prison and banned for life from practicing law for his role
in founding the DHRC (see section 5) and was therefore unable to defend
his client.
On May 5, Ali Malihi, a journalist for reformist outlets Etemad,
Irandokht, Shahrvand-e-Emruz, and Mehrnameh, was released on bail.
Malihi was arrested in February 2010. According to the CPJ, a
revolutionary court tried and sentenced him to four years in prison for
``congregation and mutiny against the regime,'' ``propagation against
the regime,'' ``participation in illegal gatherings,'' ``publication of
falsehoods,'' and ``insulting the president.'' The CPJ reported he was
held in solitary confinement for 14 months in Evin Prison and went on
at least one hunger strike to protest his treatment.
On March 2, authorities rearrested journalist and activist
Mahboubeh Karami, her fifth arrest in three years (see section 6,
Women).
Internet Freedom.--All Internet service providers (ISPs) must be
approved by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The
government also requires all owners of Web sites and blogs in the
country to register with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance,
which along with the Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology, Ministry of National Security, and Tehran Public
Prosecutor's Office, were represented on the Committee in Charge of
Determining Unauthorized Web Sites, the governmental organization that
determines blocking criteria. The same laws that apply to traditional
press also apply to electronic media, and the PSB and judiciary used
the law to close Web sites during the year. NGOs reported that the
government continued to increase its control over the Internet during
the year as more citizens used it as a source for news and political
debate. In March the government announced plans to create a national
Intranet to replace the Internet. At year's end this had not occurred,
but there was increasing government rhetoric publicizing the system's
imminent release.
On November 1, the government established the ``Cyber Command''
under the IRGC, replacing and strengthening the ``Cyber Army.'' Like
its predecessor, the Cyber Command was officially charged with
monitoring, identifying, and countering cyberthreats against national
security, and it had recruited and trained at least 2,000 members at
year's end. In practice the organization harassed individuals who spoke
out against human rights violations committed by the government or
criticized the government in any way, including raising sensitive
social issues. On August 28, the Cyber Army created a fake e-mail
certificate authority, exposing the personal details of more than
400,000 Gmail account holders and putting the lives of many political
opposition, human rights activists, and defenders in jeopardy.
Through the Cyber Army and Cyber Command, the government monitored
Internet communications, especially social networking Web sites, such
as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and collected individuals'
personally identifiable information in connection with peaceful
expression of views. Freedom House and other human rights organizations
reported that authorities sometimes stopped citizens at Tehran
International Airport as they arrived in the country, asked them to log
into their YouTube and Facebook accounts, and in some cases forced them
to delete information.
According to the RSF, the government blocked access to thousands of
Web sites during the year, and in some cases ISPs redirected computer
users to progovernment news sites. The government also intentionally
reduced Internet speed to discourage residents from downloading
material. By order of the Ministry of Communications and Internet
Technology, households and cybercafes are prohibited from having high-
speed access. During the year and especially during periods prior to
the anniversaries of the Islamic Revolution (February 11), the 2009
presidential election (June 12), and Students' Day (December 7), and in
anticipation of the February 14 and 15 protests, authorities slowed
Internet speed, further reduced access to Facebook, Twitter, and Gmail,
and blocked opposition Web sites, including that of former president
Rafsanjani. The Cyber Army and Cyber Command used sophisticated
filtering technology to rapidly respond to newly published Web content.
On February 22, the Cyber Army hacked into the VOA and 95 affiliated
Web sites to protest their ``immoral'' messages. On each of the sites
that it hacked into, an Iranian flag and gun were displayed. The
Reuters and Yahoo! Web sites were allegedly censored and periodically
blocked since the early spring. Google was reportedly partially blocked
and Gmail periodically interrupted. According to reports from early
July, the government had banned more than five million sites, including
social media sites and foreign news sites such as BBC and CNN. Internet
NGOs reported that the government was attempting to block Internet
users' access to circumvention technology. The government also censored
Web site content to control citizens' access to information. According
to Freedom House, content from opposition leaders' Web sites was
deleted during the year.
During the year the government prosecuted and punished several
bloggers and webmasters for peaceful expression of dissenting views
through the Internet.
On January 24, a revolutionary court sentenced journalist, blogger,
and IRNA reporter Siamak Ghaderi to four years in prison on charges of
participating in and reporting on public gatherings and ``propaganda
against the regime'' for calling the government ``illegitimate.''
According to RAHANA, authorities detained Ghaderi in August 2010.
Authorities reportedly stated that he would be released only if he
guaranteed he would publish articles in support of the government and
the supreme leader on his blog, Our IRNA, a critique of the government-
run news agency. On November 24, he published an open letter from
prison regarding harsh and inhumane conditions, as well as the poor
treatment he and other journalists had received from presidential media
adviser and IRNA chief Ali Javanfekr. At year's end Ghaderi remained in
prison.
According to HRANA, on June 15, Branch 15 of the Revolutionary
Court sentenced Mostafa Akhavan, a student at Tehran's aerospace
university and member of the National Trust Party, to one year in
prison for ``action against national security'' and ``propaganda
against the system'' for his postings on Facebook, including news about
the Green Movement and a call for an illegal gathering, an interview he
conducted with foreign media, and for the antiregime content of his e-
mails. Since Akhavan did not have a record, the prison sentence was
suspended for five years.
There were developments in several cases from previous years. On
June 15, Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz sentenced
Hanieh Farshi, arrested in her home in July 2010 in eastern Azerbaijan
Province, to seven years in prison for blasphemy and ``propaganda
against the regime,'' based on Internet activities, including private
e-mails. Her conviction was based upon a confession reportedly made
while in solitary confinement and under physical and psychological
torture. Authorities did not permit her lawyer to be present in court.
At year's end she was thought to be in Evin Prison.
In December 2010 authorities released student blogger Navid Mohebbi
from Sari Prison after a Revolutionary Court sentenced him to a three-
year suspended sentence for membership in and support for the One
Million Signatures campaign (see section 6, Women), ``acting against
national security,'' ``propaganda against the state'' through
connection with foreign media, insulting the founder of the Islamic
Republic, and insulting the supreme leader. Mohebbi's trial took place
behind closed doors; not even his lawyer attended.
On June 9, an appeals court confirmed a 19-year prison term against
blogger and dual Iranian-Canadian citizen Hossein Derakhshan; he was
also banned from political or journalistic activities for five years.
At year's end he reportedly remained in Evin Prison. Authorities
arrested Derakhshan in 2008 while he was visiting the country and
allegedly subjected him to psychological and physical abuse in
detention, according to the HRAI.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government significantly
restricted academic freedom and the independence of higher education
institutions. In March 2010 Minister of Science, Research, and
Technology Kamran Daneshjoo stated that only those who have proven
commitment to Islam and the ``rule of the jurisprudent'' (velayat-e-
faqih) can teach or study at universities. To be admitted to
university, applicants had to pass ``character tests'' in which
officials eliminated applicants critical of the government's ideology
and gave advantages to Basij members. Authorities systematically
targeted university campuses to suppress social and political activism,
including banning independent student organizations, imprisoning
student activists, purging faculty, depriving targeted students from
enrolling or continuing their higher education based on political or
religious affiliation or activism, and restricting social sciences and
humanities curricula.
The 2010 restrictions placed on humanities programs in universities
increased throughout the year, including the severe restrictions on
social sciences education, and the barring of universities from opening
new departments of law, philosophy, management, psychology, political
science, women's studies, or human rights.
Authorities relied on university disciplinary committees to
suspend, transfer, or expel enrolled students based on social and
political activism, involvement in student publications, or
participation in student associations. Student groups reported that a
``star'' system inaugurated by the government in 2005 to rank
politically active students was still in use. Students deemed
antigovernment through this system reportedly were prevented from
registering for future terms. Repeated suspensions through this
mechanism resulted in effectively denying the rights of targeted
students to complete or continue their studies. Numerous student
activists were expelled from their respective schools during the year
for political activities, including nonviolent protest. Student
activists reported increased crackdowns at universities, on both
students and teachers, by security authorities in the wake of the
February protests. During the year Ministry of Intelligence agents used
threats, intimidation, and arrests to silence students who attempted to
seek accountability and legal justification for their deprivation from
higher education. For example, on March 2, the Shiraz University
disciplinary committee suspended more than 200 students for a minimum
of two semesters for participating in a commemoration of a classmate
killed during the February protests.
Authorities continued to dismiss university professors in
accordance with a 2006 presidential call for the removal of secular and
liberal professors. To obtain tenure professors had to refrain from
criticizing authorities. According to the ICHRI, university officials
dismissed or forced the retirement of more than 50 university faculty
members in 2010 for their affiliation with or support of the Green
Movement. Universities across the country dismissed faculty throughout
the year for their roles in the 2009 postelection protests and ties to
political opposition. As a result university research was severely
constrained. Professors must approach topics such as the situation of
women, feminism, minority history, and societal ills--such as drug
abuse or domestic violence--from the government-sanctioned ``Islamic''
perspective or risk punitive action, such as dismissal.
On May 29, according to IRNA, Minister of Science for Higher
Education Kamran Daneshjoo stated, ``[T]he dignity of humans is not an
absolute freedom, but it is what one must do and must not do and if
this is taken away, it will reach the absolute freedom that animals
have. [I]f universities do not move in the right path, they will
present scientists to society, but anti-Islamic scientists are
definitely not needed in society.''
According to the ICHRI, on January 21, the classes of Mohamed
Sharif, a lawyer and legal professor for 25 years at Allameh Tabatabaee
University, were cancelled unexpectedly. Sharif was formally dismissed
in early April from his faculty position by the head of the university
administration due to his representation of human rights activists,
including other previously dimissed university professors, following
the 2009 election protests.
In mid-March the Tehran University administration suspended Sajjad
Rezaie, head of its Islamic Association and a member of its art
faculty, from his teaching duties pending a ruling by the school's
disciplinary committee. Rezaie had told the media that student Saneh
Jaleh, who was shot and killed during the February 14 protests, was a
member of Mousavi's presidential campaign, not a Basij member as had
been reported (see section 1.a.).
The government strictly enforced laws relating to cultural events,
and there was a significant increase in the number of artists, actors,
and filmmakers detained during the year. The government banned some
forms of music, including heavy metal, and maintained stringent
controls on cinema and theater. In June 2010 the government announced a
ban on music education in private schools, already banned in public
schools, and in August 2010 the media reported that the supreme leader
advised against the practice and teaching of music in general, although
music continued in the media at year's end. The government continued to
ban broadcasting of certain music genres and continued to crack down on
concerts and underground music groups, such as heavy metal or similar
foreign music, considered religiously illegitimate.
On May 31, the regime censored the work of singer and composer
Hossein Zaman, whose latest album, Prison, included political and
social themes deemed unfit for distribution. The Ministry of Culture
and Islamic Guidance also banned Zaman from holding concerts in the
country.
As the main source of production funding, the government
effectively censored domestic filmmaking. Producers were required to
submit scripts and film proposals to government officials in advance of
funding approval. Movies promoting secularism, feminism, unethical
behavior, drug abuse, violence, or alcoholism were illegal, and some
domestic directors were blacklisted (restricted and sanctioned). On
December 11, the Ministry of Culture filed a lawsuit against the House
of Cinema (IHC), the motion picture guild for the country, claiming
that the IHC had made amendments to their charter that had not been
approved by the government. On December 28, the Council of Public
Culture declared the organization illegal. The IHC said that these were
false charges; at year's end the trial had not begun.
On June 26, security agents arrested women's rights activist and
documentary filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi in her home. Mohammadi directed
the film Women without Shadows and other banned films and contributed
to commentaries about the country's disputed 2009 presidential
election. She was released on July 27 on one million toman ($1,000)
bail.
On October 10, after being imprisoned for more than two months,
actress Marzeih Vafamehr was sentenced to an additional year in prison
and 90 lashes for her role in the now-banned movie My Tehran for Sale,
which was critical of the regime and in which she was not wearing a
headscarf. Shargh newspaper reported that she was released on October
26.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution permits assemblies and marches ``provided
they do not violate the principles of Islam.'' In practice the
government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored
gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Such gatherings included
public entertainment and lectures, student and women's meetings and
protests, labor protests, online gatherings and networking, funeral
processions, and Friday prayer gatherings. According to activists, the
government arbitrarily applied rules governing permits to assemble,
with conservative groups rarely experiencing difficulty and groups
viewed as critical of the government experiencing harassment regardless
of whether a permit was issued.
The government continued to prohibit and forcibly disperse peaceful
demonstrations during the year. Paramilitary organizations such as
Ansar-e Hizballah also harassed, beat, and intimidated those who
demonstrated publicly for reform. They particularly targeted university
students.
Beginning February 8, security forces arrested more than 30
opposition activists in anticipation of planned demonstrations in
solidarity with protesters in Egypt and Tunisia. Among those arrested
according to opposition news outlets were Mohammed-Hossein
Sharifzadegan, an official in former president Khatami's administration
and Mousavi's brother-in-law; Taghi Rahmani, a member of the reformist
Nationalist-Religious Movement; Yadollah Eslami, a former reformist
Majlis member; Korough Ziam, a member of the proreform National Front;
and Abdollah Naseri, a Khatami ally and member of the reformist
Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution. Authorities released
Sharifzadegan, Eslami, and Zaim after more than a month in detention.
Rahmani was freed on 150 million toman ($150,000) bail on September 21
but faced a ban on foreign travel. Authorities also released Naseri,
but on October 27, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges
of ``collusion'' and ``assembly'' against the state.
Despite the arrests, nonviolent demonstrators protested in the
streets of Tehran and other cities in February and March to show
support for prodemocracy movements in neighboring countries and to
protest the arrests and detention of opposition leaders. The Basij
forces reacted violently and forcibly cracked down on the
demonstrations, leading to hundreds of arrests and at least three
deaths. In June security forces again intimidated and suppressed
demonstrators, this time marking the two-year anniversary of the
disputed 2009 presidential election. Multiple press accounts reported
scenes of police chasing protesters with clubs, deploying tear gas, and
making numerous arrests at a silent rally in Tehran.
In August and September authorities conducted mass arrests in the
Azerbaijan region following demonstrations by environmental activists
protesting the government's poor management of Lake Urmiya, the world's
third-largest saltwater lake. Sources told HRW that authorities
arrested approximately 300 demonstrators in Tabriz on August 27,
following protests and clashes with police. On September 3, dozens of
others were arrested in the region after local activists called for
additional demonstrations. At year's end there was no information
regarding how many protesters had been released.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the
establishment of political parties, professional associations, Islamic
religious groups, and organizations for recognized religious
minorities, as long as such groups do not violate the principles of
``freedom, sovereignty, and national unity'' or question Islam as the
basis of the Islamic Republic. The government limited freedom of
association in practice through threats, intimidation, imposing
arbitrary requirements on organizations, and arresting group leaders
and members.
On April 14, the Khabar Web site, affiliated with Majlis speaker
Ali Larijani, reported that the Majlis Committee for Political Parties
Affairs had requested that the prosecutor general of Tehran ban two
reformist organizations, Mosharekat Front and Revolutionary Mojahedin,
due to their involvement in the 2009 election protests. The heads of
both organizations had been in custody since 2009.
At year's end Mohsen Barzegar remained in Evin Prison (see section
1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees).
The government continued to exert significant pressure on members
of the DHRC (see section 5).
The journalists' union and other labor-related groups also
continued to face problems during the year (see section 7.a.).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/
rpt.www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation. The government placed some restrictions on these rights.
The government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) with regard to refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq.
In-Country Movement.--Women faced difficulties traveling
independently, especially in rural areas, where they faced significant
official and unofficial harassment for traveling alone. Rural women's
freedom of movement outside the home or village was particularly
restricted, often requiring a male guardian's permission or a male
chaperone.
Foreign Travel.--The government required exit permits for foreign
travel for all citizens. Some citizens, particularly those whose skills
were in demand and who were educated at government expense, had to post
bond to obtain an exit permit. The government also restricted foreign
travel of some religious leaders and members of religious minorities
and scientists in sensitive fields. It also increasingly targeted
journalists, academics, opposition politicians, and activists--
including women's rights activists--for travel bans and passport
confiscation during the year.
In January, for example, authorities banned Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf,
the mayor of Tehran, from traveling to the United States to receive an
award for advancing sustainable transportation. In March authorities
banned former president Mohammad Khatami from traveling to Ireland to
attend a political seminar.
A woman must have the permission of her husband, father, or other
male relative to obtain a passport. A married woman must receive
written permission from her husband before she leaves the country.
Exile.--The government did not use forced external exile, but many
dissidents practiced self-imposed exile to be able to express their
beliefs freely. In additon the government often placed prisoners in
facilities far from their homes to prevent family visits; they called
this placement ``exile.''
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide means for granting asylum or refugee status to qualified
applicants. While the government reportedly had a system for providing
protection to refugees, the UNHRC did not have any information as to
how the country made asylum determinations.
Refugee Abuse.--According to reports, 30 provinces were partially
or fully closed to refugees. Authorities generally required registered
Afghan refugees in these ``no-go areas'' to choose either to relocate
to refugee settlements, sometimes in other parts of the country, or to
repatriate. In 2010-11 approximately 24,000 Afghans voluntarily
repatriated; however, the vast majority said they were under pressure
to return due to the government's no-go areas policy as well as from
fear of the government. During the year the government executed dozens
of undocumented Afghans, predominantly on drug-related charges and
often without due process.
Employment.--Registered refugees were able to obtain permits to
work in the country. According to the UNHRC, in June the authorities
extended the validity of Amayesh residency permits to one year and
linked them to the issuance of work permits for Afghan refugees.
Access to Basic Services.--Registered refugees received free
primary health care from the Ministry of Health with UNHRC support. In
May the UNHRC launched a health insurance plan to help refugees
maintain access to secondary and tertiary medical care as costs rise.
Some asylum seekers did not have identification cards and were unable
to benefit from basic government subsidies for food, health care,
insurance, and housing. According to the UNHRC, in June authorities
began reregistering Afghan refugees, extending the validity of their
identification cards to one year. The government also identified
vulnerable refugees to be granted exemptions from payment of
municipality taxes and school tuition fees, which are normally
obligatory without exceptions.
Stateless Persons.--Women cannot directly transmit citizenship to
their children or to a noncitizen spouse. According to media reports,
there were officially 30,000 female citizens married to Afghan men,
although the unofficial number was likely much higher. As a result
there were more than 32,000 children not recognized by the government
and without identification cards, making them effectively stateless and
barred from receiving government support, education, health care, or
travel documents (see section 6, Children).
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to peacefully change
the president and the Majlis through free and fair elections, but the
authority of unelected representatives over the election process
severely abridged this right in practice. The Assembly of Experts
elects the supreme leader, the recognized head of state, who may be
removed only by a vote of the assembly. The supreme leader exercises
influence over the government appointments of the 12 clerics and
religious jurists who make up the Guardian Council. The Guardian
Council then approves the list of candidates for the Assembly of
Experts, whose 86 members must also be clerics, who serve eight-year
terms and are chosen by popular vote. There was no separation of state
and religion, and clerics had significant influence in the government.
The supreme leader also approved presidential candidates.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2009
the country held a presidential election, which outside observers
regarded as neither free nor fair. International observers were not
allowed entry to monitor the election results. The Guardian Council
approved only four of more than 450 prospective candidates, including
42 women and former officials. No women were approved to run as
candidates. Authorities increased censorship and surveillance during
the campaign, blocking cellular telephone signals and access to social
networking and opposition Web sites. The government also harassed and
arbitrarily arrested political activists, members of the country's
religious and ethnic minority communities, students, trade unionists,
and women's rights activists during the preelection period (see section
1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees). Anecdotal evidence suggested
that authorities forced some election observers representing opposition
candidates to leave polling stations and that millions of unused paper
ballots disappeared. Before all polls closed and ballot counting had
commenced, government-controlled media announced that President
Ahmadinejad had been reelected in the first round of elections,
obtaining a majority of the votes. Contrary to the election law,
Khamenei approved the election results before the Guardian Council
certified the election and before the Interior Ministry announced the
final results. Independent analysts studied election data and concluded
there were a number of irregularities, including at least two provinces
showing a turnout of more than 100 percent in some districts and the
absence of longstanding regional variations in turnout, which appeared
abnormal despite regulations that allow voters to use any polling
station. On November 20, Ali Saeedi, the supreme leader's
representative to the IRGC, reportedly stated that those who challenged
the 2009 election results were ``worthy of death'' and that the IRGC
and the Basij should not have ``any hesitations'' about crushing them.
Majlis elections were scheduled for March 2012. In preparation for
the elections, the government increased actions and rhetoric against
the opposition. In a January 5 press statement, the chief of the
Guardian Council, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, stated that it was better
for the opposition to ``stay out of the political arena.'' He further
stated on February 11 in a public address on the anniversary of the
1979 Islamic Revolution that the council ``will not allow any unsavory
individuals to obtain the smallest position in the country, regardless
of their popularity.''
Political Parties.--The constitution allows for the formation of
political parties; however, the Interior Ministry granted licenses only
to parties with ideological and practical adherence to the system of
government embodied in the constitution. There were more than 230
registered political organizations that generally operated without
restriction or outside interference, but most were small entities,
often focused around an individual, and did not have nationwide
membership. Members of political parties and individuals with any
political affiliation that the government deemed unacceptable faced
harassment, violence, and sometimes imprisonment. Reformist university
students and professors faced dismissal (see section 2.a., Academic
Freedom and Cultural Events).
The government banned several opposition organizations and
political parties during the year. For example, in March authorities
banned the Assembly of Lecturers and Scholars of Qom Seminary, a
clerical organization formed by supporters of former reformist
president Mohammad Khatami. Also, on November 4, the election office
banned three reformist political parties from participating in the
March 2012 legislative elections. The Islamic Participation Front,
Islamic Revolution Mujaheddin Organization, and Freedom Movement of
Iran allegedly did not have the licenses required to run for the
Majlis. The Islamic Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution
Mujaheddin Organization were banned in September 2010 after they
protested the controversial results from the 2009 presidential
elections.
Security officials continued a campaign of harassment,
intimidation, and arrests against members of the political opposition
(see also section 1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees). Many
analysts indicated such tactics were carried out in an effort to
further stifle dissent in advance of the anticipated March 2012 Majlis
elections.
For example, on November 3, authorities arrested Mohammad
Tavassoli, head of the political bureau of the Freedom Movement in
connection with an October 15 letter to Mohammad Khatami, signed by 143
political activists, warning Khatami about their lack of hope for free
or fair elections. Tavassoli, a former mayor of Tehran, was previously
arrested after the disputed 2009 elections. Relatives told the ICHRI
that authorities were pressuring Tavassoli's relatives not to talk to
the media about him. At year's end he was being held incommunicado.
Former presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein
Mousavi were being held under de facto house arrest since 2009 (see
section 1.d., Arbitrary Arrest and Detention).
Participation of Women and Minorities.--According to the Guardian
Council's interpretation, the constitution barred women and persons of
non-Iranian origin or religions other than Shia Islam from becoming
president or from running in parliament. Women were also barred from
serving as supreme leader; as members of the Assembly of Experts,
Guardian Council, or Expediency Council (a body responsible for
mediating between the Majlis and the Guardian Council and serving as a
consultative council for the supreme leader); and as certain types of
judges (see section 6, Women). On November 20, ISNA reported that Minou
Kianirad was appointed the first female deputy governor of the central
bank since the 1979 revolution. Four women served in the cabinet: the
vice presidents for legal affairs and science and technology, the
minister of health, and the head of the National Youth Organization.
Eight women, in a total of 290 seats, served in the Majlis during the
year.
Five Majlis seats were reserved for recognized religious
minorities. Other ethnic minorities in the Majlis included Arabs and
Kurds. There were no non-Muslims in the cabinet or on the Supreme
Court.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively, and official
corruption and impunity remained a serious and ubiquitous problem in
all three branches of government. Many officials expected bribes for
providing even routine service. Individuals routinely bribed officials
to obtain permits for illegal construction.
According to Freedom House, the hardline clerical establishment
grew wealthier through its control of ``bonyads,'' tax-exempt
foundations that monopolize many sectors of the economy, such as cement
and sugar production. Bonyads receive benefits from the government but
are not required to have their budgets publicly approved.
All government officials, including cabinet ministers and members
of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and Assembly of Experts,
were required to submit annual financial statements to the state
inspectorate. There was no information available regarding whether
these officials obeyed the law.
Numerous government agencies existed to fight corruption, including
the Anticorruption Headquarters, Anticorruption Task Force, Committee
to Fight Economic Corruption, and General Inspection Organization.
The IRGC operated numerous front companies that were engaged in
illicit trade and business activities. The IRGC includes a construction
arm (Khatam ol-Anbiya) that had extensive economic operations and ties
to the oil sector and benefited from corruption within that sector. The
IRGC also had economic interests in the telecommunications,
construction, and mining sectors and direct access to the country's
foreign exchange reserves.
On July 31, Ahmad Ghaleh Bani, director of the National Iranian Oil
Company and deputy oil minister, stated that Khatam ol-Anbiya had been
awarded approximately 2.5 trillion toman ($2.5 billion) in contracts to
develop the country's oil and gas sector since 2009 and that most of
these contracts were awarded without bidding, according to numerous
press accounts. On August 3, the Majlis approved President
Ahmadinejad's choice, Rostam Qassemi, to be the new oil minister; he
previously served as the head of Khatam ol-Anbiya. This appointment
resulted in additional no-bid contract awards for Khatam ol-Anbiya.
The oil sector was embroiled in financial scandal throughout the
year. In May opposition Web sites reported that on March 10, Khamenei
decreed that all oil and gas contracts would be awarded by Petro Nahad,
a new entity established within his office and not subject to
parliamentary or regulatory oversight. All revenues would be deposited
into an account belonging to that organization. Further, according to
these reports, all administrative and financial decisions of Petro
Nahad were to be controlled by a three-person board of directors, whose
members included Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, and Gholamali Haddad
Adel, a member of the Expediency Council and Mojtaba's father-in-law.
On March 18, reformist publications reported the alleged
disappearance of 124 billion toman ($124 million) in oil revenues from
government foreign exchange reserves. According to reports, Majlis
members formed a commission to investigate what had become of some 48
billion toman ($48 million) in missing oil revenues from the state-
owned petroleum sector. Another 68 billion toman ($68 million) in
receivables from foreign oil purchasers had disappeared as well,
according to a member of the Majlis Energy Committee. There were no
updates on the status of this investigation or any reports stemming
from it by year's end.
The banking sector was also plagued by scandal and corruption
during the year. In September the media uncovered the embezzlement of
2.6 trillion toman ($2.6 billion) during a two-year period by the
financial conglomerate Amir Mansour Arya Investment Development
Company, established in 2004 with $50,000 in capital. The owners of the
organization obtained allegedly falsified letters of credit to obtain
additional financing. The Arya Group was accused of using the loans to
purchase assets of privatized state-owned enterprises.
On October 30, a member of the Majlis investigative commission read
its report on the banking scandal in open session and sent it to the
judiciary for prosecution of those found guilty of crimes. Although the
report did not shed new light on the investigation, it suggested the
deputy minister of economic affairs and the deputy head of the Central
Bank were the two highest-level officials responsible for the affair
and should either be fired or resign. On November 28, the chief
prosecutor stated that more than 50 suspects had been indicted and that
40 companies had been found to harbor unreported debts and
irregularities connected with the fraud. By year's end at least 48
people had been arrested in connection with the case, including the son
of President Ahmadinejad's chief of staff and the deputy head of the
Central Bank, Hamid Pourmohammadi. In addition, a deputy minister of
finance and economy, Asghar Abolhassani Hastiani, was forced to resign;
the chief executive officer of Bank Melli, Mahmoud Reza Khavari,
resigned and fled to Canada; and the head of Bank Saderat, Mohammad
Jahromi, resigned. Minister of Economy Shamsoddin Hosseini survived a
Majlis impeachment vote on November 1.
On October 31, the Majlis Social Security Investigative Committee
reported further financial violations. Chairman Soleiman Jafarzadeh
said his committee had unearthed financial violations totaling one
trillion toman ($1 billion) at 150 subsidiaries of the Social Security
Investment Company, which managed the Social Security Investment Fund
and the Civil Servants Pension Fund. At year's end no action had been
taken on this report.
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi remained in his position,
although an investigation into his alleged corruption continued.
There were no laws providing for public access to government
information.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government restricted the work of human rights groups and
activists and often responded to their inquiries and reports with
harassment, arrests, monitoring, unlawful raids, and closures (see also
sections 1.d., 1.e., 2.a., 6, and 7). The government continued to deny
the universality of human rights and stated that human rights issues
should be viewed in the context of a country's ``culture and beliefs.''
Hundreds of domestic NGOs focused on issues such as health and
population, women's rights, development, disability, youth,
environmental protection, human rights, minority rights, and
sustainable development, despite the restrictive environment, including
pressure not to accept foreign grants. Professional groups representing
writers, journalists, photographers, and others attempted to monitor
government restrictions in their respective fields, as well as
harassment and intimidation against individual members of their
professions. Under the law NGOs must register with the Interior
Ministry and apply for permission to receive foreign grants. According
to various sources, independent human rights groups and other NGOs
faced intensifying harassment and threat of closure from government
officials as a result of prolonged and often arbitrary delays in
obtaining official registration.
During the year the government prevented human rights defenders,
civil society activists, journalists, and scholars from traveling
abroad (see section 2.d.). Human rights activists reported receiving
intimidating phone calls and threats of blackmail from unidentified law
enforcement and government officials. Government officials routinely
harassed and sometimes arrested family members of human rights
activists (see section 1.f.). Courts routinely applied suspended
sentences to human rights activists; this form of sentencing acted as
de facto probation, leaving open the option for authorities to suddenly
and arbitrarily arrest or imprison individuals. This threat was
sometimes enough to silence activists or pressure them into providing
information about other activists.
The government continued to exert significant pressure on the DHRC,
an NGO headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and
systematically harassed, arrested, and prosecuted lawyers and others
affiliated with the organization. According to media reports in
November, at least 40 lawyers had been arrested and imprisoned since
the 2009 postelection protests. For example, on March 14, according to
an interview with the BBC Persian service, Branch 26 of the
Revolutionary Court sentenced Abdolreza Tajik, a journalist who
prepared reports for the DHRC, to five years in prison for his
membership in the organization and an additional one-year prison term
for ``propaganda against the regime.'' At year's end he remained in
prison. On July 3, according to various human rights groups, Branch 15
of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah, a DHRC
member and an attorney for several political activists, to nine years
in prison, a 10-year ban from practicing as an attorney or teaching at
a university, and five lashes. The charges against him included
``propaganda against the regime'' and ``distortion of members of the
regime,'' as well as owning an illegal satellite dish. However, at
year's end Dadkhah reportedly continued to practice law. On September
10, security forces arrested DHRC founding member Abdolfattah Soltani,
and at year's end he remained in prison (see section 1.f.). On
September 28, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran sentenced
Narges Mohammadi, the DHRC's executive chairperson, to 11 years in
prison for ``propaganda against the regime.'' At year's end she
remained in prison.
Despite numerous appeals, including from the U.N., the government
denied requests from all international human rights NGOs to establish
offices in, or conduct regular investigative visits to, the country.
The last visit by an international human rights NGO was AI's 2004 visit
as part of the EU's human rights dialogue with the country.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The International Committee
of the Red Cross and the UNHRC both operated in the country with some
restrictions. The last visit by a U.N. human rights agency was in 2005.
The government generally ignored recommendations these bodies made and
failed to submit required reports to the UNHRC or the U.N. Committee on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The government ignored repeated
requests for visits by U.N. special rapporteurs.
In March the UNHRC adopted a resolution establishing a new special
procedure country mandate, which established a human rights rapporteur
for the country. On June 17, the UNHRC appointed Ahmed Shaheed as the
special rapporteur to fulfill the mandate; he officially commenced on
August 1. The government repeatedly denied Shaheed's requests to visit
the country, preventing him from traveling to the country during the
year. Iranian officials denounced his report as ``one-sided,''
outdated, and speculative, and they ignored his repeated calls for
cooperation and access. The government undertook a media campaign
during the year to undermine the mandate of the special rapporteur,
including a Web site mimicking the women's rights-focused One Million
Signatures campaign but actually advocating opposition to the special
rapporteur. The government also publicly criticized the report and the
special rapporteur in the media frequently, along with the September
report of the U.N. secretary-general condemning the depth and breadth
of human rights abuses in the country.
On December 19, for the ninth consecutive year, the U.N. General
Assembly adopted a resolution expressing concern about the country's
``serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.''
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The governmental High Council for
Human Rights was headed by Mohammad Javad Larijani, the brother of Ali
Larijani, speaker of the parliament, and Sadeq Larijani, head of the
judiciary. The High Council is not an independent body; it is part of
the judiciary. Larijani, a former Majlis member, was also an adviser to
the supreme leader. The High Council in practice defended court rulings
regarding imprisoned human rights activists, defenders, and opposition
leaders throughout the year, despite domestic and international
pressure. It did not establish any independent inquiries into 2009
postelection protest violence, and there was no instance of it
challenging any laws or court rulings during the year. During the year
Larijani defended the arrest and imprisonment of several high-profile
human rights defenders, including Abdolfattah Soltani, and the house
arrest of opposition leaders Mousavi and Karroubi at the U.N. and in
media interviews on numerous occasions.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Although the constitution formally prohibits discrimination based
on race, gender, disability, language, and social status ``in
conformity with Islamic criteria,'' the government did not effectively
enforce these prohibitions. The government increased gender segregation
and discrimination against women throughout the year.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal and subject to
strict penalties including execution, but it remained a problem, and
the government did not enforce the law effectively. There were reports
of government forces raping individuals in custody (see sections 1.a.
and 1.c.). Sex within marriage is considered to be consensual by
definition, and therefore spousal rape is not illegal. Cases of rape
were difficult to document due to social stigma against the victims.
Most rape victims did not report the crime to authorities because they
feared punishment for having been raped, as they could be charged with
adultery for being in the presence of an unrelated male while
unaccompanied, indecency, or immoral behavior. They also feared
societal reprisal such as ostracism. According to the penal code, rape
is a capital offense, and four Muslim male witnesses or a combination
of three male and two female witnesses to the rape itself are required
for conviction. The stringent witness requirement was also a possible
reason for low reporting of rape to authorities. A woman or man found
making a false accusation of rape is subject to 80 lashes.
According to the BBC, during the year there were several high-
profile gang rapes. In one case, near the city of Isfahan, more than a
dozen armed men reportedly entered a small private party, locked the
men in a room, and took the women to an adjacent property and raped
them at knifepoint. Four attackers were later arrested, but the town's
police commander reportedly stated, ``I believe the raped women's
families are to blame, because if they had proper clothing and if the
sound of their music was not so loud, the rapists would not have
imagined it as a depraved get-together.'' Reports indicated the victims
may have faced legal action. At year's end there was no public
information on whether charges had been filed against the alleged
attackers.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. Spousal
abuse and violence against women was common. On November 4, the UNHRC
issued a statement condemning the lack of laws protecting women from
domestic violence as well as the lack of investigation, prosecution,
and punishment of perpetrators of domestic violence. The Census Bureau,
an official government agency, has precluded international
organizations from performing studies of domestic violence in the
country and has never conducted its own study of violence against
women.
The director of the Iranian National Social Emergency Unit,
physician Majid Arjomandi, told Pupils Association News Agency on
November 1 that there were approximately 8,000 domestic violence cases
reported to his organization. According to a University of Tehran study
published on June 15, a woman is physically abused every nine seconds
in the country, and an estimated three to four million women are
battered each year by their husbands. One of every two marriages had at
least one instance of domestic violence. Abuse in the family was
considered a private matter and seldom discussed publicly, although
there were some efforts to change this attitude, particularly by the
One Million Signatures campaign. Some nongovernmental shelters and
hotlines assisted victims during the year.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--According to the law, if a father
or paternal grandfather kills his child or grandchild, he will not be
convicted and punished for murder. The law also permits a man to kill
his adulterous wife and her consorts if he is certain she consented.
Women convicted of adultery may also be sentenced to death, including
by stoning. There were no official reports of honor killings during the
year, although human rights activists stated that they often occurred
out of the public eye. There were also no reports of women being stoned
for adultery, although there were women imprisoned for adultery during
the year.
Sexual Harassment.--There are laws addressing sexual harassment in
the context of physical contact between men and women; however, these
laws are not victim-oriented and are biased against women. Physical
contact between unrelated men and women is strictly prohibited and is
punishable by lashing. There was a lack of reliable data on the
prevalence of sexual harassment in the country. Media reports indicated
that unwanted physical contact and verbal harassment occurred.
Government officials, however, often blamed women's sexuality for
problems in society. For example, in April 2010 cleric Kazem Sadighi
stated, ``Many of the ladies who do not have a proper appearance cause
the hearts of the youth to be swayed and they become defiled by sin,
and this leads to the spread of adultery in society, which increases
earthquakes.''
Reproductive Rights.--The law recognizes the basic right of married
couples to decide freely and responsibly the spacing and timing of
their first three children and have the information and means to do so
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. According to the law,
health and maternity benefits are cut for the family after three
children. There were no restrictions on the right of married persons to
access contraceptives. It is illegal for a single woman to access
contraception, although in practice women had access, particularly in
urban areas. Couples who plan to marry must take a class in family
planning. Men and women received equal access to diagnosis and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. However,
women requested testing less regularly than men, likely because of
social stigma attached to doing so.
Discrimination.--The constitution nominally provides women with
equal protection under the law and all human, political, economic,
social, and cultural rights in conformity with Islam; however,
provisions in the Islamic civil and penal codes--based on Sharia--
particularly sections dealing with family and property law,
discriminate against women. Societal discrimination also restricted
women's economic, social, and cultural rights. The governmental Center
for Women and Family continued to publish reports on feminism with a
very religious conservative slant and limited the debate on women's
issues to matters related to the home. Ideas contrary to the government
or to its interpretation of Islam were not raised by the center.
Women cannot directly transmit citizenship to their children or to
a noncitizen spouse (see section 6, Children). According to media
reports, there were officially 30,000 female citizens married to Afghan
men, although the unofficial number was likely much higher (see section
2.d., Stateless Persons).
The government does not recognize marriages between Muslim women
and non-Muslim men, irrespective of their citizenship.
The law states that a virgin woman or girl wishing to wed needs the
consent of her father or grandfather or the court's permission, even if
she is older than 18.
The law permits a man to have as many as four wives and an
unlimited number of ``sigheh,'' based on a Shia custom in which a woman
may become the wife of a Muslim man after a simple religious ceremony
and a civil contract outlining the union's conditions. Sigheh wives and
any resulting children are not granted rights associated with
traditional marriage.
A woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a
contract granting that right, cannot provide for his family, or is a
drug addict, insane, or impotent. A husband is not required to cite a
reason for divorcing his wife. Traditional interpretations of Islamic
law recognize a divorced woman's right to part of shared property and
to alimony. These laws were not enforced. On June 21, the Supreme Court
voted in favor of a law allowing women to withhold sex from their
husbands if the husbands refuse to pay alimony. (Under the law alimony
can be requested during the marriage as well as after a divorce.)
According to ISNA, if the alimony is not paid, the wife can ``reject
all legal and religious obligations'' to her husband. If the alimony is
not paid after the divorce, the woman can sue her ex-husband in court.
Despite this new ruling, the ability of a woman to seek divorce was
still extremely limited in practice.
The law provides divorced women preference in custody for children
up to age seven; divorced women who remarry must give the child's
father custody. After the child reaches age seven, the father is
entitled to custody (unless the father has been proven unfit to care
for the child). The court determines custody in disputed cases.
Women sometimes received disproportionate punishment for crimes
such as adultery, including death sentences (see sections 1.a. and
1.e., Trial Procedures). The testimony of two women is equal to that of
one man. The blood money paid to the family of a female crime victim is
half the sum paid for a man.
Women had access to primary and advanced education, and
approximately 65 percent of university students were women. Government
officials acknowledged the use of quotas to limit women's university
admissions in certain fields such as medicine and engineering.
Social and legal constraints limited women's professional
opportunities. Women were represented in many fields, including the
legislature, municipal councils, police, and firefighters, but a woman
must seek her husband's consent before working outside the home.
Despite the high prevalence of women in universities, the unemployment
rate for women was nearly triple that of their male counterparts.
According to the World Economic Forum's 2011 report on the global
gender gap, women in the country earned on average two-thirds of a
man's salary for the same job. One Majlis member suggested that banning
women from the workplace could solve the country's unemployment
problems. Women cannot serve in many high-level political positions or
as judges except as consultant or research judges without the power to
impose sentences.
Women faced discrimination in home and property ownership, as well
as access to financing. On September 14, a major contruction
development company, Mehr Housing, began refusing to allow women to buy
property, requiring their husbands' name to be on the deed and
mortgage.
The government enforced gender segregation in most public spaces,
including for patients during medical care, and prohibited women from
mixing openly with unmarried men or men not related to them. Women must
ride in a reserved section on public buses and enter public buildings,
universities, and airports through separate entrances. In a sermon
honoring Fatemeh Zahra, daughter of the Prophet Mohammad, on May 5,
grand ayatollah and Shiite legal authority Safi Golpaygani stated, ``In
the optimal situation, a woman will not see any other man except her
husband.'' He added that such contact is ``most unfortunate'' and that
the mingling of women and men is so prevalent that it leads to mental
illness and moral corruption.
On July 3, Greater Tehran Law Enforcement Forces commander Hossein
Sajedinia announced that, from July 11, women would not be allowed into
coffee houses that provide water pipes. He stated the new measure had
been decided ``after repeated requests from the people, particularly
families.'' Enforcement of morality laws became stricter after new
``morality patrols'' were deployed on June 15. Sajedinia threatened
coffee house owners with prosecution if they did not adhere to the new
code. On October 26, the Skating Federation announced that the
country's roller skating tracks would be gender segregated and that
female skaters who disregarded Islamic dress codes would be disciplined
by authorities. On November 1, according to Shahrzad News, the Health
Ministry relaunched an initiative to gender-segregate hospitals.
According to the deputy health minister for patient care, Hasan Emami
Razavi, ``Every province will have a major general hospital for women
only . . . [T]he one problem we have is that there are not enough women
to drive the emergency ambulances.'' On November 14, police issued a
directive banning women from skiing unaccompanied. Under the new
measure, girls under 18 must be on the ski slopes with a parent, and
those over 18 must be accompanied by their husbands.
For the first time, boys and girls had to sit in separate
classrooms at universities when the new school year began in October.
Majlis member Ali Karimi-Firouzjai, a member of the Majlis Education
and Research Committee, stated: ``The higher education minister has
announced that some universities will hold separate courses for males
and females in the new academic year. The grand ayatollahs and the
families have warned against any contact between students of opposite
sexes.''
The penal code provides that a woman who appears in public without
an appropriate hijab can be sentenced to lashings and fined. However,
absent a clear legal definition of ``appropriate hijab'' or the
punishment, women were subject to the opinions of disciplinary forces
or judges. Pictures of uncovered or ``immodestly'' dressed women in the
media or in films were often digitally altered.
According to the U.N. secretary-general's report on the situation
of human rights in the country, on May 9, the commander of the morality
police forces disclosed that thousands of morality personnel had been
deployed across the country to implement the moral security plan. On
June 10, Ahmadreza Radan, deputy commander of the police force,
announced that June 15 would usher in a new drive against un-Islamic
female dress. Radan's plan was expected to crack down harder on
inappropriate public dress and dole out harder punishments for women
that did not comply. According to the new rules, women who fail to
comply with the harsher dress code standards will be imprisoned between
10 days to two months. Under these rules female students are banned
from wearing bright clothes, having long nails or tattoos, wearing caps
or hats without scarves, and wearing tight jeans or shorts.
The government continued its intense crackdown against members of
the OMSC, which activists launched in 2006 to promote women's rights,
particularly by advocating reform of discriminatory laws. Several OMSC
members remained under suspended prison sentences and travel bans, were
in prison, or were in self-imposed exile at year's end. For example, on
May 11, security forces from the Intelligence Ministry arrested Mayram
Bahreman, a civil society activist involved in the defense of women's
rights. Bahreman had been active in the OMSC in Shiraz. She was
arrested along with Mahoubeh Karami (see below).
There were developments in several cases from previous years. In
February, according to the Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders, Branch 54 of the Appeal Court of Tehran sentenced
Mahoubeh Karami to three years' imprisonment on charges of ``membership
in a human rights activists association'' and ``propaganda against the
regime.'' On May 15, after being rearrested, she entered Evin Prison,
where she remained at year's end.
In March 2010, according to the RAHANA, Branch 15 of the
Revolutionary Court acquitted Khadijeh Moghaddam on two counts of
``propaganda activity against the regime'' and disobeying police orders
but sentenced her to a one-year suspended prison term for assembly and
conspiracy with intent to act against national security. On December
18, she received a human rights award from the city of Bochum, Germany,
for her work as a women's rights activist and member of Mothers of
Laleh Park, Mothers for Peace, and the OMSC. At year's end Moghaddam
was living in exile in Germany. In 2009 security forces detained
Moghaddam for approximately one month with 11 other members from the
OMSC and the NGO Mothers for Peace, including Mahboubeh Karami and
Maryam Bahreman, as the group met to make traditional Nowruz (New Year)
visits to families of several political prisoners. The ICHRI suggested
that security and intelligence forces eavesdropped on the activists'
private communications to apprehend them. Bahreman was arrested May 11
and released on 250 million toman ($250,000) bail September 15. Karami
was arrested in March 2010 and detained for 170 days. On February 11,
Karami was sentenced to three years in prison by Branch 54 of the
appellate court of the Revolutionary Courts by Judge Movahed. Karami
was charged with membership in a human rights organization, spreading
of ``propaganda against the regime,'' and gathering and colluding with
the ``intent of harming national security.'' She was arrested on May 15
to begin serving her three-year sentence. She was reportedly in poor
health in Evin Prison and at risk of falling into a coma from her
untreated anemia.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from a
child's father, regardless of the child's country of birth. In general,
birth within the country's borders does not confer citizenship except
when a child is born to unknown parents; when both parents are
noncitizens, but at least one parent was born in the country; or when a
child born to noncitizens continues to reside in the country for at
least one year after age 18. The birth registration law requires that
all births be registered within 15 days. According to UNICEF, 13
percent of births were not reported in 2005; more recent statistics
available were not available.
Education.--Although primary schooling up to age 11 is free and
compulsory for all, the media and other sources reported lower
enrollment in rural areas for girls than for boys. This gender
disparity is largely due to cultural differences from the urban
centers, lower education among the parents, and stronger religious
influence. More than 25 percent of refugee children of primary school
age were not enrolled in school either due to the lack of
identification cards or available places in schools (see section 2.d.,
Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons).
Child Abuse.--There was little information available to reflect how
the government dealt with child abuse. Abuse was largely regarded as a
private family matter. According to ISNA, more than 7,000 cases of
child abuse were officially reported during the year. On December 13,
the managing director of the Office for Protection of Vulnerable
Citizens stated that his office received calls from more than 215,000
persons during the year, of which approximately 93,000 were calls
directly from victims and an additional 47,000 were by medical
professionals who treated emergency cases. In May 2010 the government
announced that approximately 150,000 cases of child abuse had been
recorded in the six months prior. A prominent attorney noted that the
government did little to address the problem.
Child Marriage.--The law requires court approval for the marriage
of girls younger than 13 and boys younger than 15, but it was
reportedly not unusual in rural areas for parents to have their
children marry before they became teenagers, often for economic
reasons. The age of criminal responsibility for girls is nine years,
while the law does not consider boys criminally responsible until age
15. For example, if a 12-year-old girl accused a 14-year-old boy of
rape, the 12-year-old girl would face any criminal penalties alone. Sex
outside of marriage is illegal and is punishable by death, although the
media reported that the common punishment was imprisonment and lashing.
In December the director general of the Census Bureau in Hormozgan
announced that there had been five marriages of girls under age 10 in
his province. The government did not investigate these cases or begin
any prevention campaigns, as these marriages were not considered
illegal.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Sex is considered consensual if
it is within the confines of marriage. As such, the age requirements
for marriage apply to consensual sex. The law prohibits all forms of
pornography, including child pornography.
Children were trafficked within the country for commercial sexual
exploitation, sometimes through forced marriages in which girls' new
``husbands'' forced them into prostitution and involuntary servitude as
beggars or laborers to pay debts, provide income, or support drug
addiction of their families. The government did not report any law
enforcement efforts during the year to punish trafficking offenders and
continued to lack any victim protection measures. Foreign victims of
trafficking are, by government policy, detained and deported; citizens
are either jailed or turned away by the police when they attempt to
seek protection. The government made no discernible efforts to address
the widespread government corruption that facilitated trafficking.
Child Soldiers.--According to a March 12 article in The Guardian,
human rights activists including the ICHRI reported that the government
deployed child soldiers between the ages of 12 and 16 to attack
opposition demonstrators beginning on March 1. The youths, whose
accents led witnesses to say they had been shipped into Tehran from
rural areas, were armed with clubs, batons, and air guns.
Displaced Children.--There were reportedly significant numbers of
children working as street vendors in Tehran and other cities and not
attending school. International media sources reported there were as
many as 250,000 street children in the country.
International Child Abduction.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/
congressreport--4308.html, as well as country-specific information at
travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--The government's anti-Israel stance, in particular
the president's repeated speeches decrying the existence of Israel and
calling for the destruction of its ``Zionist regime,'' created a
threatening atmosphere for the 25,000-person Jewish community. For
instance, during the fifth annual ``Conference in Support of the
Palestinian Intifada,'' the president echoed his previous comment that
Israel was a ``cancerous tumor'' that was impacting the entire world.
On October 1, alongside the start of this conference, Khamenei
announced the publication of his new book in which he states, ``Israel
is a country with no origin or provenance--a fake country, a false
nation.Wherever evil Jews existed, they were gathered together [and
sent] there to [Palestine].'' Government officials continued to make
anti-Semitic statements, organize events designed to deny the
Holocaust, and sanction anti-Semitic propaganda. The government also
limited distribution of nonreligious Hebrew texts and required Jewish
schools to remain open on the Jewish Sabbath.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law generally prohibits
discrimination against persons with disabilities by government actors,
with some notable exceptions. For example, the laws did not apply to
private actors, and the electoral laws prohibit blind and deaf
individuals from running for parliament. While the law provides for
state-funded vocational education for persons with disabilities,
according to domestic news reports, vocational centers were confined to
urban areas and unable to meet the needs of the entire population.
There are laws ensuring public accessibility concerning government-
funded buildings, and new structures appeared to have high-level access
for physically disabled individuals. There also were efforts to
increase accessibility of historical sites. However, government
buildings themselves remained largely inaccessible, and general
building accessibility for persons with disabilities remained a
widespread problem. There was limited access to information, education,
and community activities by persons with disabilities in the country.
With respect to the prohibition of blind and deaf individuals
running for the Majlis, the Shahrzad News reported on November 14 that
67 Majlis members requested permission to bring a floor debate on the
issue, but their motion was denied.
The Welfare Organization of Iran is the principle governmental
agency charged with protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution grants equal
rights to all ethnic minorities and allows for minority languages to be
used in the media and in schools. In practice minorities did not enjoy
equal rights, and the government consistently denied their right to use
their language in school. The government disproportionately targeted
minority groups, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluchis, for
arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse (see also
section 1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees). These groups reported
political and economic discrimination, particularly in their access to
economic aid, business licenses, university admissions, permission to
publish books, and housing and land rights. The government blamed
foreign entities, including a number of governments, for instigating
some of the ethnic unrest.
There are between five and 11 million ethnic Kurds in the country,
who have frequently campaigned for greater regional autonomy. There
were two terrorist organizations inside the Kurdish province; however,
they did not represent the majority of the Kurdish population.
Nevertheless, the government persecuted the entire minority for
criminal acts sponsored by the two organizations. According to a 2009
HRW report, the government used security laws, media laws, and other
legislation to arrest and persecute Kurds solely for exercising their
right to freedom of expression and association. The government
reportedly banned Kurdish-language newspapers, journals, and books and
punished publishers, journalists, and writers for opposing and
criticizing government policies. Although the Kurdish language is not
banned, schools did not teach it. Authorities suppressed legitimate
activities of Kurdish NGOs by denying them registration permits or
bringing spurious charges of security offenses against individuals
working with such organizations. Kurds were not allowed to register
certain names for their children in official registries.
There were several instances of Kurdish activists sentenced for
political crimes during the year. For example, on January 31, the
Revolutionary Court in Kermanshah sentenced Kaveh Ghassemi Kermanshahi,
a journalist and human rights activist, to five years in prison.
Kermanshahi was an executive member of the Kurdistan Human Rights
Organization and the OMSC. He was also a member of the student
organization Daftar Tahkim Vahdat. The court charged Kermanshahi with
``acting against national security'' and ``propaganda against the
regime.'' His lawyer described his long sentence as ``unprecedented.''
In mid-June the Saqqez Revolutionary Court, in Kurdistan Province,
found Mohammad Moniri, a Kurdish teacher, guilty on charges of
cooperating with opposition groups and propaganda against the regime.
The court originally sentenced Moniri to five years in prison, but his
sentence was reduced to six months. Moniri entered prison on June 19.
Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan claimed
their community of two to four million in the country's southwest
encountered oppression and discrimination, including torture and
mistreatment of Ahvazi Arab activists and the lack of freedom to study
and speak Arabic.
On April 15, authorities violently oppressed a protest organized by
ethnic Arabs in the Khuzestan region. Security forces reportedly fired
live rounds into the crowd. It was estimated that a dozen demonstrators
were killed and scores more injured. The RSF reported that authorities
arrested up to 97 protesters. The demonstrators were commemorating the
sixth anniversary of a 2005 demonstration that security forces
violently suppressed. The government insisted that the report was
fabricated. On the same day, a representative from the Ahvazi
Organization for the Defense of Human Rights, based in London, told HRW
that, since April 15, security forces had ``killed 48 innocent
protesters, injured tens, and arrested hundreds of Ahvazis.'' On April
18, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi wrote a letter about the
incident to the U.N. high commissioner for human rights. According to
Ebadi, hundreds of people in the city of Ahvaz had gathered for a
peaceful demonstration against the government's discrimination towards
its Sunni minority. The country's semiofficial news agency Fars
reported that only one person had been killed during the protests.
On May 11, according to an official report from the Khuzestan
district attorney, seven young Arabs had been executed in the
preceeding days in the town of Ahvaz. However, posts on Facebook
reported that nine young Arab activists from Ahvaz had been executed.
Official sources claimed that those executed were criminals dealing in
drugs, although such claims often were leveled as justification to
execute political activists from the Arab minority. The Arab minority
in Ahvaz asked for the intervention of global human rights
organizations.
Ethnic Azeris comprised approximately one-quarter of the country's
population, were well integrated into government and society, and
included the supreme leader among their numbers. Nonetheless, Azeris
complained that the government discriminated against them, banning the
Azeri language in schools, harassing Azeri activists or organizers, and
changing Azeri geographic names. Azeri groups also claimed a number of
Azeri political prisoners had been jailed for advocating cultural and
language rights for Azeris. The government charged several of them with
``revolting against the Islamic state.''
According to the ICHRI, during the six-month period from March 21
to September 21, more than 320 cultural, political, women's rights, and
human rights activists were arrested in the Azeri provinces. Most of
these arrests concerned the protests about the drying out of Lake
Urmiya, one of the largest saltwater lakes in the world. According to
international media reports, protesters, who claimed that the
government did not act to save the lake partly due to its location in
the minority Azeri province, chanted, ``Long live Azerbaijan,'' and
``Urmiya is thirsty / Azerbaijan must rise up, otherwise it will
lose.'' As a result of these arrests, Azeri activists were beaten,
flogged, tortured, fined, and expelled from university.
Iran Green Voice announced that in late May that a Revolutionary
Court sentenced seven Azeri activists--Yunes Soleymani, Mahmmud Fazli,
Naim Ahmmadi, Aydin Khajehei, Sharam Radmehr, Yashar Karimi, and
Hamideh Frajazade--to six months in prison for membership in the Azeri
Party's Central Committee. A six-month suspended sentence was given to
activists Alireza Abdollahi, Behbud Gholizade, and Akbar Azad, for a
five-year probation period. Another activist, Hassan Rahimi, was
cleared on all counts after being held in solitary confinement for four
months.
Local and international human rights groups alleged serious
economic, legal, and cultural discrimination against the Baluch
minority during the year. Baluch journalists and human rights activists
faced arbitrary arrest, physical abuse, and unfair trials, often ending
in execution.
On June 6, a revolutionary court in Baluchistan Province sentenced
Sakhi Rigi to 20 years in prison on charges of ``acting against
national security'' and ``propaganda against the regime,'' based on his
blogging and other Internet activities relating to the government's
discriminatory treatment of the Baluch community.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes
consensual same-sex sexual activity. A man can be put to death for
same-sex sexual acts if he is of legal age, of sound mind, and engaged
of his own free will. The Special Protection Division, a volunteer unit
of the judiciary, monitored and reported on ``moral crimes,'' including
same-sex sexual acts. According to a December 2010 HRW report, security
forces used discriminatory laws to harass, arrest, and detain
individuals they suspected of being gay. In some cases security forces
raided houses and monitored Internet sites for information on LGBT
individuals. Those accused of sodomy often faced summary trials, and
evidentiary standards were not always met. The punishment of a non-
Muslim gay man or lesbian was harsher if the gay man or lesbian's
partner was Muslim. Punishment for same-sex sexual activity between men
was more severe than for such conduct between women.
During the year there was an increase in the frequency of charges
of homosexuality against individuals on death row or those executed.
However, because such persons were generally convicted on a number of
different charges and because of the lack of due process, it was
unclear in most cases whether such charges of homosexuality were the
basis for the executions.
On September 4, authorities at Karoun prison in Ahvaz Province
executed by hanging three individuals convicted of sodomy. While the
circumstances of the case remained unclear at year's end, the fact that
they were executed on sodomy charges alone, and not sodomy by coercion
or rape, which was normally how sodomy was charged, was significant. It
was also the first case in many years in which the only declared charge
was sodomy and not combined with other criminal acts, such as rape and
armed robbery or national security crimes.
ICAS reported that two young men, Ayub and Mosleh, ages 20 and 21,
were in danger of execution by stoning in the city of Piranshahr in the
province of Kurdistan. The group said the men filmed themselves
engaging in same-sex sexual activity in a video that included pictures
of President Ahmadinejad and that government officials discovered that
video. Their whereabouts at the end of the year remained unknown.
According to a June 10 IHRDC report, in 2007 authorities in Isfahan
arrested Matin Yar (a pseudonym) at age 19, along with several of his
friends, for homosexual activity. Yar described officials repeatedly
beating and torturing him during his detention, including hanging him
upside down on a metal rod and using batons, whips, and electric shock.
Yar stated his nose and ribs were broken as a result of the beatings.
During a second period of detention, Yar said he was subjected to mock
executions at Isfahan on three or four different occasions. After
sentencing, Yar was sent to Dastgerd Prison, where he claimed prison
authorities raped him several times.
The government censored all materials related to LGBT issues. In
September President Ahmadinejad called same-sex sexual activity a
``despicable act.that is dirty and harmful to humanity.'' In January he
was quoted as stating, ``Homosexuality means the divorce of humanity
from its integrity.'' During his official response to the UNHRC,
President Ahmadinejad categorically refused to answer all six questions
regarding the LGBT situation in his country, stating only that the LGBT
issue is ``beyond the mandate of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights.'' The supreme leader referred to same-sex sexual
conduct as a ``shameful act.''
The law defines transgender persons as mentally ill, encouraging
them to seek medical help in the form of gender-reassignment surgery.
The government provided grants of as much as 4.5 million toman ($4,500)
and loans of as much as 5.5 million toman ($5,500) for transgender
persons willing to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Human rights
activists and NGOs reported that some members of the gay and bisexual
community were pressured to undergo gender reassignment surgery to
avoid legal and social consequences in the country.
The size of the LGBT community was unknown, as many individuals
feared identifying themselves. There were active LGBT NGOs in the
country, but most activities to support the LGBT community took place
outside the country. According to a HRW report, family members
threatened and abused many young gay men, who also faced harassment
from religious scholars, schools, and community elders. Some persons
were expelled from university for allegations of same-sex sexual
activity. The HRW report also alleged that Basij forces attempted to
entrap or arrest persons engaged in same-sex sexual conduct.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
reportedly faced discrimination in schools and workplaces.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides for freedom of association, but neither the
constitution nor the labor code guarantee trade union rights. The labor
code states workers may establish an Islamic labor council or a guild
at any workplace, but the rights and responsibilities of these
organizations fall significantly short of international standards for
trade unions. In workplaces where an Islamic labor council has been
established, no other form of worker representation is permitted. The
law requires prior authorization for organizing and concluding
collective agreements, and it does not provide for the right to strike.
Strikes are prohibited in the public sector. Private sector workers may
conduct ``peaceful'' campaigns within the workplace. The labor code
does not apply to establishments with fewer than five employees.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were
not respected in practice. The government severely restricted freedom
of association and interfered in worker attempts to organize. The
government and the judiciary imprisoned and aimed to silence labor
activists.
The Interior Ministry, Ministry of Labor, and Islamic Information
Organization determined labor councils' constitutions, operational
rules, and election procedures. Workers' House remained the only
officially authorized national labor organization; it served primarily
as a conduit for government control over workers. The leadership of
Workers' House oversaw and coordinated activities with Islamic labor
councils in industrial, agricultural, and service organizations
comprising more than 35 employees. During the year the government
pressured workers to join the government-sponsored councils. According
to the ICHRI, the labor councils, which consisted of representatives of
workers and a representative of management, were essentially
management-run unions that undermined workers' efforts to maintain
independent unions. However, the councils were able to block layoffs
and dismissals. Human rights organizations reported employers routinely
fired labor activists for trade union activities. There was no
representative workers' organization for workers who are noncitizens.
According to international media reports, security forces continued
to respond with arbitrary arrests and violence to workers' attempts to
organize or conduct strikes. Strikes and worker protests often prompted
a heavy police response, and security forces routinely monitored major
worksites. On February 7, taxi drivers in the northern city of Babol
went on strike to protest low fares set by the government. Although
security and intelligence forces appeared at the protest site, the
workers persisted with their strike. At the end of the four-hour
protest, the ICHRI reported that police temporarily detained and
interrogated a number of workers.
On June 10, AI released a detailed report that underscored the
harsh treatment of independent trade union activists speaking out
against the oppression of trade unions in the country. On October 17,
the Iranian Independent Workers Union announced that security forces
arrested Ayat Niafar, the spokesperson for the Follow-up Committee to
Form Workers Organizations, also known as the Committee to Pursue the
Establishment of Trade Unions, at a metro stop in Tehran and took him
to Evin Prison, where he remained at year's end.
There were developments in several cases from previous years.
According to Education International, of which the Iranian Teachers
Trade Association (ITTA) is an affiliate, and other sources, government
authorities prevented the ITTA from holding meetings and continued to
harass and detain its members. On January 12, a court confirmed the
six-year sentence of ITTA board member Rasoul Bodaghi for ``assembly
and conspiracy with the intent of committing national security crimes
and antiregime propaganda.'' On May 22, Bodaghi and several other
political prisoners began a hunger strike to protest their treatment.
Five days after he began the hunger strike, he was transferred to
solitary confinement. At year's end he remained in prison.
In April a revolutionary court summoned several members of the ITTA
for questioning. The head of the Mashad branch, Hashem Khastar, was not
released at the end of his two-year prison term for union activities.
Instead, as his family and friends waited for him at the prison gates
on July 26, they learned that authorities had brought him back to court
and tried him on the new charge of ``creating public anxiety,''
according to the ICHRI. Many of the association's leaders and prominent
members--including secretaries general Alireza Hashemi and Ali Akbar
Baghani, Tehran spokesperson Mahmoud Beheshti-Langaroudi, Tehran branch
member Mahmoud Bagheri, and Kurdistan branch member Mokhtar Asadi--
remained in prison during the year on charges of ``propaganda against
the regime'' for activities they had planned on International Workers'
Day in May 2010. All of the imprisoned spent time in solitary
confinement. They were awaiting a court hearing at year's end.
On June 2, authorities released bus-driver syndicate leader Mansour
Ossanloo on a prison furlough, which was extended. At year's end he
remained out on furlough and could be called back to jail at any time.
He was originally sentenced in 2007 for trade union activities.
According to international media, several other transportation
unionists remained in prison for trade union activities, including
Mansour Ossanloo's brother, Afshin Ossanloo, who was arrested by
plainclothes officers in January at Tehran's southern bus terminal, and
Reza Shahabi. Shahabi went on hunger strike several times during the
year and was hospitalized more than once. Another bus syndicate leader,
Ebrahim Mahadi, had been imprisoned since 2008 but was freed December 1
only to be rearrested and sent back to prison on December 7.
On November 12, Ali Nejati, a board member of the Haft Tapeh Sugar
Cane Workers' Syndicate, began a one-year sentence in Dezful prison for
his trade union activities. He had already served six months in 2010 on
the same charges and had been dismissed from work.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, such
practices occurred in the construction and agricultural sectors,
primarily among Afghan adult males. Family members and others forced
children to work.
See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of minors younger than 15 and places
restrictions on employment of minors younger than 18, such as
prohibitions on hard labor or night work; however, the law permits
children to work in agriculture, domestic service, and some small
businesses from the age of 12. The government did not adequately
monitor or enforce laws pertaining to child labor, and child labor was
a serious problem.
According to government sources, 600,000 children worked in the
country during the year. Approximately 360,000 children between the
ages of 10 and 14 worked full time and another 380,000 children worked
in seasonal employment. Family poverty, insufficient economic growth,
and uneven distribution of wealth were the sources of the problem,
according to government news reports. There were reportedly significant
numbers of children--primarily Afghan, but also Iranian--working as
street vendors in major urban areas. Traffickers also exploited
children for involuntary servitude as beggars and laborers.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In March the government
increased the minimum wage to 303,048 toman (approximately $303) per
month. According to a May report, the nationwide average income level
below which a family with 3.7 members was considered to be living in
poverty was 653,000 toman ($653) a month. In Tehran the poverty income
level was 813,000 toman ($813) a month.
The law establishes a maximum six-day, 48-hour workweek with a
weekly rest day (normally Friday), at least 12 days of paid annual
leave, and several paid public holidays. Any hours worked above this
entitles a worker to overtime. The law mandates a payment of 40 percent
above the hourly wage to employees for any accrued overtime. Employees
must consent to work the overtime; it is not compulsory under the law.
However, the law does not fully cover workers in workplaces with fewer
than 10 workers, nor does it apply at all to those in workplaces with
fewer than five workers, to noncitizens, or to any workers in export
processing zones. Afghan workers, especially those working illegally,
were subject to abusive working conditions, including below minimum
wage remuneration, nonpayment of wages, and compulsory overtime. Such
informal employment was common in construction, agriculture,
transportation, retail, and the textile industry.
According to the International Alliance in Support of Workers in
Iran, approximately 80 percent of workers employed by public and
private companies were on temporary contracts, including teachers.
Workers on temporary contracts can be dismissed at any time without
reason. Low wages and the lack of job security due to contracting
practices continued to be major drivers of worker strikes and protests,
notably in the oil and petrochemical industry.
Information about labor inspection and labor law enforcement was
difficult to obtain. While the law provides for occupational health and
safety standards, these did not appear to be effectively enforced, and
workers were excluded from the process. Industrial accidents were
commonplace, and the government did not appear to conduct
investigations into them. On November 15, the Iranian Workers'
Solidarity Network, citing ISNA official figures, reported 778
workplace deaths during the first six months of the year. Labor
organizations inside and outside the country alleged that hazardous
work environments resulted in thousands of worker deaths annually. It
was unknown whether workers could remove themselves from hazardous
situations without risking the loss of employment.
On December 11, an explosion at the Ghadir steel smelter in the
city of Yazd killed 16 workers, including foreign nationals, and
injured at least three others. The blast reportedly was caused by
ammunition in a delivery of scrap metal. On May 24, a massive explosion
and fire at a new oil refinery in Abadan killed and injured an unknown
number of workers.
__________
IRAQ
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Iraq is a constitutional parliamentary republic. Prime Minister
Nouri Kamal al-Maliki was sworn in following free and fair elections in
March 2010, once the major political parties reached a power-sharing
agreement that allowed the government to be seated in December 2010.
While the government is inclusive of all major political parties,
significant unresolved issues continued to hamper its operation as
permanent ministers of defense and interior had yet to be appointed at
year's end. However, during the year, the role of the Council of
Representatives (COR) and provincial governments increased. Iraqi
Security Forces (ISF) reported to civilian authorities, but continuing
violence, corruption, and organizational dysfunction undermined the
government's protection of human rights.
During the year the most significant human rights developments were
continuing abuses by sectarian and ethnic armed groups and violations
by government-affiliated forces. Divisions between Shia and Sunni and
between Arab and Kurd empowered sectarian militant organizations. These
militants, purporting to defend one group through acts of intimidation
and revenge against another, influenced political outcomes. Terrorist
attacks designed to weaken the government and deepen societal divisions
occurred during the year.
The three most important human rights problems in the country were
governmental and societal violence reflecting a precarious security
situation, a fractionalized population mirroring deep divisions
exacerbated by Saddam Hussein's legacy, and rampant corruption at all
levels of government and society.
During the year the following significant human rights problems
were also reported: arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life;
extremist and terrorist bombings and executions; disappearances;
torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment;
poor conditions in pretrial detention and prison facilities; arbitrary
arrest and detention; denial of fair public trials; delays in resolving
property restitution claims; insufficient judicial institutional
capacity; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; limits on
freedoms of speech, press, and assembly; extremist threats and
violence; limits on religious freedom due to extremist threats and
violence; restrictions on freedom of movement; large numbers of
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees; lack of transparency
and significant constraints on international organizations and
nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) investigations of alleged
violations of human rights; discrimination against and societal abuses
of women and ethnic, religious, and racial minorities; trafficking in
persons; societal discrimination and violence against individuals based
on sexual orientation and gender identity; and limited exercise of
labor rights.
A culture of impunity has largely protected members of the security
services, as well as those elsewhere in the government, from
investigation and successful prosecution of human rights violations.
Terrorist groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq committed attacks against
a wide swath of society, including Sunnis, Shia, and members of other
sects or ethnicities, security forces, places of worship, religious
pilgrims, economic infrastructure, and government officials. Their
means were suicide bombings, attacks with improvised explosive devices,
drive-by shootings, and other acts of violence aimed at weakening the
government and deepening ethnosectarian divisions. Certain militant
organizations, such as those influenced by Iran, also committed
numerous terrorist attacks, primarily against foreign embassies and
foreign military forces.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Violence against the
civilian population perpetrated by terrorist groups remained a problem
during the year, and bombings, executions, and killings were regular
occurrences throughout all regions and sectors of society. During the
year there were press reports and personal accounts that government
employees committed arbitrary or unlawful killings connected to
security operations, as well as of protesters and persons in custody.
The outcomes of infrequent official investigations were often
unpublished, unknown, or incomplete, and rarely credible in high-
profile cases.
Confirmed government involvement in extrajudicial killings remained
low but nevertheless occurred. For example, there were credible reports
that soldiers arrested, tortured, and killed 35-year-old Waleed Khalid
in Nineveh Province in February. His body was delivered to his family
on February 23. Atheel al-Nujaifi, the Nineveh provincial governor,
called for an investigation, but there were no known developments in
the case at year's end.
On April 8, the army entered the facility known as Camp Ashraf,
also known as Camp New Iraq. Camp Ashraf is home to approximately 3,300
Iranian exiles and serves as the Iraq base of the Mujahedin-e Khalq
(MEK), a terrorist organization that had worked for Saddam Hussein's
regime. The camp's residents violently opposed the army incursion, and
some fought the army with sticks, batons, and other improvised weapons.
Thirty-six camp residents died as a result of the ensuing violence and
more than 300 were injured. Many of the dead were shot; army vehicles
crushed others. At year's end the government had not conducted a
credible investigation into the incident despite assurances that it
would do so (see section 2.d.).
There were accounts of attacks by persons falsely presenting
themselves as ISF personnel. For example, on August 15, persons wearing
military uniforms pulled seven men from a Sunni mosque during evening
prayers in Youssifiyah, a town about 12 miles south of Baghdad, and
shot them.
In Erbil, Suleimaniya, and Dohuk, the three provinces referred to
as the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), under the authority of the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), there were press reports and
credible accounts of KRG security forces committing arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
On February 26, the day after violent demonstrations in Kirkuk, the
bodies of four young men were found near the city; all had been
blindfolded, handcuffed, and shot. Four men in military uniforms had
taken one of them from a local hospital the previous day. There was
suspicion among Arab residents of Kirkuk that Kurdish security services
killed them as a warning to the Arab community to refrain from further
protests. Kurdish authorities strongly denied the accusations.
Violence against the government and civilian population perpetrated
by terrorists and extremist groups, including religiously affiliated
militias, remained a problem during the year, and bombings, executions,
and killings were regular occurrences. Casualty estimates varied. For
example, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported figures compiled by the
ministries of health, interior, and defense that indicated that 1,578
civilians, 609 police officers, and 458 soldiers were killed during the
year in comparison to 2,505 civilians, 671 police officers, and 429
soldiers in 2010. Direct monitoring by the U.N. Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) indicated that a minimum of 2,771 civilians were killed in
2011. In 2010 UNAMI recorded 2,953 civilian deaths.
From January through December, AFP estimated that 458 ISF personnel
were killed in terrorist attacks and 1,093 were wounded. AFP also
estimated that 609 Ministry of Interior personnel were killed and 1,302
were injured during the year. Police officers, in particular, were
targets. For example, on January 18, a suicide bomber blew himself up
in the midst of police recruits in Tikrit, killing 60 and wounding 150
others.
There were reports of al-Qaida in Iraq attacks against Sunnis
cooperating with the government--the Sons of Iraq, also known as the
Sahwa (Awakening) Movement--and against Sunni tribal leaders. For
example, on January 8 in Al-Hashamiyat, an improvised explosive device
targeting a member of the Sons of Iraq killed the target's two young
children instead of their father.
In the area under the authority of the KRG, there were
significantly fewer reports of extremist violence than elsewhere in the
country. On several occasions throughout the year, the Turkish
government used military aircraft to attack areas where the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), a terrorist organization, was active in the
north; these attacks harmed civilians. For example, on August 21, local
officials claimed that seven Iraqis were killed near the village of Kur
Taka by a missile fired from a Turkish warplane. Turkey denied
responsibility for the deaths.
Iranian forces regularly bombarded Kurdish areas along the Iran-
Iraq border, targeting purported terrorist activities. The Iranian
shelling resulted in civilian casualties. For example, on July 28,
Iranian shelling near the town of Sidakan killed a 13-year-old boy.
There were no known developments in killings reported in 2010.
b. Disappearance.--The majority of reported cases of disappearances
appeared to be financially motivated, and some kidnappers who did not
receive a ransom killed their victims. On September 21, three
Christians and one Turkmen were kidnapped while hunting approximately
20 miles south of Kirkuk. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $200,000
for each victim but released the victims 10 days later after payment of
a $150,000 ransom. Police believed that the majority of kidnappings
went unreported.
Kidnappings also took place in the IKR. On September 24, three
Yezidi men were kidnapped between the villages of Al-Jazeer and
Sikiniya. Three million dollars was demanded for their release; no
ransom was paid, and the victims were not released. The kidnapping
remained unresolved at year's end.
New mass graves of persons who disappeared under Saddam Hussein's
regime were found during the year. On April 13, the minister of human
rights announced the discovery of a mass grave containing 812 victims,
many killed with a gunshot to the back of the head between 1980 and
1989. More recent mass graves have also been discovered.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution expressly prohibits torture in all its
forms under all circumstances, as well as cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment. Nonetheless, there were documented instances of torture and
other abuses by government agents and similar abuses by illegal armed
groups. Police across the country continued to use abuse and coerced
confessions as methods of investigation.
In the IKR the Antiterrorist Law allows abusive interrogation under
certain conditions, and such practices reportedly occurred in some
detention facilities run by the internal security forces known as the
Asayish (affiliated with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)) and the party-affiliated
intelligence services, the KDP's Parastin and the PUK's Zanyari.
Local and international human rights organizations continued to
report allegations of torture and abuse in several Ministry of Interior
(MOI) and Ministry of Defense (MOD) detention facilities, as well as in
KRG security forces' detention facilities. The international NGO Human
Rights Watch reported that torture continued in detention facilities
under the control of the army's 56th and 54th brigades.
As in previous years, reports of abuse during arrest and
investigation, particularly by the police and army, continued to be
common. Allegations of abuse included use of stress positions,
beatings, broken fingers, electric shocks, sexual assault, denial of
medical treatment, death threats, and death in custody.
In April 2010 the local and international media reported the
discovery of a secret prison operated by security forces under control
of the Prime Minister's Office containing more than 400 Sunni
detainees, of whom more than 100 were reportedly tortured. According to
officials, the prison was closed shortly after its existence became
known publicly, but human rights organizations reported that parts of
the prison remained open during the year.
On February 1, Human Rights Watch announced that it had uncovered
another secret prison at an Iraqi military base in northwest Baghdad
holding 80 to 280 detainees, but the government denied the assertion.
There have been reports that there are 10 secret prisons located in the
International Zone.
There were indications that authorities took some disciplinary
action against security forces accused of having committed human rights
abuses as well as judicial action in some torture cases. Investigative
teams from the Ministry of Human Rights uncovered 460 suspected cases
of torture and took steps to transfer them to the Judicial Council. The
internal court at the MOI disciplined several of its employees. For
example, the court recommended firing a brigadier general for sexually
harassing a subordinate and imprisoned a major for torturing a fellow
employee.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Four separate ministries--
justice, interior, defense, and labor and social affairs--operated
prisons, detention centers, and holding facilities. The country's
fractured penal structure, in which the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) holds
sentenced and unsentenced prisoners and the other ministries hold
detainees, complicated detention and prison operations. By law the MOJ
has full authority over all detention facilities, including two prisons
in the IKR, except for MOD military justice facilities and those
facilities in the IKR run by the KRG's Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs (KMOLSA). The law has not been fully implemented, although
there was progress in transferring MOD detainees to MOJ detention
facilities.
In the IKR, KMOLSA authorities operated prisons and pretrial
detention facilities, security authorities operated prisons and
pretrial detention facilities, and internal security forces and
intelligence services operated separate detention facilities as well.
Each of the three provinces has two prisons, one for men and another
for women and juveniles. The KRG's Ministry of Interior, and not
KMOLSA, supervises all pretrial male adults in the IKR.
The total capacity of MOJ's Iraqi Corrections Service (ICS)
facilities--the only government entity with the legal authority to hold
persons after conviction--was 34,124 beds for men and 553 beds for
women. As of December the total number of prisoners in and detainees
held by the ICS was 25,926. In the IKR there were approximately 2,200
posttrial prisoners (70 women) held in KRG facilities. There was no
available information on those in Asayish and KRG intelligence service
facilities.
Authorities at MOI and MOD detention facilities reported that
conditions and treatment of detainees were generally poor. Many inmates
lacked adequate food, exercise facilities, medical care, and family
visitation. Limited infrastructure or aging physical plants in some
facilities resulted in marginal sanitation, limited access to potable
water and electricity, and poor quality food. Medical care in MOI and
MOD detention facilities was inconsistent, and there were allegations
of abuse and torture in some facilities.
The Ministry of Justice's (MOJ) detention facilities provided
detainees with better treatment and living conditions. Medical care in
the MOJ's ICS prisons in some locations exceeded the care generally
available in the surrounding area.
The ICS internal affairs department monitored abuse or violations
of prisoners' human rights. In past years allegations of abuse have
resulted in the disciplining of ICS officers in some cases. The ICS
stated the there were no allegations that their staff abused detainees
during the year.
ICS prisons maintained visitation programs that allowed for regular
visits by family members and others. Facility administrators dealt with
prisoner complaints. An internal audit program ensured that detention
conditions were compatible with international standards, such as
separate housing for men, women, juveniles, and pretrial detainees;
access to potable water; access to medical care; appropriate living
space; and available programming, such as recreation, religious
observation, and vocational rehabilitation.
The conditions in MOI facilities were much poorer. For example,
UNAMI received reports of a counterterrorism facility in Diyala that
held 500 detainees in three rooms measuring 6 by 4 meters each; the
detainees shared two bathrooms without running water. Ministry
officials rarely granted prison access to outside monitoring groups,
which made it difficult to assess the prison conditions in the
facilities.
The end-of-year total juvenile population in holding facilities and
detention centers outside the IKR was approximately 1,345. Most
juvenile pretrial detainees and posttrial prisoners were held in
facilities run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as required
by law. Small numbers of juveniles were also held at some MOJ prisons
and police stations; for example, 146 juveniles were held at MOJ
facilities at year's end. In the IKR the juvenile prisons held 235
pretrial detainees and posttrial prisoners.
Juveniles were sometimes held in the same cells as adults and
rarely afforded access to education or vocational training. Access to
medical care was limited. Often the detention facilities did not have
an on-site pharmacy or infirmary.
In the IKR, domestic and international human rights NGOs and
intergovernmental organizations generally had access to pretrial and
posttrial facilities. Access by independent organizations to the
facilities of the KRG internal security and intelligence services was
limited to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the
U.N.
Until April 2010--when media reports of an extrajudicial detention
facility were released--the national detention facilities occasionally
permitted visits by MOHR representatives of the MOHR and COR members.
After the press coverage, ministry officials and COR members reported
encountering resistance at some detention facilities to the visits. KRG
detention facilities permitted visits by the national Ministry of Human
Rights (MOHR), and KRG human rights authorities.
Domestic and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental
organizations generally did not have access to national MOI detention
and pretrial facilities. UNAMI suspended inspections of several MOI and
MOD facilities in December 2010 after finding evidence that authorities
beat or mistreated prisoners and detainees because they raised concerns
to UNAMI staff or in order to compel inmates to reveal to prison
authorities what they reported to UNAMI inspectors. UNAMI did not plan
to resume prison inspections until it received credible assurances that
prisoners and detainees would not be compelled to reveal the nature of
their conversations with inspectors. Credible assurances were not
received by year's end.
The ICRC had access in accordance with its standard modalities to
MOJ prisons and detention facilities, together with access to places of
detention under other ministries, although at times with difficulty.
During the year the ICRC carried out 105 visits to 50 central
government detention facilities. In the last quarter of the year,
however, the ICRC was suddenly denied access to a MOJ prison after the
government transferred several hundred alleged Ba'athists there.
The ICRC had a separate agreement with the KRG for access with some
restrictions to its detention facilities. The ICRC conducted 36 visits
to 25 places of detention under the authority of the KRG.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution provides for
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention without a warrant,
except in extreme exigent circumstances as provided for in a state of
emergency. In practice there were many instances of arbitrary arrest
and detention. Security forces reportedly arrested civilians without
arrest warrants, and police detained individuals with judicial release
orders and held them for ransom. For example, reports indicated that
the Shia-dominated police force in Diyala province made arrests based
on religious sect or political party; the judiciary dismissed cases
based on religious sect, political party, and bribes; and corrections
officers released defendants only after receiving payment for the
defendants' release.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Iraqi Security
Forces (ISF) consist of internal security forces in the Ministry of
Interior (MOI) responsible for domestic law enforcement and maintenance
of order and conventional military forces in the Ministry of Defense
responsible for external defense but cooperating regularly in internal
security missions with the MOI. Human rights violations committed by
ISF personnel were rarely investigated and perpetrators were seldom
punished.
The MOI disciplinary and criminal court system for internal
security forces heard more than 11,100 cases with 3,800 convictions
between January and September; the remaining cases resulted in
acquittals or were ongoing.
Impunity for security forces continued. A significant number of
abuses were reported during the year. For example, elements of the 46th
and 47th Brigades used live fire against antigovernment protesters and
police in Kirkuk and Hawija on February 25, killing six persons and
injuring more than 10. Despite photographic evidence of the events, no
action was taken against the army units. There were continued reports
of torture and abuse throughout the country in many MOI police stations
and MOD facilities; the incidents generally occurred during
interrogation. The MOI Internal Affairs Division did not release the
number of officers punished during the year, and there were no known
court convictions for abuse.
Security force officials were rarely pursued for suspected crimes
because ministers can legally block an arrest warrant. Article 136(b)
of the criminal procedure code gives ministers the opportunity to
review and prevent the execution of arrest warrants issued by judges
presiding over criminal investigations of employees in their ministry
(see sections 1.e. and 4).
Although oversight by MOI and MOD internal affairs increased,
problems persisted with the Iraqi Police regarding sectarian divisions,
corruption, ties to tribes, and unwillingness to serve outside the
areas in which they were recruited. The army and Federal Police
recruited nationwide and deployed their soldiers and police to various
areas, reducing the likelihood of corruption because of personal ties
to tribes or militants.
The KDP and PUK parties maintained their own security apparatus,
organized along military lines, dating from the struggle against the
regime of Saddam Hussein and earlier. There were approximately 22
Peshmerga (Kurdish militia) brigades, all originally under the control
of the two main Kurdish parties. Under the constitution, the KRG has
the right to maintain Regional Guard Brigades, supported financially by
the central government but under KRG control. Accordingly, the KRG
established a Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. By the end of the year,
eight of these Peshmerga brigades moved from party control to the
control of the ministry, but the central government had not provided
financial support for any of the Peshmerga.
KRG security forces and intelligence services detained suspects in
KRG-controlled areas. The poorly defined administrative boundaries
between the IKR and the rest of the country led to confusion about the
jurisdiction of security and courts. The KDP maintained its own
internal security unit, the Asayish, and its own intelligence service,
the Parastin. The PUK maintained its own internal security unit, also
known as the Asayish, and its own intelligence service, the Zanyari.
The PUK and KDP security organizations remained separate and
effectively controlled by political leaders through political party
channels.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The
constitution prohibits ``unlawful detention'' and mandates that
authorities submit preliminary documents to an investigative judge
within 24 hours of arrest, a period that can be extended by one day.
For offenses punishable by death, authorities can detain the defendant
for as long as necessary to complete the judicial process.
The government periodically released detainees, usually after
concluding that it had insufficient evidence for the courts to convict
them. The law allows release on bond, and in practice criminal (but not
security) detainees were considered for release on bail. There were
reports that KRG internal security units detained some suspects
incommunicado without an arrest warrant and that they transported
detainees to undisclosed detention facilities.
The law provides for judges to appoint paid counsel for the
indigent, and they did so in practice. Attorneys appointed to represent
detainees frequently complained that poor access to their clients after
their appointment hampered adequate attorney-client consultation.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Police and army personnel frequently arrested
and detained individuals without judicial approval, although there were
no reliable statistics available. Authorities often failed to notify
family members of the arrest or location of detention, resulting in
incommunicado detention.
Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detainees in the MOJ's ICS facilities
amounted to 35 percent of the total population of those incarcerated.
In Iraq, including in the IKR, only the ICS is authorized to hold
persons after conviction. In theory, other ministries' facilities
should only hold detainees. At the end of the year there were 9,197 ICS
pretrial detainees. The MOI held 7,727, the MOD held approximately 250,
and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) held approximately
600. Although there were no independently verified statistics, the
majority of individuals in MOI and MOD facilities were pretrial
detainees. In the IKR there were approximately 900 pretrial detainees
(46 women) held in KRG facilities. Facilities operated by the KRG hold
both pretrial and postconviction detainees.
Lengthy detentions without judicial action were a systemic problem.
The lack of judicial review resulted from a number of factors that
included a large numbers of detainees, undocumented detentions, slow
processing of criminal investigations, an insufficient number of
judges, authorities' inability or reluctance to utilize bail or other
conditions of release, lack of information sharing, and corruption.
Overcrowding of pretrial detainees remained a problem in many detention
facilities. There were allegations of detention beyond judicial release
dates as well as unlawful releases.
In practice many detainees were held for months or years after
arrest and detention, sometimes incommunicado, without access to
defense counsel or without being formally charged or brought before a
judge within the legally mandated time period.
Amnesty.--During the year, the central government granted amnesty
to at least 108 persons. The KRG did not grant amnesty to anyone during
the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary in all regions, but certain articles restricted
independence in practice. Although the judicial system was credited
with efforts to maintain independence, the security situation in the
country rendered the judiciary weak and dependent on other parts of the
government. Authorities generally respected court orders, although some
politically sensitive decisions such as court-issued detainee release
orders were reportedly not consistently enforced.
Threats and killings by sectarian, tribal, extremist, and criminal
elements impaired judicial independence in many places. Judges and
their family members frequently faced death threats and attacks. During
the year seven judges were killed and at least five wounded. For
example, on September 26, gunmen using silenced weapons shot and
wounded Judge Mounir Hadad, former deputy director of the Iraqi High
Tribunal, while he was traveling to Baghdad International Airport.
Judges were generally vulnerable to intimidation and violence. Some
judges presiding over criminal cases at the trial level or on appeal to
the Court of Cassation reportedly were influenced by corruption or
intimidation.
As referenced above, article 136(b) of the criminal procedure code
made the judiciary subservient to the executive in the investigation of
wrongdoing in the executive branch. The article gives ministers the
opportunity to review and prevent the execution of arrest warrants
issued by judges in criminal investigations against employees of their
ministry. This provision provided immunity to selected government
employees and enabled a component of the executive branch to terminate
proceedings initiated by the judicial branch.
During the year protection from arrest was generally extended to
all but lower-level ministry employees in nonsensitive cases. The
threat of invoking the article or failure to provide information
effectively stopped investigations. On June 13, the COR repealed
article 136(b), but the prime minister challenged the repeal as
unconstitutional because the legislation did not originate in the
Council of Ministers, and ministers continued to block arrest warrants
and stymie investigations. The case was under judicial review at year's
end (see sections 1.d. and 4).
The Kurdish Judicial Council was legally independent from the MOJ,
but the KRG executive continued to influence cases in politically
sensitive areas, such as freedom of speech and press (see section
2.a.).
The Iraqi High Tribunal, formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal, tried
persons accused of committing war crimes, genocide, crimes against
humanity, and specified offenses from July 1968 through May 2003. At
the end of July, both the Investigative Chamber and trial chambers
three and four of the tribunal were dissolved. Trial Chamber One and
Trial Chamber Two concluded all pending cases. The cases tried by the
high tribunal resulted in approximately 175 individual convictions and
133 acquittals (some defendants were involved in multiple cases with
multiple counts). There were no pending appeals. The death sentences of
Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Tariq Aziz were not carried out by the end of
the year.
Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a
fair trial, and judges--investigative, trial, and appellate--generally
sought to enforce that right, which extends to all citizens. An accused
person is considered innocent until proven guilty and has the right to
a privately retained or court-appointed counsel at public expense if
needed. One of the significant challenges facing the criminal trial
courts was defendants' insufficient access to defense attorneys. Many
defendants met their lawyers for the first time during the initial
hearing. Trials, except in some national security cases, were public.
Judges assembled evidence and they, not juries, adjudicated guilt or
innocence. Defendants and their attorneys had access to government-held
evidence relevant to their cases before trial and have the right to
confront witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence.
Criminal judgments of conviction and acquittal may be appealed to the
Court of Cassation. The right of appeal also exists in civil cases.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Legislation does not define or
recognize the concept of a political prisoner. The government did not
consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners and stated that
all individuals in prison were convicted, charged under criminal law,
and awaiting trial or detained while under investigation.
Some detainees asserted that the government imprisoned or sought to
imprison persons for political activities or beliefs under cover of
criminal charges. Authorities countered with criminal charges ranging
from corruption to facilitating terrorism and murder. The prevalence of
corruption, slow case processing, and inaccessibility to detainees,
especially those held by counterterrorism, intelligence, and military
authorities, made most claims difficult to assess.
On October 24, the army began arresting alleged former members of
the Ba'ath Party said to be involved in a coup plot. More than 900
people were arrested in the following weeks. Formal charges were often
made only after the arrests and many were held without access to family
members or legal representation. Media reported that at least one
detainee, Kadhim Munshed Rashed, died from torture, but the MOI claimed
that he committed suicide. The government did not present evidence to
support the existence of a plot at year's end. Many Sunnis contended
that the arrests were intended to weaken the government's political
opponents.
On December 18, an arrest warrant was issued for Vice President
Tariq Al-Hashemi on terrorism charges. Local television stations
broadcast alleged confessions of Hashemi's bodyguards who had been
arrested and detained. Hashemi insisted that the charges were
politically motivated and that the evidence had been fabricated. Human
rights groups have complained that broadcasting the confessions
violated the principle of a fair trial for Hashemi and his guards; some
of the bodyguards have stated that they were tortured.
A two-year sectarian political campaign by some Shia political
parties and militias targeting Sunni politicians from Diyala continued,
but less intensely than in previous years. On September 28, the
president of al-Iraqiyya in Diyala, Muhammad Taha al-Hadlosh (a Sunni),
was released three months after his arrest. He was cleared of charges
of terrorism. This was the second time in one year that al-Hadlosh was
arrested and released with charges dismissed. In 2010 four Sunni
political leaders in Diyala were charged with murder, terrorism, and
terrorist financing. Three of the four leaders remained in prison
awaiting trial during the year, while the fourth was convicted and
received a life sentence.
There was no reliable information available concerning possible
political prisoners and detainees in the IKR. However, following riots
in Dohuk Province in early December, authorities arrested approximately
25 Kurdish Islamic Union (KIU) party members and journalists and
detained them for up to a week without charges.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A legal framework exists
to deal with civil issues in lawsuits seeking damages for or cessation
of human rights violations. Administrative remedies also exist.
However, the priorities of the executive branch and of an understaffed
judiciary dependent on the executive focused on issues more directly
related to security, and these procedures as well as administrative
remedies for human rights violations were not effectively implemented.
A November 2010 law in the IKR provided for compensation to persons
unlawfully arrested and/or detained. There were two instances of
compensation paid by the end of the year.
Property Restitution.--There was a problem with serious delays and
corruption in adjudicating claims for property restitution. The
Property Claims Commission is an independent governmental commission
whose purpose is to resolve claims for property unjustly seized by the
former regime between 1968 and 2003. The commission process was
intended primarily to benefit those whose land was confiscated for
ethnic or political reasons as part of the former regime's
``Arabization'' program and other policies of sectarian displacement.
The claims commission has received more than 178,000 claims
nationwide since its founding. Approximately 124,000 claims have
reportedly been reviewed, of which approximately 25,921 were approved,
35,824 rejected, and 54,907 were accepted for consideration but
ultimately found not valid. Of the total claims filed, more than 55,000
were from Kirkuk; of the claims approved, more than 5,990 were from
Kirkuk.
Since 2003, more than 28,000 ``wafadin"--Arabs previously settled
in the Kirkuk region under Saddam Hussein's anti-Kurdish policies--
returned to their previous homes in the center and south of the country
and applied for compensation. Since the wafadin were compensated to
leave occupied lands, their claims were reviewed and paid primarily by
the Article 140 Commission. By the end of 2010, approval had been given
to 20,212 wafadin, and 11,078 had received compensation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution mandates that authorities not enter
or search homes except with a judicial order. The constitution also
prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy. In practice, security
forces often entered homes without search warrants and took other
measures interfering with privacy, family, and correspondence. On July
28, authorities searched the house of a prominent online journalist
without a warrant after he posted blog entries critical of the
government. He had previously been detained at an antigovernment
protest.
In the IKR there was pressure on citizens to join the PUK party in
the province of Suleimaniya and the KDP party in the provinces of Erbil
and Dohuk. Party membership often remained a prerequisite for
employment.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution broadly provides for the right of free
expression, provided it does not violate public order and morality or
express support for the banned Ba'ath Party or for altering the borders
by violent means. In an atmosphere of rising uncertainty about the
country's political future, and amid the Arab Spring, the government
increasingly interpreted the law restrictively and acted in practice to
limit these rights. In practice the main limitation on individual and
media exercise of these rights was self-censorship due to the real fear
of reprisals by the government, political parties, criminal gangs,
insurgent and sectarian forces, or tribes.
On August 9, the COR passed legislation (the Journalist Rights Law)
that offers some additional legal protection for journalists but
qualifies many protections by the phrase ``in accordance with existing
law,'' which permits ambiguity about the actual scope of protection
offered. The new law fails to address the continuation of restrictive
practices, including the criminalization of libel and defamation under
the 1969 penal code and the 1968 Publications Law's ability to impose
up to seven years' imprisonment for publicly insulting the government.
According to international and local NGOs, the new law also enhances
the power of the progovernment Journalists Syndicate. Many journalists
were concerned that the law's requirement to provide a copy of their
employment contract to the syndicate might disclose sensitive personal
information that could jeopardize their and their families' lives.
In the IKR the Journalist Rights Law did not apply, and journalists
continued to be tried, convicted, and imprisoned under the 1969 penal
code, despite the 2008 media freedom law that decriminalized
publication-related offenses. The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate
documented 37 lawsuits against journalists during the year in the
region. According to syndicate officials, the 2008 law is the sole
basis for prosecution of journalists for publication offenses, but the
penal code allows prosecution for offenses to public morals and other
crimes despite the implementation new Journalism Protection Law. Public
officials regularly resorted to punitive fines through legal actions
against individual media outlets and editors, often for publishing
articles on alleged corruption.
Freedom of Speech.--Despite the constitutional protection for
freedom of expression, the 1968 Publications Law provides, if
authorized by the prime minister, for fines or the imposition of a term
of imprisonment not to exceed seven years for any person who publicly
insults the COR, the government, or public authorities. On September
22, the prime minister ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant for
COR member Sheikh Sabah al-Saadi, a prominent critic of the government,
for insulting the prime minister by publicly stating that he was
corrupt. Under the law, however, COR members cannot be arrested.
Individuals could criticize the government publicly or privately,
but not without concern of reprisal by the government or by criminal
gangs allegedly associated with the government if the criticism was
seen as challenging an important person's sense of honor.
Potential critics self-censored accordingly. On September 8, two
months after he stopped hosting his popular radio talk show because of
fears for his safety, Hadi al-Mahdi, a frequent critic of government
corruption, bribery, and sectarianism, was shot and killed in his home
in Baghdad. Via his Facebook page, al-Mahdi organized regular
prodemocracy demonstrations and publicized death threats he said he had
received. A Shia, al-Mahdi had defended the rights of Sunnis, according
to the international NGO Committee to Protect Journalists.
Freedom of Press.--Political parties strongly influenced most of
the several hundred daily and weekly publications, as well as dozens of
radio and television stations. The active media expressed a variety of
views largely reflecting political party positions, which included
self-censorship and the government's interpretation of lawful
restrictions on violations of public order and morality.
Violence and Harassment.--Eight journalists and media workers were
killed during the year. Journalists were targets of government security
forces, corrupt officials, terrorists, religious groups that were
unwilling to accept media independence, and unknown actors who wished
to affect the flow of news. For example, on February 17, Hilal al-
Ahmadi, a journalist who wrote about corruption and lack of government
services, was shot and killed in front of his home on the outskirts of
Mosul.
The NGO Journalistic Freedoms Observatory recorded more than 160
attacks on journalists during the two-week period ending on March 9,
when antigovernment demonstrations stimulated by the Arab Spring were
at their peak. On February 23, security forces raided the observatory's
office, confiscating and destroying computers and other media
equipment.
Media workers often reported that politicians, government
officials, security services, tribal elements, and business leaders
pressured them to not publish or broadcast stories perceived as
critical. They offered accounts of violence, intimidation, death
threats, and harassment by government or partisan officials. For
example, on February 25, four journalists, including Hadi al-Mahdi,
were arrested, beaten, and taken to a building that houses the military
intelligence unit of the army's 11th Division. While detained, the
journalists were reportedly tortured and threatened with summary
execution. The journalists saw 300 other protesters in the same
facility, many with black hoods over their heads and bloodied shirts.
Throughout the IKR there were numerous credible reports of
attempted murder, beatings, imprisonment, and property destruction
carried out against media. The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate
documented more than 100 acts of harassment, including threats,
lawsuits, and attacks, from January to October in the region. In many
of these reports, the aggressors wore military or police uniforms. With
one exception, these attacks were directed at the independent and
opposition media, mainly Goran (Change) and the KIU, rather than at
media controlled by the ruling parties.
Despite multiple killings of journalists during the year, there
were no prosecutions or convictions for these or those that occurred in
2010, including the May 2010 abduction and killing of Sardasht Osman,
who was known for his articles alleging nepotism and corruption among
the leadership of the Kurdistan region, including President Massoud
Barzani.
In another high profile case in the IKR, Asos Hardi, founder and
editor of the independent newspaper Awene, was severely beaten in
Suleimaniyah in August. The Suleimaniyah criminal court released two
persons charged with the crime--who had links to the PUK--on grounds of
insufficient evidence in December, a decision that Hardi's lawyers
appealed. Hardi fully recovered and continued to publish Awene at
year's end.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Producing, importing,
publishing, or possessing written material, drawings, photographs, or
films that violate public integrity or decency is prohibited. The
penalties for violating public integrity or decency include fines and
imprisonment.
On February 25, shortly after it broadcast scenes from the protests
in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, security forces raided the offices of
satellite channel al-Diyar, arrested and beat the employees, and then
forced the station off the air.
On March 3, a group of Asayish operatives reportedly kidnapped
Speda TV journalists Sangar Hamid and Asad Muhamamad in front of the
Speda TV office in Garmiyan. According to the journalists, they were
beaten and insulted at the Garmiyan Directorate of Asayish and
threatened with death if either of them was seen with a camera at a
demonstration.
The government used its authority to suppress potentially
unfavorable media coverage. For example, in August the authorities
banned journalists in Kirkuk from filming at schools and from writing
about schools after the release of a critical documentary that
embarrassed the Ministry of Education.
All books were subject to censorship. Books published within the
country required the Ministry of Culture's approval before publication.
All book imports were subject to the ministry's censorship. According
to the ministry, the purpose of the vetting was to suppress literature
promoting sectarianism.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The law prohibits reporters from
publishing stories that defame public officials. Many in the media
complained that these provisions prevented them from freely practicing
their profession by creating strong fears of prosecution, although
widespread self-censorship impeded journalistic performance as well.
Libel remains a criminal offense in the IKR, and judges may issue
arrest warrants for journalists on this basis. When named in a lawsuit,
journalists were typically detained at police stations until they
posted bail. Police often kept journalists in custody during
investigations.
The government frequently used the threat of legal action against
media workers as a tool to discourage media from investigating
allegations of bad governance, often seeking disproportionate fines or
damages. For example, on January 10, the independent newspaper Hawlati
reported that Erbil's First Instance Court fined the independent
magazine Lvin 35 million dinars (approximately $30,000) after KDP
politburo secretary Fazil Mirani filed a lawsuit against the magazine
for publishing reports implying a connection between the KDP's
intelligence service Parastin and the murder of journalist Sardasht
Osman in May 2010. Lvin editor Ahmed Mira stated that the magazine was
not notified of the court proceedings in Erbil and that the verdict was
issued in its absence. Following another article critical of the KDP in
Lvin in May, the KDP filed a lawsuit on May 18 demanding Lvin's
closure, a fine of one billion dinars ($858,000), and banning Mira from
leaving the country. In September, according to press reports, Mira was
arrested, beaten, and released after three hours in custody without
being charged. At year's end Lvin continued to be published.
Internet Freedom.--There were no overt government restrictions on
access to the Internet or official acknowledgement that the government
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. However, there were reports
that individuals and groups were not assured of their freedom to engage
in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail.
For example, a documentary filmmaker and author of a prominent blog
organized the video coverage of peaceful protests over the Internet via
a short, nonsubscription messaging service. He was beaten on April 22
and again on July 22 allegedly by individuals in civilian clothing
linked to the security forces and by army officers as he attempted to
videotape demonstrations in Tahrir Square for his blog. He went into
hiding, and a few days after the second attack police searched his
house. He later resumed blogging.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Social, religious, and
political pressures restricted the exercise of freedom of choice in
academic and cultural matters. In all regions, various groups
reportedly sought to control the pursuit of formal education and
granting of academic positions. During the year extremists and
terrorists targeted cultural figures. In the central and southern parts
of the country, there were a number of reports of threats by extremists
and sectarian militants against schools and universities, urging them
to modify activities, favor certain students, or face violence.
Academics self-censored and educational institutions at times modified
their activities accordingly. For example, the government banned
theater and music classes in Baghdad's Fine Arts Institute closed for
several months in 2010, but activities resumed on January 4 with the
arrival of a new minister of education.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
peaceful demonstration. The government's response to the wave of
protests that swept the country during the first half of the year
demonstrated a lack of respect for the free exercise of these rights.
In the first six months of the year, protesters demonstrated in
several major cities, demanding an end to corruption and better
government services. Many were peaceful, with the government providing
an appropriate level of security. On other occasions, the government
suppressed demonstrations, arrested organizers, used excessive force
against protesters, and harassed protesters after the event.
Protests began in January and intensified in early February. On
February 21, the lights in Baghdad's Tahrir Square were turned off
during the early morning hours while approximately 50 protesters were
staging a sit-in. At that time police withdrew, according to
eyewitnesses quoted by Human Rights Watch, allowing gangs of armed men
to beat and stab at least 20 protesters.
On February 25, large demonstrations countrywide occurred in
response to calls for a day of national protest. On the eve of these
demonstrations, Prime Minister Maliki urged citizens to stay home and
asserted, without evidence, that protests were being supported by
Ba'athists and terrorists. On February 25, authorities banned vehicular
traffic in Baghdad, imposed a citywide curfew, and closed many streets
providing access to protest sites for ``renovation.'' Vehicles,
including television transmission vans, were banned from Tahrir Square,
the main protest site, limiting video coverage. Similar restrictions,
ostensibly for protecting the demonstrators, were imposed in other
cities. On some occasions, police used live fire when demonstrations
became violent, such as in Hawija. In other instances, such as in
Tikrit and Mosul where seven people were killed, the force used was
disproportionate. Twenty-four protesters were killed nationwide and
more than 150 were injured. There were no reported investigations into
these incidents.
In the weeks after the February 25 demonstrations, the government
restricted the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and express
themselves freely. For example, on April 13, Baghdad's mayor restricted
demonstrations in the city to several soccer stadiums, and on May 27,
authorities arrested four student organizers of protests near Tahrir
Square and eventually charged them with carrying forged identity
documents. The protesters were released on June 7.
There were similar occurrences in the IKR. On February 17 in
Suleimaniya, demonstrations against corruption and lack of jobs and
services turned violent when a group of protesters tried to storm the
headquarters of the KDP and threw rocks at the building. Security
guards responded by shooting into the crowd; two persons died and 47
were wounded. Goran took responsibility for the demonstrations but said
it had nothing to do with the storming of the building and condemned
the attack on the headquarters. In the following weeks, the
demonstration expanded and reached a height of 7,000 protesters. A sit-
in occupied Freedom Square in the city of Suleimaniya. Religious
leaders and other opposition parties joined the protesters. Several
subsequent clashes between security forces and protesters resulted in
10 deaths.
Shortly after the February 17 incidents, discussions between KRG
officials and opposition leaders were reportedly underway to find
mechanisms to compensate victims, including detainees, of the
demonstrations in Suleimaniya and elsewhere. There were no results by
year's end. A presidential decree issued in August called for
``bringing to justice those who had a role in the shootings'' in
Suleimaniya, but at year's end no arrests had taken place.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form and join associations and political parties and specifically
mandates that this right be regulated by law. The government generally
respected this right in practice, except for the legal prohibition on
expressing support for the Ba'ath Party. Because of a requirement in
the 2010 law on NGOs that directors of NGOs have to be checked for
prohibited past affiliation or membership in the Ba'ath party by the
Accountability and Justice Commission, the newly instituted
registration process was significantly delayed. According to the
government, the law was designed to facilitate NGO registration and
operations while providing extra protections from onerous and arbitrary
government actions. The Council of Ministers Secretariat NGO Assistance
Office accepted registrations for NGOs.
On March 6, on orders from the prime minister, the Baghdad
Operations Command directed closure of the offices of the Iraqi
National Party and the Iraqi Communist Party. Both parties, supporters
of ongoing antigovernment demonstrations, were informed that they had
been evicted because the Ministry of Defense needed their buildings.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The government generally respected
the constitutional provisions for freedom of movement in all parts of
the country as well as the right to travel abroad and return freely.
There were some limitations due to security concerns, as well as
limitations on travel into and residence within the IKR, although
internally displaced families were generally allowed to reside there.
The government generally cooperated with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International
Organization for Migration (IOM), and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of
concern, although effective systems to assist these individuals were
not fully established by year's end.
In-Country Movement.--Security forces can restrict movement
pursuant to a warrant, impose a curfew, cordon off and search an area,
and take other necessary security and military measures in response to
security threats and attacks. There are no KRG laws that restrict
movement across the areas administered by the KRG, but movement was
restricted due to security procedures. Citizens (of any ethnicity,
including Kurds) crossing into the region from the south were obligated
to stop at checkpoints and undergo personal and vehicle inspections.
Officials prevented individuals from entering into the region if they
were deemed a security threat. Entry for male Arabs was reportedly more
difficult than for others. The officer in charge at the checkpoint was
empowered to decline entry into the region.
To accommodate increasing numbers of summer and holiday visitors,
the KRG security authorities have worked out agreements with other
provinces whereby tourist agencies submitted names of visitors in
advance for preclearance. Visitors must show where they are lodging and
how long they intend to stay.
Foreign Travel.--Exit permits were required for citizens leaving
the country, but the requirement was not enforced. The MOI Passport
Office previously maintained a policy of requiring women to obtain the
approval of a close male relative before receiving a passport, but the
COR amended this law on December 20, allowing women 18 and older to
receive passports without consent from male relatives. In the KRG women
over the age of 18 obtained passports without such approval.
Exile.--The constitution permits forced exile only of naturalized
citizens and only if a judicial decision establishes that the
citizenship was granted on the basis of material falsifications. There
were no reported cases of forced exile.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The government estimated that
there were approximately 2.5 million IDPs and that about 40 percent of
them were in Baghdad. Sectarian violence that began in 2006 displaced
Shia, Sunni, and Christian families. According to the UNHRC, in
December approximately 1.3 million people remained internally displaced
due to sectarian violence that occurred from 2006 to 2008.
Approximately 200,000 remained displaced due to violence that occurred
between 2003 and 2005, and approximately one million remained displaced
due to policies implemented by the former regime prior to 2003 (see
section 2.c.).
The UNHRC reported 67,080 Iraqi refugees and 193,610 IDPs
registered returns during the year; these refugees and displaced
persons returned to their places of origin or integrated into new
communities in the country. While the year's return figures were higher
than the 26,410 refugee returns and 92,480 IDP returns recorded in
2010, the number of registered IDPs remained largely the same, likely
due to the government reopening the IDP registration process. The
UNHRC's August Iraq Returnee Monitoring Report noted that 64 percent of
the estimated 37,000 registered and unregistered refugee returnee
families monitored by the UNHRC between August 2010 and July 2011
permanently returned to the country because of improved security and
political conditions in Baghdad. Almost all received the Ministry of
Migration and Displacement's (MODM) four million dinar (approximately
$3,434) returnee grant. While security gains and access to assistance
attracted Iraqi refugees to return, high unemployment and an unstable
political environment created significant challenges. Many displaced
Iraqis reported that they remained unwilling or unable to return to
their homes because they feared their religious affiliation would make
them an unsafe minority in neighborhoods segregated along lines of
religious identity.
Social and geographic integration of communities displaced prior to
2003 made it difficult to distinguish between those who remained
displaced and those who chose to remain where they were. Most
international organizations focused on the 1.3 million people displaced
since 2006.
The majority of those displaced pre-2003 were moved under the prior
regime's policy of Arabization. Many of them have returned to their
areas of origin but were included in the displaced population because
they were unable to regain their original property and residences,
generally in central and southern Iraq. Both Arabs and Kurds displaced
in this way have a right to compensation and a process exists, but the
government has been slow to implement it.
The government engaged in efforts to promote the safe, voluntary
return or resettlement of IDPs. The government had laws and policies in
place to protect IDPs in accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement. In September the government appointed Dr. Farhat
Na'emat Ullah Hussain as the national coordinator for displacement
issues to implement the MODM's proposed comprehensive strategy, a draft
national policy on displacement that recognizes local integration as a
legal option for IDPs. While local integration was incorporated into
government efforts, the government also continued to encourage families
to return to their original homes.
Although the government promised to provide essential services to
support returnees in Baghdad and Diyala provinces upon their return
home, these promises remained largely unfulfilled. The government,
through the MODM, allowed IDPs access to domestic and international
humanitarian organizations, collected information about IDPs, and
provided some protection and assistance in the form of humanitarian
supplies.
The ICRC provided food rations, water and sanitation projects, and
health care to many IDPs unable to access the public food distribution
system or public schools in the governorate to which they were
displaced. In other instances, the IOM and World Food Program organized
income generation projects and quick impact projects, providing adults
with cash-earning public work and training opportunities in order for
them to have money for food and other basic needs. A growing number of
international and local NGOs also assisted IDPs and returning refugees.
Lack of registration limited IDPs' access to basic services and legal
documentation to receive food rations from the public distribution
system.
The government provided protection and assistance to IDPs, but
approximately 467,000 lived in 382 ad hoc ``clusters'' or settlements
with limited water, sanitation, and electricity.
The government evicted IDPs from government buildings on a case-by-
case basis. According to the International Rescue Committee, 29 IDP
settlements received eviction notices during the year, potentially
affecting over 6,510 internally displaced families. The threat of
eviction was more acute in Baghdad where an estimated 148,000 IDPs,
refugee returnees, and squatters lived in 121 illegal settlements on
land or in buildings belonging to the government. Provincial councils
and NGOs sought, with limited success, to halt the evictions,
compensate the families with several months' rent, or provide land
grants in alternate locations.
Continued bombing and shelling by the Iranian and Turkish military
forces that began in June led to the displacement of more than 1,600
Kurdish families, according to the MODM. The families, from villages
along the border with Turkey, fled to more centrally located villages
within Dohuk and Suleimaniya provinces. Because most families fled
during the initial border bombings, the MODM noted few families fleeing
following the Turkish military incursions in mid-October. The
government provided a two million dinar (approximately $1,710) grant to
each family while the KRG provided some emergency assistance to
families.
Security concerns displaced many Kurdish, as well as some Arab and
Turkmen, families in Diyala Province. Local officials estimated that
more than 1,300 families left al-Sa'adya, Jalawla, Qaratapa, and
Jabara, with many moving to Khanaqin or outside the province. Some
local officials blamed the continuing displacement in Diyala Province
on the lack of implementation of article 140 of the constitution, which
seeks to reverse Saddam Hussein's Arabization policy. Article 140
describes a process to repatriate families displaced by the Arabization
policy and relocate or compensate those Arab families brought to the
area under the policy.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The government generally cooperated with the UNHRC and other
humanitarian organizations to provide protection and assistance to the
approximately 40,000 refugees living in the country.
Refugee Abuse.--Reports of attacks and arrests of refugees such as
Palestinians, Ahwazis in the south, and Syrian Arabs in Baghdad and
Mosul declined during the year, although they continued to be targeted
periodically in attacks by sectarian groups, extremists, and criminals.
In September an estimated 3,300 residents of Camp Ashraf in Diyala
Province applied to the UNHRC for individual status as asylum seekers.
The government pressured the residents of Ashraf to relocate and depart
from the country, and periodically withheld or delayed medical
treatment for patients suffering from critical and chronic conditions.
The government on several occasions placed loudspeakers on the
perimeter of the camp to broadcast anti-MEK propaganda. The government
also refused entry for some fuels, nonessential consumer items,
construction materials, and industrial goods. Ashraf residents
conducted protests during the year (see section 1.a.).
Some former members alleged that Ashraf leaders attempted to
prevent disgruntled residents from leaving the camp by threats of
reprisal. MEK leaders denied such allegations.
A December 25 memorandum of understanding between the government
and the U.N. provided for the orderly and rapid closure of Camp Ashraf,
with the UNHRC providing refugee status determinations with the goal of
facilitating resettlement of the camp's population outside the country.
At year's end the U.N. and the government were still negotiating
procedures for closing the camp.
Employment.--Economic challenges placed Palestinian refugees in the
lowest socioeconomic rankings; their declining economic situation was
in part attributable to a loss of employment opportunities as a result
of discrimination.
Durable Solutions.--Refugee groups of Turkish and Iranian Kurds in
the IKR generally achieved a high level of integration. For the
majority of Iranian Kurds whom the UNHRC registered as refugees in the
north, local integration remained the best and most likely option.
Stateless Persons.--In the north an estimated 560 stateless Syrian
Kurds were registered as asylum seekers. Additionally, the UNHRC
estimated that there were 120,000 stateless, nonrefugee Faily Kurds and
Bidouns (literally meaning ``without"). Many of these nonrefugee
stateless individuals had already commenced the process of reacquiring
Iraqi nationality. The Ministry of Interior's Nationality Department
anticipated resolving all such cases over the course of the next two
years. Since 2003 more than 25,000 persons have regained their
nationality, some in accordance with articles 17 and 18 of the 2006
nationality law. However, approximately 54,500 Bidoun individuals
living as nomads in the desert near the southern provinces of Basra,
Dhi-Qar, and al-Qadisiyah remained stateless at year's end. A 2006 law
prevents Palestinians from obtaining citizenship and Jews who emigrated
to other countries from reclaiming citizenship.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides for the right of citizens to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the
March 2010 parliamentary elections, nearly 12 million persons voted,
from a pool of more than 18.9 million registered voters. International
observer missions and indigenous observers declared the elections free
from widespread or systemic fraud.
The Independent High Electoral Commission announced preliminary
election results based on the tabulation of 100 percent of the vote and
resolution of approximately 200 complaints. Despite the controversy
surrounding the electoral commission decision to ban approximately 500
candidates for alleged ties to the banned Ba'ath Party and violence
before and on election day, the elections were considered free and
fair.
Provincial elections in the IKR scheduled during the year were
postponed pending passage in the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament (IKP) of a
package of laws related to provincial council elections, provincial
powers, and the establishment of a Kurdish electoral commission.
However, the IKP passed the Provincial Council Elections Law in
November and signed it into law in December. On December 28, the KRG
set September 27, 2012, as the date for Provincial Council elections.
Political Parties.--While political parties did not formally
restrict membership to certain societal groups, they tended to be
organized along either religious or ethnic lines. Shia Islamist
parties, such as the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, al-Dawa al-
Islamiyya Party, and Sadrist Trend, as well as Kurdish nationalist
parties such as the KDP and PUK, were the predominant political forces.
Other political players included the secular Iraqiyya, Sunni Iraqi
Islamic Party, the Goran (Change) Party in the IKR, and ethnic minority
parties, such as the Assyrian Democratic Movement, the Kurdish Islamic
Union, and the Kurdish Islamic Group. Membership in some political
parties conferred special privileges and advantages in employment and
education. The KDP and PUK gave preference in KRG government employment
to their respective members. In total, 160 regular parties, 36
independents, and 10 minority parties and candidates participated in
the elections.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The constitution mandates
that female members of parliament constitute 25 percent of the COR.
There were 81 women elected to the COR, including candidates elected
through the open list system. However, female parliamentarians were
often marginalized. There was one female minister out of 29 in the
cabinet (minister of state for women's affairs), and four cabinet
members from religious and ethnic minority groups: the ministers of
agriculture, environment, youth and sports, and provincial affairs. In
the COR there were five women chairing standing committees: services
and construction; woman, family, and childhood; members affairs and
parliamentary development; health and environment; and deportees,
immigrants, and expatriates.
Of the 325 seats in the parliament, the law reserves eight
compensatory seats for minorities: five for Christian candidates from
Baghdad, Ninewa, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Dohuk; one Yezidi representing
Ninewa; one Sabean-Mandaean representing Baghdad; and, one Shabak
representing Ninewa. The law also opened the process to out-of-country
voting for refugees and citizens abroad.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Although the law provides criminal penalties for official
corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
Intimidation and political influence were factors in some
allegations of corruption, and officials sometimes used the ``de-
Ba'athification'' process to pursue political and personal agendas. The
government did not enforce the law requiring certain government
officials, such as ministers, governors, and parliamentarians, to file
financial disclosure reports. The Commission of Integrity (COI) is the
government body charged with preventing and investigating governmental
corruption nationwide (except for in the KRG, which has an Office of
Governance and Integrity in the KRG's Council of Ministers). In an act
of intimidation, the offices of the COI were bombed on December 22,
killing 32 people.
The Joint Anticorruption Council, led by the COI, has
responsibility for supervising compliance with the government's
Anticorruption Strategy for 2010-14, which also seeks participation
from religious and community leaders, civil society representatives,
and journalists. The work of the council was generally regarded as
having little appreciable impact, due to the scale of official
corruption.
There was a reluctance to aggressively prosecute cases in which
political militias are involved or in cases where the suspects are
supported by the major political parties. Both former commissioner
Raheem Uqaili and the deputy commissioner of integrity have repeatedly
complained of political interference in investigations, as have most of
the inspectors general (IGs). On September 9, Uqaili abruptly retired,
blaming a lack of support from the prime minister. In public
statements, the former commissioner implied that he was being asked to
prosecute individuals on a political basis.
Effective joint action by anticorruption institutions did not take
place. Their interaction was uncoordinated because of a lack of
agreement about their role, ineffective legislation, and insufficient
political will. The absence of accountability continued, reinforced by
several statutory provisions, unclear regulatory processes, and limited
transparency. Many IGs claimed that their ministers resented and
stifled their efforts at oversight and that some openly thwarted IG
staff with threats of dismissal for the basic functions of oversight.
Ministers ordered major corruption investigations dropped. As in
previous years, ministries effectively stalled investigations by
failing to comply with requests for information or officials to appear
in court.
The prime minister's approval is required before corruption cases
can proceed against members of the Presidency or the Council of
Ministers. Information on specific instances of the prime minister and
ministers withholding approval during the year was not available,
although judicial authorities reported that the practice constituted a
significant obstacle to the prosecution of corruption cases.
Under article 136(b) of the criminal procedure code, ministers
halted approximately 200 investigations during the first three months
of the year, including a corruption case against a senior Northern Oil
Company official for taking bribes. No information was available about
the number of times article 136(b) was invoked later in the year. The
threat of invoking article 136(b) or failing to provide information was
usually effective in stopping investigations until the repeal of
article 136(b) went into effect in June (see sections 1.d. and 1.e.).
Political parties attempted to influence the COI on a number of
prosecutions. Members of the legislature also reportedly attempted to
pressure the COI on numerous occasions.
There were reports of security personnel using their positions for
personal profit. According to press reports, Rahif al-Essawi, an
assistant dean at Baghdad University, was arrested, beaten, and
threatened with execution if he did not fraudulently certify that a
police officer had graduated from his university.
There were reports that large amounts of money were fraudulently
transferred abroad.
The law does not provide public access to government information
for citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media.
Corruption and government transparency were major issues in the
IKR. On April 26, the IKR passed legislation to establish a KRG
Commission of Integrity to prosecute corruption. The commission was
established on August 1 under the management of a temporary
commissioner and several inspectors who lacked full authority because
their names had not been submitted for parliamentary confirmation, as
required by law.
On September 27, the head of the KRG's presidential anticorruption
committee, Azad Malafandi, told an Internet news site that
approximately 700 government-funded projects had been canceled or were
being investigated as part of the KRG's reform campaign following the
establishment of the Commission of Integrity. A spokesman for the
commission said they had also received more than 130 cases submitted by
the public and investigated half of them but had yet to disclose the
results of those investigations.
The constitution provides COR members immunity from arrest unless
caught in a criminal act or charged with a felony, in which case the
COR may revoke immunity by a majority vote.
The media and NGOs continued to expose corruption, although their
capacity to do so was limited. Anticorruption, law enforcement, and
judicial officials, along with members of civil society and the media,
continued to face threats and intimidation for pursuit of uncovering
corrupt practices.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government had a mixed record of cooperating with NGOs, and
although the government expressed a willingness to cooperate with the
U.N. and its agencies on human rights, it limited cooperation in
practice, citing security restrictions. During the year the
government's attitude toward international human rights and
humanitarian NGOs was less accommodating than in the previous year.
International NGOs reported greater forced evictions, difficulty in
obtaining visas and government passes, repeated and intrusive
inspections, and arrest and torture of locally engaged staff members.
The government continued to restrict all nongovernmental investigations
of alleged human rights violations, a policy that it attributed to the
requirements of the security situation. Direct attacks specifically
aimed at NGOs, however, remained rare.
Many domestic human rights NGOs were affiliated with and influenced
by the agendas of a political party or with a particular sect, although
some independent NGOs were able to operate with little or no
interference. Overall, NGOs faced numerous challenges, did not meet
regularly with government officials, and did not systematically serve
as bulwarks against failures in governance and human rights abuses.
There were reports that the police conducted unannounced and
intimidating visits to some NGOs despite the 2010 law on NGOs, which
aimed to remedy this situation (see section 2.b., Freedom of
Association). Tactics used to suppress NGO criticism included office
raids, confiscation of equipment, and arbitrary arrests. Military
intelligence arrested a representative of an international NGO at
Baghdad's Tahrir Square on October 21. Authorities released him four
days later without his being charged.
The Kurdish areas had an active NGO community, although most local
Kurdish NGOs were closely linked to and funded by the PUK and KDP
political parties. The KRG and Kurdish political parties generally
supported humanitarian NGO activities and programs.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--Although the government
expressed a willingness to cooperate with the U.N. and its agencies on
human rights, it limited cooperation in practice.
In 2008 the government signed a headquarters agreement with the
ICRC, granting it legal status and permanent representation in the
country. The COR had not ratified the agreement by year's end, but the
ICRC benefited nonetheless from its provisions.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The Ministry of Human Rights is
mandated to monitor human rights abuses and to advocate for and assist
victims. It issued public reports on prisons and detention centers,
minorities, and victims of terrorism. Limited resources, lack of
political independence, and poor cooperation from other ministries
limited the ministry's effectiveness. A lack of trained personnel and
effective follow-up throughout the government limited the effectiveness
of KRG human rights authorities.
A 2008 law established an Independent High Commission on Human
Rights. In 2009 a Committee of Experts was formed to select the
commissioners, and it began accepting nominations. After a month, its
activities were suspended and did not restart until a new government
was formed in December 2010. On March 29, a new committee was formed
and the nomination period was reopened. At year's end the committee was
reviewing the 3,068 nominations it received. The selection process,
overseen by UNAMI, was considered transparent and fair.
The COR Committee on Human Rights advocated publicly for raising
standards in government detention facilities and prisons, strengthening
the oversight of the security ministries, and developing a set of laws
that protect the rights of citizens. The KRG's legislature formed a
special committee to deal with human rights and detainee issues but did
not issue any public reports.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the
law without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality,
religion, or origin. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, disability, or social status. The government was ineffective in
enforcing these provisions in practice.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The penal code criminalizes
rape but allows the case to be dropped if the offender marries the
victim, permits a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if the victim
dies, and does not address spousal rape. There was no reliable
estimates of the incidence of rape or the effectiveness of government
enforcement of the law. Due to social conventions and retribution
against both the victim and perpetrator, victims of sexual crimes did
not usually pursue legal remedies.
In the IKR there are no laws specifically addressing domestic
violence. Under the penal code, a husband is legally entitled to punish
his wife ``within certain limits prescribed by law or custom.''
Existing laws on sexual crimes were widely unenforced, and police often
viewed domestic violence as a case for family mediation instead of as a
crime. On June 21, the KRG adopted the Family Violence Law
criminalizing domestic violence and spousal rape, but there were no
reliable estimates of its impact by the end of the year.
The new Kurdish law contains other provisions aimed at the
eradication of other forms of gender-based violence. The law
criminalizes and provides for imprisonment and fines for forced
marriage, exchange marriage, marriage of minors, marriage in exchange
for ransom, forced divorce, cutting off kinship relationships and
disowning members of family, forced prostitution, forcing family
members to work or quit their jobs, suicide due to domestic violence,
abortion arising from domestic violence, battering children and family
members, and assaulting, insulting, or cursing family members. It also
criminalizes showing perception of inferiority to, hurting, putting
psychological pressure on, and violating the rights of family members.
By law those found guilty of domestic violence generally face a fine of
between one and five million dinars ($858 to $4,292) or between six
months and three years in jail.
NGOs reported that domestic violence against women remained a
serious problem. Local NGO and media reporting indicated that domestic
violence often went unreported and unpunished with abuses customarily
addressed within the family and tribal structure. Harassment of legal
personnel working on domestic violence cases, as well as a lack of
trained police and judicial personnel, further hampered efforts to
bring perpetrators to justice.
The Ministry of Interior maintained two Family Protection Units in
Baghdad, which focused more on family reconciliation than victim
protection. Hotlines were routed directly to the male commander of the
unit, and the units did not follow a regular referral system to provide
victims with services such as legal aid or safe shelter. The units did
refer women with physical injuries to hospitals as an investigation
component.
In the IKR both public and private shelters for women existed, but
space was limited and service delivery was poor, with private shelters
providing a slightly higher level of service. In areas outside the IKR,
NGOs ran shelters without official approval. Some NGOs provided
assistance to victims through community mental health workers. Other
NGOs provided legal assistance to victims. NGOs played a key role in
providing services to victims of domestic violence who received no
assistance from the central government. Authorities frequently
attempted to mediate between women and their families--instead of
utilizing legal remedies--so that the women could return to their
homes. Other than marrying or returning to their families (which often
resulted in the family or community victimizing the shelter resident
again), there were few options for women who were housed at shelters.
Sex Tourism.--The IKR Family Violence Law, passed by the IKP on
June 21, with entry into force on July 1, bans FGM in the IKR, but the
central government did not have a similar law. The KRG has done little
to enforce the new FGM law, and FGM occurred at a rate of up to 80
percent in some parts of the IKR. According to the German NGO Wadi
(Development Now), the practice also occurs in other parts of the
country, such as Basrah.
Other Harmful Traditional Practices.--Honor killings remained a
serious problem throughout all parts of the country. The penal code of
1969 permits honor considerations to mitigate sentences.
Statistics published by the KRG Ministry of Interior in 2010 stated
that there were 102 incidents of women burned in and around Erbil
Province alone. Sixty-five percent of these cases were still under
investigation during the year. Women who committed self-immolation had
been previously victimized, but police investigated only a small number
of women's burn cases. The KRG reported that during the year 76 women
were killed or committed suicide, while 330 were burned or self-
immolated, but a number of NGOs, including the Organization for Women's
Freedom in Iraq, stated that such estimates were low.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual relations outside of
marriage, including rape or sexual solicitation that may occur during
sexual harassment. The penalties include fines and imprisonment. The
criminal code provides relief from penalties if unmarried participants
marry. No information was available regarding the effectiveness of
government enforcement. Due to social conventions and retribution
against both the victim and perpetrator of sexual harassment, victims
of sexual harassment did not usually pursue legal remedies. Because of
the unequal social status of women and their fear of telling close
relatives, victims rarely filed police complaints against the
offenders.
Reproductive Rights.--The government generally respected the basic
rights of couples and individuals to decide the number, timing, and
spacing of children free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
There were no legal impediments to access to information on family
planning, contraception, and maternal health services, including
skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential
obstetric and postpartum care. However, due to general insecurity in
the country and attendant economic difficulties, many women received
inadequate medical care due to a lack of essential drugs, lack of
transport to referral institutions, and medical personnel lacking
training in emergency obstetric care. Women were at increased risk of
early marriage, early pregnancy, poor birth outcomes with high rates of
anemia, and short birth intervals.
Discrimination.--Although the constitution forbids discrimination
on the basis of gender, in practice conservative societal standards
impeded women's abilities to enjoy the same legal status and rights as
men. Throughout the country, women reported increasing pressure to wear
headscarves, usually in conservative and rural areas. There were
reports of female students questioned at the gates of Baghdad
University when they were not wearing a headscarf. Female government
employees were often pressured to wear, or questioned about not
wearing, headscarves. Conservative citizens publicly harassed or
intimidated women for undertaking activities such as driving a car,
walking with friends, and wearing trousers or jewelry, in an effort to
force them to remain at home, wear headscarves, and adhere to a
conservative interpretation of Islam.
Women experienced economic discrimination in access to, and in
terms of, employment, occupation, credit, and pay equity for performing
similar work or managing similar businesses as men. The security
situation disproportionately affected women's ability to work outside
the home. Weak labor laws and the lack of an equal opportunity
employment law left women vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal. Government
efforts to combat economic discrimination against women were minimal
and unsystematic. Despite the existence of a widow stipend program
through the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, excessive and
confusing bureaucratic procedures and significant processing delays
impeded an estimated one to three million war widows from accessing
social support.
The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, with an approximately
20-person professional staff, functioned primarily as an advisory
office without an independent budget or the ability to hire more
employees.
Children.--Birth Registration.--The constitution states that anyone
born with at least one citizen parent is a citizen. Failure to register
births resulted in the denial of public services such as education,
food, and health care. To register a birth, authorities require a
marriage certificate and identification from both parents or a death
certificate if a parent is deceased. Single women and widows often have
problems registering their children. The government was generally
committed to children's rights and welfare, although it denied benefits
to noncitizen children. Their families had to pay for services that
were otherwise free, such as public schools and health services. Except
for several hundred Palestinian families displaced during the 1948 or
1967 wars, noncitizens were not eligible for the national food
rationing program.
Education.--Primary education is compulsory for citizen children
for six years and free for them at all levels. The net enrollment rate
for children aged six to 11 was 91 percent for boys and 82 percent for
girls. Ninety-six percent of the boys and 94 percent of the girls who
entered the first grade eventually reached fifth grade. Female
education remained a challenge, particularly in rural areas and areas
facing high levels of insecurity.
Child Abuse.--A June 21 IKR law (see section 6, Women) banned child
marriage and the forcing of children to drop out of school, often to
work or beg. The impact of the ban was unknown at year's end. The
central government did not have similar laws in place to criminalize
child abuse (see section 7.c.).
Harmful Traditional Practices.--Despite being banned, FGM among
children remained a common practice particularly in rural areas of the
IKR and other areas of the country where Kurdish communities lived.
Child Marriage.--Although no statistics were available, a tradition
of marrying young girls (as young as 14 years old) reportedly
continued, particularly in rural areas. The minimum marriage age is 14
with parental permission and 18 without.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Sexual relations outside of
marriage for any reason are prohibited. Because sex outside marriage is
always illegal, the age of consensual sex is de facto the minimum
marriage age. Pornography of any kind, including child pornography, is
prohibited. Girls were sexually exploited through the use of temporary
marriages, by which the family of the girl receives money in the form
of a dowry in exchange for permission to marry the girl for a limited
period of time. Child prostitution is a significant problem. Because
the age of legal responsibility is nine in the central region and 11 in
the IKR, children are liable to be treated as criminals instead of
victims.
Displaced Children.--Within the IDP population, there were children
living on the streets (see section 2.d.).
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--Fewer than 10 Iraqi Jews remained in Baghdad, and
none were known to live in other parts of the country.
The criminal code stipulates that any person who promotes Zionist
principles, associates himself with Zionist organizations, assists such
organizations by giving material or moral support, or works in any way
towards the realization of Zionist objectives is subject to punishment
by death. There were no examples of application of this law since the
fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution states that the
government, through laws and regulations, should care for and
rehabilitate persons with disabilities and special needs in order to
reintegrate them into society. There are no laws, however, prohibiting
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, or the provision of other state services. Access for persons with
disabilities to buildings and in educational and work settings remained
inconsistent.
The government has programs to help persons with disabilities.
However, numerous media reports documented the challenges these
programs faced, including large special needs populations and the lack
of qualified, trained personnel. Amputees, persons with other major
physical injuries, and persons with mental/psychological trauma were
the focus of most media reports. The Ministry of Health provided
medical care, benefits, and rehabilitation, when available, and persons
with disabilities could qualify for benefits from other agencies,
including the Prime Minister's Office. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Affairs operated several institutions for children and young adults
with disabilities, although the quality of care was unknown. The
Ministry of Health's most recent estimate of the number of persons with
physical and mental disabilities was two to three million,
approximately 10 percent of the population.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's population
includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, as well as religious minorities
including Chaldeans, Assyrians, Armenians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans,
Baha'i, Shabak, Kakai, and a small number of Jews. Many consider the
Assyrians and Chaldeans to be a distinct ethnic group. These
communities speak a different language, preserve Christian traditions,
and do not define themselves as Arabs. The country also has citizens of
African descent, ``Black Iraqis,'' a population that community
representatives estimated to number more than one million.
The constitution identifies Arabic and Kurdish as the two official
languages of the state. It also provides the right of citizens to
educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac,
or Armenian, in government educational institutions in accordance with
educational guidelines or in any other language in private educational
institutions.
During the year discrimination against ethnic minorities was a
problem. There were numerous reports of Kurdish authorities
discriminating against minorities, including Turkmen, Arabs, Yezidis,
and Assyrians, in the disputed territories under the de facto control
of the KRG. According to these reports, authorities denied services to
some villages, arrested minorities without due process, took them to
undisclosed locations for detention, and pressured minority schools to
teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and religious minorities in
Tameem frequently charged that Kurdish security forces targeted Arabs
and Turkmen.
Within the three provinces of the IKR, there was little evidence of
sanctioned government discrimination against religious and ethnic
minorities, although there have been complaints that KRG authorities
have been slow to return land confiscated by the previous regime that
had belonged to Christian churches and Christian farmers. Minority
communities operated their own schools and were represented both in the
parliament and executive branch of the KRG.
However, incidents of societal violence against minorities in the
IKR did occur. On December 2, between 300 and 1,000 rioters attacked
legally operating businesses owned by Christians and Yezidis in Dohuk
Province. The rioters burned or destroyed 26 liquor stores, a massage
parlor, four hotels, and a casino. The riot followed midday prayers at
the Rasheed Mosque in Zakho where the imam had allegedly denounced the
businesses as anti-Islamic and had incited followers to attack them. In
addition to promising compensation for those who suffered damages to
property and businesses, President Barzani ordered the formation of an
investigation committee, which concluded that some followers of the KIU
``emboldened the violence'' against Christian businesses, that some
leaders of the KDP ``failed to control their members from attacking KIU
organization centers,'' and that Dohuk Province security and
administrative officials were ``negligent'' in their control of the
situation. As of year's end, no one had been compensated for property
lost or destroyed.
According to press reports, Palestinians continued to experience
arrest, detention, harassment, and abuse by authorities. A 2006
citizenship law prevents Palestinians from obtaining citizenship and
Jews who emigrated to other countries from reclaiming citizenship.
Black Iraqis reported widespread economic and social
discrimination. Black Iraqi leaders estimate that more than 20 percent
of the Black Iraqi population was unemployed, compared to an overall
unemployment rate of 15 percent. Minority Rights Group International
reported that many were laborers or worked as domestic workers.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was no law specifically
prohibiting consensual same-sex sexual activity, although the penal
code prohibits sodomy, irrespective of gender. There were no data on
prosecutions for sodomy. Due to social conventions and retribution
against both victim and perpetrator of nonconsensual same-sex sexual
conduct and persecution against participants in consensual same-sex
sexual conduct, this activity was generally unreported.
In light of the law, the authorities relied on public indecency
charges or confessions of monetary exchange, (i.e., prostitution, which
is illegal) to prosecute same-sex sexual activity. Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons often faced abuse and violence
from family and nongovernmental actors. UNAMI reported that at least
six individuals were killed because of their perceived sexual
orientation and that an NGO relocated a 17-year-old boy after his
family attempted to kill him because they thought he was gay. The
procedures used to arrest LGBT persons also were used to arrest
heterosexual persons involved in sexual relations with persons other
than their spouses.
Due to social conventions and potential persecution, including
violent attacks, LGBT organizations did not operate openly, nor were
gay pride marches or gay rights advocacy events held. Societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in
employment, occupation, and housing was common. Information was not
available regarding discrimination in access to education or health
care due to sexual orientation or gender identity. There were no
government efforts to address this discrimination.
At year's end authorities had not announced any arrests or
prosecutions of any persons for violence against LGBT individuals.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of physical violence against persons with HIV/AIDS, but the topic was
socially sensitive and not discussed publicly. Militias harassed and
threatened persons with HIV/AIDS on the grounds that being infected was
``evidence of sin.'' The government worked to decrease discrimination
through public education campaigns and provided medical care to persons
with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The 2005 constitution states that citizens have the right to form and
join unions and professional associations, as well as to demonstrate
and strike peacefully in accordance with the law; however, the1987
labor code and later decrees place severe limitations and conditions on
freedom of association, the right to strike, and collective bargaining,
particularly in the public sector. Under the labor code, the right to
organize is extremely limited, and there is no provision for the right
to strike.
Though the labor code provides for public sector unions, Resolution
150 of the 1987 code eliminates unions and the right of association
from the public sector and state-owned enterprises and also bars all
public sector strikes. Workers in essential services are expressly
prohibited from striking as well. The law allows private sector
employees to form workers' committees, with limited rights, in
worksites employing more than 50 workers. The large majority of private
sector businesses in the country employed fewer than 50 workers.
Private sector unions have the right to seek government arbitration for
labor disputes but not the right to strike.
The law does not protect the right to collective bargaining.
Additionally, the law does not specifically prohibit antiunion
discrimination by employers or others, nor does it provide
reinstatement for workers fired for union activity.
The labor law states that Arab workers should be treated like
citizens but does not provide for the rights of other migrant workers.
Domestic servants and agricultural workers are excluded from certain
provisions of the labor law.
By law the establishment of unions or federations outside the
General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) is prohibited. However, in
practice there were five major unions and federations in the country:
GFIW, the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq, the
General Federation of Trade Unions and Workers Council in Iraq, the
Kurdistan United Workers Union, and the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions.
Although unions other than the GFIW were not ``official'' unions, the
government tolerated their existence, according to a union leader.
Decree 8750 of 2005, which cancelled unions' leadership boards and
froze their assets, further restricted union activity by prohibiting
unions from holding funds, collecting dues, and maintaining assets.
The 1987 labor code effectively ruled out the existence of labor
unions able to carry out free and independent union activity and
prevented independent organizing and collective bargaining in the
public and private sectors.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were
not respected in practice. The government did not effectively enforce
the law and frequently interfered in union activities, especially in
the public and oil sectors. Antiunion discrimination occurred in the
private sector as well, and employers interfered in union functions and
threatened or punished workers for union activity.
In April the government derecognized and attempted to take over the
structures and assets of the GFIW in order to interfere with its
elections. Created in 2005, the GFIW is comprised of 12 national unions
and was previously the only trade union officially recognized by the
government. According to a senior leader of a labor union, the
government also created a committee to oversee and monitor labor union
elections.
Strikers were harassed and threatened for striking during the year.
Ministries and state-owned enterprises used fines and forced transfers
to punish labor activists and discourage union activity. For example,
when oil workers struck in Basrah, several union leaders were forced to
relocate to the north as a tactic to prevent future striking activity.
Elsewhere in the oil sector, workers faced outsize fines for
participating in peaceful demonstrations. Labor unions reported being
charged under the antiterrorism law by the Ministry of Interior if they
attempted to organize a strike. Furthermore, unions made serious
allegations that the government attempted to assassinate union leaders
during the year.
Firas `Ali, a union activist, was detained by members of the armed
forces while he was at the Baghdad office of the Federation of Workers'
Councils and Unions in Iraq on April 13. He was released on April 27.
Because unions had no legal power to negotiate with employers,
proactive protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining
was not possible. The absence of collective bargaining and collective
contracts at national and local levels significantly diminished unions'
power to defend workers' rights pertaining to their access to social
protection. Some unions were able to play a supportive role in labor
disputes, and they had the right to demand government arbitration, a
process the government only recently began to address in its commercial
courts and judicial training. Government labor courts were empowered to
rule on labor code violations and disagreements.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, but the government did not
effectively monitor or enforce the law. Migrant workers occasionally
were subjected to forced labor.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
constitution and law prohibit the worst forms of child labor. However,
the government did not monitor or enforce these laws effectively, and
child labor remained a problem. Despite laws against child labor,
children often worked illegally on farms or in street commerce. In
accordance with the labor law, MOLSA established an inspection service
to ensure compliance with the law as it relates to prohibitions on
child labor in the private and public sector.
The law limits working hours for persons younger than 18 and
prohibits their employment in dangerous occupations. The minimum age
for employment is 15. The law prohibits employment of anyone younger
than 16 in work that is detrimental to health, safety, or morals.
Article 34 of the constitution guarantees the right of free education
and citizen children are required to attend school until age 11. This
left children ages 12 to 15 vulnerable to child labor, as they were not
required to be in school but were not permitted to work. Children
employed in family enterprises were exempt from some protections with
regard to employment conditions (see section 6).
A 2010 survey by the Kurdistan Safe Children Organization (KSC) put
the number of children engaged in illegal labor activities in all three
IKR provinces at 12,479 and developed a program to minimize this
practice. In cooperation with local authorities in the IKR, KSC
supplemented the income of families with children vulnerable to child
labor. The KMOLSA assumed management of this program during the year.
Data on child labor was limited. Poor families routinely used child
labor to augment their incomes. This work often took the form of
seasonal labor in rural areas, or begging or peddling in urban
settings. There were anecdotal reports of children performing hazardous
work in family-owned automobile shops or on construction sites.
Unconfirmed reports alleged the sale of children for indentured
servitude. Sunni and Shia militias, as well as al-Qaida in Iraq,
recruited and used children for spying, working as couriers, scouting,
and planting improvised explosive devices.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage for a
skilled worker was less than 12,000 dinars (approximately $10) per day
and for an unskilled worker less than 5,250 dinars ($4.50) per day.
Wages were set by contract in the private sector and by the government
in the public sector. The Central Organization of Statistics and
Information Technology reported that the average salary in 2009--the
latest year for which information was available--was approximately 2.4
million dinars ($2,060) per year, an increase over the previous year's
figure of 1.78 million dinars ($1,528). These earnings remained two to
three times poverty level, defined in the 2009 Central Organization of
Statistics and Information Technology report as 923,000 dinars ($792)
per person per year.
The standard workday is eight hours with one or more rest periods.
Up to four hours of overtime work per day is permitted, and premium pay
for overtime is required. Regulations on working conditions existed but
were almost entirely unenforced.
The legal and regulatory framework, combined with the country's
high level of violence and insecurity, high unemployment, a large
informal sector, and lack of decent work standards, resulted in
unacceptable conditions for many workers. The MOLSA Labor Directorate
had jurisdiction over the labor code, child labor, wages, occupational
safety and health issues, and labor relations. The ministry's
occupational safety and health component staff were located throughout
the country. Labor union leaders urged more training in occupational
health and safety due to the large number of on-the-job injuries,
especially for manual laborers. There were no significant government
efforts to address violations or improve wages and working conditions
during the year.
There was little information available on the number of foreign
workers in the country. Migrant workers have no legal protections. Some
foreign workers in the country were subjected to abusive treatment and
conditions associated with forced labor, including confiscation of
travel and identity documents, restrictions on movement and
communication, physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape, withholding
of wages, forced overtime, and hazardous working conditions. The
Ministry of Interior, in coordination with MOLSA, reviewed applications
for special worker status. According to MOLSA, most migrant
applications were denied to protect domestic workers and industry.
A lack of oversight and monitoring of employment contracts left
foreign and migrant workers vulnerable to exploitative working
conditions. From December 2010 through October 2011, 35 Ukrainian and
Bulgarian construction workers lived on an abandoned construction site
in the International Zone. Their employer had promised to pay them
$2,500 per month, but then reneged on the contract and left the workers
stranded, without back pay or proper documentation to return to their
home countries. The IOM eventually aided the workers and provided
humanitarian assistance until they were able to repatriate in October.
The law provides that workers have the right to remove themselves
from a situation endangering health and safety without prejudice to
their employment; however, this right was not afforded to civil
servants or migrant workers, who made up the majority of the country's
workforce.
__________
ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy. Although it has no
constitution, Israel's parliament, the unicameral 120-member Knesset,
has enacted a series of ``Basic Laws'' that enumerate fundamental
rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders, and regulations legally
depend on the existence of a ``State of Emergency,'' which has been in
effect since 1948. The Knesset has the power to dissolve the government
and mandate elections. The 2009 nationwide Knesset elections,
considered free and fair, resulted in a coalition government led by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli security forces reported to
civilian authorities. (An annex to this report covers human rights in
the occupied territories. This report deals with human rights in Israel
and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.)
The most significant human rights issues during the year were
terrorist attacks against civilians; institutional and societal
discrimination against Arab citizens--in particular issues of access to
housing and employment opportunities; and societal discrimination and
domestic violence against women.
The government generally protected religious freedom, although
there was institutional and societal discrimination against non-
Orthodox Jews and some minority religious groups. The government ceased
the practice of immediately returning African asylum seekers who
reached the country through Egypt but continued to deny many asylum
seekers individual refugee status determinations, which impacted their
ability to work or receive basic social services, including health
care. Societal discrimination and lack of accessibility persisted for
persons with disabilities. Serious labor rights abuses against foreign
workers were common, and there were reported cases of trafficking for
labor purposes.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses in the country regardless of rank or seniority.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings during the year.
Terrorist groups routinely fired rockets and mortars into Israel
during the year. There were 924 terrorist attacks against citizens,
both from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which included the firing
of 388 rockets and 247 mortar shells from the Gaza Strip into Israel
(compared with a total of 235 in 2010). In total 25 persons were killed
and 119 were injured in these attacks. For example, on April 7, an
antitank missile fired from the Gaza Strip hit a school bus in southern
Israel, killing one student. On August 18, a Sinai-based group of
gunmen crossed the Egyptian border into the country and killed eight
citizens near the city of Eilat.
The IDF continued to investigate allegations relating to the 2008-
09 Operation Cast Lead military incursion into the Gaza Strip. Since
2009 the military advocate general launched 52 military police criminal
investigations into IDF conduct during the incursion. The military
advocate general filed three indictments in previous years, two of
which resulted in convictions. One case continued at year's end. The
military advocate general also internally disciplined at least six
officers in connection with actions during Operation Cast Lead.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of disappearances or
politically motivated abductions.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law does not refer to a specific crime of torture but
prohibits acts such as assault and pressure by a public official. A
1999 High Court of Justice ruling held that, although torture and the
application of physical or psychological pain are illegal, Israel
Security Agency (ISA) interrogators may be exempt from criminal
prosecution if they use such methods in extraordinary cases determined
to involve an imminent threat or ``ticking bomb'' scenario. Human
rights organizations alleged that these methods in practice included
beatings, forcing an individual to hold a stress position for long
periods, and painful pressure from shackles or restraints applied to
the forearms. NGOs continued to criticize these and other detention
practices they termed abusive, including isolation, sleep deprivation,
and psychological abuse, such as threats to interrogate family members
or demolish family homes.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The law provides prisoners
and detainees the right to conditions that do not harm their health or
dignity. Conditions in Israel Prison Service (IPS) facilities generally
met international standards according to international and domestic
NGOs. All prisoners had access to potable water. (Conditions in four
facilities for detainees are covered in the annex.)
According to a December 2010 Haaretz article, there were on average
13 deaths per year from suicide, murder, or neglect in prisons over the
past decade. The IPS increased staff training and monitoring of cells
to combat this phenomenon. Two cases of deaths from suicide were
recorded during the year. At year's end the police and prison service
were conducting separate investigations into the causes of the deaths.
As of December 14, there were 17,755 prisoners in IPS facilities.
According to IPS figures reported by the nongovernmental organization
(NGO) B'Tselem, at year's end there were 307 administrative detainees
in IPS detention centers. Seventeen had been detained for between two
and four and a half years. One had been detained for more than five
years (see section 1.d., Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in
Detention). None of them were minors. Prison conditions were equal for
male and female prisoners.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors,
including through a program of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) that brought relatives from the West Bank into the country
for prison visits. The government stopped a similar program for
visitors from the Gaza Strip following the 2007 Hamas takeover of the
Gaza Strip, maintaining that such visits did not constitute a
humanitarian need. Travel restrictions into the country affected some
Palestinian prisoners' access to visitors and lawyers. Prisoners were
permitted religious observance.
The law allows prisoners to submit a petition to judicial
authorities in response to substandard prison conditions, and the
authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions
and documented results of such investigations publicly. In addition,
the state comptroller investigates public complaints against government
institutions, including the prison service. The law allows for
alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent offenders, including
community service.
The ICRC regularly monitored IPS facilities, interrogation
facilities, and the two IDF provisional detention centers in accordance
with standard modalities but did not monitor security detainees in
military detention centers. The government also permitted the Israel
Bar Association and Public Defenders' Office to inspect IPS facilities,
and they did so during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions for all citizens. Non-Israeli residents of the Israeli-
annexed Golan Heights were subject to the same laws as Israeli
citizens. Noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained on security
grounds fell under military jurisdiction even if detained in Israel
(see annex).
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Under the authority of
the prime minister, the ISA combats terrorism and espionage in the
country and the occupied territories (see annex). The National Police,
including the Border Police and the Immigration Police, are under the
authority of the Ministry of Internal Security. Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the ISA and police forces, and the
government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security
forces during the year. The military is responsible for external
security and has no jurisdiction over citizens.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Criminal
suspects are apprehended with warrants based on sufficient evidence and
issued by an authorized official. Authorities generally informed such
persons promptly of charges against them. The law allows authorities to
detain suspects without charge for 24 hours before bringing them before
a judge, with limited exceptions allowing for up to 48 hours.
Authorities respected these rights in practice. Authorities allowed
detainees to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, including one
provided by the state for the indigent, and to contact family members
promptly. A functioning bail system exists, and a decision denying bail
can be appealed.
As a general practice, noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained
for security violations were either granted or denied bail according to
the circumstances of each case, severity of the offenses, status as a
minor if relevant, risk of escape, and other factors. Persons detained
on security grounds fall under one of three legal regimes.
First, under a temporary law on criminal procedures that has been
repeatedly renewed, the IPS may hold individuals suspected of a
security offense for 48 hours before being brought to a judge, with
limited exceptions allowing up to 96 hours before being brought to the
senior judge of a district court. The law allows the court to authorize
holding a detainee for up to 20 days without an indictment in
exceptional cases for interrogation.
Second, the 1979 Emergency Powers Law allows the Defense Ministry
to detain persons administratively without charge for up to six months,
renewable indefinitely. Administrative detention was used as an
exception when intelligence sources could not be presented as evidence
in regular criminal proceedings. An administrative detainee has the
right to appeal any decision to lengthen detention to a military court
of appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court. According to the
government, many cases were appealed to the Supreme Court. The military
courts may rely on classified evidence denied to detainees and their
lawyers when determining whether to prolong administrative detention.
Third, the 2002 Illegal Combatant Law permits holding a detainee
for 14 days before review by a district court judge, denying access to
counsel for up to 21 days with the attorney general's approval, and
allowing indefinite detention subject to twice-yearly district court
reviews and appeals to the Supreme Court. As of November authorities
held only one Palestinian resident of the Gaza Strip in detention under
the Illegal Combatant Law.
The law provides that foreign nationals suspected of immigration
violations be afforded a hearing within four days of detention. They
have the right to, but no assurance of, legal representation. According
to the NGO Hotline for Migrant Workers (Hotline), interpreters in
Ketziot, where most asylum seekers were detained, were rarely present
during hearings.
The president pardoned and the government released from prison
1,021 Palestinians, five Israeli Arabs, and one Syrian prisoner through
transfers on October 18 and December 18. They were released in exchange
for Hamas' release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, whom terrorists
kidnapped during a 2006 cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary, and the government respected this provision in
practice.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy the right to presumption of
innocence and the right to consult with an attorney, or if indigent, to
have one provided at public expense. Trials are public except when the
court determines that a closed trial is required to protect state
security, foreign relations, a party or witness's right to privacy, or
a sexual offense victim. There are no trials by jury. Defendants have
the right to confront witnesses against them and present witnesses and
evidence on their behalf, access evidence held against them (except
when the court determines such access would compromise national
security), and appeal to the Supreme Court. Although the government may
withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security grounds, the
evidence must be made available to the court. The annex covers military
court trials of Palestinians and others in the occupied territories.
At the discretion of the court, security or military trials may be
open to independent observers but not to the general public.
Military courts provide some, but not all, of the procedural rights
granted in civil criminal courts. The 1970 evidentiary rules governing
trials of Palestinians and others applicable in the occupied
territories under military law are the same as evidentiary rules in
criminal cases. According to the Ministry of Justice, the law does not
permit convictions to be based solely on confessions. In military
trials prosecutors often present secret evidence that is not available
to the defendant or counsel. Counsel may assist the accused in such
trials, and a judge may assign counsel to defendants. Indigent
detainees do not automatically receive free legal counsel for military
trials, but in practice almost all detainees had counsel even in minor
cases. The defendant and public are read the indictment orally in
Hebrew and, unless the defendant waives this right, in Arabic. In past
years many written indictments were translated into Arabic, but, since
according to the government no requests for translations were made, the
practice during the year was to provide written translations of
indictments into Arabic only upon request. At least one interpreter is
present for simultaneous interpretation in every military court
hearing, unless the defendant waives that right. Defendants can appeal
through the Military Court of Appeals and petition the High Court of
Justice.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
citizen political prisoners or detainees. NGOs alleged there were
noncitizen political detainees, but the government maintained that it
only held prisoners on criminal and security grounds (see annex).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and
impartial judiciary adjudicates lawsuits seeking damages for, or
cessation of, human rights violations. Administrative remedies exist,
and court orders were usually enforced. By year's end the attorney
general had yet to enforce the 11 contempt of court ordinances and
Supreme Court rulings that the former deputy attorney general had noted
in February 2010 were unimplemented.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the government
generally respected those prohibitions in practice. Separate religious
court systems adjudicate matters such as marriage and divorce for the
Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze communities. Civil marriages,
marriages of some non-Orthodox Jews, marriages in non-Orthodox
ceremonies, marriage of a Jew to a non-Jew, or marriage of a Muslim
woman to a non-Muslim must take place outside the country to be
considered legal. Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox
control over aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 322,000
citizens, who immigrated either as Jews or as family members of Jews,
are not considered Jewish by the Orthodox Rabbinate and cannot be
married, divorced, or buried in Jewish cemeteries within the country. A
law requiring the government to establish civil cemeteries has not been
fully implemented, although eight civil cemeteries exist.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech including for members of
the press, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of
speech and press.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals may criticize the government
publicly and privately without reprisal. The law prohibits hate speech
and incitement to violence, and the 1948 Prevention of Terrorism
Ordinance prohibits expressing support for illegal or terrorist
organizations. On July 11, the Knesset passed legislation that permits
civil cases for damages against citizens who publicly and knowingly
advocate for anti-Israel boycotts. Israeli NGOs challenged the
constitutionality of this law in a petition to the High Court, and the
law was not being implemented pending the court's ruling.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views without restriction, although the prohibitions
on airing content liable to incite to discrimination on ground of race,
origin, religion, nationality, and gender also applied to media.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--All media organizations must
submit to military censors any material relating to specific military
issues or strategic infrastructure issues, such as oil and water
supplies. The censor's decisions may be appealed to the High Court of
Justice, and the censor cannot appeal a court judgment. The Interior
Ministry has no authority over the military censor.
News printed or broadcast abroad is subject to security censorship.
The government did not fine newspapers or other mass media for
violating censorship regulations during the year.
Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access
to the Internet. The government monitored e-mail and Internet chat
rooms for security purposes.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the government respected
these rights in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government respected these rights in practice for
citizens (see annex). The government cooperated with the Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to some refugees,
asylum seekers, and other persons of concern. At year's end 175 asylum
seekers with disputed nationalities remained in detention pending
formal decisions on whether to grant conditional release visas or to
deport them, according to the UNHRC.
Foreign Travel.--Citizens generally were free to travel abroad
provided they had no outstanding military obligations and no
administrative restrictions. The government may bar citizens from
leaving the country based on security considerations. No citizen is
permitted to travel to any state officially at war with the country
without government permission. All citizens required a special permit
to enter ``Area A'' (the area, according to the Interim Agreement, in
which the Palestinian Authority exercises civil and security
responsibility), although the government allowed Arab citizens access
without permits. On March 7, the High Court responded to a 2007
petition by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah
regarding alleged ethnic profiling by asking the government to explain
why security officials discriminated against Israeli Arabs during
airport screenings. On May 26, the government rejected the claim of
discrimination and stated that the security examination procedures were
effective in achieving the goal of foiling terrorism.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of temporary asylum, and the government has
established a system for providing temporary protection for most asylum
seekers; however, there were complaints about the system's
accessibility and reports of discrimination. The UNHRC and NGOs
criticized new asylum regulations released on January 2 that require
applicants to submit claims within one year of arriving in the country,
allow the Ministry of Interior to reject applications without appeal
even at the registration stage, and exclude ``enemy nationals'' from
receiving asylum. The regulations fail to establish an independent
appeal process.
Sudanese and Eritrean asylum seekers, who constituted approximately
85 percent of all asylum seekers in the country, were not allowed
access to asylum procedures but were given renewable ``conditional
release'' documents that deferred deportation and had to be renewed
every few months. According to the UNHRC, during the year there were
4,603 new asylum applications; the government rejected 3,692 and
approved one. There were 6,412 previous cases that remained pending at
year's end.
Persons held in immigration detention rarely were released prior to
judicial determination of their status. Moreover, if the detainee's
country of origin had no diplomatic or consular representation, the
individual could remain in detention for months.
Government officials often negatively referred to asylum seekers as
``infiltrators.'' According to NGOs, officials periodically
characterized asylum seekers as directly associated with rises in
crime, disease, and terrorism. On December 8, in an interview with Army
Radio, Minister of Interior Eli Yishai said, ``I will safeguard the
Jewish majority of the state, and I ensure that the last of the
Sudanese, and the Eritreans, and all of the infiltrators, to the last
of them, will return to their countries.''
Nonrefoulement.--The government provided some protection against
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or
freedom could be threatened. In March the government declared the
suspension of the ``hot returns'' procedure of immediately returning
African asylum seekers across the border to Egypt. According to an IDF
affidavit to the Supreme Court, there were 119 cases of ``hot returns''
through the first week of March. On July 7, the Supreme Court rejected
a petition filed by several NGOs against the ``hot return'' procedure.
It stated that the government's decision to suspend the practice
rendered the petition moot but emphasized that the ruling was not a
decision on the legality of the practice, nor did it preclude future
petitions should the government resume the practice. In August the
Refugee Rights Clinic and Hotline for Migrant Workers filed a complaint
to the IDF legal advisor regarding several credible reports of
instances of return of asylum seekers to Egypt in violation of the
government's declaration. The IDF opened an investigation of the
allegations, which was pending at year's end. No credible reports of
``hot returns'' were received after August.
Employment.--Recognized refugees were given renewable work visas,
but renewable documents given to most asylum seekers explicitly stated,
``This is not a work visa.'' In practice, however, the government
informally allowed asylum seekers to work. On December 4, Prime
Minister Netanyahu announced that the government would begin to enforce
the prohibition on asylum seekers working. On December 11, the cabinet
passed a series of measures that included a request that authorities
pursue cases against employers of asylum seekers.
Access to Basic Services.--Recognized refugees received social
services, including access to the national healthcare system, but the
government did not provide asylum seekers with public social benefits
such as health insurance. NGOs were critical of the process of victim
identification and the lack of medical treatment upon arrival for
asylum seekers who had been abused, raped, and tortured in Egypt. The
UNHRC and NGOs advocated for greater access to health and social
services for asylum seekers, particularly victims of abuse. In July the
Refugee Rights Clinic and Hotline for Migrant Workers filed a petition
in the Be'er Sheva District Court regarding the segregation of children
of asylum seekers in the city of Eilat, who were not accepted into the
school system but forced to study in a makeshift school outside of
Eilat's municipal boundary. The case was pending at year's end.
Temporary Protection.--The government provided temporary protection
primarily to Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers, and at times to
asylum seekers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, and
Somalia.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliamentary elections held in 2009 were considered free and fair.
Political Parties.--The Basic Law prohibits the candidacy of any
party or individual that denies the existence of the State of Israel as
the state of the Jewish people or the democratic character of the
state, or that incites racism. Otherwise, political parties operated
without restriction or interference.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women and minorities were
participants in political life on the same legal basis as men or
nonminority citizens. Although the senior leaders have traditionally
come from the predominantly male IDF, women generally do not face
cultural barriers in politics, including in leadership positions up to
prime minister. Women face significant cultural barriers in political
parties representing conservative religious movements and the Arab
minority. At year's end the 120-member Knesset had 24 female and 14
Arab members. The 30-member cabinet included three women but no Arabs;
two women and one Arab were deputy ministers. Five members of the 15-
member Supreme Court, including its president, were women. One Arab was
a justice of the Supreme Court.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government implemented these laws effectively. There were reports
of government corruption during the year, although impunity was not a
problem. The media routinely reported on corruption. The National
Police, the state comptroller, the attorney general, and the accountant
general are responsible for combating official corruption. Senior
officials are subject to comprehensive financial disclosure laws.
During the year the government investigated and prosecuted several
senior political figures for alleged misconduct. NGOs focused on
anticorruption efforts operated freely without government interference.
On September 5, an unknown assailant stabbed in the face and leg a
Bedouin lawyer for the Movement for Quality Government in Israel as an
apparent reprisal for his investigating local corruption in Israeli
Arab municipalities in the Negev.
On August 4, police interrogated a Supreme Court justice as a
suspect in a criminal case. Justice Yoram Danziger took a leave of
absence from the court before questioning that centered on his former
activities and fees as a private lawyer in connection with Bat Yam
mayor Shlomo Lahiani, whom police were investigating for bribery,
fraud, and breach of trust.
The law requires governmental agencies to make their internal
regulations, administrative procedures, and directives available to the
public.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Numerous domestic and international human rights groups operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Human rights NGOs have standing to
petition the High Court directly regarding governmental policies and
can appeal individual cases to the Supreme Court. Government officials
were cooperative to widely varying degrees, and some routinely invited
domestic NGOs, including those critical of the government, to
participate in Knesset hearings on proposed legislation. A unit in the
foreign ministry maintained relations with certain international and
domestic NGOs.
During the year the Ministry of Interior barred entry into the
country to foreign nationals affiliated with certain pro-Palestinian
human rights NGOs and solidarity organizations. The government stated
this was done on an individual basis, not according to the activities
or platform of the NGOs with which these persons were affiliated.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government cooperated
with U.N. and other international bodies. In December the government
hosted the Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of
Expression.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The state comptroller also served
as ombudsman for human rights issues. The ombudsman investigates
complaints against statutory bodies that are subject to audit by the
state comptroller, including government ministries, local authorities,
state enterprises and institutions, government corporations, and their
employees. The ombudsman is entitled to use any relevant means of
inquiry and has the capacity to order any person or body to assist in
the inquiry.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government was
generally effective in enforcing these prohibitions.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape, including spousal rape,
is a felony, punishable by 16 years in prison. The law doubles the
penalty if the perpetrator assaults or rapes a relative. The government
reported 727 cases opened due to rape complaints through October. The
government effectively enforced rape laws during the year. As of
September women filed 11,886 domestic violence complaints with police,
of which at year's end 556 were still being investigated, 2,758 were
transferred to the State Attorney's Office, 1,291 were heard by courts,
and 7,281 were closed. According to the Association of Rape Crisis
Centers in Israel, the majority of rape victims do not report the crime
to the authorities due to social and cultural pressure. Women from
certain Orthodox Jewish, Muslim, and Druze communities face significant
social pressure against reporting rape or domestic abuse.
On November 10, the Supreme Court rejected former president Moshe
Katsav's appeal of his 2010 rape conviction, and he began serving his
seven-year prison sentence on December 7. In January, the month
following his conviction, a record number of women sought services at
rape crisis centers, according to the Association of Rape Crisis
Centers in Israel. The association reported that 42 percent of calls
dealt with rape or attempted rape, 23 percent with incest, 10 percent
reported indecent acts, and 8 percent reported sexual harassment at
work.
The Ministry of Social Affairs operated a battered women's shelter
and an abuse reporting hotline. The police operated a call center to
inform victims about their cases. Women's organizations provided
counseling, crisis intervention, legal assistance, and shelters.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--Several ``honor'' killings occurred
within the Arab community. Police continued investigating Ramadan and
Khaled Musrati, arrested in October 2010 on suspicion of involvement in
four murders in Lod, where the victims were killed for allegedly being
in relationships that members of their families viewed as
inappropriate.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal but remained
widespread. According to a survey directed by the Tel Aviv Municipality
Committee for Advancing the Status of Women, 83 percent of Tel Aviv
women reported being sexually harassed at least once in their lifetime.
The law requires that suspected victims be informed of their right to
assistance. Penalties for sexual harassment depend on the severity of
the act and whether blackmail is involved, and range from two to nine
years' imprisonment. Police investigated 327 cases of sexual harassment
during the year and by year's end transferred 66 cases for prosecution
while continuing to investigate 108 cases. Three cases were heard by
the courts, and the rest were closed for lack of evidence. Police
notify all victims of their right to be assisted by the Association of
Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, and the law ensures victims can be
informed of the progress on their cases through a computerized system
and information call center.
``Modesty patrols'' continued to harass women in some ``haredi''
(also known as ultra-Orthodox) neighborhoods, according to NGOs and
local media. There were reports of segregation of women and men in
public spaces, including at public health clinics in haredi
neighborhoods. On January 7, the Supreme Court ruled that gender
segregation on public buses could not be imposed or ordered but could
occur only on a voluntary basis. Despite the ruling there were
continued reports of forced segregation on public buses. On December
16, both a bus driver and police officer requested that Ashdod resident
Tanya Rosenblit move to the back of a public bus from Ashdod to
Jerusalem due to haredi protests, but she was allowed to refuse and
stay at the front of the bus. There were also reports of increased
segregation at the Western Wall compound, including maintaining the
country's only men-only walkway. In December harassment of an eight-
year-old girl attending a Modern Orthodox school in Beit Shemesh by
haredi men sparked large protests against haredi attempts to segregate
genders in public spaces, with hundreds of haredim responding by
rioting, lighting fires, and throwing stones when police took down
haredi signs calling for separation of the sexes. According to the
Ministry of Education, gender segregation was in effect at 65 percent
of the state-funded religious elementary schools in the country,
compared with 25 percent in 2001.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide the number, spacing, and timing of children, and had the
information and means to do so free from discrimination, although women
in haredi communities often had to seek approval from a rabbi to use
contraception.
Discrimination.--In the secular criminal and civil courts, women
and men enjoyed the same rights, but religious courts responsible for
adjudication of family law limit the rights of Jewish and Muslim women.
A Jewish woman is allowed to initiate divorce proceedings, but her
husband must give his consent to make the divorce final. Because some
men refuse to grant the divorce, thousands of ``agunot'' (chained
women) may not remarry or give birth to legitimate children. Rabbinical
tribunals may, and sometimes did, sanction a husband who refused
divorce but still did not grant a divorce without his consent. A Muslim
woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the Sharia courts
without her husband's consent under certain conditions, and a marriage
contract may provide for other circumstances in which she may obtain a
divorce without her husband's consent. A Muslim man may divorce his
wife without her consent and without petitioning the court. Christians
may seek official separations or divorces, depending on the
denomination, through ecclesiastical courts.
Although the law prohibits discrimination based on gender in
employment and wages and provides for class action suits, women across
most ethnic and religious groups faced labor discrimination. According
to international surveys, women earned on average 53 percent of the
amount earned by men in comparable positions.
The government enacted a number of programs to improve the status
of women in the workplace and society. The Authority for the
Advancement of the Status of Women in the Prime Minister's Office works
to mainstream women's participation in the government and private
sector, along with combating sexual harassment and domestic violence.
Every city, local council, and government ministry in the country is
required to have an adviser working to advance women's issues. The
authority works with these advisers to develop action plans, submits
regular opinions on Knesset legislation, and conducts 40 ``empowerment
courses'' annually for women in cities across the country, particularly
in the periphery and among Arab citizens. It also regularly provides
materials on sexual harassment and ensures that job advertisements use
gender-neutral language.
Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship at birth is derived
within or outside of the country to at least one citizen parent. Births
are registered within 10 days of the delivery.
Education.--Education is free, universal, and compulsory through
age 17, which usually coincides with the 12th grade. Compulsory
education was not enforced, however, in unrecognized Bedouin villages
in the Negev, and many Bedouin families prevented Bedouin girls from
travelling to school. Bedouin children continued to have the highest
illiteracy rate in the country. The government operated separate school
systems for Hebrew-speaking children and Arabic-speaking children. For
Jewish children there were separate school systems for religious and
secular families. Individuals could choose to attend a school
regardless of ethnicity. Haredi political parties continued to oppose
government regulation of their government-funded school systems.
Child Abuse.--The National Council of the Child received numerous
complaints during the year covering issues of health, welfare services,
education, physical and sexual abuse of children, child pornography,
and poor educational environments. The government provided specialized
training to psychologists, offered a free psychological treatment
program to treat child victims of sexual offenses, and operated a 24-
hour emergency hotline.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law prohibits sexual
exploitation of a minor and sets a penalty of at least seven to 20
years' imprisonment for violators, depending on the circumstances. The
minimum age of consensual sex is 16 years; consensual sexual relations
with a minor between the ages of 14-16 is not necessarily considered
rape but is punishable by five years' imprisonment. According to the
government, an estimated 100-150 girls and dozens of boys were
exploited for prostitution annually. The government supported a number
of programs to combat sexual exploitation of children, including
establishing an interministerial research team, preparation of
educational materials, and numerous training sessions for government
and police officials. According to the Ministry of Welfare, there were
many cases of children with disabilities who were sexually assaulted
that awaited investigation during the year.
International Child Abductions.--The country is party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
For information see the Department of State's report on compliance at
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/
congressreport--4308.html.
Anti-Semitism.--There were numerous reports of anti-Semitic acts
perpetrated by members of minority groups, including desecration of
Jewish tombstones on the Mount of Olives. In October unknown persons
desecrated a number of synagogues in the city of Safed with
inscriptions on the walls including one that read ``death to the
Jews.'' The Safed police launched an investigation into the incident.
The government operated a special department in the State Attorney's
Office for prosecution of incitement-related crimes.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides a framework to
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in access to
employment, education, health care, and selected other state services.
The legislation mandates access to buildings, transportation, and
physical accommodations and services in the workplace. According to
NGOs the government made limited progress in enforcing these laws.
Societal discrimination and lack of accessibility persisted in
employment, transportation, housing, and education. The unemployment
rate for hard-of-hearing persons was 14 percent, compared to 7 percent
of the broader population, although NGOs said the figure was
underreported. The average monthly income of people with disabilities
was 64 percent lower than monthly income for other workers, according
to NGOs. Most train stations maintained access for persons with
disabilities, but interurban buses did not. As of September 2010
approximately 70 percent of buses did not have such access. In housing,
few community-based independent living options were available for
persons with mental or intellectual disabilities. The government and
NGOs cooperated and built infrastructure and materials for students
with disabilities during the year. NGOs noted that hard-of-hearing
students sometimes were channeled into inappropriate tracks such as
schools for mentally disabled persons. Such problems were generally
more acute in the Israeli Arab population.
The Commission for Equal Rights of People with Disabilities within
the Ministry of Justice is responsible for protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities but relies on government ministries to enact
regulations. The commission took legal action in the areas of
accessibility and employment and issued regulations to provide access
to services and public sites. According to three NGOs (Bekol, Bizchut,
and Al Manarah), however, implementation of these regulations was slow
overall, especially for Israeli Arab communities. The Division for
Integrating Persons with Disabilities in the Labor Market within the
Ministry of Industry examines and promotes employment for persons with
disabilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services
provides out-of-home placement and sheltered employment for persons
with cognitive, physical, and communication disabilities. It also
handles criminal investigations involving persons with certain
disabilities, either victims or offenders, when police request
assistance. The National Insurance Agency provides financial benefits
and stipends, the Ministry of Health provides mental health and
rehabilitation services, and the Ministry of Education provides special
education services. A report during the year by the Commission for
Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities found that the socioeconomic
status of people with disabilities was worse than that of the general
population.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arab citizens of the country
faced institutional and societal discrimination. Tensions between Arabs
and Jews were sometimes high in areas where the two communities
overlap, such as Jerusalem, the Galilee, and Negev, and in some cities
with historically separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods.
On March 23, the Knesset codified into law the longtime practice of
community admissions committees determining someone's suitability for
moving into small communities of fewer than 400 families in the Negev
and Galilee. The law prohibits any discrimination based on ``race,
religion, gender, nationality, disability, age, parentage, sexual
orientation, country of origin, or political affiliation,'' but NGOs
petitioned the High Court to overturn it, alleging that in practice the
admissions committees restricted Arabs from living in small Jewish
communities and could use criteria such as military service to exclude
Arab citizens from admission into communities.
According to NGOs, new ``kosher certificates'' indicating that no
Arabs were employed by a business were found in several businesses
during the reporting period. Numerous ``death to Arabs'' slogans were
spray-painted along highways during the reporting period, including
across a pedestrian bridge in Herzeliya.
In June the mayor of Nazaret-Illit, Shimon Gafso, said that his
city would never be a ``mixed city,'' despite its high percentage of
Arab residents, and that he would never house a mosque or permit
Christian residents to light Christmas trees in public places.
Referring to clashes between Arab citizens and police in October 2000,
Gafso added, ``If I had participated in the events, then there would
have been more Arabs killed.''
Immediately following an October 3 arson attack on a mosque in
Tuba-Zangariyye, the government strongly condemned the incident, and
President Peres, the chief rabbis, and many religious leaders visited
the mosque the next day.
On November 23, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ordered an
investigation into Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu's statements concerning
the Arab minority. Eliyahu, who is a government employee, reportedly
called on citizens not to rent apartments to Arabs in Safed and to
expel the city's Arab residents.
The law exempts Arab citizens, except for Druze, from mandatory
military service, but some serve voluntarily. Citizens who do not
perform military service enjoy fewer societal and economic benefits and
are sometimes discriminated against in hiring practices. Citizens
generally were ineligible to work in companies with defense contracts
or in security-related fields if they had not served in the military.
The government managed a National Civil Service program for citizens
not drafted for military service, giving Arabs, haredi Jews, Orthodox
Jewish women, and others the opportunity to provide public service in
their own communities and thus be eligible for the same financial
benefits accorded military veterans.
The government began implementing a new economic development fund
for Arab and other minority populations. The 800 million NIS
(approximately $210 million) ``Arab plan'' focused on 12 Arab-majority
towns and villages, investing in housing, transport, community-based
law enforcement, and job training (particularly for Arab women). A
majority of the funding for housing and transport projects was made
available through a combination of private sector investments, public
tenders, and government matching funds.
Resources devoted to Arabic education were inferior to those
devoted to Hebrew education in the public education system and some
Arabs in ethnically mixed cities chose to study in Hebrew instead. The
separate school systems produce a large variance in education quality,
with just 31 percent of Arabs qualifying for university acceptance on
the matriculation exam, compared to 76 percent of Jews, according to
Central Bureau of Statistics findings in 2009.
Approximately 93 percent of land was in the public domain,
including approximately 12.5 percent owned by the NGO Jewish National
Fund (JNF), whose statutes prohibit sale or lease of land to non-Jews.
According to a 2005 attorney general ruling, the government cannot
discriminate against Arab citizens in marketing and allocating lands it
manages, including those of the JNF. As an interim measure, the
government agreed to compensate the JNF for any land it leased to an
Arab by transferring an equal amount of land from the Israel Lands
Administration to the JNF. Legal petitions against the JNF policy of
leasing public land only to Jews continued at year's end. The NGO
Israel Land Fund continued its program to purchase Arab land throughout
the country and market it to Jewish buyers, including in the diaspora;
the organization claimed that all the land belonged to Jewish people
and described as a ``danger'' the purchase of Jewish-owned lands by
non-Jews. Various Arab NGOs similarly bought land and built exclusively
for Arabs.
New construction is illegal in towns that do not have an authorized
outline plan for development, which is the legal responsibility of
local authorities. At year's end according to the government, 47 of the
country's 128 Arab communities had fully approved planning schemes, 29
had outline plans in the final stages of the localities' approval
process, seven were still developing their outline plans, and 45 were
promoting detailed plans for their updated outline plans. Localities
are also responsible for initiating and submitting urban outline plans
to the district committees, which are responsible for approving any
expansion of the municipalities.
While Arab communities in the country generally faced economic
difficulties, the Bedouin segment of the Arab population continued to
be the most disadvantaged. More than half of the population of an
estimated 160,000 Bedouin lived in seven state-planned communities and
the Abu Basma Regional Council. Approximately 60,000 Bedouin lived in
at least 46 unrecognized tent or shack villages that did not have water
and electricity and lacked educational, health, and welfare services.
Bedouins living in established towns enjoyed the same services provided
to all citizens. The government-sponsored Committee for the Arab,
Druze, and Circassian Populations' Affairs built six centers to provide
water to areas that included unrecognized villages. Some direct water
connections were also made to families residing in unrecognized
villages. The government reported that there were numerous pirated
connections to water pipelines absent authorization of the Israel
National Water Corporation.
On June 6, the Supreme Court ruled on Adalah's 2006 appeal, stating
that the Water Tribunal should provide basic access to water for
persons living in unrecognized villages but was not obligated to
provide additional water access to half of the petitioners who already
possessed legal places of residence in recognized towns.
In the unrecognized ``villages'' constructed without official
authorization on state land in the Negev claimed by various Bedouin
tribes, all buildings were illegal and subject to demolition. In July
the state commenced legal proceedings against 34 residents of the
unrecognized ``village'' of Al-Arakib to recover 1.8 million NIS
($471,500), the cost of demolishing their homes approximately two dozen
times since 2010. Al-Arakib had been repeatedly rebuilt illegally on
state land since 1998, despite multiple eviction orders and a 2007
Supreme Court decision.
The government maintained a program to encourage Bedouins to
relocate from unrecognized villages to established towns by providing
low-cost land and compensation for demolition of illegal structures for
those willing to move to designated permanent locations. Many Bedouin
complained that moving to government-planned towns required giving up
claims to land they had lived on for several generations, while the
government claimed it was difficult to provide services to clusters of
buildings throughout the Negev that ignored planning procedures.
The law bars family reunification in cases where one spouse is a
non-Jewish citizen of Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon. Palestinian male
spouses who are 35 or older and female spouses who are 25 or older may
apply for temporary visit permits but may not receive residency based
on their marriage and have no path to citizenship. The government
originally enacted the law following 23 terrorist attacks involving
suicide bombers from the occupied territories who had gained access to
Israeli identification through family unification. During the year
human rights NGOs and international organizations continued to
criticize this ban, which primarily affected Palestinian spouses of
Arab citizens. In 2009 in response to an NGO petition, the Supreme
Court demanded an explanation within six months from the government for
its refusal to grant social and health insurance to an estimated 5,000
Palestinian spouses of citizens who were granted ``staying permits'' to
reside legally in Israel. In January 2010 the court recommended the
government provide a temporary solution that would be in place until an
official policy could be formulated. In July 2010 the government
requested an additional five months to formulate a response regarding
the provision of social benefits to nonresidents. The committee was
deliberating recommendations at year's end.
The government prohibits Druze citizens, like all citizens, from
visiting Syria. The government allowed noncitizen Druze from the Golan
Heights to visit holy sites in Syria through the ICRC-managed
pilgrimage program, but it has prevented family visitations since 1982.
A estimated population of 130,000 Ethiopian Jews faced persistent
societal discrimination, although officials and the majority of
citizens quickly and publicly condemned discriminatory acts against
them. In May 2010 approximately 200 parents and children protested
racial segregation in Beer Sheva's Otzar Haim kindergarten, where they
claimed Ethiopian Jewish children were educated in a room separate from
the rest of the children. An official from the Industry, Trade, and
Labor Ministry then visited the site and forced the school to cease the
segregation. There were reports of discrimination in admissions
targeting Ethiopian Jews in the school system of Petah Tikva during the
year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits
discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the government
generally enforced these laws, although discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity persisted in some parts of society. The
Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance activities received public
financing after a 2010 Supreme Court ruling mandated that the Jerusalem
Municipality must allocate financial support after previous refusals.
There were no reports of violence against the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender community during the year.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were some reports
of societal violation or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS,
including doctors denying medical consultation and care to HIV-positive
individuals and a case of an HIV-positive individual excluded from his
congregation after the head of the congregation discovered he was HIV-
positive. According to NGOs, several hundred HIV-positive asylum
seekers did not receive antiretroviral medication since they lacked
access to the public health system. There were also reports of deaths
of HIV-positive asylum seekers during the year, whose situations
deteriorated due to lack of treatment.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law protects the right of workers to form and join independent
unions, strike, earn minimum wage and overtime, and bargain
collectively. These laws also applied to foreign workers, but they
faced difficulty in practice.
The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination, and none
was reported.
Rights to association and collective bargaining were generally
respected for citizens; however, foreign workers often faced
difficulties exercising these rights. Worker organizations were
independent of the government and political interference.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor and criminalizes labor exploitation;
however, laws concerning minimum employment conditions and foreign
workers were not effectively enforced.
The Ministry of Interior revoked the license of a manpower
recruitment agency for not fulfilling contract obligations to monitor
labor rights abuses.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws
provide for protection of children from exploitation in the workplace
and prohibit forced or compulsory labor; the government generally
enforced these laws.
Children at least 14 years old may be employed during official
school holidays in light work that will not harm their health. Children
at least 15 years old who have completed education through grade nine
may be employed as apprentices. Working hours for those children
between16 and 18 years old are restricted in all sectors.
During the year the Labor Laws Enforcement Division in the Ministry
of Industry, Trade, and Labor initiated 250 investigations,
investigated more than 1,000 employers for allegedly violating the law,
filed 55 indictments against employers, and imposed 822 administrative
fines totaling approximately NIS 10.5 million ($2.8 million). There
were reports of Palestinian children working illegally in Jerusalem's
central market.
The Labor Law Enforcement Division conducted national campaigns
regarding employment terms of youth to promote the implementation of
youth labor laws, especially during summer vacation.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was 21
NIS ($5.50) per hour; many foreign workers received less. The official
poverty line was 2,413 NIS ($632) for one person per month and 5,116
NIS ($1,340) for a family of three. Persons with disabilities whose
working capacity was reduced due to their disability earned between 19
and 50 percent of minimum wage. Youth below the age of 18 earned
between 60 and 83 percent of the minimum wage. The law allows a maximum
43-hour workweek at regular pay and paid annual holidays. Premium pay
for overtime was 125 percent for the first two hours and 150 percent
for any additional hours, with a limit of 15 hours of overtime per
week. Some workers, such as migrant workers in the homecare sector,
were not covered by the law.
The Labor Inspection Service, along with union representatives,
enforced labor, health, and safety standards in the workplace. Fifty-
six labor inspectors operated throughout the country, but only six were
dedicated to foreign worker violations. Resource constraints affected
overall enforcement, and according to NGOs the country failed to fully
enforce its labor laws. Existing penalties were not sufficient to deter
violations.
In 2010 there were 49 fatal working accidents that resulted in 53
workers killed and 12,152 notices on working accidents that resulted in
workers' injuries, according to the government. According to the
National Insurance Institution, there were 67,633 claims for work-
related injury payments in 2010. During the first half the year, 32
workers died as a result of work-related accidents, more than half in
the construction sector. Female migrant workers in the homecare sector
remained particularly vulnerable to abuse and forced labor. On May 16,
the Knesset passed amendments to the Law of Entry that grant the
Interior Ministry the discretion to bind foreign workers to narrowly
defined subcategories within the homecare sector and geographic
regions. NGOs asserted that the binding of migrant workers created
vulnerability to human trafficking. NGOs also reported receiving
increased complaints of labor violations in the homecare sector
following the amendments to the Law of Entry.
In the homecare sector, the live-in arrangements and lack of labor
law protections and inspections led to many cases of exploitative
working conditions among women migrant workers. During the year the NGO
Kav LaOved filed 830 complaints on behalf of foreign caregivers,
including allegations of underpayment of wages, physical violence,
sexual harassment, and unsuitable employment conditions.
Some foreign workers reported unlawful withholding of passports,
restrictions on movement, the inability to change or otherwise choose
one's employer, nonpayment of wages, threats, and physical
intimidation. There were numerous documented cases, but few employer
prosecutions, concerning foreign laborers' living in harsh conditions
and subject to debt bondage. Foreign agricultural workers, construction
workers, and nursing care workers--particularly women--were at greatest
risk for abuse, including trafficking, forced labor, nonpayment, and
withholding of wages.
The first foreign worker strike, involving hundreds of Thai
agricultural workers, occurred on July 11 in response to alleged
underpayment of wages, excessive hours of work, and employer coercion
at the Moshav Achituv (privately owned farm cooperative). Following the
strike the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor issued administrative
orders to improve working conditions, while inspectors continued to
investigate the extent of the violations.
In December the Ministry of Interior revoked the license of one
manpower recruitment agency for not fulfilling contract obligations to
monitor labor rights abuses.
On April 13, the Supreme Court overturned a government regulation
requiring female foreign workers to leave the country within three
months of giving birth. The court ruled that the previous ``procedure
for the handling of a pregnant migrant worker'' was unconstitutional
due to its violation of a migrant woman's basic right to family and
parenthood. NGOs charged that the Ministry of Interior failed to abide
by the court ruling through year's end.
The NGO Kav LaOved also filed hundreds of complaints with police
regarding labor rights abuses and legal violations at moshavim
(privately owned farms) and kibbutzim (private communities) throughout
the country. Allegations included health and safety violations, such as
prolonged exposure to pesticides, nonpayment for overtime, excessive
working hours, and poor living conditions.
Brokers and employers collected hiring fees from migrant workers.
The government limited such fees to NIS 3,135 (approximately $820) per
worker. However, Kav LaOved asserted that foreign workers paid
brokerage fees of NIS 10,000-13,000 (approximately $2,620-$3,405) in
the agriculture sector and from NIS 6,000-13,000 (approximately $1,570-
$3,405) in the homecare sector. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
initiated a pilot program to recruit foreign agricultural workers
directly from Thailand and other countries as a means of eliminating
brokerage fees.
______
The Occupied Territories
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Palestinian Authority (PA) had a democratically elected
president and legislative council. The PA exercised varying degrees of
authority over the Palestinian population in the West Bank and none
over Arab residents of East Jerusalem due to the Israel Defense Forces'
(IDF) continuing presence in the West Bank and Israel's extension of
Israeli law and authority to East Jerusalem in 1967. The PA had little
authority in the Gaza Strip and none over Israeli residents of the West
Bank. In the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections,
candidates backed by Hamas, a terrorist organization, won 74 of 132
seats in elections that generally met democratic standards. In 2007
President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the national unity government after
Hamas staged a violent takeover of PA government installations in the
Gaza Strip and killed hundreds in the Fatah movement--the largest
faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)--and PA security
forces. President Abbas appointed a cabinet of independents led by
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad that continued to govern the West Bank
during the year. Both PA and Israeli security forces reported to
civilian authorities. Hamas maintained control of security forces in
the Gaza Strip. Various terrorist organizations, including Hamas in a
number of cases, launched rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli
targets from inside the Gaza Strip.
The three most egregious human rights violations across the
occupied territories were arbitrary arrest and associated torture and
abuse, often with impunity and particularly against security or
political prisoners, by multiple actors in the region; restrictions on
civil liberties; and the inability of residents of the Gaza Strip under
Hamas to choose or hold to account their own government.
Other human rights problems under the PA in the West Bank included
at least one reported unlawful killing. Some detainees faced abuse and
mistreatment, overcrowded detention facilities, arbitrary arrest, and
in some cases prolonged detention. Corruption, although reduced from
previous years, remained a problem. Societal discrimination and abuse
against women, discrimination against persons with disabilities, and
child labor remained serious problems.
In addition to the lack of political freedom for residents of the
Gaza Strip, human rights violations under Hamas reportedly included
security forces killing, torturing, arbitrarily detaining, and
harassing opponents, Fatah members, and other Palestinians with
impunity. Hamas and other Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza
Strip also launched rockets and mortars against civilian targets in
Israel, killing and injuring civilians. Gaza-based civil rights
organizations reported that prisoners were held in poor conditions in
Gaza Strip detention facilities. Authorities reportedly failed to
provide fair trials to a number of accused prisoners, including
political prisoners. Hamas also significantly restricted the freedoms
of speech, religion, and movement of Gaza Strip residents. Corruption
was reportedly a problem. Hamas promoted gender discrimination against
women, and domestic violence was a problem.
Human rights problems related to Israeli authorities included
reports of excessive use of force against civilians, including
killings; abuse of Palestinian detainees, including minors and
political prisoners, particularly during arrest and interrogation;
austere and overcrowded detention facilities; improper use of security
detention procedures and incommunicado detention; demolition and
confiscation of Palestinian property; limitations on freedom of
expression and assembly; and severe restrictions on Palestinians'
internal and external freedom of movement. The IDF maintained
restrictions on the trade of goods into and out of the Gaza Strip and
largely limited the travel of Palestinians out of Gaza to humanitarian
cases, in addition to some business travelers.
The PA, Israeli, and Hamas authorities took minimal steps to
address impunity or reduce abuses. There were reports that the IDF and
Hamas did not adequately pursue investigations and disciplinary actions
related to violations.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the PA committed at least one unlawful killing during the year. On
April 24, a PA security forces officer shot at a vehicle exiting
Nablus, killing Ben Yosef Livnat, an Israeli citizen, and wounding four
others who had attended prayer services at Joseph's Tomb. The
worshippers reportedly had failed to coordinate their visit with
Israeli and PA authorities as required. PA security forces investigated
the incident and found four officers at fault. The officer who killed
Livnat was removed from duty.
Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, committed unlawful
killings in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
For example, on March 11, 17-year-old Hakim and 19-year-old Amjad
Awad, cousins affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP), stabbed and killed five members of the Israeli Fogel
family, including two young children and an infant, in their home in
the settlement of Itamar, near Nablus, in the West Bank. On September
13, Israel's Samaria Military Court sentenced Hakim to 130 years in
prison, which he began serving immediately. Amjad was convicted of five
counts of murder on November 28 but had not been sentenced by year's
end.
On April 15, Salafist militants reportedly killed Vittorio
Arrigoni, an Italian pro-Palestinian activist living in the Gaza Strip.
After claiming to have captured two Salafist suspects shortly after the
killing, the Hamas ministry of interior announced the capture of two
additional suspects on April 19 following a raid by Hamas security
forces in which another two Salafists were killed. During the first
hearing in a military court in Gaza City in late September, the four
suspects claimed their videotaped confessions had been extracted under
torture. The trial was ongoing at year's end.
Hamas and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, including the armed
wings of the Popular Resistance Committees, Palestinian Islamic Jihad
(PIJ), PFLP, and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, launched indiscriminate
rocket attacks into Israel. According to Israeli government statistics,
Palestinian terrorist acts emanating from the West Bank killed seven
Israeli civilians and one foreign tourist. Eight Israeli civilians died
in violence emanating from the Gaza Strip. Four of those who died were
minors. During the year approximately 700 rockets, mortars, and Grad
missiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, according
to data compiled by the IDF's Home Front Command.
According to local media and the Independent Commission for Human
Rights (ICHR), a PA human rights institution, Hamas unlawfully executed
at least five persons by hanging and gunfire in the Gaza Strip during
the year. By law the PA president must ratify the death penalty, but
Hamas did not contact the PA regarding the executions. For instance, on
July 26, Hamas hanged Mahmoud and Rami Abu Qenas, reportedly convicted
in 2004 of murder and collaborating with Israel.
The Israeli government killed Palestinian civilians as well as
militants, mostly in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank. Israeli
security forces killed 105 Palestinians in Gaza and 10 in the West Bank
during the year. Some of these killings were unlawful. Eighteen of
those killed in the Gaza Strip were minors. The Israeli government
launched missile, unmanned aerial vehicle, and fighter aircraft strikes
in the Gaza Strip, killing 49 Palestinians whom the Israeli Information
Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B'Tselem)
described as participating in hostilities through their membership in
Hamas's military wing or the PIJ (a terrorist organization) and at
least 40 of whom B'Tselem described as not participating in
hostilities. The IDF used tanks and remote-controlled weapons stations
to fire on Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip. IDF personnel maintained
secure stations every several hundred yards along the border fence;
each station contained machine guns with a nearly one-mile firing
range. The IDF's tanks also sometimes fired ammunition with
``flechette'' projectiles, which explode in midair, releasing thousands
of 1.5-inch metal darts that disperse in an arc 328 yards wide.
On January 7, IDF troops from the Duvdevan elite counterterrorism
unit entered the house of 66-year-old Omar Salim Suliman al-Qawasmeh in
Hebron, in the West Bank, and shot and killed him in his bed during a
nighttime raid. The IDF spokesman later stated that troops had entered
the wrong house. On January 19, the IDF issued a statement saying that,
while the initial shots were fired as a result of suspicious movement,
a second soldier also fired at al-Qawasmeh in response to the first
soldier's shots. The IDF ended the second soldier's military service.
The IDF killed a Palestinian demonstrator during the year. On
December 9, during a weekly demonstration in Nabi Saleh, an IDF soldier
fired a tear gas canister at close range toward a stone-throwing
protester, Mustafa Tamimi, who died as a result of wounds after the
canister directly struck his face. The IDF spokesperson stated that the
incident was ``exceptional'' and was a result of the soldier's
inability to see the protester clearly. Nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) disputed this claim, pointing to photos and video coverage that
showed the IDF soldier aiming directly at the protester's face. The IDF
launched an investigation into the incident.
There were also continued reports of Israeli forces killing
Palestinians in restricted areas in the Gaza Strip. In September the
U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported
that Israel aerially distributed leaflets across the Gaza Strip warning
residents that their lives would be at risk if they approached within
300 meters of the ``buffer zone'' separating Gaza from Israeli
territory. In practice Israel regularly enforced the buffer zone by
firing toward Palestinians approaching at distances well beyond 330
yards, and UNOCHA reported several cases of civilians being shot at
distances beyond 365 yards during the year.
The IDF also fired at minors working inside or near the Gaza Strip
buffer zone. For example, on August 16, IDF fire killed 17-year-old
Mahmoud al-Majdalawi, who reportedly suffered from a mental disability,
at a distance of approximately 440 feet from the perimeter fence.
Defense for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-Palestine)
reported six children shot by IDF fire during the year as far as 660
yards out from the Gaza buffer zone, noting that most of the children
were shot in the leg while collecting gravel, without apparent intent
to kill.
The IDF announced it opened investigations into some civilian
deaths in Gaza and the West Bank. However, various human rights groups
claimed that the Israeli government failed to investigate violence
thoroughly, including that which resulted in Palestinian deaths,
whether by the IDF or by Israeli settlers (for the latter, see section
6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities). According to B'Tselem, the
Israeli government did not order criminal investigations into cases in
which soldiers killed Palestinians who were not taking part in
hostilities. In addition Israeli law restricts the ability of
Palestinians who have been harmed by illegal acts by Israeli security
forces to seek compensation in Israeli courts.
On September 25, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that the
Israeli government pay NIS 1.6 million (approximately $420,000) to the
family of Abir Aramin, a 10-year-old who was shot in the back of the
head with an IDF rubber bullet in Jerusalem in 2007, according to press
reports. A 2010 ruling from the same court determined that the state of
Israel was responsible for her death, noting that the bullet was fired
in violation of orders. Previously, on July 10, the Israeli High Court
of Justice rejected a petition by Aramin's family to indict the border
police officers responsible for her death. However, the court's
decision was based on the fact that it was difficult to investigate the
death four years later. The judges criticized the border police for not
opening an investigation immediately, stating that an immediate
investigation should follow any violent incident that causes severe
injury or the death of a civilian.
The PA set up a commission that looked into the PA violations
during the Operation Cast Lead conflict in 2008-09 and published a
report on its findings. Since the principal Palestinian violations
during Cast Lead were committed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the PA was
unable to effectively hold perpetrators accountable. In previous years
NGOs criticized Hamas for not pursuing investigations into violations
during Operation Cast Lead.
During the year there were no new Israeli indictments related to
violations by Israeli forces during Operation Cast Lead. Various human
rights organizations stated that many of their requests for information
about investigations went unanswered, but the military advocate general
(MAG) responded to B'Tselem's inquiries about specific cases, reporting
that four out of nine cited cases did not lead to investigations. In
other cases where investigations were completed, the MAG's reporting to
B'Tselem documented that legal proceedings did not result for every
case cited by the organization. NGOs such as B'Tselem pointed to such
findings to protest what they considered a lack of serious
investigation into alleged human rights violations and opined that
insufficient attention was paid to responsibility related to the chain
of command.
b. Disappearance.--In the West Bank there were no reports of
politically motivated disappearances in connection with internal
Palestinian conflict, largely due to improved security conditions in
recent years.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas security operatives carried out
extrajudicial detentions based on political affiliation during the
year. Information concerning the whereabouts and welfare of those
detained was not consistently or reliably available, and many of those
detained were denied due process or access to family and legal counsel.
On October 18, Hamas released Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier
abducted in 2006 in a cross-border attack from the Gaza Strip, as part
of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The PA Basic Law prohibits torture or use of force against
detainees; however, international human rights groups reported that
abuse and torture remained a problem across the occupied territories.
Palestinian detainees held by PA security forces registered more
than 816 complaints of abuse and torture with the ICHR during the year.
Reported abuse by PA authorities in the West Bank included forcing
prisoners to sit in a painful position for long periods, beating,
punching, flogging, intimidation, and psychological pressure.
Independent observers noted that abuse was not systematic or routinely
practiced in PA prisons, although some prisoners experienced abuse
during arrest or interrogation. The PA Corrections and Rehabilitation
Centers Department (CRCD) reported no cases of inmate abuse by its
staff. However, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that credible reports
of torture by PA security services continued during the year. The PA
General Administration for Reform and Rehabilitation Center, under the
authority of the PA Ministry of Interior, operated a mechanism for
reviewing complaints of prisoner abuse in civil prisons.
Detainees held by Hamas filed at least 304 claims of abuse and
torture with the ICHR during the year. In the Gaza Strip, security
elements under the Hamas ministry of interior tortured and abused
purported security detainees, persons associated with the PA or the
Fatah political party, those held on suspicion of ``collaboration''
with Israel, civil society activists, journalists, and those who had
reportedly engaged in ``immoral'' activity. Hamas also reportedly
deployed undercover officers to assault such persons. The Office of the
U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) reported three deaths in
detention as a result of Hamas torture between December 2010 and
November 2011. The ICHR reported that complaints of abuse included
being forced to stand in uncomfortable stress positions, flogging, hand
binding, suspension, blindfolding, punching, and beatings with clubs or
hoses. For example HRW reported that on February 28-29, Hamas police
and plainclothes security officers detained, beat, and tortured Ahmad
Arar, who had organized a demonstration in Gaza City calling for
Palestinian unity. According to HRW, Hamas police beat Arar, forced him
into stress positions, denied him medical care, threatened him with
electrocution, and coerced him into confessing affiliation with the PA.
Hamas reportedly took little or no action to investigate reports of
torture, and documentation of abuses was limited, due to victims' fear
of retribution and to lack of access to Gaza Strip prisoners by NGOs or
PA officials.
Human rights organizations reported that ``physical interrogation
methods'' permitted by Israeli law and used by Israeli security
personnel could amount in practice to torture; these included beatings,
forcing an individual to hold a stress position for long periods, and
painful pressure from shackles or restraints applied to the forearms.
Israeli and Palestinian NGOs continued to criticize these and other
Israeli detention practices they termed abusive, including isolation,
sleep deprivation, and psychological abuse, such as threats to
interrogate spouses, siblings, or elderly parents, or demolish family
homes.
Israeli authorities reportedly used similar tactics on Palestinian
minors. DCI-Palestine claimed Israeli security services continued to
abuse and in some cases torture minors who were frequently arrested on
suspicion of stone throwing to coerce confessions. Tactics included
beatings, long-term handcuffing, threats, and solitary confinement.
DCI-Palestine reported in December that it had documented 34 cases of
minors held in solitary confinement at al-Jalame facility between 2008
and 2011. For example, according to DCI-Palestine, on November 4, the
IDF arrested 16-year-old R.S.J. in the West Bank settlement of Tzufin,
interrogated him using threats, and held him for 13 days in a small
cell with a light on 24 hours a day.
During the year the Public Committee Against Torture (PCATI), five
other NGOs, and nine other complainants submitted a petition to the
Israeli High Court of Justice demanding effective accountability
mechanisms in complaints of torture; this petition was still pending at
the end of the year. The PCATI also reported more than 700 complaints
that had yet to lead to a criminal investigation at year's end.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--PA prison conditions
improved in recent years, yet despite some improvements, the PA prison
system remained seriously inadequate and overcrowded for the prison
population it served. The PA Ministry of Health reported that prisoners
in PA facilities, including in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
suffered from ``extremely bad detention conditions.'' In the West Bank
some facilities did not have enough beds for all inmates, forcing some
to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Most prisons continued to lack
ventilation, heating, cooling, and lighting that conformed to
international standards. Inmates had sufficient access to potable
water. Space and capacity issues also reduced the availability of
medical care and vocational or other programs for inmates in civil
police prisons. There were no deaths reported in PA prisons from
adverse conditions. PA civil police prisons held 967 prisoners at the
end of the year, approximately 30 percent more than capacity. Male
juveniles were at times housed with adult male prisoners. Security
services used separate detention facilities. Conditions for women were
virtually identical to those for men; however, some detention centers
for women had limited outdoor recreation space.
All PA civil police prisons allowed visitors on a weekly basis,
religious observance, a procedure for submitting complaints through a
prison officer or directly to the warden, and an investigation process
for complaints. Recordkeeping was adequate, with the CRCD storing
information on computers, but access to records was not publicly
available. The PA investigated allegations of mistreatment. Although
ombudsmen cannot serve on behalf of prisoners, the ICHR played an
ombudsman role.
The PA generally permitted the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) access to detainees and allowed regular inspections of
prison conditions in accordance with the ICRC's standard modalities.
Preliminary, unpublished accounts by human rights groups, humanitarian
organizations, and lawyers indicated that, as in previous years, there
were some difficulties in gaining access to specific detainees,
depending on which security organization managed the facility.
PA authorities undertook prison improvement efforts at various
facilities, such as at the Dhahiriya Prison in Hebron District, where
authorities took steps to address overcrowding and moved prisoners from
outdoor recreation facilities and the kitchen to indoor, more
appropriate facilities. The PA Ministry of Interior also approved land
for a new prison and continued to build a 312-bed facility in Nablus in
line with international standards.
Prison conditions in the Gaza Strip were reportedly poor although
little information was available. Detention facilities were reportedly
below international legal or humanitarian standards. The ICRC conducted
monitoring visits to some prisoners in the Gaza Strip, but Hamas
authorities denied representatives permission to visit captured IDF
soldier Gilad Shalit prior to his October release.
IDF detention centers were less likely than Israeli civilian
prisons to meet international standards, with some, such as the Ofer
detention center, providing living space as small as 15 square feet per
detainee. The PCATI reported that, after it petitioned the Israeli High
Court in March to improve poor conditions in pretrial holding cells at
Ofer and Salem detention centers, these facilities improved. In
November 2010 B'Tselem and another Israeli human rights organization,
HaMoked, reported unsatisfactory conditions, including poor hygienic
conditions, in the Petah Tikva detention center under the Israel
Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet). ISA facilities were exempt from
regular independent inspections, and NGOs stated that poor conditions
appeared to be used as an interrogation or intimidation method.
Prisoners also continued to claim inadequate medical care.
According to sources in NGOs, approximately 4,500 Palestinians were
held in Israeli prisons at the end of the year. DCI-Palestine reported
that at year's end 135 minors were held in Israeli detention. Following
a change in the law in September (see section 1.d.), unlike in previous
years, Palestinian minors between 16 and 18 years of age were not held
in pre- or posttrial detention with adults, unless it ``benefited the
minor.'' DCI-Palestine reported that the law was open to wide
interpretation; aside from being used to allow children to be detained
with family members, it can also be used to provide some adult
Palestinian supervision over children's detention facilities.
The PCATI and DCI-Palestine reported that most reports of abuse or
poor conditions occurred during arrest and interrogation.
In June, according to the Palestinian NGO Addameer, the ISA
initiated a policy reportedly aimed at collectively punishing
Palestinian prisoners in response to the incarceration of Israeli
soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli authorities reportedly began shackling
prisoners' hands and legs more regularly; shortened family visits;
increased the frequency of night raids and searches; increased the
punitive use of isolation; banned prisoners' access to university
education, newspapers, and outside books; and limited television use
and channel availability. NGOs reported there was no information as to
whether this treatment ended once Gilad Shalit was released, but
confirmed that the ban on university education remained in force.
Detainees under Israeli control had access to potable water and
were allowed visitors and religious observance. There were no reports
of improvements in recordkeeping. NGOs claimed systematic failures to
investigate abuse claims. The PCATI reported that despite more than 600
complaints it filed since 1999, not one torture complaint resulted in a
criminal investigation, let alone a prosecution or conviction. This
remained a pattern during the year. The PCATI reported that the Israeli
government regularly dismissed complaints of abuse following a primary
examination by an ISA employee. NGOs reported that investigations into
IDF and police abuse were slow and ineffective but at times did lead to
prosecution. There was an ombudsman.
The government permitted visits by independent human rights
observers. The Israeli government permitted the ICRC to monitor prison
conditions in accordance with standard modalities. NGOs sent
representatives to meet with prisoners and inspect conditions in
prisons, detention centers, and IDF facilities, except ISA detention
and interrogation facilities, since security prisoners and facilities
remained inaccessible to independent monitors. Human rights groups
reported delays and difficulties in gaining access to specific
detainees, frequent transfers of detainees without notice, and the
limited ability of families of imprisoned Palestinians, particularly
Gazans, to visit.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Palestinian law prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice the PA failed to
charge detainees promptly. Hamas also charged that the PA detained
individuals during the year solely on the basis of their Hamas
affiliation.
Hamas reportedly practiced widespread arbitrary detention in the
Gaza Strip, particularly against Fatah members, civil society
activists, and others accused of publicly criticizing Hamas.
Israeli law provides safeguards against arbitrary arrest and
detention, but key safeguards do not apply to security detainees.
Palestinian security detainees are subject to the jurisdiction of
Israeli military law, which permits eight days' detention before
appearing before a military court. There is no requirement that a
detainee have access to a lawyer until after interrogation, a process
that may last weeks. The maximum period for such a prevention order,
according to military law, is 90 days; however, detention can be
renewed if deemed necessary. Denial of family visits, outside medical
professionals, or others outside of the ISA, the IDF, or the prison
service occurred. NGOs reported that persons undergoing interrogations
were often held incommunicado for several weeks.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--In West Bank
Palestinian population centers, mostly ``Area A'' as defined by the
Oslo-era agreements, the PA has formal responsibility for security and
civil control; however, since 2002 Israeli security forces have
regularly conducted security operations in Area A cities without
coordinating with PA security forces. In ``Area B'' territory in the
West Bank, composed mostly of small Palestinian villages and farmland,
the PA has civil control--including civil policing--but Israel retains
responsibility for security control. In ``Area C,'' which contains
Israeli settlements, military installations, some small Palestinian
villages and farmland, and open countryside, Israel retains full civil
and security control.
Six PA security forces operated in the West Bank. Many of the
security forces are under the PA Ministry of Interior's operational
control and follow the prime minister's guidance. The Palestinian Civil
Police (PCP) have primary responsibility for civil and community
policing. The National Security Force (NSF) conducts gendarmerie-style
security operations in circumstances that exceed the capabilities of
the civil police. The Military Intelligence (MI) agency, which is part
of the NSF, handles intelligence and criminal matters involving PA
security force personnel, including accusations of abuse. The MI is
responsible for investigations into allegations of abuse and corruption
involving PA security forces and can refer cases to court. The General
Intelligence (GI) service is responsible for external intelligence
gathering and operations; the Preventive Security Organization (PSO) is
responsible for these matters internally. The Presidential Guard (PG)
protects facilities and provides dignitary protection. Both the GI and
PG report to the president, while the other services report to the PA
Ministry of Interior. The Civil Defense service provides emergency
humanitarian response services including firefighting. Palestinian
security forces continued to show improvement during the year. The ICHR
continued to report complaints of abuse and torture at the hands of the
security forces to the PA, although it noted that most complaints were
filed against the PSO and GI agencies. The NSF, PG, PCP, and
corrections officers received basic training in human rights, and some
received more advanced training. The rate of reported complaints of
abuse and torture by the PA security forces decreased significantly in
recent years.
During the year the military judiciary claimed it would no longer
exercise jurisdiction over civilians, but NGOs reported that it was
unclear at year's end whether security agencies, rather than the civil
police, continued detaining civilians, including journalists.
In the Gaza Strip, forces under Hamas control maintained security.
Press and NGO reports suggested Hamas enforced strict control across
all sectors of society. Hamas police reportedly facilitated and
benefited from illegal activity, such as the operation of smuggling
tunnels. Impunity remained a problem in the Gaza Strip. The ICHR noted
that the internal security services in the Gaza Strip prohibited field
researchers from visiting detention centers and that authorities failed
to respond to ICHR letters. There were no reports of human rights
training or efforts to improve security services. There were numerous
instances in which Hamas either failed to deter violence, as in the
case of the murder of Vittorio Arrigoni (see section 1.a.), or was
complicit in organizing violence, such as rocket attacks into Israel
during the year.
Israeli authorities maintained their West Bank security presence
through the IDF, ISA, national police, and border police. Israeli
authorities in some instances investigated and punished abuse and
corruption, but there were several reports of failure to take
disciplinary action in cases of abuse. The IDF instituted a policy
during the year of conducting automatic investigations of claims of
abuse in military police custody; previously investigations were
initiated at the discretion of military personnel. However, NGOs stated
that automatic investigations only applied to military activity in the
West Bank. The policy did not apply to individuals reporting abuse in
custody. Israeli security forces remained effective; however, NGOs
reported that impunity remained a problem, in part because mechanisms
for investigating allegations were not effective. Reports of abuse go
to the attorney general's office; however, the PCATI reported that
allegations were systematically disregarded.
According to Israeli and Palestinian NGO and press reports, the IDF
was insufficiently responsive to violence perpetrated by Israeli
settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians, although the IDF
reportedly took proactive steps in October to protect Palestinians
harvesting olives from settler attacks, a common form of violence and
vandalism against Palestinian properties that the IDF did not
adequately address in previous years. In addition to attacks during the
olive harvest, there was an increase in settler violence, including
mosque burnings. UNOCHA reported that settler violence increased by 40
percent during the year. Settlers killed three Palestinians, and
settler violence injured 167 by the end of November. UNOCHA reported
that 90 percent of Palestinian complaints of settler violence in recent
years were closed without indictment.
The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) stated that
Israeli security and justice officials operating in predominantly Arab
East Jerusalem displayed bias against Arab residents in investigating
incidents involving Arab and Israeli actors. Palestinian residents in
the West Bank in several cases sought to press charges against Israeli
settlers or their security guards, but many complaints went
uninvestigated despite the availability of evidence.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--PA law
requires a warrant for arrest and provides for prompt judicial
determination of the legality of detention, and these provisions were
largely--but not uniformly--observed in practice. PA law allows police
to hold detainees without charge for 24 hours and with court approval
for up to 45 days; it requires that a trial must start within six
months, or the detainee must be released. PA security forces detained
persons outside of appropriate legal procedures, including without
warrants and without bringing them before judicial authorities within
the required timeframe, although there were no known detentions
extending beyond the time limit without trial. Bail and conditional
release were available at the discretion of judicial authorities.
Authorities generally informed detainees of the charges against them,
albeit sometimes not until interrogation. Detainees were granted access
to a lawyer. The indigent had the right to counsel; however, they were
generally provided lawyers through NGOs, not the PA.
In a number of cases, PA military intelligence reportedly exceeded
its legal authority to investigate other security services' officers
and detained civilians suspected of ``security offenses,'' such as
terrorist activities. Hamas continued to charge that the PA detained
individuals during the year solely on the basis of their Hamas
affiliation, but the PA presented evidence that many of these
individuals had been charged with criminal offenses under civil or
military codes. In several cases the PA disregarded civilian court
orders requiring the release of civilians suspected of terrorist
activity, citing countervailing military court orders.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas reportedly detained a large but
unverifiable number of persons during the year, largely without
recourse to legal counsel, judicial review, or bail. PA laws concerning
arrest apply in Gaza, but there was no indication Hamas enforced them.
Israeli authorities operated under military and legal codes in the
occupied territories. Israeli military law applied to Palestinians in
the West Bank. Israeli settlers were under the jurisdiction of Israeli
civil law. Under Israeli military law detainees can be held for up to
90 days without access to a lawyer and are frequently transferred from
the West Bank to Israel for detention or interrogation. Detainees were
informed of the charges against them during detention, but DCI-
Palestine reported that minors and their families were often not
informed during arrest. Israeli authorities stated that their policy is
to post notification of arrests within 48 hours, but senior officers
may delay notification for up to 12 days, effectively holding detainees
incommunicado, during the interrogation process. A military commander
may request that a judge extend this period indefinitely. In accordance
with the law, Israeli authorities generally provided Palestinians held
in Israeli military custody inside Israel access to a lawyer of their
choice (and lawyers were provided for the indigent), but impediments to
movement on West Bank roads or at crossings often made consultation
difficult and postponed trials and hearings. The government frequently
delayed notification to foreign government officials after detaining
their citizens in the occupied territories.
On September 27, Israel issued Military Order 1676, which was yet
to be published in Arabic at year's end, recategorizing Palestinians
between the ages of 16 and 18 as minors; previously Israel defined
minors in the occupied territories as under 16. The law requires
authorities to inform a minor of his right to legal counsel and
immediately notify parents of the arrest.
NGOs claimed that despite this law Israeli authorities reportedly
failed to inform parents where minor children would be taken when
arrested. The IDF also entered Palestinian homes at night to either
arrest or take pictures of children. DCI-Palestine reported that
authorities tortured and abused minors to coerce confessions (see
section 1.c.), and B'Tselem reported lack of parental presence at
interrogation, contrary to the law.
Israeli authorities ``administratively detained'' some persons on
security grounds. Several NGOs, including the PCATI, claimed that the
administrative detention process was abusive, arbitrary, and often
employed as a punitive deterrent measure. It reportedly relied on
evidence withheld from the detainees and their lawyers and allowed
authorities to bypass standard prosecutions. Administrative detainees,
according to B'Tselem, were not granted bail, were not guaranteed
access to counsel, and received insufficient information on the reasons
for their detention or the charges against them. In February, according
to B'Tselem, Israel held 309 Palestinians under ``administrative
detention'' without having charged them with an offense. A military
commander can issue administrative detention orders for up to six
months, renewable indefinitely, subject to review by a military judge.
During the year the ISA continued its practice of incommunicado
detention, including isolation from monitors, legal counsel, and family
throughout the duration of interrogation. A 2010 PCATI report found
that 90 percent of Palestinian prisoners interrogated by the ISA were
denied access to a lawyer. the Palestinian NGO Addameer reported that
isolation was used to punish detainees or silence politically prominent
Palestinian detainees; however, according to the Israeli government,
the Israel Prison Service (IPS) does not hold detainees in separate
detention punitively or to induce confessions, but rather only when a
detainee threatens himself or others and other options have been
exhausted, or in some cases during interrogation to prevent disclosing
information. In such cases the Israeli government maintained that the
detainee had the right to meet with ICRC representatives, IPS
personnel, and medical personnel if necessary.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The ICHR reported that arbitrary arrest by the
PA in the West Bank was a common practice, particularly arrests based
on political affiliation with Hamas. The organization received more
than 1,270 complaints of arbitrary arrests in the West Bank during the
year. HRW reported in April that PA security forces improperly detained
Palestinian journalists.
On July 2, according to an ICHR report, the Palestinian special
police and personnel from the NSF arrested and later released
protesters participating in a march organized by ``Hizb al-Tahrir'' in
Hebron on the anniversary of the ``Islamic Caliphate Collapse.'' The
ICHR reported that security forces beat protesters with batons and gun
butts.
The ICHR received more than 460 complaints of arbitrary arrests by
Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Many of these arrests and detentions appeared
to be politically motivated, targeting former PA officials, Fatah party
members, and those suspected of ties to Israel.
Throughout the year there were reports that Israeli security forces
in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank arbitrarily arrested and
detained Palestinian protesters and activists, particularly those
participating in demonstrations against the separation barrier.
Pretrial Detention.--The ICHR reported on at least 100 complaints
of Palestinians who were detained by PA security services and not
immediately released, even after courts ordered their release after
determining their detentions were illegal.
It was unclear how long detainees in Hamas custody stayed in
pretrial detention or what legal means, if any, Hamas used to detain
individuals.
There were reports that detention by Israeli authorities could
exceed the length of time that individuals would be sentenced for some
convictions. For example, on March 24, the IDF arrested Bassem Tamimi,
a Palestinian activist from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, for
organizing youth to throw stones at IDF soldiers. Popular Struggle
Coordination Committee contacts reported that in the six months
following his arrest, there were nearly 20 hearings related to his
case. The Committee reported that it expected the trial to last a least
a year, which would leave him in prison awaiting trial for a longer
duration than a typical sentence for related behavior.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Palestinian Basic Law provides
for an independent judiciary. In practice the PA generally respected
judicial independence and the autonomy of the High Judicial Council and
maintained authority over most court operations in the West Bank. PA-
affiliated prosecutors and judges stated that IDF prohibitions on
movement in the West Bank, including restrictions on the ability to
transport detainees and collect witnesses, hampered their ability to
dispense justice. In some cases involving investigations by PA
intelligence services in the West Bank, civilian defendants appeared
before the PA's military court system, which until 2011 had
jurisdiction over security personnel and crimes by civilians against
security forces. After Palestinian NGOs criticized this practice,
however, the PA mandated that civilians appear before civilian courts.
Hamas-appointed prosecutors and judges operated courts in the Gaza
Strip, although the PA considered them illegal.
Israeli law provides for an independent judiciary, and the
government generally respected civil court independence in practice.
The IDF tried Palestinians accused of security offenses (ranging from
rock throwing to membership in a terrorist organization to incitement)
in military courts, which some NGOs claimed were inadequate and unfair.
Israeli law defines security offenses to include a variety of different
charges.
Trial Procedures.--PA law provides for the right to a fair trial,
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Juries are not used. Trials are
public, except when the court determines privacy is required by PA
security, foreign relations, a party or witness's right to privacy, or
protection of a victim of a sexual offense or an ``honor'' crime.
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney
in a timely matter during the trial, although during the investigation
phase, the defendant only has the right to observe. The law provides
for legal representation, at public expense if needed, in felony cases,
but only during the trial phase. Defendants can confront or question
witnesses against them or present witnesses and evidence during the
trial, but not during the investigation phase; defendants may also
review government-held evidence and have the right to appeal.
Authorities generally observed these rights in practice.
As in previous years, the PA sought military judicial review and
court orders for detaining civilians suspected of terrorist activity.
In most of these incidents, the PA was unwilling to provide evidence
required by the civilian court system, and the military courts provided
a more efficient system to deal with any shortcomings in providing
evidence.
Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip follow the same criminal
procedure law as the PA in the West Bank but implemented these
procedures unevenly in practice.
Israelis living in settlements in the West Bank and in East
Jerusalem were tried under Israeli civil law in the nearest Israeli
district court. Israeli civil law applied to Palestinian residents of
East Jerusalem. Palestinians held by Israeli authorities in the West
Bank or in Israel were subject to trial in Israeli military courts.
Military court trials of Palestinians and others in the occupied
territories provide some, but not all, of the procedural rights granted
in criminal courts. The same evidentiary rules used in Israeli criminal
cases apply; for instance, convictions cannot be based solely on
confessions. In military trials, however, prosecutors often present
secret evidence that is not available to the defendant or counsel.
Indigent detainees do not automatically receive free legal counsel for
military trials, but in practice almost all detainees had counsel, in
part because NGOs would represent them. The military courts use Hebrew,
but the defendant has the right to simultaneous interpretation in every
hearing. Various human rights organizations claimed that Arabic
interpretation was insufficient, especially since most interpreters
were not professionals, but were instead bilingual Israelis performing
mandatory military service. Defendants can appeal through the Military
Court of Appeals and petition the High Court of Justice. Israeli
military courts rarely acquitted Palestinians charged with security
offenses; sentences occasionally were reduced on appeal. The military
courts' annual report revealed that 99.74 percent of cases heard
resulted in the defendant being found guilty.
Several NGOs claimed that Israeli military courts, which processed
approximately 7,000 Palestinians in the West Bank during the year, were
not equipped to adjudicate each case properly. NGOs and lawyers
reported that it was better to plead guilty and receive a reduced
sentence than to maintain innocence and go through a trial that could
last months, if not more than a year. Human rights lawyers also
reported that the structure of military trials, which take place in
military facilities with military officers as judges, prosecutors, and
court officials and have tight security restrictions, limited
defendants' rights to public trial and access to counsel.
Signed confessions by Palestinian minors, which were written in
Hebrew, a language most cannot read, continued to be used as a source
of evidence against minors prosecuted in Israeli military courts. NGOs
reported these confessions were often coerced during interrogations.
B'Tselem reported that Israeli military courts acquitted only one out
of 835 children accused of throwing stones between 2005 and 2010. Human
rights lawyers reported unfair circumstances in one of the rare cases
in which a child, Islam Dar Ayyoub, did not plead guilty. Dar Ayyoub
was picked up in the middle of the night for throwing stones in the
West Bank village of Nabi Saleh in October 2010 and signed a confession
in Hebrew, a language he could not read, that stated that he had been
informed of his right to remain silent. Video presented at Dar Ayyoub's
trial, which continued at year's end, demonstrated that he was not
informed of this right.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--NGOs reported that arrests on
political grounds occurred in the West Bank and Gaza; however, there
was no estimate of the number of political prisoners the PA held during
the year.
Hamas detained several hundred persons, allegedly because of their
political affiliation or public criticism of Hamas and held them for
varying periods of time. Numerous allegations of denial of due process
and some executions were associated with these detentions. The ICRC had
limited access to these prisoners.
Addameer reported that there were 23 PLC members detained by Israel
in December, some of whom were not known to be members of Hamas,
including two associated with the militant wing of Fatah. Palestinian
media and NGOs posited that Israel's string of arrests of PLC members
and other party leaders was in response to the PA's application for
membership in the U.N.
Administrative detainees held by Israeli entities were not afforded
an opportunity to refute the suspicions or access the evidentiary
material presented against them in court. The ICRC was permitted access
to administrative detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The PA civil and
magistrate courts handled civil suits and were able to provide an
independent and impartial judiciary in most matters. However, there
were unconfirmed reports of various factions trying to influence
judicial decisions. A citizen can file a suit against the government,
including on matters related to alleged abuses of human rights, but
this was uncommon. There are administrative remedies available in
addition to judicial remedies, but they were seldom used. The execution
of court orders was not systematic.
Gaza Strip residents may file civil suits, including those related
to human rights violations. Unofficial anecdotal reports claimed that
Gaza Strip courts operated independently of the Hamas government and
were at times impartial. There were reports that enforcement of court
orders improved.
Israeli law denies Palestinians the possibility of obtaining
compensation in most cases for human rights abuses or injuries
resulting from illegal acts by Israeli security forces.
Property Restitution.--When the IDF offered opportunities for
compensation for demolished or seized homes (see section 1.f.), subject
to an appraisal, verification, and appeals process, Palestinians
generally refused, citing a desire not to legalize the confiscation.
Palestinians had difficulty verifying land ownership in Israeli courts
according to Israeli definitions of land ownership.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The PA required the attorney general to issue warrants
for entry and searches of private property; however, Palestinian
security services often ignored these requirements and entered homes
without judicial authorization.
There was at least one example during the year of the PA harassing
family members for an alleged offense by an individual. NGOs and the
press reported that PA security forces arrested the brothers of
Palestinian journalist Majdoleen Hassouneh reportedly in an attempt to
pressure Hassouneh to turn herself into police after she covered a sit-
in strike.
Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip frequently interfered
arbitrarily with personal privacy, family, and home, according to
reporting from local media and NGO sources. NGOs reported numerous
cases of home searches and property seizure without warrants targeting
journalists, Fatah loyalists, civil society and youth activists, and
those whom Hamas security forces accused of criminal activity. Hamas
forces monitored private communications systems, including telephones,
e-mail traffic, and social media sites by demanding passwords, access
to personal information, and seizure of personal electronic equipment
of detainees. While Hamas membership did not appear to be a
prerequisite for obtaining housing, education, or government services,
employment in some government positions in Gaza, such as the security
services, was commonly reserved for Hamas members only. In several
instances, Hamas detained individuals for interrogation and harassment
based on the purported actions of their family members, particularly
prodemocracy youth activists.
Hamas enforced a policy of curbing activities that it deemed
contrary to Islam or ``immoral.'' For example, during the week of
February 21, Hamas police summoned five male hairdressers whose clients
were primarily women and compelled them to sign pledges to ``avoid
sinful acts'' and not to reenter their salons on penalty of a 20,000
NIS fine (approximately $5,500) or incarceration. In late December
Hamas police officials reportedly demanded that 142 self-described
fortune-tellers sign documents promising to discontinue their business
operations, and Hamas also inspected several clothing vendors, warning
against displays of nude mannequins, lingerie, or ``indecent
advertisements.''
There were no reports that Israeli security monitored private
communications or movement of individuals without legal process. Under
occupation orders only IDF officers of lieutenant colonel rank and
above could authorize entry into Palestinian private homes and
institutions in the West Bank without a warrant, based upon military
necessity. There were no reported cases of IDF soldiers punished for
acting contrary to this requirement. The PCATI reported that Israeli
authorities threatened an East Jerusalem man arrested on November 2 at
his home in Wadi Joz in East Jerusalem on unknown charges; they
reportedly told him they would detain his wife if he did not confess.
On November 15, Israeli officials summoned, arrested, and detained her
until November 27, when she was released without indictment.
In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Israeli Civil
Administration, part of Israel's Ministry of Defense, continued to
demolish homes, cisterns, and other buildings and property constructed
by Palestinians in areas under Israeli civil control on the basis that
these buildings lacked Israeli planning licenses. Compensation was
generally not offered in these cases. Properties approximately 328
yards from the separation barrier or IDF military installations also
remained subject to demolition or confiscation. NGOs expressed great
concern over demolitions in Area C of the West Bank. For example,
B'Tselem and UNOCHA reported that the Israeli Civil Administration
informed approximately 250 Bedouin families in the Khan al-Ahmar area
east of Jerusalem that they would be relocated. The rate of demolitions
increased: UNOCHA reported that 222 residential structures and 400
other structures were demolished during the year, representing a 96
percent increase in residential demolition between 2009 and 2011 and a
153 percent increase in other (nonresidential) demolitions. Between
2010 and 2011 alone, there was a 62 percent increase in residential
demolitions and a 36 percent increase in other demolitions. UNOCHA
counted that demolitions displaced more than 1,000 individuals in East
Jerusalem and ``Area C'' of the West Bank during the year.
Affected Palestinians and human rights NGOs reported that the IDF
was largely unresponsive to Israeli settlers' actions against
Palestinians in the West Bank, including demolition of property (see
section 6, National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The PA Basic Law provides every person the right to freedom of
thought, conscience, and expression, orally, in writing, or through any
other form. The PA does not have laws specifically providing for
freedom of press; however, PA institutions applied aspects of an
unratified 1995 press law as de facto law. In practice, PA security
forces in the West Bank and members of the Hamas security apparatus in
the Gaza Strip continued to restrict freedom of speech and press. HRW
reported that since 2007 most abuses against journalists in both the
West Bank and Gaza were related to tensions between the PA and Hamas.
The PA military judiciary detained civilian journalists, according to
human rights organizations.
Israeli authorities placed limits on certain forms of expression in
the occupied territories.
Freedom of Speech.--Although there is no PA law prohibiting
criticism of the government, there were reports that the government was
not fully tolerant of criticism. HRW reported in February that the PA
repeatedly responded to peaceful demonstrations with violent attacks
(see section 2.b., Freedom of Assembly).
In the Gaza Strip, individuals publicly criticizing authorities
risked reprisal by Hamas, including arrest, interrogation, seizure of
property, and harassment. Civil society and youth activists, social
media advocates, and individuals associated with political factions
accused of criticizing Hamas in public fora such as the Internet faced
punitive measures including raids on their facilities and residences,
arbitrary detentions, and denial of permission to travel outside of
Gaza. The ICHR reported numerous detentions of protesters in the Gaza
Strip. For example, the ICHR reported at least 16 arrests of protesters
in March alone and numerous instances in which Hamas quelled rallies
and protests with violence.
In East Jerusalem, under Israeli authority, displays of Palestinian
political symbols were punishable by fines or imprisonment, as were
public expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment and support for terrorist
groups. Israeli security officials regularly shut down meetings or
conferences held in East Jerusalem affiliated with the PA or with PA
officials in attendance. For example, the ISA warned organizers of a
Palestinian agricultural trade show in East Jerusalem in September that
they would face closure if they invited PA officials or displayed a
Palestinian flag. In September Israeli police ordered shut a meeting in
East Jerusalem on Israeli changes to Palestinian school curricula, and
Israeli security officers questioned the organizers about their
involvement in the meeting.
Freedom of Press.--Across the occupied territories, independent
media operated with some restrictions.
In the West Bank, the PA placed some restrictions on independent
media as well as official media. The PA maintained a distribution ban
in the West Bank on the twice-weekly pro-Hamas al-Risala and the
Filistin daily newspapers, both Gaza-based publications. Hamas's al-
Aqsa TV reportedly enjoyed some degree of access to work in the West
Bank without harassment.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas restricted independent media, especially
for non-Hamas-affiliated press and media outlets. Israel restricted the
mainstream pro-PA dailies, independent al-Quds (based in Jerusalem),
independent pro-Fatah al-Ayyam, and PA official daily al-Hayat al-
Jadida (the latter two based in the West Bank), from importation into
the Gaza Strip. Hamas authorities tolerated reporting and interviews
featuring officials from the PA to be locally broadcast. Hamas allowed,
with some restrictions, the operation of non-Hamas-affiliated broadcast
media in the Gaza Strip. The PA-supported Palestine TV reportedly
enjoyed access to operate in the Gaza Strip.
In East Jerusalem independent media were able to operate. As a
general rule, Israeli media were able to cover the occupied
territories, except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily
restricted access, but closures, curfews, and checkpoints limited the
ability of Palestinian and foreign journalists to do their jobs (see
section 2.d.). Israel revoked the press credentials of the majority of
Palestinian journalists during the Second Intifada in 2000, with the
exception of a few Palestinian journalists who worked as stringers for
prominent international media outlets. As a result most Palestinian
journalists were unable to cover stories outside the Palestinian-
controlled areas of the West Bank.
Violence and Harassment.--PA security forces reportedly harassed,
detained occasionally with violence, and fined journalists several
times during the year due to their reporting. HRW reported in April
that the PA Preventative Security and General Intelligence services
intimidated, detained, and assaulted journalists with impunity,
including through detentions of civilian journalists by the military
judiciary.
According to the Palestinian Center for Development and Media
Freedoms (MADA), PA police officers prevented Ibtihal Mansour, a
reporter for al-Sharq al-Awsat Studies Center, from covering a sit-in
against PA political arrests in Nablus on June 13. Mansour stated that,
although she adhered to orders, two female officers in civilian clothes
beat her up and tried to confiscate her camera and cell phone. She was
released after the intervention of members of the public and other
journalists.
PA security services summoned and questioned several journalists in
the West Bank. For example, on September 10, the Palestinian
intelligence services in Bethlehem summoned al-Aqsa TV cameraman Osayd
Amarneh, whom they questioned about filming a protest and later
released.
In the Gaza Strip, journalists faced arrest, harassment, and other
pressure from Hamas due to their reporting. There were reports that
Hamas also summoned journalists for questioning in an attempt to
intimidate them. Hamas also constrained journalists' freedom of
movement during the year, attempting to ban access to some official
buildings, as well as several prodemocracy protests.
During coverage of popular intra-Palestinian reconciliation
protests on March 19 in Gaza City, Hamas internal security forces
forcibly entered the Gaza City offices of CNN, NHK (Japan's public
broadcasting service), and Reuters, assaulted several journalists,
seized equipment, and demanded that the journalists stop filming the
protests.
According to MADA, on August 17, Hamas security personnel prevented
Wisam Zu'bur, a photographer for al-Hurriya Media Center, from taking
pictures near al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City.
There were reports during the year of Israeli authorities detaining
or assaulting journalists due to their reporting or coverage. In
various incidents Israeli forces subsequently raided those journalists'
homes.
For example, on August 19, Israeli forces reportedly assaulted Al
Jazeera cameraman Nabeel Mizawi and correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh
while the two were covering Friday prayers at al-Aqsa mosque in
Jerusalem's Old City. In a live report on Al Jazeera, Abu Akleh claimed
that IDF personnel beat Mizawi and ordered them to stop filming.
According to the report, IDF personnel also cut a voice cable to mute
the broadcast.
Local media reported that on November 22, Israeli authorities
arrested Israa Salhab, a reporter for al-Quds satellite station, after
she anchored a program on Palestinian prisoners. She was released on
November 28 and never faced official charges.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The PA prohibits calls for
violence, displays of arms, and racist slogans in PA-funded and
controlled official media. Media throughout the occupied territories
practiced self-censorship. There were no confirmed reports of any legal
actions or prosecutions against any person publishing items counter to
these PA guidelines.
Civil society organizations reported that Hamas censored television
programs and written content, such as newspapers and books. On January
23, according to HRW, Hamas police officers entered three bookstores in
Gaza and confiscated copies of two novels--Haidar Haidar's A Banquet
for Seaweed and Alaa' al-Aswany's Chicago--and searched for copies of a
third book, Forbidden Pleasure, telling the store owners that the books
were seized because the Hamas ministry of interior ``deemed them
``against sharia'' (Islamic law).
There were no reports that the Israeli government monitored the
media in the occupied territories. Israeli authorities retain the right
to review and approve in advance of printing all Jerusalem-based Arabic
publications for material perceived as a security threat. In practice
anecdotal evidence suggested the Israeli authorities did not actively
review the Jerusalem-based al-Quds newspaper or other Jerusalem-based
Arabic publications. Jerusalem-based publications reported that, based
on previous experiences with Israeli censorship, over time they came to
know what is acceptable and self-censored publications accordingly.
Libel Laws/National Security.--There were instances in which
slander and libel laws were used to suppress criticism. For example, on
August 16, the PA attorney general banned the annual Palestinian
Broadcasting Corporation's Palestine TV Ramadan comedy program series,
Watan ala Watar, in its third season, after PA security forces,
representatives of the PA Ministry of Health, and the union of PA
employees filed complaints claiming the program slandered members of
their respective professions. On August 18, the PA attorney general
issued final orders sanctioning the forcible suspension of the program.
There were no known reports that Hamas used security justifications
or slander or libel laws to censure public critique.
Internet Freedom.--There were no PA restrictions on access to the
Internet; however, there were reports that the PA, Hamas, and Israel
monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could
generally engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet,
including by e-mail.
On August 11, the Palestinian Telecommunication Company (PTC)
suspended the Web site of electronic newspaper Alshu'la for one week,
according to MADA. Alshu'la filed a complaint against the PTC with the
PA attorney general. Alshu'la was reportedly forced offline because of
a dispute between the PA and former Fatah member Mohammed Dahlan, who
financially sponsored the site.
On November 15, PA intelligence services arrested George Qanawati,
station manager of Bethlehem 2000 Radio, after he published a comment
on his Facebook page on September 8 about tensions within Fatah. He was
released five days later without charges.
Hamas did not restrict Internet access; however, based on anecdotal
reports from Palestinian civil society organizations and social media
practitioners, Hamas authorities monitored Internet activities and
postings of Gaza Strip residents. Individuals posting negative reports
or commentary about Hamas, its policies, or affiliated organizations
faced questioning, and authorities at times required them to remove or
modify online postings. No information was available regarding
punishment for not complying with such demands.
Israeli authorities did not restrict access to the Internet;
however, they monitored some Internet activity.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--In the West Bank the PA did
not place restrictions on academic freedom, and there were no known
reports of PA censorship of school curricula or plays, films, or
exhibits in the West Bank. During the year the PA did not interfere
with education; however, restrictions on movement adversely affected
academic institutions and access to education in the West Bank, as the
existence of Israeli checkpoints, although they decreased in number,
created difficulties for students and faculty commuting to university
campuses (see section 2.d). While there was no overt threat to academic
freedom, faculty were aware of security elements' presence on
university campuses among the student body and faculty, which may have
led to self-censorship.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas authorities sought to disrupt some
educational, cultural, and international exchange programs. Hamas
prevented high school students from the Gaza Strip from participating
in select cultural and educational exchange programs including programs
sponsored by foreign governments and international organizations,
including a selected a delegation of 30 eighth-grade students selected
by the U.N. Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) who were traveling to
Jerusalem to obtain visas for onward travel to the United States in the
spring. In some cases Hamas maintained that permits would be granted if
accompanied by Hamas officials for the duration of the trip.
Public and UNRWA schools in Gaza followed the same curriculum as
West Bank schools, and there was limited interference by Hamas at the
primary and secondary level. At the university level there were no
known reports of significant interference in teaching or studying.
The Hamas ministry of culture censored films shown at public venues
in Gaza, including cutting scenes depicting women deemed to be against
``traditional values'' from several movies shown during a film festival
held from July 13-15 at the Gaza Women's Affairs Center.
Hamas authorities also interfered in local cultural programs. For
example, the Gaza-based Society for Culture and Arts reported that the
Hamas ministry of culture reviewed the scripts of all plays performed
by the society to ensure that they met their approval and did not
offend local religious and cultural values. On September 23, Hamas
canceled the public broadcast at Gallery Gaza (a cultural venue) of PA
President Mahmoud Abbas' speech at the U.N.
Israeli authorities generally did not permit students from the Gaza
Strip to attend West Bank universities; only three students were
granted permission during the year. The three students all faced delays
in processing their permits. In general Gazan students did not apply to
West Bank universities because they understood that Israel would deny
permit requests.
In East Jerusalem, Israeli security shut down an event at the
Palestinian National Theater (al-Hakawati) in April, on the suspicion
that the event was organized by the PA. Also in April, Israeli
authorities canceled a soccer-related celebration planned by the East
Jerusalem-based Palestinian youth NGO, The Workers' Club, under
suspicion that it had been organized by the PA.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--Palestinian law permits public meetings, processions, and
assemblies within legal limits. It requires permits for rallies,
demonstrations, and large cultural events, and authorities rarely
denied them. However, both PA and Hamas forces attempted to break up
selected protests and demonstrations during the year, including
demonstrations in solidarity with the Egyptian revolution in February.
Palestinian NGOs stated that checkpoints and police arrests were used
in some cases to restrict protests.
NGOs reported that the PA in the West Bank restricted freedom of
assembly and movement based on political leanings of the demonstrators.
On February 5, PA security forces arrested and physically abused at
least five peaceful protesters in Ramallah who were chanting slogans in
support of demonstrators in Egypt and publicly criticizing the PA,
according to HRW.
According to a Hamas decree, any public assembly or celebration in
the Gaza Strip requires prior permission, in contradiction of the PA
Basic Law. During the year Hamas specifically banned public
celebrations regarding the Palestinian U.N. bid for statehood. On March
15, Hamas police and security officers, some in plain clothes,
violently broke up youth-led demonstrations calling for Palestinian
unity. HRW reported that Hamas intimidated and in some cases arrested
youth activists calling online for Palestinian reconciliation
demonstrations. Hamas detained, harassed, seized personal property
from, and prevented access to legal counsel for youth activists
publicly participating in reconciliation demonstrations in Gaza. In
addition Hamas did not permit Fatah members to hold rallies, including
preventing a rally celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of
Fatah.
Hamas officials also attempted to impede potential criticism of
Hamas policies by imposing arbitrary demands for the approval of
meetings on political or social topics. On December 1, Hamas security
forces shut down a videoconference on women's rights and forced the
departure of attendees from the Gaza Red Crescent Society for
reportedly not including Hamas ``prime minister'' Isma'il Haniyeh in
the program. On December 4, Hamas security forces forcibly terminated a
Gaza videoconference of a social media event based in the West Bank
after threatening to storm the building and arrest attendees. Although
the coordinator maintained he had secured the relevant permits, Hamas
refuted the claim.
The IDF continued its use of a 1967 military order that effectively
prohibited Palestinian demonstrations and limited freedom of speech in
the West Bank. The order stipulates that a ``political'' gathering of
10 or more persons requires a permit from the regional commander of
military forces. The penalty for a breach of the order is 10 years'
imprisonment or a heavy fine.
Various NGOs noted the IDF demonstrated a lack for respect for the
freedom of assembly and often met demonstrators with an aggressive
response. Israeli security forces used force against Palestinians and
others involved in demonstrations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,
killing one protester during the year (see section 1.a.). The IDF used
force particularly against protests by the Popular Resistance Committee
against the construction of the separation barrier. IDF forces
responded to protests with military crowd-control techniques or
weapons, such as tear gas, stun grenades, and force to push back
protesters. On November 23, during weekly protests in Nabi Saleh, IDF
forces used .22-caliber live fire, which wounded one protester. Israeli
military regulations specifically forbid the use of this form of
ammunition as a crowd control mechanism.
The IDF Central Command maintained its designation of areas
adjacent to the separation barrier in the villages of Bil'in and Ni'lin
as ``closed military areas'' every Friday during the hours in which
Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists regularly
demonstrated. There were frequent skirmishes between the antibarrier
protesters and IDF personnel. IDF and Israeli police personnel
stationed on the far side of the barrier during weekly protests in
Bil'in and Ni'lin, for instance, responded to rock throwing with tear
gas, stun grenades, sound bombs, and rubber-coated bullets. Some
citizen journalists claimed that the IDF's launching of tear gas
canisters into crowds at high speeds effectively made the canister a
weapon itself.
Abdallah Abu Rahmah, the coordinator for Bil'in Popular Committee
Against the Wall protests who was arrested in 2009 and found guilty of
incitement and organizing illegal demonstrations in August 2010, was
scheduled for release in November 2010; however, the prosecution won an
appeal to lengthen the sentence to create ``a deterrence not only to
[Abu Rahmah], but also to others who may follow in his footsteps.'' In
January the military court of appeals sentenced Rahmah to an additional
three months. He was released on March 14.
The ACRI continued to report arbitrary restrictions on the freedom
of assembly in East Jerusalem, including the use of unlawful arrests to
intimidate demonstrators. In one example, municipal authorities
required antisettlement demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah to apply for
permits to hold demonstrations.
Freedom of Association.--In the West Bank the PA law allowed for
freedom of association, but it was sometimes limited in practice.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas attempted to prevent various organizations
from operating, including some it accused of being Fatah-affiliated, as
well as private businesses it deemed to be in violation of Islamic
social norms. In July Hamas began requiring NGOs to undergo audits and
suspended the operations of some when they did not allow on-site
audits.
Israel maintained prohibitions on at least six prominent East
Jerusalem-based Palestinian institutions--the Orient House, the de
facto PLO office in Jerusalem, the East Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce,
the Higher Arab Council for Tourism, the Palestine Research Center, the
Palestinian Prisoners Club, and the Social Research Office--claiming
that the groups violated the Oslo Accords by operating on behalf of the
PA in Jerusalem. According to press reports, Israeli authorities closed
as many as 10 organizations in East Jerusalem on suspicion that they
were linked with terrorist organizations, particularly Hamas.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/
irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The PA Basic Law provides for freedom
of movement, and the PA generally did not restrict freedom of movement.
The Basic Law does not specify regulations regarding foreign travel,
emigration, or repatriation.
Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip restricted some foreign travel.
Hamas decisions in June and August increased restrictions on the entry,
exit, and stay of foreigners, including aid workers. Hamas also
prevented the exit of some Palestinians from Gaza as a means to protest
the purpose of their travel or coerce a behavior change, such as the
payment of taxes and fines.
The IDF restricted Palestinians' movement within the occupied
territories and for foreign travel, and, citing military necessity, it
increased these restrictions at times. Barriers to movement included
checkpoints, a separation barrier between the West Bank and Israel,
internal road closures, and restrictions on the entry of persons and
goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. Restrictions on movement affected
virtually all aspects of life, including access to places of worship,
employment, agricultural lands, schools, and hospitals, as well as the
conduct of journalistic, humanitarian, and NGO activities.
The PA, Hamas, and Israeli governments generally cooperated with
the UNHRC and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection
and assistance to internally displaced persons and refugees; however,
both Hamas and Israeli officials constrained the UNRWA's ability to
operate freely in Gaza.
In-Country Movement.--Hamas authorities did not appear to enforce
routine restrictions on internal movement within the Gaza Strip,
although there were some ``no go'' areas to which Hamas prohibited
access.
According to UNOCHA, as of August, the Israeli government
maintained more than 519 obstacles to movement inside the West Bank.
For example, three roadblocks south of Hebron impeded movement for tens
of thousands of residents of Palestinian villages, cutting direct
access for businesses to the city's commercial center. While there was
some lifting of permanent checkpoints in recent years, Israeli
authorities frequently prohibited travel between some or all West Bank
towns and deployed ``flying'' (temporary) checkpoints. Palestinians who
lived in affected villages stated that such ``internal closures''
continued to have negative economic effects. During periods of
potential unrest and major Israeli, Jewish, and Muslim holidays,
Israeli authorities enacted ``comprehensive external closures,'' which
precluded Palestinians from leaving the West Bank. The IDF also imposed
temporary curfews confining Palestinians to their homes during arrest
operations.
The Israeli government resumed construction of a separation
barrier, which ran along parts of the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice
line) and inside the West Bank. If completed, the barrier would
separate approximately 9.5 percent of the West Bank (135,000 acres
inhabited by up to 50,000 Palestinians), including parts of Jerusalem,
from the rest of the West Bank territory. By use of special permits,
Israel continued to restrict movement and development within this area,
including access by some international organizations. NGOs reported
that many Palestinians who were separated from their land were only
allowed access to their property a few days a year. There were reports
that permits were not issued in the Bethlehem area, which resulted in
Palestinian farmers' being completely unable to access their lands for
harvest season. Private security companies employed by the Israeli
government controlled points of access through the barrier, and
international organizations and local human rights groups claimed these
companies did not respond to requests to move goods and officials
through the barrier. The barrier affected the commute of children to
school in Jerusalem and some farmers' access to land and water
resources. Operating hours of the accessible gates were limited and
erratic, although usually announced. In April the Israeli High Court
ruled against a 2003 petition by the NGO HaMoked that contested the
legality of the permit system. A 2004 advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice advisory body deemed the barrier
contrary to international law.
Israel continued to enforce restrictions on access to farmland in
the Gaza Strip near the boundary with Israel and to fishing areas along
the coast, with the stated intention of preventing attacks by
Palestinian armed factions. Israel continued to enforce the ``buffer
zone'' beyond the declared 300 yards from the separation fence,
including directing live fire at Gazans at distances of more than 1,000
yards, according to UNOCHA (see also section 1.a.). The ``buffer zone''
encompassed approximately 24 square miles, representing 17 percent of
the Gaza Strip's total land mass. UNOCHA estimated that nearly 35
percent of the Gaza Strip's cultivable land was located within the
restricted area.
Eighty-five percent of Gaza's fishing waters were completely or
partially inaccessible to Palestinians due to Israeli restrictions.
Israeli naval patrol boats strictly enforced a fishing limit at three
nautical miles from the shore of the Gaza Strip, reduced from twenty
nautical miles as designated under the 1994 Agreement on the Gaza Strip
and Jericho Area (later incorporated into the 1995 ``Interim
Agreement"). In the northern Gaza Strip, Israel restricted Palestinians
from accessing a 1.5-nautical-mile-wide strip along the maritime
boundary with Israel, as well as a one-nautical-mile-wide strip in the
South, which was poorly enforced, along the maritime boundary with
Egypt, as established in the 1994 agreement. Israeli naval forces
regularly fired warning shots at Palestinian fishermen entering the
restricted sea areas, in some cases directly targeting the fishermen,
according to UNOCHA. The Israeli military often confiscated fishing
boats intercepted in these areas and detained the fishermen.
There were reports that Israeli authorities attempted to reduce the
Palestinian population and limit its movement in areas under Israeli
control. Military authorities severely restricted Palestinian vehicular
and foot traffic in the commercial center of Hebron, citing a need to
protect several hundred Israeli settler residents. Palestinians were
prohibited from driving on most roads in downtown Hebron and from
walking on Shuhada Street and other roads in the Old City; however,
Israeli settlers were permitted free access to these roads. The
prohibition, which began in 2000, had resulted in the closure of 1,829
businesses and 1,014 Palestinian housing units, according to B'Tselem;
the IDF closed most shops on the street and sealed entrances to
Palestinian houses. Demolition orders in and around Hebron also
threatened single buildings, family homes, and other civilian
structures; in some cases, entire villages such as Dkaika, southeast of
Hebron, were subject to ongoing demolition orders.
Foreign Travel.--Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip enforced
movement restrictions on Palestinians attempting to exit Gaza to Israel
via the Erez Crossing and to Egypt via the Rafah Crossing, although
they occasionally prevented Fatah members and youth activists from
exiting through either crossing.
In June 2010 Israel partially eased the severe restrictions on
movement and access for the Gaza Strip, imposed following Hamas' rise
to power in 2007, and imported goods increased during the year.
Categories of individuals permitted to enter or exit the Gaza Strip at
the Erez crossing point with Israel were largely limited to
humanitarian cases; however, the Israeli government also permitted an
increased number of businesspersons and some students to cross during
the year. The approval rate for exit requests based on medical need
during the year was 89.3 percent from January through November, a
significant improvement from 2009 and 2010, when approval rates were
68.3 percent and 78.1 percent, respectively. The total numbers of
medical patients crossing at Erez also increased, averaging 938 per
month during the year, in comparison with 428 and 757 per month in 2009
and 2010, respectively. Israel allowed for increased movement through
Erez for business purposes by increasing the validity (often three
months) and number of permits issued for business travelers from the
Gaza Strip, with approximately 500 permits valid by year's end.
Beginning in May the government of Egypt eased its restrictions on
travelers allowed to cross through the Rafah crossing, allowing
approximately 500-600 to travel each way.
Restricted access to East Jerusalem had a negative impact on
patients and medical staff trying to reach the six Palestinian
hospitals there that offered specialized care unavailable in the West
Bank. IDF soldiers at checkpoints subjected Palestine Red Crescent
Society (PRCS) ambulances from the West Bank to violence and delays, or
refused entry into Jerusalem even in emergency cases. When ambulances
lacked access, patients were moved across checkpoints from an ambulance
on one side to a second ambulance (usually one of five East Jerusalem-
based ambulances) or private vehicle on the other side. The PRCS
reported hundreds of violations against its teams and humanitarian
services during the year. Most incidents included blocking access to
those in need, preventing their transport to specialized medical
centers, or maintaining delays on checkpoints for periods sometimes
lasting up to two hours. Most incidents took place at the Qalandiyah
and Az-'Za'ayyem checkpoints leading to East Jerusalem, while the
remainder took place at other checkpoints circling the West Bank. The
PCRS reported that on June 30, Israeli forces at the Wadi al-Ghroos
checkpoint in Hebron's Old City stopped an ambulance en route to assist
an unconscious Palestinian. After an hour, the PCRS team left their
vehicle and began heading to the patient's house on foot. The patient
later went to the hospital in a private vehicle.
The IDF restricted Gazan students from studying in the West Bank or
Israel and limited West Bank Palestinians from university study in East
Jerusalem and Israel (see section 2.a.). Palestinians possessing
Jerusalem identity cards issued by the Israeli government needed
special documents to travel abroad. Upon the individual request of
Palestinians, the Jordanian government issued them passports.
Residency restrictions affected family reunification, which did not
qualify as a reason to enter the West Bank. For a child in the Gaza
Strip, for example, access to a parent in the West Bank was permitted
only if no other relative was resident in the Gaza Strip. Israeli
authorities did not permit Palestinians who were abroad during the 1967
War, or whose residence permits the Israeli government subsequently
withdrew, to reside permanently in the occupied territories. It was
difficult for foreign-born spouses and children of Palestinians to
obtain residency. Palestinian spouses of Jerusalem residents were
required to obtain a residency permit and reported delays of several
years in obtaining them.
Exile.--Continued Israeli revocations of Jerusalem identity cards
amounted to forced exile to the occupied territories or abroad.
According to HaMoked, the Israeli Ministry of Interior renewed
``temporary'' orders authorizing the revocation of Jerusalem residency
rights from legal residents. The Ministry of Interior revoked 191
permits in 2010. Reasons for revocation included having acquired
residency or citizenship in a third country, living ``abroad''
(including in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip) for more than seven
years, or, most commonly, being unable to prove a ``center of life,''
interpreted as full-time residency, in Jerusalem. Some Palestinians
born in Jerusalem but who studied abroad reported losing their
Jerusalem residency status.
On December 7, an Israeli court ordered Hamas-affiliated PLC member
Ahmad Atoun expelled from Jerusalem to the West Bank. Atoun was one of
three Hamas-affiliated politicians who took refuge in the ICRC mission
in Jerusalem in July 2010 after the Israeli Ministry of Interior
revoked their Jerusalem residency permits. Atoun stayed at the ICRC
building until September 2011, when Israeli police arrested him at the
compound's gate.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Although IDP were not
centrally or systematically registered, the Unified Shelter Sector
Database estimated there were approximately 15,700 IDPs in the Gaza
Strip who remained displaced as a result of Operation Cast Lead. UNOCHA
estimated that more than 1,000 individuals were displaced in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem as a result of house demolitions during the
year.
Although there is no specific legislation to protect IDPs along
U.N. principles and guidelines, West Bank and Gaza Strip authorities
are bound by international human rights laws underlying these
obligations on displacement. Through rental subsidies and financial
assistance to reconstruct demolished houses, the PA provided some
assistance to those displaced. The UNRWA and humanitarian organizations
provided services to aid IDPs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, with
some limitations due to movement and border access as a result of
Israeli restrictions. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas authorities pressed
international and local aid organizations providing emergency
assistance to coordinate relief efforts with the Hamas ministry of
social affairs. Several Gaza-based NGOs reported that Hamas prevented
aid groups from distributing assistance after they refused to comply
with Hamas regulations.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--There were no reports
of persons seeking asylum in the occupied territories, although the
UNHRC reported that several African migrants were detained in PA jails.
At year's end the UNHRC was working to determine whether those persons
were bona fide refugees in need of protection. According to a UNRWA
estimate in January, there were 848,494 Palestinian refugees in the
West Bank and 1,167,361 in Gaza, many living in 27 UNRWA-affiliated
refugee camps, 19 in the West Bank and eight in Gaza. The refugees
included those displaced as result of the 1948 conflict in Israel and
their descendents.
Refugee Abuse.--In December IDF airstrikes in Gaza damaged a UNRWA
school, and in August an IDF sniper shot and killed a refugee student.
On April 19, 52-year-old Adel Saleh Riziq of the Jabalia Refugee
Camp died while in detention in Gaza City; he was arrested at his home
on April 14, and family members claimed via an affidavit filed with the
ICHR that they were informed several days later that his severely
bruised body had arrived at al-Shifa Hospital. The Hamas ministry of
interior formed an investigative committee following the incident, but
no findings were released by year's end.
The Israeli government obstructed refugee access to UNRWA-provided
humanitarian assistance in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The U.N.
estimated that 75 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip were
recipients of international aid and that 54 percent were food insecure.
Essential infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including water and
sanitation services, was in a state of severe disrepair due in part to
an inability to bring in spare parts and components under Israeli
import restrictions. During the year, however, the Israeli government
approved several donor-funded water and sanitation projects, and two
large-scale wastewater treatment facilities were under construction.
Access to Basic Services.--While many planned UNRWA projects in the
Gaza Strip remained pending approval with Israeli authorities, the
Israeli coordinator for government activities in the territories
approved 73 UNRWA projects during the year, including 1,200 new housing
units in June and other international assistance projects. The UNRWA
reported that it did not receive approval to date for three rehousing
projects for the provision of 1,700 shelters to refugees in Rafah and
Khan Younis refugee camps, pending since 2007 and resubmitted the
requests to the Israeli authorities in March.
The UNRWA operated 243 schools with more than 219,000 refugee
students in the Gaza Strip, but it claimed its capacity was severely
overstretched by Israeli restrictions and that restrictions on movement
and access in particular undermined its ability to provide education.
UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip ran on a double shift in ``compressed
learning periods'' and had as many as 50 students per classroom.
Thousands of students were schooled in makeshift classrooms.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In 2006
the 132-member PLC was elected in a process under the Basic Law that
international observers concluded generally met democratic standards in
providing citizens the right to change their government peacefully.
Hamas-backed candidates participated in the 2006 PLC elections as the
``Reform and Change Movement'' and won 74 of 132 seats. Fatah won 45
seats, and independents and candidates from third parties won the
remaining seats. The PLC lacked a quorum and did not meet during the
year. Although the Israeli government and the PA followed mutually
agreed guidelines for Palestinians residing in Jerusalem to vote in
2005 and 2006, not all Palestinians were allowed to vote in East
Jerusalem, and those who could vote were required to do so via post
offices (of which there were few), thereby complicating their ability
to vote. At the end of the year, municipal elections were put on hold
indefinitely, and no date has been set for national elections.
Political Parties.--Civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip
claimed Hamas authorities and other conservative Islamist groups did
not tolerate public dissent, opponents, civil activism, or the
promotion of values that ran contrary to their political and religious
ideology.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 17 women in the
132-member PLC and three women in the 16-member cabinet. There were
seven Christians in the PLC and two in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Palestinian law provides criminal penalties for official
corruption, and the government respected this in practice, making
progress during the year. The PA's anticorruption commission,
consisting of special prosecutors, and an anticorruption court
consisting of a panel of three judges, was investigating more than 140
cases and had indicted two PA ministers. PA ministers are subject to
financial disclosure laws. The PA attorney general has official
responsibility for combating government corruption. There were
allegations of past corrupt practices among Fatah officials,
particularly in the theft of public funds and international assistance
money. The World Bank reported that the PA made significant progress in
combating corruption, particularly in public financial management
reforms, but that additional reforms in land and business registration
were needed. World Bank polling found that public perception of
corruption remains high.
In the Gaza Strip local observers and NGOs alleged instances of
Hamas complicity in corrupt practices, including preferential
purchasing terms for real estate and financial gains from involvement
in the illegal tunnel trade by the Hamas security forces, but access to
information and reporting were severely inhibited.
PA law requires official PA institutions to ``facilitate''
acquisition of requested documents or information by any Palestinian,
but it does not require agencies to provide such information. Reasons
for denial generally referred to privacy rights and security necessity.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Palestinian human rights groups and several international
organizations generally operated without PA restriction, and officials
cooperated with their efforts to monitor the PA's human rights
practices. Several PA security agencies, including the GI and PCP,
appointed official liaisons that worked with human rights groups. The
PA was open to human rights observers, and there were no reports of
harassment of NGOs.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas routinely harassed civil society, breaking
up Internet forums, and peaceful organizations. Gaza-based NGOs
reported that Hamas representatives appeared at their offices to assure
compliance and summoned NGO representatives to police stations for
questioning.
Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs monitored the Israeli
government's practices in the occupied territories and published their
findings, although ongoing fighting, movement restrictions in the West
Bank, and access restrictions in the Gaza Strip made it difficult to
carry out their work. The Israeli government permitted some human
rights groups to publish and hold press conferences, and it provided
the ICRC with access to most detainees.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--PA and Israeli officials
generally cooperated with and permitted visits by U.N. representatives
or other organizations, such as the ICRC. There were numerous reports
that Hamas harassed members of NGOs and international organizations.
The U.N. and international NGOs reported continued difficulty
accessing ``seam zone'' communities in the northwestern West Bank,
particularly Barta'a al-Sharqiya in the Jenin Governorate, due to
Israeli authorities' excessive demands for searches of personnel,
including U.N. employees, based on their nationality.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The quasigovernmental ICHR
continued serving as the PA's ombudsman and human rights commission.
The ICHR issued monthly and annual reports on human rights violations
within Palestinian-controlled areas; the ICHR also issued formal
recommendations to the PA.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
PA law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability,
language, or social status. PA authorities worked to enforce these
laws; however, failures continued in practice.
Hamas, despite remaining under the authority of Palestinian laws
prohibiting discrimination, continued to implement discriminatory
policies based on race, political affiliation, gender, and sexual
orientation.
Many NGOs reported that Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza
amounted to racial and cultural discrimination, and they cited legal
differences between Palestinians in the West Bank and Jewish settlers
in the West Bank as a clear policy of racial discrimination.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is illegal under PA law,
but the legal definition does not address spousal rape; laws that apply
in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip relieve rapists who marry
their victim of any criminal responsibility. Punishment for rape is
five to 15 years in prison; however, societal norms limited the
frequency of reporting. In addition there were reports that some
accused rapists were released from custody after apologizing to
victims. A 2011 survey by the Palestinian Authority's Central Bureau of
Statistics found that 37 percent of women (29.9 percent in the West
Bank and 51.1 percent in Gaza) who were married reported exposure to
violence.
PA law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence, but assault
and battery are crimes. NGOs reported that women were frequently
unwilling to report cases of violence or abuse to the police because of
fear of retribution, and HRW stated that few domestic violence cases
were successfully prosecuted in recent years. Many women and girls
stated they believed the legal system discriminated against women.
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, violence
against wives, especially psychological violence, was common in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Specifically, a 2009 survey by the
Palestinian Women's Information and Media Center found that 52 percent
of Gazan women faced regular physical violence. According to a 2009
survey conducted by the U.N. Gender Task Force, 37 percent of women in
the Gaza Strip cited domestic violence as the primary safety problem
facing women and girls in their communities. The results also showed
increases in domestic violence against women among households displaced
by conflict.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--The media reported on only one
``honor'' killing in the Palestinian territories during the year, but
the Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling reported three honor
killings in the West Bank and one in Gaza. For a portion of the year,
the Jordanian penal code, as applied in the West Bank by the PA,
mitigated penalties for ``honor'' crimes. In the honor killing case of
20-year-old Aya Baradiya from the West Bank town of Surif, whose body
was found in a well in May but who was reportedly killed in 2010,
authorities arrested and charged four men in June, including her uncle
Okab Baradiya, for her death. In response to Baradiya's killing, on May
14, President Abbas issued a presidential decree changing the law so
that ``honor'' no longer would be considered a mitigating circumstance.
Sexual Harassment.--No law specifically relates to sexual
harassment. The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed
Forces and other NGOs reported that for some women, cultural taboos and
fear of stigma compelled them to remain silent about sexual harassment.
Some young women claimed that they were held responsible for
``provoking'' men's harassing behavior.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals in the Gaza Strip,
the West Bank, and East Jerusalem had access to contraception.
Information regarding family planning was lacking, although the UNRWA
continued holding workshops for Palestinian men underscoring their role
in family planning. There were at least 147 family planning centers in
the West Bank and at least 20 in the Gaza Strip, according to the PA
Ministry of Health. High workload, poor compensation, and resource
shortages across the occupied territories continued to affect skilled
attendance during labor and postpartum care, much of which midwives
provided. There were more deaths among mothers and newborns in the Gaza
Strip; the PA Ministry of Health attributed continued increases in the
number of home births to difficulties in reaching hospitals (see
section 2.d.). While governmental authorities and community and
international NGOs operated HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and
screening programs, limited information was available about the
equality of services provided for women.
Discrimination.--The law provides for equality of the sexes, but
personal status law and traditional practices discriminate against
women. For Muslims in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, personal status
law is derived from sharia, which includes inheritance and marriage
laws. Women can inherit, but not as much as men. Men may take more than
one wife, although they rarely did in urban areas (the practice was
more common in small villages). Women may add conditions to marriage
contracts to protect their interests in divorce and child custody but
rarely did so. Societal pressure generally discouraged women from
including divorce arrangements in a marriage contract. Cultural
restrictions associated with marriage occasionally prevented women from
completing mandatory schooling or attending college. Families sometimes
disowned Muslim and Christian women who married outside their faith.
Local officials sometimes advised such women to leave their communities
to prevent harassment.
Hamas maintained control of the Gaza Strip and enforced a
conservative interpretation of Islam on the Gaza Strip's Muslim
population that particularly discriminated against women. Authorities
generally prohibited public mixing of the sexes. Plainclothes officers
routinely stopped, separated, and questioned couples to determine if
they were married; premarital sex is a crime punishable by
imprisonment. Hamas's ``morality police'' also punished women for
riding motorcycles, smoking cigarettes or water pipes, leaving their
hair uncovered, and dressing ``inappropriately'' (i.e., Western-style
or close-fitting clothing, such as jeans or T-shirts). Women living in
refugee camps in the Gaza Strip said they felt unsafe using a bathing
or latrine facility and cited a lack of reliable sanitary materials.
Palestinian labor law states that work is the right of every
capable citizen; however, it regulates the work of women, preventing
them from taking employment in dangerous occupations. Women endured
prejudice and, in some cases, repressive conditions at work.
Additionally some employers reportedly provided preferential treatment
to their male counterparts. According to Freedom House, women earned 65
percent of men's wages in the West Bank and 77 percent in the Gaza
Strip.
Female education rates were high, particularly in the West Bank,
and women's attendance at universities exceeded men's, but female
university students reported discrimination by university
administrators, professors, and their male peers, according to the
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. According to
press and NGO reports, in some instances teachers sent home girls not
wearing conservative attire in Hamas-run schools, although enforcement
was not systematic.
The PA Ministry of Women's Affairs existed to promote women's
rights. During the year, the ministry worked closely with the U.N. to
develop a nine-year plan released in January to combat violence against
women.
Children.--Birth Registration.--The PA registers Palestinians born
in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and Israel requires that the PA
transmit this information to the Israeli Civil Administration. As the
PA does not constitute a state, it does not determine ``citizenship''
alone. Children of Palestinian parents can receive a Palestinian
identity card (issued by the Civil Administration) if they are born in
the occupied territories to a parent who holds a Palestinian identity
card. The PA Ministry of Interior and the Israeli Civil Administration
both play a role in determining a person's eligibility.
Israel registers the births of Palestinians in Jerusalem, although
Arab residents of Jerusalem reported delays in the process.
Education.--Education in PA-controlled areas is compulsory from age
six through the ninth grade. Education is available to all Palestinians
without cost through high school.
In the Gaza Strip, primary education was not universal. The UNRWA
and Hamas provided educational instruction.
From January through November, UNICEF reported 34 attacks on
schools in the West Bank (30) and Gaza (four), amounting to a denial of
access to education. Twenty-two instances were perpetrated by Israeli
authorities, eleven by Israeli settlers, and four by Palestinian armed
groups.
In Israeli-administered East Jerusalem, Palestinian children did
not have access to the same educational resources as Israeli children
(see section 6, Minorities).
Child Abuse.--Child abuse was reportedly a widespread problem. The
law prohibits violence against children; however, PA authorities rarely
punished perpetrators of familial violence. In a 2009 study by the U.N.
Gender Task Force in the southern Gaza Strip, survey participants
reported a high level of perceived domestic violence against children.
Israeli security forces also participated in violence against
children in custody, during arrest (see section 1.c.), or working
inside or near the Gaza Strip buffer zone, according to NGO and U.N.
reports.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that the number of children
with post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders
including depression increased in recent years. MSF attributed a
majority of the cases to trauma experienced during Israeli military
incursions or as a result of settler violence.
Child Marriage.--Palestinian law defines the minimum age for
marriage as 18; however, religious law allows for marriage as young as
15. Underage marriage did not appear to be widespread.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The PA considers statutory rape a
felony based on the Jordanian penal code of 1960, which also outlaws
all forms of pornography. The minimum age for consensual sex is 18.
Punishment for rape of a victim under the age of 15 includes a minimum
sentence of seven years.
Displaced Children.--Conflict and demolition orders (see also
section 2.d.) displaced children in the occupied territories. UNOCHA
reported that 618 children were displaced due to home demolitions in
the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the year.
Child Soldiers.--There were reports that Hamas trained children as
combatants.
Anti-Semitism.--The size of the Jewish community in the West Bank
was approximately 300,000. The Jewish population in Gaza, aside from
foreign nationals, was nonexistent. There were an estimated 200,000
Jewish residents of East Jerusalem.
Rhetoric by several Palestinian groups included expressions of
anti-Semitism, as did sermons by some Muslim religious leaders. In the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank there were a few documented instances in
which media outlets, particularly outlets controlled by Hamas,
published and broadcast material that included anti-Semitic content,
sometimes amounting to incitement. For example, in December Hamas's al-
Aqsa TV aired a sermon by a preacher who called for the killing of
Jews. Unofficial Palestinian television broadcast content that
sometimes advocated for holy war to expel the Jewish presence in the
region. Some children's programs shown on Hamas television legitimized
the killing of Israelis and Jews via terrorist attacks. In February
Zayzafouna, a Palestinian youth magazine, featured a story in which
Hitler appeared as a teenage girl's role model, making remarks about
the killing of Jews on the grounds that they spread destruction.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at http://www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--There is no reference in PA law to
disability. Access to buildings, information, or communications was not
mandated. Palestinians with disabilities continued to receive uneven
and poor-quality services and care. The PA depended on U.N. agencies
and NGOs to care for persons with physical disabilities and offered
substandard care for persons with mental disabilities. There were
reports that Israeli authorities placed detainees deemed mentally ill
or a threat to themselves or others in isolation without full medical
evaluation. According to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, isolation
of prisoners with mental disabilities was common.
Familial and societal discrimination against persons with
disabilities existed. Press reports indicated that some parents in the
West Bank performed hysterectomies on mentally ill girls to prevent
them from becoming pregnant; most of these parents stated they intended
to protect their daughters from rape.
In August international media reported that an impoverished
Palestinian family, unable to provide necessary care for two mentally
ill daughters, Mohedeye Dawabsha, 25, and Nedaa Dawabsha, 21, had
chained both in a room in the family house in Duma, citing concern
about their vulnerability to sexual violence should either wander away.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although not a numerical
minority, Palestinians faced targeted violence and discrimination from
Israeli actors in the occupied territories (see also sections 1.a.,
1.c., 1.f., and 2.d.).
The Jerusalem Legal Aid Society and Human Rights Center and other
NGOs reported an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers on
Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. The attacks included
direct violence against Palestinian residents. Unnamed settlers killed
at least two Palestinians during the year, including 17-year-old Fakhri
Yousef Akhlaiel, a resident of Khirbat Safa, on January 18. Akhlaiel
was reportedly harvesting grapes on his family's land at the time of
the shooting. News reported that police investigated the incident, but
there were no reports of arrests or indictments.
Some Israeli settlers reportedly used violence against Palestinians
as a means of harassment and to keep them away from land that settlers
sought to expropriate. In the Palestinian village of al-Baqa'a, NGOs
reported that settler violence drove out significant portions of the
Palestinian population, with no intervention from the IDF or the
Israeli national police. On December 5, Israeli settlers from the
Yitzhar settlement kidnapped and subsequently released Salim Jamil
Shehadeh, a 60-year-old shepherd, from Orif village. The settlers also
stole 50 of Shehadeh's sheep. There was no information about an
investigation at year's end.
Other violence was in retaliation for killings of Israelis. On
March 12 and 13, for example, following the killing of five Israeli
settlers in Itamar (see section 1.a), settlers conducted widespread
retaliatory attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank governorates
of Nablus, Salfit, Qalqilya, Hebron, and Ramallah. Settlers threw
stones at Palestinian vehicles at 16 separate locations in the West
Bank, and there were multiple reports of settlers kidnapping and
beating Palestinians before releasing them. Settlers also attacked PA
emergency medical responders.
Various human rights groups continued to claim that settler
violence was insufficiently investigated and rarely prosecuted. Some
groups in part attributed this to the Israeli Ministry of Defense's
Civil Administration's neglect of Palestinian complaints and also to
Palestinian residents who were often reluctant to report incidents,
fearing settler retaliation. The Israeli NGO Yesh Din reported in 2010
that more than 90 percent of investigations into offenses against
Palestinians carried out by Israeli in the West Bank were unsuccessful.
Settlers also exploited religious tensions to harass Palestinian
villages by vandalizing, breaking into, or burning 10 mosques. UNOCHA
reported a 150 percent increase in attacks on mosques during the year.
Access to social and commercial services, including housing,
education, and health care, in Israeli settlements in the West Bank was
available only to Israelis. Israeli officials discriminated against
Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem regarding access to
employment and legal housing by denying Palestinians access to
registration paperwork. In both the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israeli
authorities placed often insurmountable hurdles on Palestinian
applicants for construction permits, including the requirement that
they document land ownership in the absence of a uniform post-1967 land
registration process, high application fees, and requirements that new
housing be connected to often unavailable municipal works. According to
B'Tselem, since 2000 Israel has curtailed the Palestinian population
registry, denying paperwork to Palestinians and effectively declaring
Palestinians illegal residents. Some Palestinians defined as illegal
residents faced harassment, arrest, or deportation to the Gaza Strip.
The World Bank reported that Palestinians suffered water shortages,
noting that approximately half of the domestic water supply for
Palestinians was purchased from Israel. The Palestinian Water Authority
claimed that Israel controls 90 percent of the shared water resources
of the Mountain Aquifer, which underlies the West Bank and Israel.
According to Amnesty International (AI), Palestinians received on
average of 18.5 gallons of water per person per day, falling short of
the World Health Organization's standard of 26.5 gallons per person per
day, the minimum daily amount required to maintain basic hygiene
standards and food security. The PA's ability to improve water network
management and efficiency was limited by political constraints,
including the requirement for Israeli approval to implement water-
related projects and the PA's lack of authority in Area C to prevent
theft from the network, as well as by the PA's own management
challenges. Between January and July, according to the U.N., the
Israeli military destroyed 20 water cisterns, some of which were funded
by donor countries for humanitarian purposes. The Israeli military also
destroyed unlicensed Palestinian agricultural wells, claiming they
depleted aquifer resources. During the year the two sides partially
resolved a long-standing dispute on the rehabilitation of licensed
Palestinian wells, with Israel allowing Palestinian farmers to
rehabilitate 57 licensed wells in the Eastern Basin of the Mountain
Aquifer, increasing water supply in the largely agricultural Jordan
Valley of the West Bank.
In the West Bank, some NGOs reported an increase in settler
expropriation of natural water springs located on privately owned
Palestinian land. Yesh Din documented settler expropriation of 26
springs and their conversion into recreational ``nature parks.''
Palestinian residents reported that water supplies were intermittent,
and settlers and their security guards denied Palestinians, including
shepherds and farmers, access to the springs. AI estimated that the
settler population in the West Bank used as much water as the entire
Palestinian population.
NGOs claimed that Jerusalem municipal and Israeli national policies
aimed at decreasing the number of Palestinian residents of East
Jerusalem. Government-sponsored construction of new Israeli housing
units continued, while building permits were difficult to obtain for
Arab residents of East Jerusalem, and homes built by Arab residents
without legal permit were subject to demolition. The Israeli NGOs
Bimkom and Ir Amim claimed that Palestinians in East Jerusalem
continued to face barriers to purchasing property or obtaining building
permits. Land owned or populated by Arabs (including Palestinians and
Israeli Arabs) was generally zoned for low residential growth.
Approximately 30 percent of East Jerusalem was designated for Israeli
residents. Palestinians were able in some cases to rent Israeli-owned
property, but were generally unable to purchase property in an Israeli
neighborhood. Israeli NGOs claimed that of all land designated for
housing in West Jerusalem and in the Israeli neighborhoods of East
Jerusalem, at least 79 percent was unavailable for Arab construction.
The Jerusalem Municipality and Jewish organizations in Jerusalem
made efforts to increase Israeli property ownership or underscore
Jewish history in predominately Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Municipality advocated increased Israeli influence and
property ownership in East Jerusalem's Kidron Valley.
Although Israeli law entitles Arab residents of East Jerusalem to
full and equal services provided by the municipality and other Israeli
authorities, in practice the Jerusalem Municipality failed to provide
sufficient social services, infrastructure, emergency planning, and
postal service for Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Palestinian
residents constituted 35 percent of Jerusalem's population but received
only 10-15 percent of municipal spending. The ACRI reported that this
resulted in Palestinian residents' lack of access to running water,
crowded classrooms in substandard buildings, and poor sewage
infrastructure, among other problems. Many Jerusalem municipal forms
were not available in Arabic. Bus services in Jerusalem were largely
segregated in practice.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Palestinian law, based on the
1960 Jordanian penal code, prohibits homosexual activity, although in
practice the PA did not prosecute individuals suspected of such
activity. Societal discrimination based on cultural and religious
traditions was commonplace. Some Palestinians claimed that PA security
officers and neighbors harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons because of their sexual
orientation. NGOs reported that Hamas also harassed and detained people
due to sexual orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--While the PA Ministry
of Health provided treatment and privacy protections for patients with
HIV/AIDS, societal discrimination against affected individuals was
common.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
PA law permits workers to form and join independent unions and conduct
legal strikes. The law requires collective bargaining to be conducted
``without any pressure or influence'' but does not explicitly state a
right to collective bargaining. The PA labor code does not apply to
civil or domestic servants, although the law allows civil servants to
form their own unions.
The requirements for legal strikes are cumbersome, and strikers had
little protection from retribution. Prospective strikers must provide
written warning two weeks in advance of the strike (four weeks in the
case of public utilities). The PA Ministry of Labor can impose
arbitration; workers or their trade unions face disciplinary action if
they reject the result. If the ministry cannot resolve a dispute, it
can be referred to a committee chaired by a delegate from the ministry
and composed of an equal number of members designated by the workers
and employer, and finally to a specialized labor court.
Antiunion discrimination and employer interference in union
functions are illegal; however, although the law gives workers the
right to unionize, it does not specifically prohibit termination due to
union activity.
In practice the PA generally respected freedom of association and
the right to collective bargaining, with some exceptions. Labor unions
reported that the PA's 2000 labor law had not been fully implemented at
year's end and asserted that the current system benefitted employers.
For example, the labor court provided for in the law had not been
established. During the year the waiting time for court hearings was
five to six years. The PA enforced the prohibitions on antiunion
discrimination and employer interference in union functions; however,
it inconsistently enforced laws regarding freedom of association, and
there were reports that PA enforcement of collective bargaining rights
for unions serving other than PA employees was limited. The right to
strike remained weak in practice.
Two main labor unions in the West Bank competed for membership and
political recognition. A leader of one of the unions is also the PA
deputy labor minister. Otherwise, the unions were independent from the
government, and there were no reports of politically motivated sackings
of union leaders.
In 2007 Hamas replaced Fatah-affiliated union leaders with Hamas
members or sympathizers in the Gaza Strip, and during the year it
maintained restrictions on union membership.
Israeli law applies to Israeli settlements in the West Bank and
Jerusalem but was not uniformly enforced. Most settlements apply to
Palestinian workers Jordanian labor law as it existed prior to 1967,
which provides for lower wages and fewer protections than Israeli law.
Workers in Jerusalem often joined West Bank unions or the Israeli
General Federation of Labor (Histadrut); however, they cannot vote in
Histadrut elections.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--PA law does not
expressly forbid forced or compulsory labor. Children and women were
vulnerable to forced labor conditions.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
According to PA law, the minimum age for employment in the occupied
territories is 15 years. The law classifies children as those under 18
years of age, and it restricts employment for those between 15 and 18.
However, the law allows children younger than 15 to work for immediate
family members under close supervision. Hiring of children ages 15-18
for certain types of employment is permitted under set conditions. The
law prohibits children from working more than 40 hours per week,
operating certain types of machines and equipment, performing work that
might be unsafe or damage their health or education, and working at
night, in hard labor, or in remote locations far from urban centers.
Due to inadequate resources and logistical difficulties, PA
authorities did not effectively enforce the law. The PA estimated that
2.3 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 and 6.1 percent
of children between the ages of 15 and 17 worked in the West Bank and
Gaza during the year. According to the PA, more than 90 percent of
child laborers lived in the West Bank; the smaller proportion for Gaza
was due to the unavailability of jobs and high unemployment among
adults in Gaza, according to the PA. Palestinian child laborers
generally worked on family farms, in shops, as street vendors, in car
washes, in factories, or in small manufacturing enterprises. They were
vulnerable to forced labor. Conditions were especially poor for
Palestinian children working as street vendors, many of whom worked all
day without food or water and were subject to abuse, according to the
PA Ministry of Labor. According to the ministry, children also
continued to work smuggling goods--from food products to chemicals--
through the tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Children
reportedly worked in the tunnels for 10-hour shifts, with one hour's
rest. From 2007 to 2010, at least 32 children died while working in the
tunnels; common causes of death included tunnel collapse, electric
shock, and Israeli shelling
During the year the PA Ministry of Labor employed six officers
tasked with monitoring child labor conditions, a number it recognized
as insufficient. Many reported cases of child labor violations took
place in home environments, for example, on family farms, which were
not open to labor ministry inspection. Child protection officers with
the PA Ministry of Social Affairs were overburdened and also lacked the
resources to follow up on such cases. The PA Ministry of Labor reported
that only employers who hire children under 15 to work in dangerous
conditions or hazardous jobs are referred to the attorney general for
prosecution; between 2007 and 2011, the ministry referred 10 such
cases. PA officials reported fining ``numerous'' people after it
conducted successful investigations conducted by the PA Ministry of
Labor in recent years. The ministry was unable to conduct
investigations in the Gaza Strip, nor did it have access to Israeli-
controlled Area C of the West Bank (nearly 60 percent of the West Bank)
where child economic exploitation and labor were most likely to occur,
according to PA officials.
The Israeli government stated that it did not issue permits for
Palestinian West Bank residents younger than 18 years old to work in
Israeli settlements, except in the Jordan Valley, where the law allows
work permits for persons from the age of 16 and older; however,
according to the PA, children entered the settlements or crossed into
Israel to seek work. The PA reported that Palestinian children working
in Israeli settlements in the West Bank without legal protection or
labor inspectors faced security problems, exploitation, and harassment.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage in
Palestinian-controlled areas.
Palestinians working in Israeli settlements reported that they
continued to receive wages lower than the Israeli minimum wage, despite
a 2008 high court ruling that Israeli labor laws apply to relations
between Palestinian workers and Israeli employers in settlements in the
occupied territories. In November, the Ma'ale Adumim municipality
became the first Israeli settlement to apply Israeli labor law to
Palestinian workers, in response to a successful lawsuit filed by the
workers who demanded Israeli minimum wage and labor protections. A
three-month-long strike that began in July caused an Israeli quarry in
the West Bank in Mishor Adumim to close. The strike was in response to
the employer's refusal to recognize the workers' collective agreement.
In December a court in Jerusalem approved the creditors' disposition of
the company, along with compensation to the workers.
According to PA law, the maximum official Sunday to Thursday
workweek was 48 hours. The law also allows for paid official and
religious holidays, which may not be deducted from annual leave.
Workers must be paid time and a half for each hour worked beyond 45
hours per week and may not perform more than 12 hours of overtime work
per week.
The PA Ministry of Labor was responsible for setting occupational
health and safety standards, but its enforcement ability was limited,
in part due to lack of staff. The ministry employed 45 labor inspectors
during the year, but ministry contacts reported that they would need at
least 150 inspectors to adequately enforce the labor law. Unions also
stated that the PA did not effectively monitor smaller worksites, which
were at times below legal standards for safety.
The PA was unable to monitor labor conditions in the Gaza Strip and
has no authority to monitor labor safety in the 60 percent of the West
Bank that is designated Area C, under the terms of Oslo-era agreements
with Israel. The ministry cannot enforce Palestinian labor law in seam
zones, Israel (where Palestinians were employed on permits or
illegally), or in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. At the same
time Israeli authorities did not conduct labor inspections in Israeli
settlements, where, according to the International Labor Organization,
the number of Palestinian workers constituted a significant part of the
workforce. The lack of a competent labor authority in the settlements
increased workers' vulnerability to exploitation. NGOs like Kav LaOved
asserted exploitative practices in the Israeli settlements were
widespread. Israeli NGOs brought some cases in Israeli labor courts on
behalf of Palestinian workers employed by enterprises in the
settlements.
Informal sector work, especially in illegal smuggling tunnels
between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and rubble and garbage collection, was
often dangerous. In 2010, according to the Gaza-bases al-Mezan Centre
for Human Rights, 46 workers died in the tunnels.
__________
JORDAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled
by King Abdullah II bin Hussein. The constitution concentrates
executive and legislative authority in the king. The multiparty
parliament consists of the 60-member House of Notables (Majlis al-Ayan)
appointed by the king and a 120-member elected lower house, the Chamber
of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab). Parliamentary elections, which
international observers deemed credible, took place in November 2010.
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Throughout the year citizens staged weekly demonstrations calling
for various political and economic reforms. The demonstrations were
mostly peaceful; however, there were incidents of violence by
counterprotesters and security forces against protesters. The
government did not investigate or prosecute individuals and security
officials accused of inciting violence during the demonstrations.
The three most significant continuing human rights problems were
citizens' inability to peacefully change their government, abuses
committed with impunity by security services, and violence against
women.
Other human rights problems were arbitrary deprivation of life,
torture or mistreatment, poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and
denial of due process through administrative detention, prolonged
detention, and external interference in judicial decisions. Citizens
continued to report infringements on their privacy rights, and legal
and societal discrimination against persons of Palestinian origin
remained widespread. Restrictive legislation and regulations limited
freedoms of speech and press, while government interference in the
media and threats of fines and detention further encouraged self-
censorship. The government amended the law restricting freedom of
assembly and more frequently allowed protesters to gather without
interference, although counterdemonstrators and at times security
forces used violence against them. The government continued to restrict
freedom of association. Local human rights organizations reported
widespread violence against women and children. Legal and societal
discrimination and harassment remained a problem for women, religious
minorities, converts from Islam, and members of the lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The government restricted
labor rights, and local and international human rights organizations
reported high levels of abuse of foreign domestic workers.
Impunity remained problematic. The government did not take steps to
investigate, prosecute, or punish officials who committed abuses.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There was one report
that government agents committed an arbitrary or unlawful killing
during the year. On March 25, Khairy Jamil Said died as police were
dispersing protesters near Gamal Abdul Nasser Square in Amman. While
the government coroner reported Saad died of heart failure, protesters
accused the police of beating Saad to death.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports during the year of
politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, international
NGOs continued to report incidents of torture and widespread
mistreatment in police and security detention centers. The law
prohibits torture, including psychological harm, by public officials
and provides penalties of as long as three years' imprisonment for the
use of torture, with an increased penalty of up to 15 years if serious
injury occurs. Human rights lawyers found the law ambiguous and
supported amendments to better define ``torture'' and strengthen
sentencing guidelines. The judicial system has never charged an
individual with torture.
International and domestic organizations stated that security
forces continued to practice torture, particularly in police stations.
According to a May 11 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report chronicling the
April 15 demonstrations in Zarka, officers from ``Teams 62 and 71''
reportedly detained more than 100 Islamist protesters in a security
station in the nearby town of Rusaifa and beat some on the head, back,
and other body areas while their hands and feet were shackled.
According to HRW, the detainee who reported the torture was among a
large group released on May 5 after an initial investigation.
Some individuals reported that government agents sexually abused
them during arrest or detention by making them remove their clothing
and perform sexual acts.
Human rights activists reported that some persons with disabilities
were subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment at institutions and
rehabilitation centers. In September the Family Protection Department
(FPD) investigated a case in which a management official abused a 12-
year-old child with cerebral palsy at a private rehabilitation center
accredited by the Ministry of Social Development.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Significant problems
remained in prisons, including inadequate food and health care, poor
sanitation standards, poor ventilation, extreme temperatures,
inadequate access to potable water, and insufficient basic and
emergency medical care. Some detainees reported abuse and mistreatment
by guards during the year. The National Center for Human Rights (NCHR)
reported 85 complaints from juvenile detention centers from March 2010
to August 2011, including those related to lack of personal safety,
lack of education, and allegations of torture and mistreatment.
According to government statistics, there were approximately 16,444
inmates, 3 percent of whom were female, in 15 correctional and
rehabilitation center (CRC) facilities, up from 14 in 2010. According
to the Ministry of Social Development, there were 170 juveniles in
custody. Conditions for women were generally better than those for men.
Pretrial detainees were often held in the same detention facilities as
convicted prisoners. The General Intelligence Directorate (GID) held
some persons detained on national security charges in separate
detention facilities. According to the NCHR, GID detainees are
generally held in solitary confinement and are prevented from meeting
unsupervised with visitors, including their lawyers. Islamist prisoners
in Jweidah were held in a separate wing and kept in small-group semi-
isolation. International and domestic NGOs reported that in some
instances Islamist prisoners faced harsher prison conditions than other
inmates.
Prisoners and detainees had restricted access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship; however, authorities did not investigate allegations of
inhumane conditions. The Ombudsman's Bureau within the Public Security
Directorate (PSD) investigates allegations of police abuse; however,
due to impunity complaints rarely resulted in any disciplinary
measures. During the year no steps were taken to improve recordkeeping
or use alternatives to sentencing for nonviolent offenders or
juveniles.
The government permitted local and international human rights
observers to visit prisons and conduct private interviews. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited prisoners and
detainees in all prisons, including those controlled by the GID,
according to standard ICRC modalities.
During the year the government inaugurated two new CRCs with cells
that meet international standards and shut down an older prison.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention. According to local and international human rights
groups, the government did not always observe these prohibitions in
practice. In particular, the governors of the country's 12 governorates
continued to use the law to detain individuals administratively without
due process or detain individuals found not guilty in legal
proceedings.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PSD controls
general police functions. The PSD, GID, gendarmerie, Civil Defense
Directorate, and military share responsibility for maintaining internal
security. The PSD, Civil Defense Directorate, and gendarmerie report to
the minister of interior with direct access to the king when necessary,
and the GID in practice reports directly to the king. Civilian
authorities maintained control over security forces.
According to local and international NGOs, the government rarely
investigated allegations of abuse or corruption, and there were
widespread allegations of impunity. Citizens may file complaints of
police abuse or corruption with the PSD's human rights office or one of
50 police prosecutors stationed throughout the country. Complaints of
abuse and corruption by the gendarmerie may be filed directly with the
gendarmerie. A GID liaison officer receives complaints against the GID
and refers them to GID personnel for investigation. Complaints against
the PSD, gendarmerie, and GID may also be filed with the NCHR or
several other NGOs, such as the Arab Organization for Human Rights
(AOHR). The PSD's preventive security office is tasked with
investigating allegations of police corruption. The PSD and gendarmerie
try their personnel internally with their own courts, judges, and
prosecutors; reports about the proceedings are not published.
During the year there were several reported instances of security
forces using excessive force with impunity or failing to protect
demonstrators from societal violence. On July 15, during a proreform
demonstration in Al-Nakeel Square in Amman, several members of the riot
police wielding wooden bats and other instruments, such as a barbeque
rack, attacked protesters and journalists covering the demonstrations.
On July 19, the minister of interior announced that the committee
tasked with investigating the incident found the PSD responsible for
the attacks; however, by year's end no security official had been
prosecuted.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows
suspects to be detained for up to 24 hours without a warrant in all
cases. The criminal code requires that police notify authorities within
24 hours of an arrest and that authorities file formal charges within
15 days of an arrest. The period to file formal charges can be extended
for as long as six months for a felony and two months for a
misdemeanor. According to local NGOs, prosecutors routinely requested
extensions and judges granted them. Human rights observers claimed that
police made arrests before obtaining warrants and that prosecutors did
not file charges or seek extensions in a timely manner. They alleged
that authorities transferred suspects to the security court in order to
extend the legal time from 24 hours to 10 days for investigation. Bail
is allowed under the penal code and was used in some cases. Some
detainees reported not being allowed timely access to a lawyer, but
authorities generally permitted family member visits. Authorities
appointed lawyers to represent indigent defendants charged with
felonies, although legal aid services remained minimal.
The U.N. Committee Against Torture's May 2010 report expressed
serious concern about the government's failure in practice to afford
all detainees, including detainees held in GID and PSD facilities, with
``all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their
detention,'' including the right to notify a relative and to be
informed of their rights and charges against them at the time of
detention.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The State Security Court gives judicial police
the authority to arrest and keep persons in custody for 10 days while
conducting criminal investigations. This authority includes arrests for
alleged misdemeanors. In cases purportedly involving state security,
the security forces at times arrested and detained citizens without
warrants or judicial review, held defendants in pretrial detention
without informing them of the charges against them, and either did not
allow defendants to meet with their lawyers or did not permit meetings
until shortly before trial. Several inmates were in detention without
charge at year's end.
Under the Crime Prevention Law, provincial governors may detain
individuals suspected of planning to commit a crime or those who
allegedly shelter thieves, habitually steal, or constitute a danger to
the public, and in practice they used this provision widely. Those
accused are subject to imprisonment or house arrest for as long as one
year under ``administrative detention'' without formal charges, and
governors can prolong detentions. During the year governors
administratively detained 11,345 individuals. Several international and
national NGOs noted that governors routinely abused the law,
imprisoning individuals when there was not enough evidence to convict
them and prolonging detentions of prisoners whose sentences had
expired. The law was also used to incarcerate women, allegedly to
protect them, as they are at risk of being honor crime victims.
Pretrial Detention.--The common practice of judges granting
extensions to prosecutors prior to filing formal charges unnecessarily
lengthened pretrial detention. During the year there were 23,118
pretrial detainees. Lengthy legal procedures, a large number of
detainees, judicial inefficiency, and the judicial backlog added to the
problem of pretrial detention. The length of the detention at times
equaled or exceeded the sentence for the alleged crime.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary. Allegations of nepotism and the influence of
special interests raised concerns about the judiciary's independence in
practice. Authorities did not always respect court orders.
Trial Procedures.--The law presumes that defendants are innocent.
All civilian court trials, including state security court trials, are
open to the public unless the court determines otherwise. Juries are
not used. Defendants are entitled to legal counsel, provided at public
expense for the indigent in cases involving the death penalty or life
imprisonment. In many cases not involving the death penalty, those
whose punishment would be hard or temporary labor have no legal
representation. Defendants can present witnesses and evidence and can
question witnesses presented against them. Authorities generally
granted defendants access to government-held evidence relevant to a
case. Defendants can appeal verdicts; appeals are automatic for cases
involving the death penalty.
Defendants before the State Security Court frequently met with
their attorneys at the start of a trial or only one or two days before.
A case may be postponed for more than 48 hours only under exceptional
circumstances determined by the court. In practice, cases routinely
involved postponements of more than 10 days between sessions with
proceedings lasting for several months. In many cases the accused
remained in detention without bail during the proceedings. In the State
Security Court, defendants convicted of felonies or misdemeanors have
the right to appeal their sentences to the Court of Cassation, which is
authorized to review issues of both fact and law.
All citizens are accorded these rights. Civil, criminal, and
commercial courts accord equal weight to the testimony of men and
women; however, in sharia courts, which have jurisdiction over Muslim
marriage, divorce, and inheritance cases, the testimony of two women
was equal to that of a man in most circumstances.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Citizens and NGOs alleged that
the government continued to detain individuals, including political
opposition members, for political reasons during the year and that
governors continued to use administrative detentions for what appeared
to be political reasons.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals may bring
civil lawsuits related to human rights violations and did so during the
year.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference in private
matters, but the government did not respect this prohibition in
practice. Citizens widely believed that security officers monitored
telephone conversations and Internet communication, read private
correspondence, and engaged in surveillance without court orders.
Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports that police
forcibly entered the homes of foreign migrant workers without warrants.
Some religious activists reported that the GID withheld their
certificates of good behavior, which confirm that the applicant does
not have a criminal record and are required for job applications or to
open a business. The GID usually withholds a certificate of good
behavior if there is a criminal record; however, there is no public
information outlining the GID's policies for issuing the certificates.
Some activists also said GID officials threatened to bar their children
from entering or graduating from university.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press;
however, the government did not respect these rights in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--The law permits punishment of up to three
years' imprisonment for insulting the king, slandering the government
or foreign leaders, offending religious beliefs, or stirring sectarian
strife and sedition. In practice citizens were generally able to
criticize the government, although they reportedly exercised caution in
regard to the king, royal family, GID, and other sensitive topics such
as religion.
On May 22, the Amman Criminal Court found journalist Muwaffaq
Mahadin and environmentalist Sufian al-Tal not guilty of slander and
other charges based on separate public interviews the two men gave
criticizing the army's security role in Afghanistan. State security
forces detained the men in February 2010 for two weeks.
Freedom of Press.--Independent print media existed, including
several major daily newspapers; however, such publications must obtain
licenses from the state to operate. The independent print and broadcast
media largely operated without restriction, but media observers
reported governmental pressure to refrain from criticizing the royal
family, discussing the GID, or using language deemed offensive to
religion, including the threat of large fines and prison sentences for
slander of government officials and other topics listed above. Media
organizations and journalists reported that the government influenced
the appointment of editors in chief at some major publications, whether
by virtue of officials' positions on the boards of directors of
government-affiliated publications or through undisclosed contacts. The
government has a majority of seats on the board for the leading
semiofficial daily newspaper, Al-Rai, and a share of board seats in
another daily newspaper.
On March 7, approximately 200 journalists staged a demonstration to
demand that Al-Rai editor in chief Abdul Wahab Zgheilat resign due to
his censorship of their articles, and on July 12 he resigned.
The law states that the Prime Ministry has the authority to reject
a broadcast license without a stated reason based on the recommendation
of the director of the governmental Audiovisual Commission. Media
observers noted that when covering controversial subjects, government-
owned Jordan Television, Jordan News Agency, and Radio Jordan reported
only the government's position.
By law any book can be published and or distributed freely;
however, if the Press and Publications Directorate deems that passages
are religiously offensive or ``insult'' the king, it can request a
court order to prohibit the distribution of the book. During the year
an estimated 20 books were banned due to language that was deemed
religiously offensive.
Violence and Harassment.--During the year journalists were
subjected to harassment and intimidation due to their reporting. For
example, after a June 13 Agence France-Presse (AFP) story reporting
that residents of Tafileh had stoned the king's motorcade, member of
parliament Yahy'a Sa'ud led protests demanding that AFP Amman bureau
chief Randa Habib be referred to the State Security Court and that the
AFP offices be closed. On June 15, a group of men attacked the AFP
offices as police reportedly looked on. During a June 16 press
conference, Habib stated she had also received death threats. The
government provided her security in response.
Censorship and Content Restrictions.--The government directly and
indirectly censored the media. Unlike in previous years, authorities
did not censor printing presses or edit articles deemed offensive
before they could be printed. However, journalists claimed that the
government used informants in newsrooms and exercised influence over
reporting and that GID officials censored reporting. Editors reportedly
received telephone calls from security officials instructing them how
to cover events or to refrain from covering certain topics or events.
Government officials also reportedly bribed journalists to influence
their reporting. Journalists reported that the threat of detention and
imprisonment under the penal code for a variety of offenses, along with
stringent fines of as much as 20,000 dinars ($28,250) for defamation
under the press and publications law, led to self-censorship. The
government's use of ``soft containment'' of journalists, including the
withholding of financial support, scholarships for relatives, and
special invitations, led to significant control of media content.
On May 19, the government reportedly prevented Roya TV from hosting
opposition figure Laith Shbeilat on its weekly program, Pulse of the
City. The channel's management cancelled the interview after they
received a telephone call from a government security agency.
The government continued to enforce bans on the publication of
selected books for religious, moral, and political reasons.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The government threatened to use
libel and slander laws to suppress criticism. On September 17, Amer
Fayez, chief of protocol for the Royal Court, sued Abdel Hadi Raji
Majali for libel and defamation for an article criticizing Royal Court
employees for ``putting barriers between the king and the people.''
Fayez later dropped the case.
Internet Freedom.--There were government restrictions on access to
the Internet. The government monitored electronic correspondence and
Internet chat sites. Individuals and groups were unable to express
their views freely via the Internet, including by e-mail. After
implementation of the Information System Crime Law in 2010, making Web
site owners responsible for all content on their sites, groups began
shifting to social media to express their views and opinions and to
organize demonstrations. During the year the Ministry of Interior
continued to monitor Internet cafes via video cameras. The ministry
also required cafe owners to register users' personal data, submit
records of visited Web sites, and prevent access to ``targeted'' Web
sites, as determined by the ministry.
On June 1, the State Security Court issued an arrest warrant for
Ala' Al Fazza', publisher of online news site KhabarJo, in response to
a complaint filed by Mohammed Taleb Obediat, minister of state media
affairs, and Nabil Sharif, former minister of media affairs and
communications, over an article that listed them as members of the
Facebook page demanding the crown prince be replaced. He was charged
with ``working to unlawfully change the constitution.'' On June 2, the
king ordered his release, and he was released on June 5.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government placed some
limits on academic freedom. Some members of the academic community
claimed there was an continuing intelligence presence in academic
institutions, including monitoring of academic conferences and
lectures.
On September 27, the National Campaign for Students Rights
(Dhabahtuna) criticized the government for forcing scholarship students
from underprivileged areas to sign pledges not to engage in political
activities.
Some foreign films were edited prior to release due to sexual
content or religiously offensive language.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but in
practice the government limited this right. On May 3, the government
amended the Public Gatherings Law to remove the requirement that groups
request permission from the governor to gather. According to the
amended law, organizers must notify the government of a proposed
meeting or demonstration at least 48 hours in advance so that the
government may provide security for the event. The notification must
include the names and addresses of the organizers and the reason for
the meeting or demonstration. Prior to the amendment, governors could
deny organizers permission to hold an event and were not required to
provide a legal reason for denial, which occurred regularly. If an
organization failed to apply for permission for an event, its members
faced imprisonment from one to six months and a fine of as much as
3,000 dinars ($4,200). Despite the amendment human rights activists
reported that the government did not always respect freedom of assembly
and sometimes used tactics such as the renovation of public spaces to
prevent planned sit-ins.
During the year an international NGO reported that GID agents urged
it to cancel a regional training program about social and political
activism for young Arab activists. The NGO stated that several regional
participants were denied entry into the country upon arrival and the
chosen hotel was forbidden to host the conference. The NGO had
previously held several regional conferences in the country without
incident.
During the year there were several reported instances of security
forces using excessive force with impunity or failing to protect
demonstrators from societal violence. For example, on March 24 and 25,
at Jamal Abdel Nasser Square in Amman, clashes erupted between
demonstrators and counterdemonstrators at a sit-in calling for
political reforms. The gendarmerie dispersed the protesters, leading to
tens of injuries and reportedly one death (see section 1.a.). During
its investigation the NCHR found that security forces failed to protect
demonstrators from violence; however, the government did not open an
official investigation into the events.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of
association, but the government limited this freedom in practice. The
law gives the Ministry of Social Development the right to reject
applications to register an organization or receive foreign funding for
any reason, and it prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of
any political organization. The law also gives the ministry significant
control over the internal management of associations, including the
ability to dissolve associations, appoint new boards of directors, send
government representatives to any board meeting, prevent associations
from merging their operations, and appoint an auditor to examine an
association's finances for any reason. The law requires associations to
inform the ministry of board meetings, submit all board decisions for
approval, disclose members' names, and obtain Interior Ministry
security clearances for board members. The law includes severe
penalties, including fines up to 10,000 dinars ($14,100).
Local and international NGOs claimed that the law severely
restricted the work of independent organizations. During the year the
government did not deny any organizations permission to register or
receive foreign funding; however, NGOs reported that while the
government did not formally reject foreign funding requests or
proposals, it at times refused to accept such requests.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation; however, there were some restrictions. The U.N. reported
that the government cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers,
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
Foreign Travel.--The law stipulates that women need a custodian to
renew a passport. The GID sometimes withheld passports from citizens
for alleged security reasons.
Citizenship.--There were cases of government officials arbitrarily
and without court order withdrawing citizenship from Jordanians of
Palestinian descent.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government lacks a formal system of providing protection to refugees.
The government respected the UNHRC's eligibility determinations
regarding asylum seekers, including those who entered the country
clandestinely. A 1998 memorandum of understanding between the
government and the UNHRC contains the definition of a refugee, confirms
adherence to the principle of nonrefoulement, and allows recognized
refugees a maximum stay of six months, during which period the UNHRC
must find a durable solution. However, refugees often stayed beyond the
time limit.
Access to Basic Services.--Palestinian refugees from Gaza who
entered the country following the 1967 war are excluded from services
otherwise available to Palestinian refugees, such as access to public
assistance, public higher education, or public medical services.
However, they were eligible to receive UNRWA services.
Temporary Protection.--The government generally recognized the
UNHRC's requests to grant temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum
seekers, including new arrivals, and recognized refugees whose cases
had been suspended by resettlement countries. The UNHRC rejected asylum
or resettlement cases. By year's end approximately 34,000 Iraqi
refugees in the country had registered with the UNHRC. The government
provided education and health care to Iraqis and tolerated the
prolonged stay of many Iraqis beyond the expiration of the visit
permits under which they entered the country. Few Iraqi refugees
received work permits due to bureaucratic hurdles and a desire to avoid
significant overstay fines they would have to pay when applying for
such permits.
Stateless Persons.--: Citizenship is derived only through the
father. Children of female citizens married to noncitizen husbands
receive the nationality of the father and lose the right to attend
public school or seek other government services if they do not hold
legal residency, which must be applied for every year and is not
guaranteed. Married women do not have the legal right to transmit
citizenship to their children. In practice this affects thousands of
families in which the father is of Palestinian origin. According to the
law, the cabinet may approve citizenship for such children; however,
this rarely occurred. The public was not widely aware of this
mechanism. Women may not petition for citizenship for noncitizen
husbands, who may apply for citizenship only after fulfilling a
requirement of 15 years' continuous residency. Once a husband has
obtained citizenship, he may apply to transmit citizenship to his
children. However, in practice such an application may take years, and
the government may deny the application.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their monarch
or government. The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister,
cabinet, and the House of Notables, dissolves parliament, and directs
major public policy initiatives. Citizens may participate in the
political system through their elected representatives in the Chamber
of Deputies. The cabinet, based on the prime minister's recommendation,
appoints the mayors of Amman, Wadi Musa (Petra), and Aqaba, a special
economic zone. The mayors of the other 93 municipalities are elected.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In
November 2010 the country held parliamentary elections, which
international observers considered ``a clear improvement over the
nation's 2007 polls.'' However, observers recommended future reforms
such as establishing an independent electoral management body,
preprinting ballots to mitigate concerns over voting procedures for the
illiterate, strengthening representation for all citizens, and
introducing regulations to allow for systematic appeals of the election
results. Gerrymandering districts to minimize the impact of votes by
citizens of Palestinian origin in favor of tribal interests was a
significant problem. The law allows voters to choose one candidate in
their district, which in the largely tribal society meant citizens
tended to cast their vote for members of their own tribe.
On September 30, the government amended the constitution to
establish an independent electoral commission.
Political Parties.--The government licensed political parties and
other associations but prohibited membership in unlicensed political
parties. The High Court of Justice may dissolve a party if it concludes
that the party violated the constitution or the law. Political parties,
NGOs, and independent candidates found the registration process both
onerous and costly and criticized the GID's annual screening process of
founding party members.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Many human rights activists
cited cultural bias against women as an impediment to women
participating in political life on the same scale as men. On September
14, the government increased the quota for women in municipal council
seats to 25 percent. The law provides a 10 percent quota for women in
the lower house of parliament. In the November 2010 elections, voters
elected 13 women to parliament, exceeding the quota by one. Unlike in
the previous year, there were no female governors; however, two women
served in the appointed 27-member cabinet.
Citizens of Palestinian origin were underrepresented at all levels
of government and the military. The law reserves nine seats in the
lower house of parliament for Christians and three seats for the
Circassian and Chechen ethnic minorities combined, constituting an
overrepresentation for these minorities. No seats were reserved for the
relatively small Druze population, but they were permitted to hold
office under their government classification as Muslims. The law also
stipulates that Muslims must hold all seats not reserved for specified
minority religions. Christians served as cabinet ministers and
ambassadors. The government traditionally reserves some positions in
the upper levels of the military for Christians (4 percent); however,
Muslims held all senior command positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively.
Officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. During the
year the government investigated allegations of corruption; however,
there were very few convictions. The use of family, business, and other
personal connections to advance personal business interests was
widespread. There were allegations of lack of transparency in
government procurement, government appointments, and dispute
settlement.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is the main body responsible
for combating corruption. Despite increased investigations some local
observers questioned the commission's effectiveness due to insufficient
staff and the small number of investigations involving senior officials
or large government projects. There were credible allegations that the
ACC failed to investigate high-profile cases involving high-level
government officials.
There were no high-profile convictions for corruption during the
year.
On February 25, officials permitted business tycoon Khalid Shahin
to leave prison to receive medical treatment abroad because of an
obesity-related health condition that his physician claimed could not
be treated in Amman. The State Security Court had sentenced Shahin and
two other former officials to three years in prison for bribery related
to the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company in July 2010. The release
triggered public anger after pictures were published of Shahin eating
at a restaurant with his family in London. On August 18, Shahin was
brought back to the country to complete his sentence.
The law requires certain government officials to declare their
assets privately. In the event of a complaint, the chief justice may
review the disclosures. Under the law failure to disclose assets could
result in a prison sentence of one week to three years or a fine of
five to 200 dinars ($7 to $280). As of year's end, no officials had
been punished for failing to submit a disclosure.
The law provides for public access to government information that
is a matter of legal record but allows requests to be denied for
reasons of ``national security, public health, and personal freedoms.''
Journalists criticized the law, claiming it permits the government to
deny requests without justification.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated
in the country with some restrictions. The law gives the government the
ability to control NGOs' internal affairs, including acceptance of
foreign funding. NGOs were generally able to investigate and report
publicly on human rights abuses throughout the year, although
government officials were not always cooperative.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government-funded NCHR's
reporting was regarded as fairly objective and critical, albeit
noncontroversial. The government seldom complied with its
recommendations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution states that all citizens are equal under the law
and prohibits discrimination based on race, language, and religion;
however, discrimination on the basis of gender, disability, and social
status is not specifically prohibited. The penal code does not address
discrimination, thereby severely limiting judicial remedies.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law stipulates a sentence
of at least 10 years' imprisonment with hard labor for rape of a girl
or woman age 15 years or older. Spousal rape is not illegal. The law
does not explicitly ban domestic violence. The government did not
enforce these laws effectively, and violence and abuse against women
was widespread. Violence against women was reported more frequently in
rural areas than in major cities, but women's rights activists
speculated that many incidents in cities went unreported as violence
against women remained a taboo issue, due to societal and familial
pressures. There were no statistics available regarding the number of
abusers prosecuted, convicted, or punished. Human rights activists
stated that girls and women with disabilities were particularly at risk
from gender-based violence.
Women may file complaints of rape or physical abuse with certain
NGOs or directly with judicial authorities. During the year the PSD
Family Protection Department (FPD) treated and investigated 1,026 cases
of rape or sexual assault against women. The FPD actively investigated
cases; however, there were some reports of pressure on families to
settle disputes via mediation instead of the courts. Spousal abuse is
technically grounds for divorce, but husbands can claim religious
authority to strike their wives. Observers noted that judges generally
supported a woman's claim of abuse in court; however, due to societal
and familial pressure, few women sought legal remedies.
The FPD continued to operate a domestic violence hotline during the
year and received inquiries and complaints via the Internet and e-mail.
The government-run shelter, Dar al-Wafaq, assisted approximately 505
female victims of domestic violence during the year. It provided
reconciliation services to victims and their families and worked with
NGOs to provide services, such as legal and medical assistance.
However, observers noted the lack of a comprehensive approach for
victims, as well as a need to increase the number of psychosocial
counselors.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--It was estimated that more than 10
honor crimes were reported during the year. However, activists reported
that many such crimes went unreported. The Supreme Criminal Court's
panel of judges dedicated to cases involving honor crimes routinely
issued sentences of up to 15 years to honor crime perpetrators.
However, the Cassation Court, which reviews the Supreme Criminal Court
rulings, generally decreased the sentences by half. There were several
cases during the year in which family members dropped the charges
against perpetrators of honor crimes, which also resulted in sentences
being cut in half for the perpetrator, who was often a relative of the
victim. Instances of forced marriage as an alternative to a potential
honor killing were reported in rural areas during the year. Observers
noted that if a woman marries her rapist, according to customary
belief, her family members would not need to kill her to ``preserve the
family's honor.''
Numerous ``honor'' crime cases were reported during the year. For
example, on February 7, a 26-year-old man stabbed his 30-year-old
widowed sister to death in Amman after discovering that she was eight
months' pregnant. The brother, who turned himself in to the police,
said that he stabbed his sister to cleanse the family's honor. On April
10, the prosecutor general pressed charges of premeditated murder. At
year's end the case was pending.
Through their administrative detention authority, governors
continued to place potential victims of honor crimes in involuntary
protective custody in the Women's Correctional and Rehabilitation
Center in Jweideh detention facility, where some women had remained for
more than one year. The government estimated that approximately 82
women were placed in protective custody during the year. A number of
women detained for more than one year were released during the year. A
woman detained in protective custody can be released only after her
family signs a statement guaranteeing her safety and both the local
governor and the woman agree to the release. During the year there was
at least one case of a woman being killed after release from protective
custody. On June 28, a 17-year-old shot his unmarried sister in Tafileh
after she had a miscarriage and was released by the governor from
protective custody to her family, who pledged not to harm her. The case
never went to court, and the boy was not prosecuted. One NGO continued
to work for the release of these women through mediation with their
families. The NGO also provided a temporary but unofficial shelter for
such women as an alternative to protective custody.
Sexual Harassment.--According to the law, sexual harassment is
strictly prohibited. The law does not make a distinction between sexual
assault and sexual harassment; both carry a minimum prison sentence of
four years with hard labor. Women's groups stated that harassment was
common, but many victims were hesitant to file a complaint and rarely
did so because they feared blame for inciting the harassment or
consequences such as losing their job or because they faced other
pressure to keep silent. One NGO report stated that foreign migrant
workers in the garment sector may be especially vulnerable to sexual
harassment in the workplace (see section 7).
Reproductive Rights.--Couples have the basic right to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and
individuals were able to make such decisions free from discrimination
and coercion. Contraceptives were generally accessible to all men and
women, both married and single, and provided free of charge in public
clinics. Comprehensive essential obstetric, prenatal, and postnatal
care is provided throughout the country in the public and private
sectors. The Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with
Disabilities and civil society activists reported that forced
sterilization of women and girls with intellectual disabilities was a
common practice. The Higher Council reported that annually
approximately 64 hysterectomies were performed on women with
intellectual disabilities. A hospital official confirmed that three to
four such operations were conducted annually, often at the behest of
the victims' families.
Discrimination.--Women experienced discrimination in inheritance,
divorce, ability to travel (see also section 2.d.), child custody,
citizenship (see section 2.d., Stateless Persons), pension and social
security benefits, in certain circumstances in the value of their
sharia court testimony (see section 1.e., Trial Procedures) ,and in the
workplace.
Under sharia (Islamic law) as applied in the country, female heirs
receive half the amount that male heirs receive. Even a sole female
heir receives only half of her parents' estate, with the balance going
to designated male relatives, whereas a sole male heir inherits all of
his parents' property. Women may seek divorce only in return for
waiving alimony or other financial rights. The law allows retention of
financial rights under specific circumstances, such as spousal abuse.
Special courts for each Christian denomination adjudicate marriage and
divorce.
The law allows fathers to prevent their children from leaving the
country through a court order; however, this same court order is not
available to mothers. Some mothers claimed that they were prevented
from departing the country with their children because authorities
enforced requests from fathers to prevent their children from leaving.
However, authorities did not stop fathers from exiting the country with
their children when the mother objected.
The government provided men with more generous social security
benefits than it gave women. The government continued pension payments
of deceased male civil servants to their heirs, but it discontinued
payments to heirs of deceased female civil servants. Laws and
regulations governing health insurance for civil servants do not permit
married women to extend their health insurance coverage to dependents
or spouses. However, divorced and widowed women may extend coverage to
their children.
Women.--'s rights activists complained that the law granting women
equal pay for equal work was not enforced. Many women said traditional
social pressures discouraged them from pursuing professional careers,
especially after marriage.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived only through
the father. The government did not issue birth certificates to all
children born in the country during the year. The government deemed
some children--including children of unmarried women or of certain
interfaith marriages, and converts from Islam to another religion--
illegitimate and denied them proper registration, making it difficult
or impossible for them to attend school, access health services, or
receive other documentation.
Education.--Education is compulsory from ages six through 16 and
free until age 18. However, no legislation exists to enforce the law or
to punish guardians for violating it. Children without legal residency
do not have the right to attend public school. Children of female
citizens and noncitizen fathers, for example, must apply for and pay 30
dinars ($42) for residency permits every year, and permission is not
guaranteed. Children with disabilities experienced extreme difficulty
in accessing constitutionally guaranteed early and primary education
(see section 6; Persons with Disabilities).
Child Abuse.--The law specifies punishment for abuse of children.
For example, conviction for rape of a child younger than 15 years
potentially carries the death penalty. However, local organizations
working with abused children pointed to gaps in the legal system that
regularly resulted in lenient sentencing, particularly for family
members convicted of abuse. For example, the penal code gives judges
the ability to reduce a sentence when the victim's family does not
press charges. In child abuse cases, judges routinely accorded leniency
per the wishes of the family. From January to August 31, authorities
investigated 329 cases of child sexual abuse and 87 cases of child
physical abuse; these cases were all referred to the courts. A 2009
UNICEF report stated that 71 percent of children were subjected to
verbal abuse and 57 percent had experienced some form of physical abuse
in school.
According to the NCHR report, some juveniles in detention alleged
torture and mistreatment (see section 1.c., Prison and Detention Center
Conditions).
The government continued to fund a child protection center that
provided temporary shelter and medical care for abused children between
the ages of six and 12. During the year the shelter housed 73 abused
children. Observers noted that the shelter lacked qualified staff,
psychosocial counselors, and a comprehensive approach to deal with
victims of abuse.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 18. However, with
the consent of both a judge and a guardian, a child as young as 15, in
most cases a girl, may be married. Judicial statistics indicated that
in 2010 judges granted consent in 8,042 cases in which at least one
person was between 15 and 18 years old.
International Child Abduction.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--Anti-Semitism was present in the media. Editorial
cartoons, articles, and opinion pieces sometimes negatively depicted
Jews without government response. Aside from expatriates, there was no
resident Jewish community in the country. The national school
curriculum, including materials on tolerance education, did not include
mention of the Holocaust.
In November the daily newspaper Al-Arab Al-Yawm published a column
in which the writer blamed the Jews for causing all the conflicts in
the world.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law generally provides equal rights
to persons with disabilities, but such legal protections were not
upheld in practice. Activists noted that the 2007 law on the rights of
persons with disabilities still lacked implementing regulations. The
Higher Council for the Affairs of People with Disabilities (HCAPD), a
government body, works with ministries, the private sector, and NGOs to
formulate and implement strategies to assist persons with disabilities.
During the parliamentary elections in 2010, the Ministry of Interior
issued procedures for elections to include provisions to guarantee the
accessibility of certain polling stations and allow people with visual
impairment to bring a personal assistant with them when they vote.
Citizens and NGOs universally reported that persons with disabilities
faced problems accessing education, transportation, and other services,
particularly in rural areas.
The HCAPD reported that educational accommodations were more
readily available at the university level than in elementary and
secondary schools. At all levels of education, children with certain
types of disabilities were excluded from studying certain subjects and
often could not access critical educational support services, such as
sign language interpretation. General education teachers were not
trained to work with students with various disabilities; families of
children with disabilities reported that teachers and principals often
refused to include children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms.
The Ministry of Education provided accessible transportation to
specialized centers for children with disabilities but not to
mainstream schools. Students with intellectual disabilities fell under
the authority of the Ministry of Social Development rather than the
Ministry of Education.
The Special Buildings Code Department is tasked with enforcing
accessibility provisions and oversees retrofitting of existing
buildings to comply with building codes. The vast majority of private
and public office buildings continued to have limited or no access for
persons with disabilities; municipal infrastructure such as streets,
sidewalks, and intersections were not accessible.
The law mandates that public and private sector establishments with
between 25 and 50 workers employ at least one person with disabilities,
and establishments with more than 50 workers must reserve 4 percent of
their positions for persons with disabilities. However, the law lacked
implementing regulations and was rarely enforced; in addition,
employers who state that the nature of the work is not suitable for
people with disabilities are exempt from the quota. A variety of
activities, including opening and using bank accounts and applying for
a job, require a medical letter certifying that the bearer is competent
to perform the task in question. Human rights activists considered the
letter a large barrier to participation in public life; some medical
professionals were not aware of the full range of accommodations
available and thus certified individuals as not able to perform certain
tasks. During the year several individuals with visual impairment
reported that they sought employment as teachers but were rejected on
the basis of their disability and were directed instead to teaching
assistant and other supporting positions for which they were
overqualified.
The forced sterilization of women and girls with intellectual
disabilities was a common practice during the year (see Women).
Human rights activists and the media reported that children and
adults with disabilities were vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse
while in institutions, rehabilitation centers, or other care settings,
including their family homes (see section 1.c.).
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were three groups of
Palestinians residing in the country, many of whom faced some
discrimination. Those who migrated to the country and the Jordan-
controlled West Bank after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war received full
citizenship, as did those who migrated to the country after the 1967
war and hold no residency entitlement in the West Bank. Palestinians
still residing in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer eligible to
claim full citizenship but were allowed to obtain temporary travel
documents without national identification numbers provided they did not
also carry a Palestinian Authority travel document. These individuals
had access to some government services but paid noncitizen rates at
hospitals, educational institutions, and training centers. Refugees who
fled Gaza after 1967 were not entitled to citizenship and were issued
temporary travel documents without national numbers. These persons had
no access to government services and were almost completely dependent
on UNRWA services.
Several human rights organizations stated that the Ministry of
Interior revoked national numbers of some longtime citizens of
Palestinian origin during the year, despite codified passport issuance
procedures (see section 2.d.).
Palestinians were underrepresented in parliament and senior
positions in the government and the military, as well as in admissions
to public universities. They had limited access to university
scholarships.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is not illegal
in Jordan; however, societal discrimination against LGBT persons
existed. A number of citizens reported sporadic police mistreatment of
suspected LGBT persons. Some members of the LGBT community reported a
reluctance to engage the legal system for fear that their sexuality
would become an issue. There were reports of individuals who left the
country due to fear their families would punish them for their sexual
orientation.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was a largely
taboo subject. Lack of public awareness remained a problem; many
citizens believed the disease exclusively affected foreigners and
members of the LGBT community. HIV-positive individuals were socially
stigmatized. The government continued its efforts to inform the public
about the disease and eliminate negative attitudes about persons with
HIV/AIDS; however, it also continued to test all foreigners annually
for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, syphilis, malaria, and tuberculosis, and it
deported those who tested HIV-positive.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides citizens working in the private sector, in some
government-owned companies, and in certain public sector professions
the right to form and join unions. The law defines 17 industries and
professions in which unions may be established, and establishment of
new unions requires approval from the Ministry of Labor. The law
requires all unions to belong to the government-subsidized General
Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU), the country's sole trade
union federation. Although foreign workers have been allowed to join
unions since 2010, they are not permitted to create unions, head a
union, or hold union office. There is no right to collective
bargaining. The labor code provides for collective agreements, but
observers stated that the relevant legal procedures are cumbersome.
There are limits on the right to strike, including a minimum 14 days'
notice to the employer. Strikes are prohibited if a labor dispute is
under mediation or arbitration. The constitution prohibits antiunion
discrimination.
On September 6, after decades of campaigns by public school
teachers, the government announced a new law to establish a teachers'
professional association; however, the law makes membership in the new
association mandatory. The law reversed a 1994 decision by the Higher
Council for the Interpretation of the Constitution that restricted
civil servants from organizing.
Government influence in union policies and activities continued.
The government subsidized and audited the GFJTU's salaries and
activities and monitored union elections. The minister of labor may
seek judicial dissolution of a labor union that fails to conform to the
law.
On August 13, a group of labor activists announced the formation of
a new union federation outside of the GFJTU structure, in contravention
of the labor law. On November 25, the minister of labor asserted that
any union that organizes in a workplace already falling under the
jurisdiction of one of the 17 trade unions would be illegal; however,
no further action was taken against the nascent independent union
federation or its members by the end of the year.
In practice strikes generally occurred without advance notice, and
the union or workers requested penalty waivers for the illegal strike
as part of subsequent labor negotiations.
Foreign workers in the garment sector, whose residency permits are
tied to work contracts, were vulnerable to retaliation for
participating in strikes and sit-ins. The Ministry of Labor sometimes
prevented management from arbitrarily dismissing foreign workers
engaged in labor or other activism, but its engagement was
inconsistent. Observers reported it was common practice for management
to refuse to renew foreign workers' contracts on the basis of
``troublemaking'' or attempting to organize in the workplace. Labor
organizations reported management officials in the garment sector
halted the provision of meals and utilities to worker dormitories
during the year to break up several strikes deemed illegal due to lack
of prior notice. Labor organizations reported that management
representatives used threats and physical violence to intimidate
striking workers; labor organizations and industry representatives
reported that workers also sometimes used threats and physical violence
to retaliate against management officials or to coerce colleagues into
participating in labor actions. The law allows employers to consider
employment contracts for foreign workers void if a worker is absent
more than 10 consecutive days, as long as the employer provides written
notice; during the year dozens of workers were reportedly deported
under this provision in the wake of strikes. Governors have broad
authority to deport foreign nationals accused of posing a security
threat; one strike leader was deported under charges including theft
and illegally trading in alcohol, by an order of the governor, signed
by the minister of interior.
The Ministry of Labor received no complaints of antiunion
discrimination during the year; however, some nonunionized workers
alleged retaliation from employers. This was particularly the case for
foreign workers in all sectors as well as citizens working in the
public sector on short-term contracts (day laborers). The Ministry of
Labor did not have a policy of investigating the nonrenewal of short-
term contracts on the basis of antiunion animus.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, except in a state of emergency
such as war or natural disaster. However, there were reports of forced
labor, particularly among domestic workers. The labor code does not
effectively protect domestic workers, and labor inspectors did not
regularly investigate reports of labor or other abuses of domestic
workers in private homes. The labor inspectorate reported that the
domestic worker unit entered and inspected seven private residences
during the year.
Some migrants working as domestic servants in the country were
subjected to conditions of forced labor, including withholding of
passports, restrictions on movement, nonpayment of wages, threats,
excessively long work hours, and physical or sexual abuse.
Workers encountered conditions indicative of forced labor in some
garment sector factories, including late or nonpayment of wages,
restrictions on freedom of movement, and excessive overtime. The
government actively inspected factories and investigated allegations of
forced labor in garment factories, and reports of withholding of
passports continued to decline during the year. The Ministry of Labor
recommended to the labor courts the imposition of fines on violators
when appropriate. The labor inspectorate stated that inspectors visited
51,661 workplaces during the year, including 161 night visits to
factories in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs). Inspectors issued
2,708 warnings and 14,523 citations for violations.
The government did not regularly and systematically screen third-
country migrant workers sheltering at their embassies or third country
nationals arrested by the police to see if they were victims of
trafficking in persons.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law forbids employment of children younger than 16 years of age, except
as apprentices in nonhazardous positions. The law provides that
employers who hire a child younger than 16 must pay a fine of as much
as 500 dinars ($710), which is doubled for repeat offenses. The law
bans those between the ages of 16 and 18 from working in potentially
hazardous jobs, limits working hours for such children to six hours per
day, mandates one-hour breaks for every four consecutive working hours,
and prohibits these children from working after 8 p.m. on national or
religious holidays and on weekends. On July 23, the Ministry of Labor
expanded the list of potentially hazardous jobs to include work
involving explosive or flammable materials; mining; work that requires
special protective gear; work involving sharp machines, screws, or
electric belts; and work involving exposure to traffic or other moving
vehicles, carpentry, mechanical work, welding, and blacksmithing. Also
included are service jobs involving work with the elderly, addicts, or
people with mental illnesses.
In practice children worked in mechanical repair, agriculture,
construction, and the hotel and restaurant industry; in the informal
sector as street vendors, carpenters, blacksmiths, domestic workers,
and painters; and in small family businesses. Child labor appeared
concentrated in larger cities, such as Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid. A 2008
Department of Statistics study estimated that more than 32,000 children
between the ages of five and 17 were working in the country. Activists
estimated the number to be significantly higher, as many businesses and
families tended to hide the practice. The government lacked recent
statistics on the problem.
During the year the Ministry of Labor issued 682 corrective
notices, 292 warnings, and 67 citations for violations that involved
child laborers. The Ministry of Labor's Child Labor Unit coordinates
government action regarding child labor and receives, investigates, and
addresses child labor complaints. The unit, with three employees,
coordinated child labor inspections for the 130 labor inspectors. Labor
inspectors issued fines for child labor violations but reportedly
attempted alternative approaches first, such as ensuring safe work
conditions and cooperating with employers to permit working children to
attend school concurrently.
In 2009 the government reinstated the National Committee to Combat
Child Labor and initiated development of a new national strategy;
during the year the government took steps to implement portions of this
strategy in cooperation with several NGOs. Overall, the government's
capacity to implement and enforce child labor laws was not sufficient
to deter the practice.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year the national
minimum wage was 150 dinars ($212) per month, and the poverty level was
set at 323 dinars ($455) per month for a family of six. Ministry of
Labor inspectors enforced the minimum wage but were unable to ensure
full compliance due to limited resources. The garment sector and
workers in domestic jobs did not receive the 2008 minimum wage
increase; these workers had a minimum wage of 110 dinars ($155) per
month. This exemption was granted in part because of an understanding
that employers often provide room and board for workers in these
sectors. However, some garment factories continued to deduct room and
board from workers' already below-minimum-wage salaries. Many domestic
workers reported to local NGOs and their embassies that they received
insufficient food, no private accommodations, and long delays in
payment.
The law requires overtime pay for hours worked in excess of the 48-
hour standard workweek. The law permits compulsory overtime under
certain circumstances such as conducting an annual inventory, closing
accounts, preparing to sell goods at discounted prices, avoiding loss
to goods that would otherwise be exposed to damage, and receiving
special deliveries. In such cases actual working hours may not exceed
10 hours per day, the employee must be paid overtime, and the period
may not last more than 30 days. There is no cap on the amount of
consensual overtime. Thus the Ministry of Labor permitted employees in
some industries, such as the garment sector, to work excessive
workweeks, reportedly as much as 80-100 hours per week. Employees can
lodge a complaint directly with the Ministry of Labor or through
organizations such as their union or the NCHR. Employees are entitled
to one day off per week. Provisions for domestic workers were similar.
The law specifies a number of health and safety requirements that
the Ministry of Labor is authorized to enforce; however, workers do not
have a statutory right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions
without risking the loss of their jobs and may be fired if they attempt
to do so. Foreign workers, who make up the vast majority of workers in
the QIZ garment factories and Export Processing Zones, were more
susceptible to dangerous or unfair conditions, including mandatory
overtime, delayed payment of wages, deductions for room and board, and
unacceptable dormitory conditions.
The government continued to work with Better Work Jordan to improve
labor standards in the garment sector. In June the government issued a
public list of garment factories required to join the International
Labor Organization project Better Work Jordan. Listed factories that
did not join by the end of the year were to face fines. At the end of
the year, Better Work Jordan included 50 of the 54 factories required
by law to join the program.
Some workers in the agricultural sector, the vast majority of whom
were Egyptian, were subject to exploitative conditions. According to a
domestic NGO, it was common for agricultural workers to be paid less
than the minimum wage, work excessive hours without adequate
compensation, and live in substandard housing. Some employers in the
agricultural sector also reportedly confiscated passports.
Domestic workers can file in-person complaints with the Ministry of
Labor's Domestic Workers Directorate or the PSD; however, many domestic
workers complained there was no follow-up on their cases either from
the Ministry of Labor or the PSD. Domestic workers can also file
complaints via a Ministry of Labor hotline; users of the hotline
reported that live operators are available only during government
business hours, or seven hours a day during the workweek. After-hours
calls require the user to leave a message and a callback number, which
poses particular difficulties for domestic workers without access to
any phones but their employers'. Advocates for migrant domestic workers
reported domestic workers who sought government assistance or made
allegations against their employers frequently faced counterclaims of
criminal behavior from their employers. Employers could file criminal
complaints or flight notifications with police stations; even when
domestic workers benefited from initiatives such as the general amnesty
that waived immigration overstay fines, they could be prevented from
leaving the country due to such outstanding alerts with the police.
During the year hundreds of domestic workers from the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Sri Lanka were sheltered at their respective embassies
in Amman. Most had reportedly fled some form of forced labor or abuse,
including unpaid wages and, to a lesser extent, sexual or physical
abuse. By law employers are responsible for renewing residency permits
but often failed to do this for domestic employees. As a result most of
the embassy-sheltered domestic workers were considered illegal
residents, and many were stranded because they were unable to pay the
daily overstay fees of 1.5 dinars ($2) to depart the country. Due to
the large number of domestic workers sheltered at these embassies, the
government convened an ad hoc committee to review the workers' cases;
this resulted in overstay fines being waived on a case-by-case basis.
Out-of-status foreign workers were included in the General Amnesty Law,
and workers who took advantage of the law had their overstay fines
waived; however, although some of these workers either rectified their
situations or departed the country, new cases of out-of-status workers
increased at a steady pace. Although the General Amnesty Law waived
overstay fines, observers reported that fees for working without a work
permit were not included in the waiver and prevented some workers from
returning to their home countries.
The Philippines, Indonesia, and for part of the year Sri Lanka
prohibited the emigration of migrant workers for domestic work because
of these problems. However, the prohibition did not reduce the flow of
migrant workers. Some human rights organizations argued the bans
heightened the vulnerability of foreign domestic workers by shutting
scrupulous recruitment agencies out of the market. During the year the
government and recruitment agencies took the position that the bans did
not have relevance under the law; recruitment and the issuance of visas
and work permits for Filipina, Indonesian, and Sri Lankan workers
continued.
__________
KUWAIT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by the Al
Sabah family. The country has a population of 3.44 million, of whom 1.1
million are citizens. The May 2009 parliamentary elections were
considered generally free and fair. Security forces reported to
civilian authorities.
Principal human rights problems included limitations on citizens'
right to change their government; trafficking in persons within the
expatriate worker population, especially in the domestic and unskilled
service sectors; and limitations on workers' rights. Authorities
restricted freedom of speech and assembly, especially among foreign
workers and stateless Arabs (called ``Bidoon").
Other human rights problems included reports of security forces
abusing prisoners; restrictions on freedom of movement for certain
groups, including foreign workers and Bidoon; and limitations on
freedoms of press, association, and religion at times during the year.
Bidoon faced social and legal discrimination, and women did not enjoy
equal rights.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses, whether in the security services or elsewhere in the
government. Impunity was sometimes a problem in corruption cases.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment or punishment; however, there were reports that
some police and members of the security forces abused detainees during
the year. Police and security forces were more likely to inflict such
abuse on noncitizens, particularly non-Gulf Arabs and Asians. Security
forces reportedly detained, harassed, and sexually abused transgender
persons.
On January 11, Mohammed al-Maimouni al-Mutairi, a citizen arrested
on charges of alcohol possession, died in police custody after security
officials allegedly tortured and beat him. The government conducted
multiple investigations and brought criminal charges against 20
officials in connection with his death. This incident contributed to
Interior Minister Shaykh Jaber Khaled Al-Sabah's decision to tender his
resignation later in January, according to press reports. The trial
continued at year's end.
In March a Bangladeshi expatriate worker died in the Kabad police
station after allegedly being tortured by three citizens and security
officers. The expatriate was being held on suspicion of theft and
arson. The case was referred to the public prosecutor. No further
information was available at year's end.
The government stated that it investigated all such allegations of
abuse and punished some of the offenders; however, in most cases the
government did not make public either the findings of its
investigations or any punishments it imposed.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Some detention facilities
lacked adequate sanitation and sufficient medical staff. Prisoners had
access to potable water. There were reports of security forces abusing
prisoners. In September a member of parliament alleged that security
forces at the deportation center in Talha had abused prisoners. The
center was severely overcrowded for much of the year and had poor
sanitation.
The Central Prison Complex houses the country's three prisons: a
low-security men's prison, a high-security men's prison, and a women's
prison. There were approximately 200 inmates in the women's prison and
4,100 inmates in the men's prisons. Inmates reportedly lived in
overcrowded conditions. Prison conditions for women were not worse than
those for men. The Talha deportation center had a capacity of 1,000;
official overall prison capacity was unknown.
Prisoners had reasonable access to personal visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Ombudsmen may not serve on behalf of
prisoners. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and request
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
The Ministry of Interior permitted independent monitoring of prison
conditions by international and local human rights groups, the media,
and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in accordance
with ICRC's standard processes. The ICRC visited all three prisons and
the detention center during the year. The government allowed
representatives of the leading human rights nongovernmental
organization (NGO) Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) to visit prisons
and prisoners during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention; however, there were reports that police
arbitrarily arrested individuals during the year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police have sole
responsibility for the enforcement of laws not related to national
security, and State Security oversees intelligence and national
security matters; both are under the purview of civilian Interior
Ministry authorities. The military is responsible for external
security.
The police were generally effective in carrying out core
responsibilities. There were reports that some police stations did not
take seriously the requests of complainants, especially foreign
nationals. In cases of alleged police abuse, the district chief
investigator examines abuse allegations and refers cases to the courts
for trial; there was some evidence of police impunity.
Security forces sometimes failed to respond effectively to societal
violence against family members or domestic workers.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A police
officer generally must obtain an arrest warrant from a state prosecutor
or a judge before making an arrest, except in cases of hot pursuit.
There were a few reports of police arresting and detaining foreign
nationals without a warrant during the year. The courts usually do not
accept cases without warrants issued prior to arrests. Detainees were
generally informed promptly of the charges against them and allowed
access to their lawyers and family members. However, in compliance with
the penal code, a suspected criminal may be held at a police station
without charge for as long as four days, during which time authorities
may prevent lawyers and family members from visiting. During this time
lawyers are permitted to attend legal proceedings but are not allowed
to have direct contact with their clients. The law provides the
detained person the right to a prompt judicial determination about the
detention's legality; however, this right was not always respected. If
charges are filed, a prosecutor may remand a suspect to detention for
an additional 21 days. Prosecutors also may obtain court orders for
further detention pending trial. There is a functioning bail system for
defendants awaiting trial. The bar association provides lawyers for
indigent defendants; in these cases defendants do not have the option
of choosing which lawyer will be assigned to them.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and
detention, and the government observed these prohibitions, apart from a
few reports that police arbitrarily arrested nonnationals.
Pretrial Detention.--Arbitrarily lengthy detention before trial was
a problem, and approximately 10 percent of the prison population
consisted of pretrial detainees. Some detainees were held beyond the
maximum detention period. Excessive detention in the deportation center
was also a problem, particularly when the detainee owed money to a
citizen.
Amnesty.--While there were no known amnesties during the year, on
March 24, the Ministry of the Interior released 433 inmates from the
Central Prison after the emir pardoned them. The pardon also commuted
sentences for an additional 460 prisoners and abolished the deportation
penalty for 170 non-Kuwaitis.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial and states that
``judges shall not be subject to any authority"; however, the emir
appoints all judges, and the renewal of judicial appointments is
subject to government approval. Judges who are citizens have lifetime
appointments; however, many judges are noncitizens who hold one- to
three-year renewable contracts. The Ministry of Justice may remove
judges for cause but rarely does so. Foreign residents involved in
legal disputes with citizens frequently claimed the courts showed bias
in favor of citizens.
Trial Procedures.--By law criminal trials are public unless a court
or the government decides ``maintenance of public order'' or the
``preservation of public morals'' necessitates closed proceedings.
There is no trial by jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence
and have the right to confront their accusers and appeal verdicts. The
law requires defendants in felony cases to be represented in court by
legal counsel, which the courts provide in criminal cases. The bar
association is obligated upon court request to appoint an attorney
without charge for indigent defendants in civil, commercial, and
criminal cases, and defendants used these services. Defendants have the
right to confront witnesses against them and present their own
witnesses. Defendants and their attorneys generally have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and to appeal their
cases to a higher court.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--In February, March, and
December security forces broke up several illegal gatherings of Bidoon
protestors. The government charged some individuals with unauthorized
gatherings, and while some charges were dropped, some trials continued
at the end of the year (see also section 2.b.).
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters regarding human
rights violations; however, rulings occasionally were not enforced.
Administrative punishments, such as travel bans, are also available for
use in civil matters.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law provides for individual privacy and the
sanctity of the home, and the government generally respected these
rights in practice.
The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men
and requires male citizens serving in the police force or military to
obtain government approval to marry foreign nationals. In practice the
government offered only nonbinding advice in such matters and did not
prevent any such marriages.
The government may deny a citizenship application by a Bidoon
resident based on security or criminal violations committed by the
individual's family members.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press ``in
accordance with the conditions and in the circumstances defined by
law.'' In practice the government sometimes did not respect these
rights.
Freedom of Speech.--The government restricted freedom of speech,
particularly in instances purportedly related to national security. The
law also specifically prohibits material insulting Islam, the emir, the
constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or Public Prosecutor's
Office. The law mandates jail terms for anyone who ``defames
religion,'' and any Muslim citizen may file criminal charges against a
person the citizen believes has defamed Islam, the ruling family, or
public morals.
Several individuals were charged with insulting the emir during the
year. On February 10, Kuwait University law professor Obeid al-Wasmi
was released pending trial after being arrested in December 2010 and
charged with spreading false news abroad, taking part in a public
gathering with criminal intent, exhorting the security forces to defy
lawful orders, and infringing on the emir's authority. His case was
pending at year's end.
On January 24, the Court of Cassation vacated on technical grounds
the June 2010 conviction of former National Democratic Alliance head
Khaled al-Fadhala for slandering the prime minister at a 2009 rally.
The case was referred back to the lower court, but on February 10, the
prime minister dropped the suit.
Freedom of Press.--All print media were privately owned, although
their independence was limited. They exhibited a diversity of opinion
but self-censored to avoid criminal charges or fines, or to keep their
licenses. Restrictions on freedom of speech also applied to the press.
The law allows for large fines and up to 10 years in prison for persons
who use any means (including media) to subvert the emiri system of
government. The Ministry of Commerce may ban any media organization at
the request of the Ministry of Information. By law newspaper publishers
must obtain an operating license from the Ministry of Information.
Broadcast media are a mix of government and privately owned
stations, subject to the same laws as print media.
In December 2010 authorities shut the local offices of the Al
Jazeera television network and withdrew its accreditation after it
broadcast footage of police using force to break up an unauthorized
gathering of oppositionists and subsequently gave airtime to opposition
parliamentarians who strongly criticized the government for the police
actions. On December 23, the Ministry of Information announced that Al
Jazeera's offices would reopen as soon as the administrative process
was complete, but they remained closed at year's end.
Before the annual international book fair held in October, the
Ministry of Information added more books to the thousands of titles
already banned for being ``contrary to the fair and state policies.''
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Ministry of Information
censored all books, commercial films, periodicals, videotapes, CDs,
DVDs, and other imported material deemed illegal per the guidelines
listed above. However, satellite dishes were widely available and
allowed some citizens to receive unfiltered media. Most English-
language educational materials that deal with the Holocaust or refer to
Israel are censored to remove such references; these restrictions do
not apply to the media, however.
Libel Laws/National Security.--Throughout the year the government
restricted media freedom based on libel laws or national security
grounds.
On March 27, the Court of First Instance convicted political
activist and owner of al-Sour satellite channel Muhammad al-Juwaihel of
slandering parliamentarians Musallam al-Barrak and Sa'doun al-Otaibi
during a 2009 live television broadcast and sentenced him to one year
in prison. However, on April 11, the government released al-Juwaihel
after the court suspended the sentence contingent upon continued good
behavior and fined him 200 dinars (approximately $720).
The law forbids publication or transmission of any information
deemed subversive to the constitutional system on national security
grounds. Although the government continued to enforce a May 2010 ban on
publishing details of an investigation into an alleged Iranian spy
network, media outlets continued to report on the subsequent conviction
and sentencing of some defendants.
In March the Ministry of Information announced it was filing
charges against Shiite newspaper Al-Dar for referring to the Saudi-led
military intervention in Bahrain as an ``invasion.'' No further
information on this case was available at year's end.
Internet Freedom.--The government monitored Internet
communications, such as blogs and discussion groups, for defamation and
security reasons. The Ministry of Communications continued to block Web
sites considered to ``incite terrorism and instability'' and required
Internet service providers to block Web sites that ``violate [the
country's] customs and traditions,'' in addition to political sites
that the government found offensive. The government prosecuted and
punished individuals for the expression of political or religious views
via the Internet, including by e-mail, based on existing laws related
to libel and/or national security. There were reports that the
government attempted to collect the personally identifiable information
of a person in connection with that person's peaceful expression of
political, religious, or ideological opinion or beliefs. Internet cafe
owners were obligated to obtain the names and civil identification
numbers of customers and to submit the information to the Ministry of
Communication upon request.
On June 7, authorities arrested Nasser Abul after he posted alleged
insults on Twitter against the Sunni community, as well as Bahraini and
Saudi royal families. On September 27, the Court of First Instance
convicted Abul for defaming religion and sentenced him to three months
in prison; however, he was released immediately for time served prior
to his trial. The court cleared Abul of other charges, including
slander, endangering the state, and harming political relations with
other Gulf countries.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for freedom
of opinion and of research; however, academic freedom was limited by
self-censorship, and the law prohibits academics from criticizing the
emir or Islam.
The Ministry of Interior reserved the right to approve or reject
annual public events and rejected those it considered politically or
morally inappropriate.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly; however,
in practice the government restricted this right.
Political oppositionists organized dozens of protests and rallies
throughout the year. In practice security officials generally allowed
peaceful protests to go forward without permits. Citing public safety
and traffic concerns, officials sometimes restricted the location of
planned protests to designated public spaces.
In February, March, and December security forces broke up several
illegal gatherings of Bidoon protesters. In most cases the protests
were allowed to proceed for some time before demonstrators were
instructed to disperse. After some protesters refused to leave, and in
some cases where others allegedly attacked members of the security
forces, the security forces used nonlethal means to disperse the crowd
and arrested some protestors. Some domestic and international NGOs
alleged that the use of force was excessive.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of
association; however, in practice the government restricted this right.
The law prohibits officially licensed groups from engaging in political
activities.
The government uses its power to license associations as a means of
political control. There were 73 officially licensed NGOs in the
country, including a bar association, professional groups, and
scientific bodies. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor did not
license any new NGOs during the year. There remained 149 NGOs pending
licensing by the ministry; many had been waiting years for approval.
Dozens of unlicensed civic groups, clubs, and unofficial NGOs in the
country had no legal status. The ministry rejected some license
requests on the grounds that established NGOs already provided services
similar to those the petitioners proposed. The ministry can also reject
an NGO's application if it deems that the NGO does not provide a public
service. Members of licensed NGOs must obtain permission from the
ministry to attend international conferences as official
representatives of their organization.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution generally provides
for freedom of movement within the country; however, numerous laws
constrain foreign travel, and the government placed some limits on
freedom of movement in practice. The government was generally
uncooperative with most efforts by the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations
to provide implementation of protection and assistance to refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
Foreign Travel.--Women and stateless persons (Bidoon) faced
problems with or restrictions on foreign travel. Women have the right
to obtain a passport and travel without a male family member's
permission. However, a husband may still request that immigration
authorities prevent his wife's departure from the country for up to 24
hours, after which a court order may extend the travel ban. The
government restricted the ability of some Bidoon to travel abroad
through the nonissuance of travel documents. It permitted some Bidoon
to travel to Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj and continued to issue
``Article 17'' passports (temporary travel documents that do not confer
nationality) for Bidoon.
The law also permits travel bans on citizens or foreigners accused
or suspected of violating the law, including nonpayment of debts, and
it allows other citizens to petition authorities to do so. This
resulted in delays and difficulties for citizens and foreigners leaving
the country.
Exile.--The law prohibits the deportation or forced exile of
citizens, although the government can revoke citizenship of naturalized
citizens for various causes, including felony conviction, and
subsequently deport individuals.
Citizenship.--The government cannot revoke the citizenship of an
individual who is born a citizen, unless that individual has obtained a
second nationality, which is against the law; however, it can revoke
the citizenship of naturalized citizens. During the year the government
revoked the citizenship of some dual nationals and their children.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for granting asylum or refugee status. There is no system
for providing protection to refugees, and the government did not grant
refugee status or asylum during the year. According to the UNHRC, there
were approximately 1,100 registered asylum seekers and 322 recognized
refugees in the country during the year. The country's immigration
regulations prohibit local integration for asylum seekers. In practice,
however, the government provided protection against the expulsion or
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. The constitution
prohibits the extradition of political refugees.
Stateless Persons.--According to the law, citizenship is derived
entirely from the father; children born to citizen mothers and
nonnational fathers do not inherit citizenship unless the mother is
divorced or widowed from the nonnational father. The law further fails
to provide nonnationals, including Bidoon, a clear or defined
opportunity to gain nationality. Female citizens may sponsor their
nonnational children (regardless of their age) and husbands for
residency permits and may petition for their children to be
naturalized, should they become divorced or widowed from a noncitizen
husband.
Although the exact number of Bidoon residents was unknown, the
Supreme Council for Higher Planning reported in November 2010 that
there were 106,000 Bidoon in the country. The government continued to
discriminate against Bidoon in some areas. On March 10, the Council of
Ministers issued a decree approving the provision of some government
services and subsidies, including education, employment, medical care,
and the issuing of civil documents, such as birth and death
certificates, to Bidoon. In practice, however, some Bidoon and
international NGOs claimed that the decree had not been uniformly
implemented. The government accepted Bidoon in some government
positions, and some Bidoon worked in the armed forces or police;
although there are no legal strictures that prevent their service in
the enlisted ranks, the Bidoon have effectively been barred from
enlisting in either force since 1985.
While the government granted citizenship to several hundred Bidoon
during the year, more than 80,000 Bidoon citizenship requests were
pending at year's end. Many Bidoon were unable to provide documentation
proving sufficient ties to the country or to present evidence of their
original nationality. However, the government maintained that the vast
majority of Bidoon were concealing their true identities and were not
actually stateless.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens had only a limited, indirect impact on control of the
executive branch, as the constitution stipulates that the country is a
hereditary emirate. The 50 elected National Assembly members (along
with government-appointed ministers) must by majority vote approve the
emir's choice of crown prince (the future emir). The crown prince must
be a descendant of Shaykh Mubarak Al-Sabah and meet three additional
requirements: that he has attained the age of majority, is of sound
mind, and is a legitimate son of Muslim parents. The National Assembly
may remove the emir from power with a two-thirds majority vote if it
finds that any of these three conditions is no longer accurate. The law
provides citizens with the right to change their representatives in the
legislative branch of government, and citizens exercised this right in
practice through elections.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The 2009
parliamentary election, held two months after the emir dissolved the
National Assembly, was generally considered free and fair. It was the
third election in three years, due to the emir's previous
constitutional dissolutions of parliament in 2006 and 2008.
Political Parties.--The government did not recognize any political
parties or allow their formation, although no formal law bans political
parties. Well-organized, unofficial blocs operated as political
groupings, and members of parliament formed loose alliances. Some
tribes held illegal primaries to maximize their members' chances for
election to the National Assembly. Assembly candidates must nominate
themselves as individuals.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Tribal leaders excluded
women from the tribal primaries. Four women served as elected
parliamentarians in the 50-member National Assembly.
There are no laws or cultural practices preventing minorities from
participating in political life. Members of the minority Shia community
held nine of 50 seats in the National Assembly.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law mandates criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and on
occasion officials were believed to have engaged in corrupt practices
with impunity. The Audit Bureau is the government agency responsible
for combating government corruption. Although the bureau and a
government-formed committee reported various allegations of corruption
and irregularities during the year, there were no public high-profile
corruption cases before the courts. The parliament also frequently
announced inquiries into suspected misuses of public funds, but none
resulted in prosecution during the year. Opinion polls conducted in
2010 indicated a decline in the public's faith in the government's
ability to control corruption.
In September media outlets reported allegations of
``irregularities'' including suspicious deposits of millions of dollars
into the personal bank accounts of several members of parliament. At
year's end the public prosecutor was investigating at least 15
parliamentarians in conjunction with the case.
There were many reports about individuals having to pay
intermediaries in order to receive routine government services.
Additionally, police corruption was a problem, especially when one
party to a dispute had a personal relationship with a police official
involved in a case. Widespread reports indicated that police showed
favoritism towards citizens versus noncitizens.
Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law provides for public access to unclassified government
information by citizens and noncitizens alike. The government enforced
the law.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government restricted the operations of domestic and
international human rights groups and limited cooperation with them.
The law permits the existence of NGOs; however, the government
continued to deny licenses to some NGOs. NGOs may not engage in
political activity and are prohibited from encouraging sectarianism.
They must also demonstrate that their existence is in the public
interest. The only local independent NGOs dedicated specifically to
human rights were the KHRS and the Kuwaiti Society for Fundamental
Human Rights. Local licensed NGOs devoted to the rights or welfare of
specific groups, such as women, children, foreign workers, prisoners,
and persons with disabilities, were permitted to operate without
government interference. A few dozen local unlicensed human rights
groups operated without government restriction during the year. The
government and various National Assembly committees met regularly with
local NGOs and responded to their inquiries.
The government permitted international human rights organizations
to visit the country. In June and December Human Rights Watch officials
visited and conducted interviews, including with government officials,
principally concerning the rights of the Bidoon community. Refugees
International and the Open Society Institute also conducted study
missions during the year.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Assembly's Human
Rights Committee, which operates independently of the government, is an
advisory body that primarily hears individual complaints of human
rights abuses. Committee members also visited the Central Prison during
the year. The committee had access to adequate resources and was
considered effective. It did not issue reports.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, disability,
or language; discrimination based on social status is not addressed. In
practice the government did not uniformly or consistently enforce laws
against discrimination, and a number of laws and regulations
discriminated against women, Bidoon, noncitizens, and domestic and
expatriate workers.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Violence against women
continued to be a problem. Rape carries a maximum penalty of death,
which the country occasionally imposed for the crime; however, spousal
rape is not a crime. The media reported hundreds of rape cases during
the year. Many of the victims were noncitizen domestic workers. Police
occasionally arrested alleged rapists, and several were tried and
convicted during the year; however, laws against rape were not always
enforced effectively, especially in cases of noncitizen women raped by
their employers.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, but such
cases are tried as assault. A victim of domestic violence may file a
complaint with police requesting formal charges be brought against the
alleged abuser. Each of the country's 83 police stations reportedly
received complaints of domestic abuse. However, most domestic abuse
cases were not reported, especially outside the capital, likely due to
the strong social stigma associated with publicly acknowledging such
problems. Police officials rarely arrested perpetrators of domestic
violence even when presented with documented evidence of the abuse,
such as eyewitness accounts, hospital reports, and social worker
testimony. Individuals also reportedly bribed police officials to
ignore domestic abuse charges. Although courts found husbands guilty of
spousal abuse in previous years, those convicted rarely faced severe
penalties. Noncitizen women married to citizens reported domestic abuse
and inaction or discrimination by police during the year.
A woman may petition for divorce based on injury from abuse, but
the law does not provide a clear legal standard as to what constitutes
injury. In addition, a woman must provide at least two male witnesses
(or a male witness and two female witnesses) to attest to the injury.
There were no shelters or hotlines specifically for victims of domestic
violence, although a temporary shelter for domestic workers housed
victims during the year.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--Honor crimes, according to the
penal code, are penalized as misdemeanors. The law states that a man
who sees his wife, daughter, mother, or sister in the ``act of
adultery'' and immediately kills her and/or the man with whom she is
committing adultery faces a maximum punishment of three years'
imprisonment and a fine of 225 dinars ($800), slightly less than a
month's earnings at the public sector minimum wage. There were no
reported honor crimes in recent years.
Sexual Harassment.--There is no specific law that addresses sexual
harassment; however, the law criminalizes ``encroachment on honor,''
which encompasses everything from touching a woman against her will to
rape, and police strictly enforced this law. During the year the
government deployed female police officers specifically to combat
sexual harassment in shopping malls and other public spaces.
Perpetrators face fines and jail time. Human rights groups
characterized sexual harassment against women in the workplace as a
pervasive, yet unreported, problem.
Reproductive Rights.--There were no reports of government
interference in the right of couples and individuals to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children. Decisions
regarding access to contraceptives, family size, and procedures
involving reproductive and fertility treatments required the consent of
both husband and wife. The information and means to make those
decisions, as well as skilled attendance during childbirth, were freely
available. While the government did not provide any formal family
planning programs, oral contraceptives were available without a
prescription.
Discrimination.--Women have many political rights; however, they do
not enjoy the same rights as men under family law, property law, or in
the judicial system, and they experienced legal, economic, and social
discrimination. Sharia (Islamic law) courts have jurisdiction over
personal status and family law cases for Sunni and Shia Muslims. Sharia
discriminates against women in judicial proceedings, freedom of
movement (see section 1. d.), marriage, and inheritance. Secular courts
allow any person to testify and consider male and female testimony
equally; however, in the sharia courts the testimony of a man is equal
to that of two women.
The law prohibits marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men.
A non-Muslim woman is not required by law to convert to Islam to marry
a Muslim male; however, in practice many non-Muslim women faced strong
economic and societal pressure to convert. The law grants custody of
children of non-Muslim women who fail to convert to the father in the
event of a divorce. By law a non-Muslim woman who fails to convert is
also ineligible for naturalization as a citizen and cannot inherit her
husband's property without being specified as a beneficiary in his
will.
Inheritance is also governed by Sharia, which varies according to
the specific school of Islamic jurisprudence followed by different
populations in the country. In the absence of a direct male heir, a
Shia woman may inherit all property while a Sunni woman inherits only a
portion, with the balance divided among brothers, uncles, and male
cousins of the deceased.
On January 26, the National Assembly passed a series of amendments
that gave women additional housing, work, and family benefits
previously denied to them under existing laws. The amendments provide
female citizens working in the public sector with an increase in family
leave benefits, and housing subsidies enjoyed by male citizens were
extended to widowed and divorced female citizens, female citizens
married to noncitizens, and single female citizens above 40. The
amendments also grant female citizens the right to sponsor their
noncitizen spouses and children for legal residency and exempt them
from paying annual residency permit fees. However, female citizens
remain unable to pass citizenship to their noncitizen husbands or their
children. Male citizens married to female noncitizens did not face such
discrimination in law or practice.
The law states that a woman should receive ``remuneration equal to
that of a man provided she does the same work"; however, it prohibits
women from working in ``dangerous industries'' and in trades
``harmful'' to health. Educated women maintained that the conservative
nature of society limited career opportunities, although there were
limited improvements. Women accounted for 53 percent of the 270,000
citizens working in the public sector, 44 percent of the 60,000 working
in the private sector, and 72 percent of college graduates.
The law requires that classes at all universities be segregated by
gender. Public universities enforced this law more rigorously than
private universities.
A parliamentary committee for women's and family affairs exists;
female parliamentarians made up four of its five members. The committee
was instrumental in pushing through the amendments granting benefits to
women. Additionally, some women attained prominent positions in
government and business as ministers and heads of corporations. There
were no female judges.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived entirely
from the father; children born to citizen mothers and nonnational
fathers do not inherit citizenship unless the mother is divorced or
widowed from the nonnational father. The government automatically
granted citizenship to orphaned or abandoned infants, including Bidoon
infants. Parents were sometimes unable to obtain birth certificates for
their Bidoon children because of additional administrative
requirements, creating an inability to access other public services
such as education and health care.
Education.--By law education for citizens is free through the
university level and compulsory through the secondary level. Education
is neither free nor compulsory for noncitizens. On March 10, the
Council of Ministers issued a decree extending education benefits to
Bidoon; however, bureaucratic problems continued to hinder Bidoon
children's access to free education.
Child Abuse.--Although there was no societal pattern of child
abuse, most cases went unreported due to social stigmas associated with
the disclosure of the practice.
Child Marriage.--The legal marriage age is 17 for men and 15 for
women, but younger girls continued to marry earlier in some tribal
groups. The Ministry of Justice estimated that underage marriages
constituted 2 to 3 percent of total marriages.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There is no statutory rape law or
minimum age for consensual sexual relations; however, premarital sexual
relations are illegal. All pornography is illegal. There are no laws
specific to child pornography.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as country-specific
information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish citizens and an
estimated few dozen Jewish foreign resident workers. Negative
commentary regarding Jews appeared in the media. Anti-Semitic rhetoric
often originated from self-proclaimed Islamists or conservative opinion
writers. These columnists often conflated Israeli actions with those of
Jews more broadly. School administrators have issued standing
instructions to teachers to expunge English-language textbooks of any
references to Israel or the Holocaust.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical, sensory, and mental disabilities and
imposes penalties on employers who refrain without reasonable cause
from hiring persons with disabilities. The law also mandates access to
buildings for persons with disabilities. The government generally
enforced these provisions. There were no specific reports of
discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, noncitizens
with disabilities did not have access to government-operated facilities
or receive stipends paid to citizens with disabilities that covered
transportation, housing, job training, and social welfare.
In June 2010 the government approved a new disability law that had
not been implemented at year's end, reportedly because of conflicts
with existing law. The law provides larger disability grants, reduced
working hours, and improved housing loans for citizens and Bidoon with
mental or physical disabilities. It requires government employers with
workforces of 50 persons or more to recruit at least 4 percent of their
workforce from vocationally trained persons with special needs. The law
also allows citizens with disabilities, or those with children with
disabilities, to receive larger than normal housing grants and earlier
pensions. Although Bidoons are not normally entitled to receive housing
grants, the new provisions include Bidoon with disabilities.
Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait
University, and several NGOs constitute the government's Higher Council
for Handicapped Affairs, which makes policy recommendations, provides
direct financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitates
their integration into schools, jobs, and other social institutions.
The government supervised and contributed to schools and job and
training programs oriented to persons with special needs. The National
Assembly has a Committee for Disabled Affairs.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Approximately 68 percent of the
country's residents were noncitizens, many originating from the Indian
subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Societal discrimination against
noncitizens was prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life,
including employment, education, housing, social interaction, and
health care.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality and cross-
dressing are illegal. The law punishes homosexual behavior between men
older than 21 with imprisonment of up of to seven years; those engaging
in homosexual activity with males younger than 21 may be imprisoned for
as long as 10 years. The law imposes a fine of 1,059 dinars ($3,800)
and imprisonment for one to three years for those imitating the
appearance of the opposite sex in public. No laws criminalize sexual
behavior between women. Transgender persons reported harassment,
detainment, and abuse by security forces.
Societal discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation
was common; officials practiced to a lesser extent a de facto
discrimination reflecting societal values and laws. There was no
government response to either. There were no official NGOs focused on
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender matters, although unofficial
ones existed.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Local human rights NGOs
reported that there were no accounts of societal violence or
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; however, this may be
because persons with HIV do not generally disclose their status due to
social stigma against the disease.
Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely
on marital status. The law prohibits single men from obtaining
accommodation in many urban residential areas.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The labor code, which does not apply to public sector employees,
domestic workers, or maritime employees, provides workers limited
rights to form and join trade unions. Discrete labor laws set work
conditions in the public and private sectors, with the oil industry
treated separately. The labor code permits limited trade union
pluralism at the local level, but there is only one government-
authorized federation, the Kuwait Trade Union Federation (KTUF).
The law provides workers a limited right to collective bargaining,
again excepting domestic servants, maritime workers, and civil
servants. There is no minimum number of workers needed to conclude such
agreements.
Public sector workers do not have the right to strike. Private
sector workers have the right to strike, although cumbersome provisions
calling for compulsory negotiation and arbitration in the case of
disputes limit that right. The law does not prohibit retaliation
against strikers by employers or prevent the government from
interfering in union activities, including the right to strike. Legal
strikes require permission from the Ministry of Interior, which was
rarely granted.
The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer
interference with union functions. Any worker alleging antiunion
discrimination has the right to appeal to the judiciary. By law
employers found guilty of such discrimination must reinstate workers
fired for union activities.
Foreign workers, who constitute the vast majority of the work
force, are permitted by law to join unions only as nonvoting members
after five years of work in the particular sector the union represents,
provided they obtain a certificate of good conduct and moral standing
from the government. They cannot run for seats or vote in board
elections. The law denies foreign domestic workers (approximately
570,000 of the estimated 1.5 million noncitizen workforce) and maritime
employees the right to associate and organize.
The law also stipulates that any new union must include at least
100 workers, 15 of them citizens. Both the International Labor
Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation criticized
the citizenship requirement for discouraging unions in sectors that
employ few citizens, including much of private sector employment, such
as construction.
The law empowers the courts to dissolve any union for violating
labor laws or for threatening ``public order and morals,'' although
such a court decision may be appealed. By law the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Labor can request the dissolution of a union by the Court
of First Instance. The emir also may dissolve a union by decree.
Although the law restricts freedom of association and collective
bargaining rights, the government did not always enforce these limits.
Worker organizations were generally not independent of the government,
and the government interfered in union activities. The government
essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal organizations,
providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and inspecting
financial records. If a union ceases to exist, the government, in turn,
confiscates its assets.
The KTUF included 15 of the 47 licensed unions, accounting for the
vast majority of union workers. Throughout the year some member unions
or workers who felt the KTUF did not meet the needs of all workers left
and joined the unlicensed National Trade Union Federation.
From September through the end of the year, numerous public sector
unions staged demonstrations, work stoppages, and sit-ins, demanding
higher salaries and greater benefits. At various points government
officials threatened striking civil servants with punishment and
granted military and security forces the power to break strikes, a move
sharply criticized by the KTUF. The government ultimately met most of
the strikers' demands in full or negotiated compromise packages. The
International Trade Union Confederation criticized the government for
not allowing the complete free exercise of labor unions in accordance
with International Labor Organization agreements.
Skilled foreign workers who were members of unions with significant
citizen membership also went on strike during the year. While public
sector union leaders faced no government repercussions for their roles
in the threats to strike, sit-ins, and demonstrations, companies
threatened noncitizen workers calling for strikes with termination and
deportation.
The KTUF stated the government did not widely enforce the
requirement that foreign workers have at least five years of residence
prior to joining a union.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor ``except in cases specified by law for
national emergency and with just remuneration.'' However, there were
reports of such practices, usually made possible by employer misuse of
the sponsorship system of noncitizen workers.
Domestic servitude was the most common type of forced labor,
principally involving foreign domestic workers employed under the
sponsorship system, but forced labor in the construction and sanitation
sectors also existed. Forced labor conditions for migrant workers
included nonpayment of wages, long working hours, deprivation of food,
threats, physical or sexual abuse, and restrictions on movement, such
as the withholding of passports or confinement to the workplace. Female
domestic workers were particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and
forced prostitution. Police and courts were reluctant to prosecute
citizens for abuse in private residences.
See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits child labor. The legal minimum age for employment is 18;
however, employers may obtain permits from the ministry to employ
juveniles between the ages of 15 and 18 in some nonhazardous trades.
Juveniles may work a maximum of six hours a day with no more than four
consecutive hours followed by a one-hour rest period.
The government made efforts to enforce the law effectively.
Approximately 300 labor ministry inspectors monitored private firms
routinely for labor law compliance, including laws against child labor.
Noncompliant employers faced fines or a forced suspension in their
company operations. There were credible reports of child labor,
consisting almost entirely of domestic servants of South Asian origin.
Some underage workers entered the country on travel documents with
falsified birth dates.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law set the national minimum
private sector wage at 60 dinars ($215) per month, which does not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and a family. The
government will not issue visas for dependents to accompany workers
earning less than 250 dinars per month ($900).
The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for the
petroleum industry), and gives private sector workers 30 days of annual
leave. The law also forbids requiring employees to work more than 60
hours per week or 10 hours per day. The law allows for 13 designated
national holiday days off annually. Workers are entitled to 125 percent
of base pay for working overtime and 150 percent of base pay for
working on their designated weekly day off.
Minimum wage guarantees and overtime protections do not apply to
domestic workers.
Workers submitted complaints to the Ministry of Labor's Labor
Disputes Department; however, the government did not enforce the
standards well, and domestic servants and other unskilled foreign
workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48 hours a
week, often with no day of rest. There were also reports that employers
forced domestic workers to work overtime without additional
compensation.
The government issued occupational health and safety standards;
however, compliance and enforcement by the Labor Ministry appeared
poor, especially with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. To
decrease accident rates, the government periodically inspected
enterprises to raise awareness among workers and employers and to
ensure that they abided by safety rules, controlled pollution resulting
from certain industries, trained workers to use machines, and reported
violations.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work
situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, and legal
protection existed for both citizen and foreign workers who filed
complaints about such conditions. Inspections do not, however, take
place in private residences, the workplace of the majority of the
country's domestic workers, and the government did not make significant
efforts to address working conditions for these workers. There were
frequent reports of domestic workers committing or attempting suicide
related to desperation over abuse or poor working conditions. The
number of such cases continued to be significant during the year.
As in past years, the government paid limited attention to worker
safety issues, resulting in poor training of inspectors, inadequate
injury reports, and no link between insurance payments and accident
reports.
The law provides that all outdoor work stop between 11 a.m. and 4
p.m. during the months of June, July, and August, or when the
temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade.
The Ministry of Labor monitored work sites to ensure compliance with
these rules and recorded 142 violations during the year. Workers could
report these violations to their embassies, the KTUF, or the Labor
Disputes Department. Noncompliant employers faced fines or a forced
suspension in their company operations.
__________
LEBANON
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Lebanon is a parliamentary republic, with a constitutionally
mandated Maronite Christian president, Sunni Muslim prime minister, and
Shia Muslim speaker of the chamber of deputies. Parliamentary elections
in 2009 were considered free and fair. Government security forces
reported to civilian authorities, although the terrorist group
Hizballah and Palestinian security and militia forces were outside the
direction of government officials.
The main human rights abuses reported during this year included
limitations on freedom of movement for some refugees, and poor prison
and detention conditions sometimes involving torture. Detainees faced
substandard prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, and long
delays in the court system.
Other human rights abuses included killings related to societal
violence; reports of disappearances and harassment of Syrian political
activists; arbitrary arrest and detention of individuals; violation of
citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of speech and press,
including intimidation of journalists; official corruption and lack of
transparency; societal, legal, and economic discrimination against
women; widespread domestic violence; trafficking in persons; systematic
discrimination against Palestinian refugees and minority groups;
restricted labor rights for and abuse of migrant domestic workers; and
child labor.
Although the legal structure provided for prosecution and
punishment, government officials enjoyed a measure of de facto impunity
for human rights violations.
Despite the presence of Lebanese and U.N. security forces,
Hizballah retained significant influence over parts of the country, and
the government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and
disarming armed militia groups, including Hizballah. Palestinian
refugee camps continued to act as self-governed entities and maintained
security and militia forces not under the direction of government
officials.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings, although there were at least four deaths in custody
during three days of riots in the prison in Roumieh in April (see
section 1.c.). As in previous years, there were reports of incidents of
societal violence and interreligious strife.
On June 17, clashes between Alawite residents of Jabal Mohsen and a
nearby Sunni district of Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli left seven people
dead and more than 10 wounded, after a gun battle erupted following a
rally in support of Syrian protesters. This area in Tripoli continued
to see occasional clashes between the communities during the year.
On December 15, a fight between two individuals evolved into an
armed clash between members from the Shia Amal Movement and the pro-
Syrian Sunni Ahbash group in Bourj Abi Haidar in Beirut, leaving three
dead and 11 injured. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) intervened to
contain the clash.
On July 29, the U.N.-appointed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
indicted four individuals, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan
Oneissi, Salim Jamil Ayyash, and Assad Hassan Sabra, all Hizballah
operatives suspected of collaborating in the 2005 killing of former
prime minister Rafik Hariri and 22 other individuals. The STL also
established its jurisdiction over the killing of George Hawi and
attacks on Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh, due to the similar nature and
gravity of the attacks. Authorities notified the STL that they were
unable to serve the accused with the indictments or arrest them.
There were no developments in the 2008 killing of Internal Security
Forces (ISF) intelligence officer Captain Wissam Eid and three others.
Captain Eid's 2006 report to the U.N. commission investigating the
Hariri assassination implicated Hizballah operatives, and Eid met with
U.N. investigators eight days before he was killed. The STL's four
indictments of Hezbollah operatives this year relied on evidence
originally developed by Eid.
There were no reports of clearly identified politically motivated
crimes allegedly committed by opposition groups or terrorists. It
remained difficult to distinguish such crimes from criminal acts or
disputes, as the government did not exercise full control over all its
territory, and investigations of suspicious killings rarely led to
prosecutions.
b. Disappearance.--Syrian political activists who fled to Lebanon
faced the risk of targeting, harassment, and kidnapping by Syrian and
Lebanese security services. For example, on February 23 and 24, agents
from the LAF Military Intelligence Bureau detained several members of
the Jasem family, Syrian citizens, after one of them distributed flyers
calling for protests demanding democratic changes in Syria. Jasem Jasem
disappeared on February 24 along with two of his brothers who had gone
to pick him up from a police station, and their whereabouts were
unknown at year's end. Press reports stated ISF Major General Ashraf
Rifi suspected an officer within the ISF colluded with the Syrian
Embassy in his kidnapping. Four other men from the Jasem family were
released after a few hours, but were then ordered to report back to the
military intelligence offices. On March 8, the men were detained and
later transferred to Roumieh Prison. No further information was
available at year's end.
On May 24, Shibli Alayasami, one of the founders of the Arab Baath
Socialist Party and a former vice-president of Syria, was reported
kidnapped from Aley. Press reports quoted Interior Minister Marwan
Charbel that investigations were ongoing; at year's end Alayasami's
daughter told the press the family believed he was imprisoned in Syria.
According to press reports, Syrian opposition activists said they
had been targeted by Syrian agents in Lebanon and were forced to
operate clandestinely for their protection.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law does not specifically prohibit all forms of
torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and
there were reports that government officials employed such practices.
According to Lebanese and international human rights groups, security
forces abused detainees, and torture was common and was often used to
obtain confessions or encourage suspects to implicate other
individuals.
Human rights organizations reported torture occurred in certain
police stations, the Ministry of Defense, in the Intelligence Branch of
the Ministry of Interior's ISF, and in the ISF's Drug Repression Bureau
detention facilities in Beirut and Zahle. The government continued to
deny the use of torture, although authorities acknowledged violent
abuse sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations at police
stations or military installations where suspects were interrogated
without an attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws that
prohibit judges from accepting confessions extracted under duress.
Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights
groups reported that methods of torture and abuse included hanging by
the wrists tied behind the back, violent beatings, blows to the soles
of the feet, electric shocks, sexual abuse, immersion in cold water,
extended periods of sleep deprivation, being forced to stand for
extended periods, threats of violence against relatives, deprivation of
clothing, withholding of food, being deprived of toilet facilities, and
continuous blindfolding.
For example, in June 2010 plainclothes ISF Information Branch
officers arrested and detained Mohammad Osman Zayat. According to a
report from Alkarama, an international human rights nongovernmental
organization (NGO), security officials put Zayat in stress positions,
beat him, and used electric shocks to force a confession. In December
2010 Zayat was transferred to a military court where he and eight
others were charged with being members of al-Qaida. Of the eight, only
four were arrested. Before a September 28 hearing, Zayat was released
but no compensation was paid for his detention and torture.
De facto impunity reportedly existed for security force officials.
The penal code prohibits using acts of violence to obtain a confession
or information about a crime, but the judiciary rarely prosecuted or
investigated such allegations. Local human rights organizations
published a study in January, Torture and Arbitrary Detention: the
Bitter Reality of Lebanon, with interviews of 20 individuals who
claimed to have been tortured between 2007 and 2010. Generally, the
study found that individuals were more likely to report being tortured
during the course of an investigation than when they were arrested on
an outstanding warrant. Individuals suspected of involvement in
espionage or terrorism were also more likely to report torture (see
section 1.d.). More than two-thirds had complained to the investigating
judge that they were tortured to obtain a confession. They reported the
judges did not take their complaints into consideration and pursued
their investigations based on confessions alleged to have been obtained
through torture. Several individuals reported the judges threatened
them with reprisals if they retracted their confessions.
On February 8, the ISF established through EU funding the Committee
to Monitor Against the Use of Torture and Other Inhuman Practices in
Prisons and Detention Centers. This committee aims to protect and
rehabilitate victims of torture and is managed by the ISF and the NGO
Association for Justice and Mercy (AJEM). It issued disciplinary
actions against approximately 12 persons during its three-month trial
period before its formal launch. This committee is authorized to visit
prisons and detention centers without prior notification.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions were harsh and in some prisons, such as the central
prison in Roumieh, life-threatening. Prisons were overcrowded in part
due to lengthy pretrial detention. Sanitary conditions were very poor
and worsened in Roumieh following the destruction of much of the
infrastructure, including plumbing and central air, during a violent
riot. According to a government official, most prisons lacked adequate
sanitation, ventilation, and lighting, and temperatures were not
consistently regulated; prisoners did not have consistent access to
potable water. Many of the prisons were very damp, and some, such as
the Zahle men's prison, did not provide beds for the inmates. Officials
admitted they regularly received complaints regarding the lack of
access to basic and emergency medical care, as well as the extreme
overcrowding. Problems were exacerbated by the lack of a specialized
department to administer regular prisons. NGOs working with prisoners
reported three cases of prisoner-on-prisoner rape in Roumieh Prison in
2009. According to one NGO, 27 prisoners died in 2009, primarily due to
authorities' negligence and failure to provide appropriate medical
care. Updated statistics were not available at year's end.
At mid-year, there were 5,149 prisoners and detainees, including
pretrial detainees and remand prisoners, in facilities built to hold
3,500 inmates. The central prison in Roumieh with a capacity of 1,500
held approximately 3,000 persons in May. Pretrial detainees were often
held together with convicted prisoners. Men and women were held
separately in similar conditions, and according to ISF statistics, 91
minors and 225 women were incarcerated as of May. In many prisons,
prisoners who completed their sentences remained in custody due to poor
record keeping.
In Roumieh Prison inmates rioted for three days in April when
security forces killed four inmates after a search for weapons sparked
a violent reaction with protests about overcrowding, poor medical care,
and prolonged pretrial detention. September saw a second riot at the
prison during which several prison officers were held hostage and
another inmate killed.
Inmates could receive visitors once or twice per week, with the
frequency of visits varying depending on the severity of the inmate's
crime. Religious observance was allowed.
According to one government official, there was no formal channel
for prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial
authorities. Families of prisoners normally contacted the Ministry of
Interior to report complaints, although prison directors could also
initiate investigations. Investigations tended to be conducted by NGOs,
not the ministry, and according to a government official, prison
directors often protected officers under investigation. A 2005 law
establishing an ombudsman to serve on behalf of citizens was not
implemented.
In 2008 the government established a human rights department in the
Ministry of Interior to examine and improve prison conditions. The
department, however, was not properly equipped or staffed, and there
were no signs of improvement at year's end. The parliamentary human
rights committee is responsible for monitoring the Ministry of Defense
detention center.
The government permitted independent monitoring of prison and
detention conditions by local and international human rights groups and
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and such
monitoring took place during the year. According to its 2010 annual
report, the ICRC carried out 146 visits to 6,449 prisoners and
detainees in 19 prisons and detention centers. Some juveniles benefit
from alternative sentencing.
Nongovernmental entities such as Hizballah and Palestinian militias
also operated detention facilities, about which there was no
information available.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law requires judicial
warrants before arrest, except in immediate pursuit, but the government
arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF, under the
Ministry of Interior, enforces laws, conducts searches and arrests, and
refers cases to the judiciary. The General Directorate for State
Security (GDSS), reporting to the prime minister, and the General
Directorate for General Security apparatus (DGS), under the Ministry of
Interior, are responsible for border control. The LAF, under the
Ministry of Defense, is responsible for external security but may also
arrest and detain suspects in the country on national security grounds.
Both the GDSS and the DGS collect information on groups deemed possible
threats to state security.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
generally requires a warrant for arrest and provides the right to a
lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor within 48
hours of arrest. If authorities hold a detainee longer than 48 hours
without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary and the
detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the
prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal
freedom, but charges were rarely filed. The law requires authorities to
inform detainees what charges have been filed against them. A suspect
caught in the act of committing a crime must be referred to an
examining judge, who decides whether to issue an indictment or to order
the release of the suspect. By law bail is available in all cases
regardless of the charges, although the amounts demanded may be
prohibitively high.
The law provides detainees prompt access to a lawyer and to family
members. The state does not provide legal assistance, but the Beirut
Bar Association provides lawyers for indigent defendants.
Authorities failed to observe many provisions of the law, and
government security forces--as well as extralegal armed groups such as
Hizballah--continued the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention,
including incommunicado detention. In addition the law permits military
intelligence personnel to make arrests without warrants in cases
involving military personnel or involving civilians suspected of
espionage, treason, or weapons possession.
Arbitrary Arrest.--According to the Lebanese Center for Human
Rights (CLDH), there were clear cases of arbitrary detention and
torture. On February 7, the trial of Tarek al-Rabaa, an engineer at the
Alfa Telecom Company accused of spying for Israel began. After being
arrested in July 2010, Rabaa was summoned to the Ministry of Defense
for investigation where he was reportedly handcuffed and forcibly
undressed. During his incarceration at the Ministry of Defense's
detention center he was allegedly tortured with electric shocks,
required to remain in a standing position during 20 days, and was
slapped severely on his ears. He was allowed to see his sister--acting
as his lawyer--only 32 days after his arrest. According to information
available to the CLDH, he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment
for 108 days at the Ministry of Defense's detention center before being
transferred to Roumieh Prison, where he remained at year's end.
Pretrial Detention.--According to ISF statistics, 3,734 of the
5,149 persons in prison in May were in pretrial detention. The Office
of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) expressed
concerns about arbitrary pretrial detention without access to legal
representation and refused to support construction of new prisons until
the serious issue of arbitrary pretrial detention was resolved.
According to a study by the CLDH, detainees spent a year on average in
pretrial detention prior to their sentence. Individuals accused of
murder spent on average 3.5 years in pretrial detention.
Palestinian refugees were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention
by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions. No statistics
on the number of such cases were available at year's end.
In June Hizballah announced it had detained several individuals it
suspected of spying for foreign intelligence agencies. Hizballah did
not release the names of the detained individuals, and no further
information was available regarding their status at year's end.
Human rights activists believed that as of 2009 Syrian authorities
were holding at least 575 Lebanese and Palestinians from Lebanon in
prolonged and often secret detention in Syria. In 2008 Lebanese
Minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar stated in a televised interview that
there were 745 citizens missing in Syria, some of whom were convicted
criminals and some victims of ``enforced disappearances.'' Najjar was
the first government official to classify the detainees publicly. The
Syrian government released 130 detainees in 2010; all of whom had been
convicted as criminals, at year's end no additional detainees had been
released.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was subject
to political pressure, particularly in the appointment of key
prosecutors and investigating magistrates. Influential politicians and
intelligence officers intervened at times and used their influence and
connections to protect supporters from prosecution. For example, in
September media reports speculated that retired brigadier general Fayez
Karam received a relatively light two-year sentence for collaborating
with Israel due to his political connections to leading government
officials. In contrast, Shia Sheikh Hassan Mchaymech, who was held in
Syria for over a year and was transferred to ISF custody in October,
faces the death penalty for allegedly collaborating with Israel.
Persons involved in routine civil and criminal proceedings sometimes
sought to solicit the assistance of prominent individuals to influence
the outcome of their cases.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. There is no trial by jury. Trials are generally public, but
judges have the discretion to order a closed court session. Defendants
have the right to be present at trial, to consult with an attorney in a
timely manner, and to question witnesses against them. Defendants may
present witnesses and evidence, and their attorneys have access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants have the
right of appeal.
Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and
arbitrary system of justice outside the control of the state. For
example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to resolve
disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a
killing, the committees occasionally transferred the accused to state
authorities for trial.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent
judiciary in civil matters. In practice it was seldom used to bring
civil lawsuits seeking damages for government human rights violations.
During the year there were no examples of a civil court awarding an
individual compensation for such violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such actions, authorities
frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies
of the government.
Although the law provides for the interception of telephone calls
with prior authorization from the prime minister upon a request made by
either the minister of interior or minister of defense, security
services and the military reportedly sometimes intercepted calls
without such authorization.
Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of
central government authority also frequently violated citizens' privacy
rights. Various factions used informer networks and telephone
monitoring to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for freedom of speech and of the press and
provides that restrictions may be imposed only under exceptional
circumstances. The government generally respected these rights in
practice within the effective limitations imposed by a complex and
contentious democratic political system.
Freedom of Speech.--Individuals are free to criticize the
government but are legally prohibited from publicly criticizing the
president and foreign leaders. Activists promoting democratic reform in
Syria complained of harassment and the lack of protection offered by
the Lebanese government.
Freedom of Press.--The independent media were active and expressed
a wide variety of views. Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of
periodicals were published throughout the country, financed by and
reflecting the views of local, sectarian, and foreign interest groups.
The law restricts the freedom to issue, publish, and sell newspapers.
Publishers must apply for and receive a license from the minister of
information in consultation with the press union.
On March 14, the Criminal Investigation Service in Beirut opened a
criminal investigation on the charge of inciting sectarian strife
concerning the February 10 publication of the CLDH report entitled
Arbitrary Detention and Torture: The Bitter Reality of Lebanon. A
hearing was scheduled for January 11, 2012.
The majority of media outlets had political affiliations, which
hampered their ability to operate freely in areas dominated by other
political groups and affected their reporting.
Violence and Harassment.--On July 25 and 26, military intelligence
officials interrogated Saadeddine Shatila, the NGO Alkarama's
representative in Beirut, for more than seven hours in relation to his
work documenting human rights violations in the country--specifically
the information submitted in 2010 by Alkarama to the U.N. special
rapporteur on torture concerning allegations of torture committed by
military intelligence and other security forces. Shatila was accused of
publishing information which could be harmful to the LAF's reputation.
The case was referred to the Military Court, and a decision to charge
Shatila or drop the charges remained pending at year's end.
Unlike in 2010, no journalist was killed.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The law permits, and
authorities selectively used, prior censorship of pornographic
material, political opinion, and religious material considered a threat
to national security or an offense to the dignity of the head of state
or foreign leaders. The DGS reviews and censors all foreign newspapers,
magazines, and books before they enter the country. Political violence
and extralegal intimidation led to self-censorship among journalists.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The 1991 security agreement between
the Lebanese and Syrian governments, still in effect, contains a
provision prohibiting the publication of any information deemed harmful
to the security of either state.
Publishing Restrictions.--The law includes guidelines regarding
materials that are unsuitable for publication in a book, newspaper, or
magazine. Any violation of the guidelines may result in the author's
imprisonment or a fine. The law includes descriptions of possible
violations such as writing in a way which ignites sectarian strife,
defamation, criticizing the president with offensive language, and
spreading false rumors.
Authorities of any of the recognized religions may unilaterally
request the DGS to ban any book. The government may prosecute offending
journalists and publications in the publications court.
Nongovernmental Impact: Opposition groups sometimes sought to
inhibit freedom of the press. For example, according to the
international NGO Committee to Protect Journalists, protesters set fire
on January 25 to an Al-Jazeera van in Tripoli and harassed its staffers
as its reporters covered violent demonstrations against the collapse of
Saad Hariri's government.
Authors can publish books without prior permission from the DGS,
but if the book contains material that violates the law, then the DGS
can confiscate the book immediately, and put the author on trial based
on the offending material. In some cases the authorities may see the
offending material as a threat to national security. Such offenses are
not taken to trial based on the Publication Law, but on the basis of
criminal law or other statues. Therefore, publishing a book that has
not received prior approval and contains unauthorized material could
put the author at risk of a prison sentence, fines, and the
confiscation of the published materials.
Internet Freedom.--There were no laws restricting access to the
Internet. There was a perception among knowledgeable sources, however,
that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms where
individuals and groups engaged in the expression of views via the
Internet, including by e-mail. The government reportedly censored some
Web sites to block pornographic and religiously provocative material,
but there were no verified reports the government attempted to collect
personally identifiable information via the Internet in a systematic
way.
Restrictions on freedom of speech concerning the president applied
to social media communications which were considered to be a form of
publication rather than private correspondence. For example, in June
and July 2010, security forces detained Naim Hanna, Antoine Ramia,
Shibel Kassab, and Ahmad Shuman for defaming President Sleiman on the
social networking site Facebook and charged them with libel, slander,
and defamation. The Facebook page criticized President Sleiman for
allegedly interfering in municipal elections in Jbeil region, among
other comments. They were released on bail in July 2010 pending trial,
and there were no developments related to this case by year's end.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government
restrictions specific to academic freedom, but libel and slander laws
applied. During the year the government censored films, plays, and
other cultural events; the DGS reviewed all films and plays and
prohibited those deemed offensive to religious or social sensitivities.
Cultural creators and those involved in the arts practiced self-
censorship.
On December 9, the film Beirut Hotel directed by Danielle Arbid was
banned on the basis that it would ``endanger national security.'' Press
reports disagreed over whether the movie was banned for sexual content
or political reasons, as the film mentions the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, but the government
sometimes restricted this right in practice. Organizers are required to
obtain a permit from the Ministry of Interior three days prior to any
demonstrations. The ministry sometimes did not grant permits to groups
that opposed government positions, but there were no known examples of
this during the year.
Security forces occasionally intervened to disperse demonstrations,
usually when clashes broke out between opposing protesters.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and the government generally respected it in practice,
although there were some conditions.
No prior authorization is required to form an association, but the
Ministry of Interior must be notified in order that the entity be
recognized as legal, provided that it respects public order, public
morals, and state security. The ministry then issues a receipt. The
ministry sometimes imposed additional and inconsistent restrictions and
requirements and withheld receipts, turning the notification process
into an actual approval process. In some cases the ministry sent
notification of formation papers to the security forces to initiate
inquiries on an organization's founding members. Organizations must
invite ministry representatives to any general assembly where members
vote on bylaw amendments or positions on the board of directors. The
ministry must then validate the vote or election; failure to do so
could result in the dissolution of the organization, possible only by a
decree issued by the Council of Ministers.
The cabinet must license all political parties (see section 3).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights for
citizens but placed limitations on the rights of Palestinian refugees.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR) provided
protection and support to over 10,000 non-Palestinian refugees and
asylum seekers, 88 percent of whom were from Iraq. The U.N. Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provided
assistance specifically to Palestinian refugees. The government
cooperated with the UNHRC, UNRWA, and other humanitarian organizations
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons,
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of
concern.
In-Country Movement.--The government maintained security
checkpoints, primarily in military and other restricted areas.
Government forces were unable to enforce the law in the predominantly
Hizballah-controlled Beirut southern suburbs and did not typically
enter Palestinian refugee camps. According to the UNRWA, Palestinian
refugees registered with the Ministry of Interior's Directorate of
Political and Refugee Affairs may travel from one area of the country
to another. However, the directorate must approve transfer of
registration of residence for refugees who reside in camps. The UNRWA
stated that the directorate generally approved such transfers. The LAF
granted Palestinian refugees residing in the area adjacent to the Nahr
el-Bared camp permanent permits, which they must produce at LAF
checkpoints to enter the area. Palestinian visitors who are not
permanent residents must apply for visitor permits that are issued for
a specific length of time, anywhere from one day to a number of weeks
or months. As of mid-year the LAF allowed Palestinian women and males
under 14 years of age to enter the adjacent area without a permit, but
all males 14 years of age and older continued to need an access permit.
Residents have complained that LAF checkpoints and access restrictions
on the area surrounding Nahr el-Bared camp hinder economic activity of
the camp.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--At year's end the UNRWA
reported that 16,755 refugees had returned to areas adjacent to the
Nahr el-Bared refugee camp from which they had been displaced when the
camp was destroyed in a 2007 fight between the LAF and terrorists from
Fatah al-Islam, and 26,244 Nahr el-Bared residents remained displaced.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement
Monitoring Center, by November 2010 no IDPs remained from the 2006
Israel/Hizballah conflict.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. As a result,
more than 70 percent of refugees registered with the UNHRC did not have
any legal status and were liable to arrest. Nonetheless, in practice
the government provided some protection through ad-hoc arrangements.
The government granted admission and temporary (six-month) refuge to
asylum seekers, but not permanent asylum. The DGS sometimes arbitrarily
detained asylum seekers at its detention facility for more than a year
and then deported them.
An agreement between the DGS and UNHRC recognized and granted
protection to non-Palestinian refugees, providing temporary relief for
those seeking determination of refugee status. Those wishing to claim
refugee status must do so within two months of arriving in the country.
The DGS issues residence permits, valid for three months, during which
time the UNHRC must make a refugee status determination. The DGS
extended residency permits for as long as 12 months for those to whom
the UNHRC accorded refugee status.
There was a significant influx of Syrians who entered Lebanon to
escape escalating violence after the start of mass unrest in Syria
beginning in mid-March. While some Syrians settled in shelters,
approximately 90 percent stayed with host families, who were not always
families or friends. At year's end there were 4,840 Syrians registered
with the UNHRC in Lebanon. The government does not officially recognize
these persons as refugees, and it limits the freedom of movement for
individuals who entered the country illegally. The Lebanese Higher
Relief Commission and UNHRC have agreed on criteria to determine
eligibility for assistance. There were no refugee camps for Syrians.
Refugee Abuse.--According to the UNHRC, domestic courts often
sentenced Iraqi and African refugees officially registered with the
UNHRC to one month's imprisonment and fines instead of deportation for
illegal entries. After serving their sentences, most refugees remained
in detention unless they found employment sponsors and the DGS agreed
to release them in coordination with the UNHRC.
In a February 2010 request to the government, 14 local and
international NGOs called for the release of migrants and refugees who
had completed their sentences but continued to be detained without a
legal basis. According to a 2009 ISF report, 13 percent of detainees
were foreign nationals who had completed their sentences, and were
awaiting deportation by the DGS or regularization of their situation in
the country.
Employment.--The law does not distinguish between refugees and
other aliens. Non-Palestinian refugees residing in the country legally
were allowed to work on the legal labor market in certain sectors,
provided they had a sponsor for a work permit and could pay the
associated fees. In August 2010 parliament amended the Labor Law
granting certain employment rights to Palestinian refugees registered
with the government, including no-cost work permits, but their access
to certain professions remained restricted.
In August 2010 parliament also amended the Social Security Law
setting up a special account to provide end-of-service indemnities or
severance pay for Palestinian refugees who retired or resigned. By
year's end the Ministry of Labor had not issued implementing
regulations, which limited the impact of this change. Under the
proposal the UNWRA continued to bear the cost of any medical,
maternity, or family health-care expenses.
Access to Basic Services.--By law UNRWA-registered Palestinian
refugees are considered foreigners, and in several instances they were
accorded poorer treatment than other foreign nationals. The UNRWA has
the sole mandate to provide health, education, social services, and
emergency assistance to the 427,732 registered Palestinian refugees
residing in the country at the end of August. The amount of land
allocated to the 12 official refugee camps in the country has only
marginally changed since 1948, despite a four-fold increase in the
population. Consequently, most Palestinian refugees lived in
overpopulated camps, some of which were subjected to heavy damage
during multiple conflicts. In accordance with their agreement,
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) security committees, not the
government, provided security for refugees in the camps.
Property laws directly and effectively exclude Palestinians due to
a 2001 amendment to a 1969 decree barring persons without the
nationality of a recognized state from owning land and property.
Palestinians who owned property prior to the law entering into force
are unable to bequeath it to their heirs, and individuals who were in
the process of purchasing property in installments were unable to
register the property.
Palestinian refugees residing in the country were not able to
obtain citizenship and were not citizens of any other country.
Palestinian refugee women married to citizens were able to obtain
citizenship and transmit citizenship to their children. Palestinian
refugees, including children, had limited social and civil rights and
no access to public health, education, or other social services.
Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination in birth
registration, and many had to leave school at an early age to earn
income.
Iraqi refugees had access to both the public and private education
systems. The UNHRC reported approximately 1,700 Iraqi children were
registered in schools, and it provided grants to the children to help
defray the costs associated with attending school. Iraqi refugees also
had access to the primary health-care system. The UNHRC, through NGOs,
provided secondary health care.
Syrians who had fled to Lebanon had access to the public education
system. The Ministry of Education facilitated their enrollment in
public schools, and the UNHRC covered school-related expenses such as
school fees, books, and uniforms. The UNHRC had arranged with the
ministries of social affairs and public health for registered Syrians
to access designated public health centers and local clinics for
primary care services, and the organization covered the bulk of the
costs. The government's Higher Relief Commission covered the cost of
secondary and tertiary health care.
Durable Solutions.--At year's end the UNRWA reported that 16,755
refugees had returned to areas adjacent to the Nahr el-Bared refugee
camp, which was destroyed in a 2007 fight between the LAF and
terrorists from Fatah al-Islam, and 26,244 Nahr el-Bared residents
remained displaced. Displaced communities raised concerns about their
security and freedom of movement in response to the LAF's security
measures around the camp. A comprehensive, three-year plan to rebuild
the Nahr el-Bared camp and surrounding communities in eight stages,
begun in 2008, was in process, but remaining reconstruction was not
fully funded, and less than half of the required donations had been
secured by year's end.
The government did not consider local integration of other
refugees, such as Iraqis, a viable durable solution.
Temporary Protection.--After Palestinians, the second largest group
of refugees in the country was Iraqi. The government did not provide a
temporary protection regime for Iraqi asylum seekers, and it regularly
deported Iraqis who may have had valid persecution claims. According to
the DGS, there were 13 Iraqis in detention at year's end, and during
the year the DGS deported 80 irregular Iraqi immigrants to Iraq.
At year's end 9,353 Iraqis were registered with the UNHRC. The
Danish Refugee Council estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Iraqis were living in
the country; many entered the country illegally in search of jobs,
education, and security. During the year the government provided
limited services for Iraqi refugees. The DGS granted a three-month
grace period from April 15 to July 15 for foreigners who had fallen
into illegal status to regularize their residency in the country. The
grace period was extended twice, from July 15 to October 26 and for
Iraqis and Nigerians from October 26 to January 26, 2012.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived exclusively from the
father, which may result in statelessness for children of a citizen
mother and a noncitizen father when registration under the father's
nationality is not possible. In addition, some children born to
Lebanese fathers may not have their births registered due to a lack of
understanding of the regulations or administrative obstacles. There are
no official statistics on the size of the stateless population.
Ministry of Justice statistics in 2009 showed that 2 percent of
juveniles affected by crime had nonnational status. The problem is
compounded because nonnational status is a hereditary status that
stateless individuals pass along to their children.
Approximately 3,000 Palestinian refugees were not registered with
the UNRWA or with the government. Also known as undocumented, or non-
ID, Palestinians, most moved to the country after the expulsion of the
PLO from Jordan in 1971. Non-ID Palestinians were not eligible for
assistance from the UNRWA, faced restrictions on movement, and lacked
access to fundamental rights under the law. The majority of non-ID
Palestinians were men, many of them married to UNRWA refugees or
citizen women, who could not transmit refugee status or citizenship to
their husbands or children.
On October 28, President Sleiman signed a decree revoking the
citizenship of approximately 176 families due to the State Consultative
Council's 2003 decision to invalidate the 1994 naturalization decree,
which naturalized several thousand Palestinians in addition to other
nationalities. As many as 4,000 persons may be at risk of losing their
citizenship.
Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 of the 75,000 Kurds lacked citizenship
despite decades of family presence in the country. Most were
descendants of migrants and refugees who left Turkey and Syria during
World War I but had been denied the right to citizenship to preserve
the country's sectarian balance. The government issued a naturalization
decree in 1994, but high costs and other obstacles prevented many from
acquiring official status. Some individuals who did receive official
status had their citizenship revoked this year as a result of the
aforementioned presidential decree. Others held an ``ID under
consideration'' document without date or place of birth.
Stateless individuals lack official identity documents that would
permit them to travel abroad and may face difficulties traveling in the
country or detention for not carrying identity documents. They have
limited access to the regular employment market and no access to many
professions. In addition, they cannot access public schools, public
health-care facilities, or official marriage or birth registration, and
are unable to own or inherit property.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens the right to change their government
peacefully in periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal
suffrage; however, lack of government control over parts of the
country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in public
office significantly restricted this right in practice. The president
and parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the president,
chooses the cabinet.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Observers concluded that the 2009 parliamentary elections were
generally free and fair, with minor irregularities, such as instances
of vote-buying. The NGO Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA)
reported that its monitors witnessed vote-buying through cash donations
on election day in many electoral districts.
Political Parties.--The four major political parties and numerous
smaller ones were almost exclusively based on confessional affiliation,
and parliamentary seats were allotted on a sectarian basis.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were significant
cultural barriers to women's participation in politics. Prior to 2004
no woman held a cabinet position. None was in the cabinet approved by
parliament on July 7, and only three have been ministers since the
first woman was appointed in 2004. Only four of 128 members of
parliament (MPs) were women and all were close relatives of previous
male MPs.
Minorities were able to participate in politics to some extent.
Regardless of the number of its adherents, every government-recognized
religion, except Coptic Christianity, Ismailism, and Judaism, was
allocated at least one seat in parliament. Three parliamentarians
representing minorities (one Syriac Orthodox and two Alawites) were
elected in the 2009 elections. These groups also held high positions in
government and the LAF. As Palestinian refugees are not citizens, they
have no political rights. An estimated 17 Palestinian factions operated
in the country, generally organized around prominent individuals. Most
Palestinians lived in refugee camps that one or more factions
controlled. Refugee leaders were not elected, but there were popular
committees that met regularly with the UNRWA and visitors.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Government
control of corruption was widely considered poor. Types of corruption
generally encountered included systemic clientelism; judicial failures,
especially in investigations of politically motivated killings;
electoral fraud facilitated by the absence of preprinted ballots; and
bribery. Bureaucratic transactions were customarily accompanied through
the payment of bribes; in addition to regular fees, customers paid
bribes for a new driver's license, car registration, or residential
building permits.
Government security officials, agencies, and the police force were
subject to laws against bribery and extortion. In practice the lack of
strong enforcement limited the laws' effectiveness.
The law requires public officials to disclose their financial
assets to the Constitutional Council, but the information was not
available to the public. The Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection
Department, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative
Reform, the Central Bank's Special Investigation Committee, and the
Disciplinary Board were tasked with fighting corruption.
There are no laws regarding public access to government documents,
and the government generally did not respond to requests for documents.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Security officials
often were not cooperative and responsive to these groups' views,
although other officials were.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The parliamentary Committee on
Human Rights struggled to move forward existing proposals to make legal
changes to guide ministries on protecting specific human rights or, for
example, improving prison conditions. The Committee did serve as a
forum to highlight human rights abuses. For example, ISF Major General
Rifi testified regarding the status of the ISF's investigation into the
kidnapping and disappearance of the Jassem brothers (see section 1.b.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law, providing for equality among all citizens, prohibits
discrimination based on race, gender, disability, language, or social
status. The government generally respected these provisions; however,
in practice, enforcement was not consistent, and some aspects of the
law and traditional beliefs discriminated against women.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, and
the government effectively enforced the law. The minimum prison
sentence for a person convicted of rape is five years, or seven years
for raping a minor. According to Article 522 of the Penal Code, the
state will not prosecute a rapist and will nullify his conviction if
the rapist marries his victim. According to the domestic NGO KAFA
(Enough) Violence and Exploitation, spousal rape was not criminalized,
and 80 percent of domestic violence victims the NGO assisted suffered
spousal rape.
Neither the Penal Code nor personal status laws governing family
matters adjudicated by state-sanctioned religious courts specifically
prohibit domestic violence. There were no authoritative statistics on
its extent, but there is a broad consensus that domestic violence,
including spousal abuse, was a serious problem. A September 2010 UNHCHR
assessment estimated that there were high rates of domestic violence in
the country. Despite a law that sets a maximum sentence of three years
in prison for battery, some religious courts may legally require a
battered wife to return to her home despite physical abuse. Foreign
domestic servants, usually women, were often mistreated, abused, and in
some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions (see section
7.c.).
The government provided legal assistance to domestic violence
victims who could not afford it, but in most cases police ignored
complaints submitted by battered or abused women. The NGO Lebanese
Council to Resist Violence against Women and KAFA worked to reduce
violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising
awareness about the problem. During the year KAFA assisted in 330 cases
of victims of violence, the majority of which concerned domestic
violence.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--On August 4, parliament cancelled
Article 562 of the Penal Code on honor crimes, which allowed a reduced
sentence for a man who killed his wife or other female relative in
response to a socially unacceptable sexual relationship conducted by
the victim.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it was
a widespread problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social
pressure against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of
society. Men sometimes exercised considerable control over female
relatives, restricting their activities outside the home or their
contact with friends and relatives.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. There are no legal prohibitions
or governmental encumbrances to equal access under the law for
reproductive health care products or services, although the most
advanced clinics and practices were in the larger metropolitan areas.
Women had equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV, and the government provided free
hospital treatment and free antiretroviral drugs for all persons with
HIV/AIDS.
Discrimination.--Women suffered discrimination under the law and in
practice. In matters of child custody, inheritance, and divorce,
personal status laws provide unequal treatment across the various
confessional court systems, but generally discriminate against women.
For example, Sunni civil courts apply an inheritance law that provides
a son twice the inheritance of a daughter. Religious law on child
custody matters favors the father in most instances. Immigration law
also discriminates against women, who may not confer citizenship on
their spouses and children, although widows may confer citizenship on
their minor children. By law women may own property, but they often
ceded control of it to male relatives due to cultural reasons and
family pressure. The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men
and women, but in the private sector there was discrimination regarding
the provision of benefits. Only 25 percent of women, compared to 75
percent of men, were in the formal labor force, and these women earned
on average less than 25 percent of what men earned.
The Women's Affairs Division in the Ministry of Social Affairs is
the highest-level governmental organization dealing with women's
issues. The division undertook some projects to address sexual or
gender-based violence, such as providing counseling and shelter for
victims and training ISF personnel to combat it in prisons.
Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship is derived exclusively
from the father, which may result in statelessness for children of a
citizen mother and noncitizen father who cannot transmit his own
citizenship (see section 2.d.).
The government did not register the births of children born in the
country to Palestinian refugees or non-ID Palestinian parents,
resulting in the denial of citizenship and restricted access to public
services, including school and health care. Children of citizen mothers
and Palestinian fathers were not granted citizenship.
Some refugee children and children of foreign domestic workers also
faced obstacles to equal treatment under the law, and NGOs reported
discrimination against them, although some could attend public school.
According to a 2008 report by the Integrated Regional Information
Networks, children born in the country of migrant domestic workers had
no official identity.
Education.--Education is free and compulsory through the primary
phase for citizens. Noncitizen children, including those born of
noncitizen father and citizen mothers, do not have this right. Certain
public schools have quotas for noncitizen children, but there are no
special provisions for children of female citizens, and spaces remained
subject to availability.
Child Marriage.--The age of legal maturity is 18 for men and 17 for
women. Family matters are governed by confessionally determined
personal status law, and minimum ages acceptable for marriage differ
accordingly.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The Penal Code prohibits and
punishes commercial sexual exploitation and forced prostitution.
Prescribed punishment for commercial sexual exploitation of a person
under 21 years old is imprisonment of one month to one year and fines
ranging between 50,000 and 500,000 pounds ($33-333). The maximum
sentence for commercial sexual exploitation is two years' imprisonment.
The minimum age of consensual sex is 18 years old, and statutory rape
penalties include hard labor for a minimum of five years and
imprisonment for a minimum of seven years if the victim is younger than
15 years old. Imprisonment ranges from two months to two years if the
victim is between 15 and 18 years old.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--At year's end there were approximately 100 Jews
living in the country and 6,000 registered Jewish voters who lived
abroad but had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
During the year representatives from the Israeli Communal Council
reported continued acts of vandalism against a Jewish-owned cemetery in
downtown Beirut. There were no arrests or prosecutions by year's end.
In a television interview on Syrian-based Al-Dunya TV in July, the
bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in the country, George Saliba,
accused Jews of controlling global financial markets and world
organizations and blamed them for inciting all global wars and evils.
Saliba also blamed Christ's death on the Jews, and referenced the
forged The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, propagating a myth of
Jewish world domination.
The national school curriculum materials on tolerance education did
not contain materials on the Holocaust.
The Ministry of Interior delayed validation of the 2008 elections
of the Israeli Communal Council (see section 2.b.). The next elections
are anticipated to be held in 2013.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Although prohibited by law,
discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. The law
defines a ``disability'' as a physical, sight, hearing, or mental
impairment. The law stipulates at least 3 percent of all government and
private sector positions be filled by persons with disabilities,
provided such persons fulfill the qualifications for the position;
however, there was no evidence the law was enforced in practice. The
law mandates access to buildings by persons with disabilities, but the
government failed to amend building codes. Many persons with mental
disabilities were cared for in private institutions, several of which
the government subsidized.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Council of Disabled
are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
According to the president of the Arab Organization of Disabled People,
little progress has been made since the law on disabilities was passed
in 2000. Approximately 100 relatively active but poorly funded private
organizations made most of the efforts to assist persons with
disabilities.
In 2009 the Ministry of Interior issued a decree to provide
accessibility to polling stations for persons with special needs during
the parliamentary elections; however, a Lebanese Physically Handicapped
Union study showed that only six polling stations out of 1,741
satisfied all six criteria for accessibility.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--A February report funded by the
EU and written by a coalition of local human rights organizations, A
Culture of Racism in Lebanon, identified a widespread pattern of
discrimination against individuals who did not appear ethnically
Lebanese. Lebanese of African descent attributed discrimination to the
color of their skin and claimed harassment from police who periodically
demanded to see their papers. Arab, African, and Asian students,
professionals, and tourists reported being denied entry into bars,
clubs, restaurants, and private beaches. Male foreign migrant workers
reported regular harassment from police officers and said they were
often accused of theft. Syrian workers, usually employed in the manual
labor and construction sectors, continued to suffer discrimination, as
they did following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Official and societal
discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
persons persisted during the year. The law prohibits ``unnatural sexual
intercourse,'' an offense punishable by up to one year in prison, but
it was rarely applied. In 2010 the domestic NGO Helem (from the Arabic
acronym for Lebanese Protection for LGBT Persons) reported fewer than
10 prosecutions. The law was sometimes applied to men engaging in same-
sex sexual activity; it was rarely applied to women, although Helem
reported that police used the law to blackmail women. During the year,
the NGO Heartland Alliance reported that a man faced death threats from
relatives because of his sexual orientation; the man was also reported
to the police by his mother for same-sex sexual activity and was
subsequently imprisoned.
Meem, the first NGO in the country exclusively for non-heterosexual
women, and Helem hosted regular meetings in a safe house, provided
counseling services, and carried out advocacy projects for the LGBT
community.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Helem reported during
2009 that at least five HIV-positive individuals reported
discrimination by dentists or hospital staff. Updated statistics were
not available at year's end.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law allows all workers except public sector employees to form and
join unions, but requires prior government approval. Foreigners with
legal resident status may join unions. The Ministry of Labor must
approve the formation of unions, and it controlled the conduct of all
trade union elections, including election dates, procedures, and
ratification of results. The law permits the administrative dissolution
of trade unions and bars trade unions from political activity. All
workers except public employees have the right to strike, with
significant restrictions. Organizers of a strike must announce the
number of participants in advance, and 5 percent of a union's members
must take responsibility for maintaining order during the strike. The
law protects the right of workers to organize and to bargain
collectively; however, a minimum of 60 percent of workers must agree on
the goals beforehand. Collective bargaining agreements must be ratified
by two-thirds of union members at a general assembly. Unions have the
right to demonstrate with advance notice to and approval by the
Ministry of Interior. The law allows more than one union per sector to
bargain collectively on behalf of its members. The law prohibits
antiunion discrimination, although this was weakly enforced. According
to the Labor Law, when employers misuse or abuse their right to
terminate an elected union official's contract, including for union
activity, the worker is entitled to indemnity and can institute
proceedings before a Conciliation Board that adjudicates the case,
after which an employer may be compelled to reinstate a worker.
Domestic workers, day laborers, temporary workers in the public
services, and some categories of agricultural workers are not covered
by the country's labor code either because they were not considered
residents under the law or because the labor law excludes domestic and
certain agricultural work from labor law protections.
Generally, refugees may organize their own unions. Because of
restrictions on their right to work, few refugees participated actively
in trade unions. While some unions required citizenship, others were
open to foreign nationals whose home countries had reciprocity
agreements with Lebanon. Because they are stateless, Palestinian
refugees are legally barred from entering certain professions such as
engineering, law, and medicine. Although parliament adopted the
amendment of Article 59 of the Labor Law that granted certain
employment rights to Palestinian refugees registered with the
government, including no-cost work permits, their access to certain
professions remained restricted. Parliament also adopted the amendment
to Article 9 of the Social Security Law setting up a special account
within the National Social Security Fund to provide end-of-service
indemnities or severance pay for Palestinian refugees who retired or
resigned (see section 2.d.).
In practice, freedom of association and the right to collective
bargaining were not always respected and collective bargaining occurred
infrequently. The law provides that unions conduct activities free from
interference, but in practice the Ministry of Labor interfered in union
elections and registered unions not considered representative by the
General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL), which represents a
total of 52 union federations. The Ministry of Labor has previously
encouraged the establishment of unions for political purposes,
including some that did not have significant representation among the
sector they represented. Political figures also sought to influence
union activities. Political parties including Amal and Hizballah were
known to influence the CGTL.
The CGTL remained the only organization the government recognized
as an interlocutor for workers, while approximately 13 federations that
composed the ``Salvation Committee of the CGTL'' no longer participated
in CGTL meetings but had not declared an official breakaway at year's
end. Collective bargaining did not occur often. The Labor Law protects
workers from discrimination for union activity, but the law is weakly
enforced. According to a labor contact, some employers have fired
workers in the process of forming a union, before the union is formally
established and published in the Official Gazette.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The antitrafficking
law promulgated on September 1 considers forced or compulsory labor a
form of exploitation and prohibits such labor. Children, foreign
workers employed as domestic servants, and other foreign workers
sometimes worked under forced labor conditions.
Government regulations prohibit employment agencies from
withholding foreign workers' passports for any reason; however, this
regulation was not effectively enforced and the practice was
commonplace, especially in the case of domestic workers.
According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, some employers did not
pay their workers regularly, and some withheld their salaries for the
duration of the contract, which was usually two years. Female domestic
workers, mainly from Asian and African countries, had no practical
legal recourse because labor laws did not protect them. The government
prohibited foreign women workers from countries without diplomatic
representation in the country. The sponsorship system ties foreign
workers' residency to a specific employer, making it difficult for a
domestic worker to change employers. Once employment is terminated, a
worker loses residency, making many reluctant to file complaints
because they risk detention because of their illegal status.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/g/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment is 14 years of age, and the law lists the
legal occupations for juveniles. The law requires juveniles, defined as
children between 14 and 18 years of age, to undergo a medical exam by a
doctor certified by the Ministry of Public Health to assure they are
physically fit for the type of work they are asked to perform. The
labor code prohibits employment of juveniles younger than 18 years old
for more than six hours per day and requires one hour of rest if work
lasts more than four hours. Juveniles younger than 17 years old are
prohibited from working in jobs that jeopardize their health, safety,
or morals; they also are prohibited from working between 7 p.m. and 7
a.m. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles younger than 16
years old in industrial jobs or jobs physically demanding or harmful to
their health. The penal code calls for penalties ranging from a fine of
250,000 pounds ($166), one to three months' imprisonment, or forced
closing of the establishment.
The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing these
requirements through its Child Labor Unit. In 2010 the ministry
admitted that the 130 labor inspectors and assistant inspectors
employed to enforce child labor laws were not sufficient. The Higher
Council of Childhood (HCC) raised awareness and provided education to
families and children to help prevent child abuse. Along with other
government agencies, the HCC is charged with enforcement of laws
related to forced labor and child trafficking, commercial sexual
exploitation of children, and the use of children in illicit
activities. The HCC is also responsible for referring children held in
protective custody to appropriate NGOs to find safe living
arrangements.
Current figures on child labor in the country were unavailable.
Anecdotal evidence suggested the number of child workers has risen and
that more children were working in the informal sector, including
prostitution. Child labor was predominantly concentrated in the
informal sector, including in small family businesses, mechanical
workshops, carpentry, construction, manufacturing, industrial sites,
welding, agriculture, and fisheries. Children work under the table in
some of these informal sector jobs, often in small and/or family
businesses that are not part of any formal business syndicates/
associations. Street children worked selling goods, polishing shoes,
and washing car windows. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that child
labor was prevalent within Palestinian refugee camps and among Iraqi
refugees and Roma (nomadic) communities in the country. Traffickers
used children for commercial sexual exploitation and hazardous work
conditions.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage was
500,000 pounds ($333) per month across all sectors and industries. The
law prescribes a standard 48-hour workweek with a 24-hour rest period
per week. The law stipulates 48 hours as the maximum duration of work
per week in most corporations except agricultural entities. A 12-hour
day is permitted under certain conditions, including a stipulation that
the overtime provided is 50 percent higher than the pay for other
hours. The law does not set limits on compulsory overtime.
The law includes specific occupational health and safety
regulations and requires employers to take adequate precautions for
employee safety. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing
these regulations but did so unevenly. The ministry employed
approximately 130 labor inspectors and assistant inspectors. Labor
organizers reported workers did not have the right to remove themselves
from hazardous conditions without jeopardizing their employment.
Foreign and local domestic servants are not covered under the labor
law.
In practice, workers in the industrial sector worked an average of
35 hours per week, and workers in other sectors worked an average of 30
hours per week. Some private sector firms failed to provide employees
with family and transport allowances as stipulated under the law and
did not register them with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Employers sometimes registered their employees with lower salaries to
decrease their contributions to the NSSF and their end-of-service pay
to the employee. Some companies did not respect legal provisions
governing occupational health and safety, for example, in the
construction industry. Workers may report violations directly to the
CGTL, Ministry of Labor, or NSSF. In most cases they preferred to
remain silent for fear of arbitrary dismissal.
Some employers mistreated, abused, and raped foreign domestic
workers, who were mostly of Asian and African origin. Domestic workers
often worked long hours and in many cases did not receive vacations or
holidays. There was no official minimum wage for domestic workers.
Official contracts stipulate a wage ranging from 150,000 to 450,000
pounds ($100 to $300) per month, depending on the nationality of the
worker. Migrant domestic workers are granted increased labor
protections through a unified standard contract, which is registered
with the DGS in order for the worker to obtain residency. The contract
covers terms and conditions of employment but the section covering
wages is completed individually. Victims of abuse may file civil suits
or seek legal action, often with the assistance of NGOs, but most
victims, counseled by their embassies or consulates, settled for an
administrative solution that usually included monetary compensation and
repatriation.
Perpetrators of abuses were not further prosecuted for a number of
reasons, including the victims' refusal to press charges and lack of
evidence. An unknown number of other cases of nonpayment of wages were
settled through negotiation. According to source country embassies and
consulates, many workers did not report violations of their labor
contracts until after they returned to their home countries, as they
preferred not to stay in the country for a lengthy judicial process. On
October 10, pursuant to Article 554 of the Penal Code, a judge
convicted an employer in absentia of physically abusing a domestic
worker. The employer was sentenced to 10 days' imprisonment and
required to pay the domestic worker compensation totaling 980,000
pounds ($666).
Foreign migrant workers arrived in the country through local
recruitment agencies and source country recruitment agencies. Though
all recruitment agencies must have a license from the Ministry of
Labor, the government did not adequately monitor their activities.
__________
LIBYA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At year's end, a 38-day-old interim government began to exercise
authority in Libya, formerly the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya. After eight months of civil war, ending with the ouster of
the Qadhafi regime, construction of a republican form of government
began. The opposition leadership in the Transitional National Council
(TNC), which was formed on February 27, exercised executive authority
prior to naming an interim government on November 23 and thereafter
acted in a de facto legislative capacity as an arm of the government
engaged in transition planning. Adopted by the TNC on August 3, Libya's
Constitutional Declaration provides the basis of governance and allows
for the exercise of a full range of political, civil, and judicial
rights, including Article 3, which safeguards freedom of expression and
assembly, and Article 8, the right to due process--rights that the
Libyan people were systematically deprived of during Qadhafi's 42-year
rule. While Qadhafi-era laws that did not contravene the declaration
remained in force, the applicability of former laws remained unclear at
year's end, due in large part to the absence of functioning courts.
Although an indirect electoral system existed on paper under Qadhafi,
in practice his inner circle monopolized all positions of power and
security forces reported to them. During the conflict and in the brief
period that followed until the end of the year, the TNC and later the
interim government had yet to establish full political or military
control over the country. In the 10-week period after the TNC declared
the country's ``liberation'' on October 23, few security forces
reported to the interim authorities, while militias acted sometimes in
concert with government directives but did so more often autonomously.
Qadhafi's fall ended an era of systematic, state-sanctioned human
rights violations. Although human rights abuses did continue to occur,
most frequently in areas where the TNC had yet to exert influence over
militias, the scope and extent of abuse in the country measurably
diminished following the end of the Qadhafi regime in October. The
Qadhafi government's immediate response to protests begun on February
15 was to crack down on dissent, using excessive and violent force
against civilians. Protests rapidly evolved into armed clashes,
escalating into a nationwide armed conflict. Qadhafi's death on October
20 and the takeover of his last stronghold of Sirte ended the conflict.
While the transition led to a relatively free political environment--
apart from hostility to real and perceived Qadhafi loyalists--the new
authorities lacked the capability to fully protect civil and judicial
rights in practice.
During the year the most significant human rights problems stemmed
from the Qadhafi regime's denial of its citizens' right to peacefully
change the government. While human rights violations were reportedly
committed by both sides, Qadhafi's government was responsible for the
bulk of abuses committed during the armed conflict. A legacy of decades
of sustained oppression, corruption, and organizational dysfunction
challenged efforts by both the interim government and the TNC to
enforce the rule of law. Continuing violence, organizational
dysfunction, and widespread corruption further degraded the human
rights environment. Militias were largely responsible for continued
human rights abuses following the end of the war.
The Qadhafi regime carried out a deliberate policy of human rights
abuse. The following other important governmental human rights abuses
and societal problems were reported: extrajudicial killings; excessive
and indiscriminate use of force against antigovernment protesters,
civilians, and civilian facilities; disappearances; torture and other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, including rape;
poor conditions in frequently illegal detention and prison facilities;
arbitrary arrest and detention; impunity; denial of fair public trial;
political prisoners and detainees; feeble judicial authority; arbitrary
interference with privacy and home; use of excessive force and other
abuses in internal conflicts; restriction on humanitarian aid to
civilians; limits on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association; restrictions on freedom of movement; internally displaced
persons (IDPs); lack of transparency and significant, widespread
corruption at all levels of government; constraints on international
and nongovernmental organizations' (NGOs) investigations of alleged
violations of human rights; discrimination against and societal abuses
of women and ethnic and racial minorities, including foreign workers;
trafficking in persons; and limitations on labor rights in practice,
including forced labor.
Impunity for abuses was a serious problem. Although revolutionary
militias detained abusive Qadhafi-era officials, there was no
functioning judicial system to try them. Similarly, with the judiciary
still not functioning, the interim government had not taken steps by
year's end to prosecute opposition militia members and fighters who
committed abuses during and after the conflict.
During the year opposition forces reportedly violated human rights
and humanitarian norms. Militias and their supporters--which were not
fully under the control of the TNC or transitional government
authority--committed unlawful killings, other physical violence, and
other abuses. Principal targets were actual or suspected detained
Qadhafi soldiers or supporters, possible sub-Saharan African
mercenaries or dark-skinned Libyans, and former members of the security
forces. Disappearances, illegal detentions, and imprisonment of persons
on political grounds occurred, as did looting and further violence.
Vulnerable civilian populations, including ethnic minorities and
migrants, faced discrimination and violence during and after the
conflict.
The lack of independent observers and communications disruptions,
particularly in Western Libya, resulted in a heavy reliance on
secondary sources in the preparation of this report.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were
widespread reports that the Qadhafi government and its agents, as well
as opposition forces and their supporters, committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings, including of civilians.
Violent government responses to protests in February led to
civilian deaths. In the eastern part of the country, according to
Amnesty International (AI), most protester fatalities occurred in
Benghazi and al-Bayda, where security forces met peaceful protests with
excessive and lethal force beginning on or about February 16 and 17.
When protests turned violent, particularly after February 18, security
forces responded using automatic assault rifles to fire into crowds
without warning and did not employ precautions to minimize harm, firing
live ammunition in the streets and from rooftops, targeting protesters
and bystanders outside and indoors, well as those attempting to rescue
the wounded. Scores of deaths in the East due to wounds to the head,
neck, and chest suggested that Qadhafi forces were given shoot-to-kill
orders. In February alone, hundreds were reported killed. Most of the
victims were reportedly unarmed protesters, while a smaller number were
armed protesters and defectors killed in clashes with Qadhafi security
forces. Government forces subsequently fired on protesters in other
cities, including Misrata, Tripoli, Zawiya, Zintan, Kufra, and towns in
the Nafusa Mountains, among others. Qadhafi security forces also
rounded up and detained those suspected of political dissent, in many
cases detaining them without food or water, leading to numerous deaths.
Qadhafi forces also conducted attacks on Zawia, Zintan, Ajdabiya, and
other cities, leading to heavy damage of residential areas and large
numbers of civilian deaths.
In the East in mid-February, anti-Qadhafi armed groups reportedly
killed police, soldiers, security force members, and suspected
mercenaries and loyalists captured in and around al-Bayda, Benghazi,
and Derna. When military facilities were overrun, Qadhafi loyalists
were in some cases hanged, beaten to death, or shot and killed after
being captured or surrendering. Armed groups also killed various sub-
Saharan nationals, accused of mercenary activity, and at times
displayed their bodies publicly, including two reported incidents of
hanging in al-Bayda and Benghazi. On February 18, anti-Qadhafi groups
took control of the military airbase in Derna and reportedly executed
approximately 50 suspected African mercenaries and two others,
according to indirect reporting provided to AI.
As confrontations between protesters and security services turned
more violent after February 18 and 19, in part due to police and
security services defections, the violence escalated into a large-scale
internal armed conflict in late February, and all groups involved
committed further arbitrary or unlawful killings (see section 1.g.).
b. Disappearance.--Qadhafi-era law includes provisions against
enforced disappearance that neither the Qadhafi regime nor its armed
opponents respected in practice. The TNC made several declarations
rendering null the ``special security'' provisions of Qadhafi laws,
some of which facilitated political repression. Prior to and during the
conflict (see also section 1.g.), the Qadhafi government pursued a
campaign of enforced disappearances, rounding up persons suspected of
supporting the opposition, including known activists or critics, online
dissidents, journalists, protesters, and migrant workers. Other
categories included members of the armed forces that refused to fire on
protesters or joined demonstrations as well as those who later
disappeared in combat. Activists and government critics reportedly
began disappearing in al-Bayda, Benghazi, Misrata, and Tripoli in
advance of popular protests widely planned for February 17.
The total number of persons subjected to forced disappearance by
the Qadhafi regime remained unknown at year's end; however, reported
estimates included thousands of persons, some of whom rights groups
presumed were unlawfully killed upon capture or in captivity. The
Qadhafi government did not share details about those held or their
location, strictly increasing its limitations on visits by independent
organizations to only certain Ministry of Justice-equivalent facilities
in January and February.
The discovery of numerous mass graves revealed the remains of those
killed in previous years in addition to others apparently killed en
masse by Qadhafi security forces during the conflict (see section
1.g.). For example, on September 25, anti-Qadhafi groups found a mass
grave near the prison in Tripoli reportedly containing the remains of
an estimated 1,200 prisoners killed in 1996 by prison guards during
riots. According to AI, most of the prisoners were previously the
victims of enforced disappearances. In addition, pro-Qadhafi forces
buried 170 bodies in a mass grave in Bin Jawwad; some of the deceased
had been executed.
Anti-Qadhafi groups reportedly conducted targeted disappearances
against suspected or real Qadhafi supporters (see section 1.g.). This
practice continued after the establishment of the interim government.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--Under Qadhafi the law prohibited such practices, with the
exceptions of judicially sanctioned corporal punishments such as
amputation and flogging. There was no information as to whether such
punishments were carried out. The Constitutional Declaration stated
that no punishment could be implemented outside the law.
The Qadhafi government's security personnel routinely tortured and
abused detainees and prisoners, including political opponents, during
interrogations or as punishment. Frequent methods reportedly included
electric shocks, beatings, targeted beating on the soles of the feet,
hanging or contortion of the body for prolonged periods, sleep
deprivation, solitary confinement, and burning of the skin with
cigarettes during interrogation. Testimonies from those detained in
Sirte or Tripoli by the Qadhafi regime indicated that torture and
mistreatment were common during arrest and the initial period of
detention (see section 1.g.).
Following the fall of Qadhafi, fighting forces and militias largely
outside the command of the interim government or the TNC filled the
security vacuum and some reportedly violently abused detainees and
prisoners. Treatment varied from facility to facility and was typically
worst at the time of arrest. Reported abuses included beatings across
the body with belts, sticks, rifles, and hoses; administration of
electric shocks; and threats of rape. In one case, media and rights
groups documented severe abuse of detainees, including IDPs, by
militias in Misrata, especially former residents of Tawargha, during
the internal conflict and afterwards (see also section 1.g.). Abuses
against detainees, particularly alleged Qadhafi loyalists and sub-
Saharan Africans aligned with Qadhafi, were similarly reported at other
militia-run facilities throughout the country.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to international
organizations and rights groups, Qadhafi government prison and
detention center conditions ranged from poor to adequate in formal
facilities, but there was scant information available about conditions
inside prisons. As a result of the conflict, makeshift facilities
appeared throughout the country to accommodate detainees collected by
all sides. In such cases conditions were uneven and varied widely, but
consistent problems included overcrowding; insufficient food, water,
and ventilation; the lack of basic necessities such as mattresses; and
poor access to hygiene and health care. There were reports that the
Qadhafi government used informal facilities, including but not limited
to warehouses, military buildings, shipping containers, and other
venues, in addition to formal detention facilities. Militias reportedly
detained persons at schools, former government military sites, and
other informal venues, including private homes and, in one case, a
soccer club. In the aftermath of the conflict, prison and detention
conditions were largely but not entirely under government authority,
and conditions in some were poor to the point of being life
threatening.
The total number of prisoners and detainees was unknown. The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that it
visited 14,000 detainees in 100 detention facilities during the year.
At year's end, the ICRC caseload was approximately 8,500 detainees in
68 facilities under the control of local councils, militias, private
individuals, or in some cases reported criminal enterprises. The ICRC
did not register every detainee at each site, suggesting that the total
number of those held were higher. Men and women were reportedly held
separately; there was no information available about conditions
specifically for women. Human rights organizations reported that
militias held minors with adults. There was no credible ombudsman who
could serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees.
During the Qadhafi era, the government did not allow independent
monitoring of prison conditions by independent NGOs, the media, or
international human rights groups. International organizations had some
access to Ministry of Justice-run prisons but not to security services'
facilities. The Internal Security Organization (ISO) controlled two
main prisons in Tripoli, Abu Salim and Ain Zara, as well as numerous
unrecognized facilities outside of legal remit and not accessible to
independent monitors. According to AI, there were no known independent
monitor visits to the Abu Salim or Ain Zara prisons, the Salaheddin
detention facility in Tripoli, or the military police barracks in
Sirte, a city where many of the missing were thought to be held by
Qadhafi forces.
The ICRC opened an office in the country and generally had good
access to facilities and known informal detention sites under the
control of the TNC and revolutionary militias; access for other
international organizations varied.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Qadhafi-era criminal code
establishes procedures for pretrial detention and prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the Qadhafi regime did not observe these
prohibitions. There were reports that Qadhafi security forces
arbitrarily arrested and detained citizens without formal charges and
held them indefinitely without court convictions. At year's end, the
interim government had little control over police and regional militias
providing internal security and also did not observe these
prohibitions. After the fall of Qadhafi, certain armed groups,
including militias, carried out illegal and arbitrary detentions
through the end of the year.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Qadhafi regime
maintained an extensive security apparatus of police and military
units, multiple intelligence services, local ``revolutionary
committees,'' ``people's committees,'' and ``purification committees.''
The result was a multilayered, pervasive surveillance system that
monitored and controlled the activities and everyday lives of
individuals. In theory military and internal security forces were under
direct civilian control through the Jamahiriya, or ``sovereignty of the
masses'' system. In practice an inner circle of elites close to Qadhafi
wielded total control. The police and ISO shared responsibility for
internal security. The armed forces and External Security Service were
responsible for external security.
During the conflict and in the 10 weeks after the fall of the
regime in October, there was no coherent or effective national police
and security force. The collapse of state institutions led to a
security and institutional vacuum. The tasks of policing during and
after the conflict often fell to self-constituted decentralized
militias which often exercised police power largely without training,
supervision, or accountability.
There were no known automatic judicial mechanisms for investigating
abuses by new postrevolutionary security forces. There were reports
that emerging security institutions lacked control in the militia-
dominated environment and did not always respond to societal violence.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The Qadhafi-
era law stipulated that a warrant is required for arrest but that
authorities can obtain permission to detain persons without charge for
as long as eight days after arrest. The law also specified that
detainees be informed of the charges against them and that, for a
detention order to be renewed, detainees must be brought before a
judicial authority at regular intervals of 30 days. In practice the
Qadhafi government did not adhere to these provisions, at times holding
detainees indefinitely, arbitrarily, and secretly, without charges or
process.
Following the outbreak of the revolution and attendant breakdown of
judicial institutions and process, the interim government and
opposition forces also arbitrarily detained persons, holding them in
formal and informal locations, including unknown locations for extended
periods without formal legal charges or legal authority. In some cases
orders for arrest came from official or quasiofficial sources. At times
during the conflict, the opposition military command or the TNC formed
committees that issued orders and warrants to militias for the arrest
of certain individuals. One notable example occurred on July 28, when
TNC military commander Abdelfatah Younis was arrested under the
authority of a TNC committee. He was subsequently killed while in
militia custody in Benghazi.
Under Qadhafi the law provided for bail, access to counsel for
pretrial detainees, and a public defender for anyone unable to afford a
private attorney. The Constitutional Declaration recognizes the right
to counsel. During the year the vast majority of detainees by both the
Qadhafi and revolutionary forces were not known to have had access to
bail or a lawyer.
Incommunicado detention was a severe problem. The Qadhafi
government, militias, and post-Qadhafi authorities held detainees
incommunicado for unlimited periods in unofficial and unknown detention
centers.
Qadhafi-era law allowed women and girls, some of whom were victims
of gender-based or domestic violence suspected of violating moral
codes, to be detained in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities. They
could be detained indefinitely without access to legal representation
or the opportunity to contest their detention in court. Women at these
sites could be released only to their families, often the source of the
threat to their safety. Following the conflict, it was unclear whether
this practice of detention without review was considered legal or
continued.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The criminal code under Qadhafi prohibited
arbitrary arrest and detention, but the Qadhafi government did not
observe these prohibitions. Arbitrary arrest was widespread throughout
the year and was employed by Qadhafi authorities and a range of often
autonomous armed groups that conducted arrests without legal authority.
It was unclear at year's end if the new authorities abided by the
Qadhafi government's criminal code.
Qadhafi security services arrested activists, writers, and members
of the opposition in the lead-up to planned protests on February 17.
For example, on February 1, plainclothes police arrested Jamal Haji, a
former political prisoner and human rights activist, in Tripoli after
he called online for prodemocracy demonstrations. Authorities justified
his arrest on the grounds of an alleged traffic violation. On February
15 in Benghazi, secret police arrested Fathi Terbil, a human rights
activist and lawyer coordinating the defense for families of Abu Salim
prisoners who had planned a demonstration related to the cases of 100
prisoners whose bodies were never returned.
Anti-Qadhafi groups also conducted widespread arbitrary arrests in
the areas under their control. Following the outbreak of the conflict,
members of the opposition in Benghazi arbitrarily and extrajudicially
arrested suspected Qadhafi loyalists; ISO or revolutionary committee
members; people accused of ``subverting the revolution"; and sub-
Saharan Africans, often migrants, suspected of mercenary activity,
according to AI. Militias across the country arrested many migrants in
the areas under their control, particularly in Tripoli following its
capture by revolutionary forces in August.
While some detainees were released, approximately 8,500 persons
remained in detention by the transitional government and prorevolution
groups at year's end. Some international organizations claimed that
this figure was significantly underestimated. As of year's end, the
interim government had not reconstituted the courts or justice system,
and very few detainees had access to counsel, faced formal charges, or
had the opportunity to challenge their detention before a judicial
authority.
Pretrial Detention.--Most persons in detention at year's end had
been detained by militia groups without charges and outside of the
interim government's authority. Decentralized control of the security
environment among militia groups and a largely nonfunctioning judiciary
prevented most detainees from accessing a review process, meaning that
few detainees were formally held in a pretrial status.
Amnesty.--In a de facto amnesty, opposition troops opened Abu Salim
prison while capturing Tripoli in August, releasing hundreds of the
Qadhafi government's opponents and political prisoners. In early
November the press reported that, on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the
TNC released hundreds of prisoners from facilities under its direct and
indirect control. Those released were primarily Libyan citizens who
assisted or fought with Qadhafi forces.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Qadhafi law and the Constitutional
Declaration provide for an independent judiciary and stipulate that
every person has a right to resort to the courts, but the judicial
system under Qadhafi was not independent in practice and was often
subject to interference. As a result of the conflict, the judicial
system collapsed. Although the new government pledged to restore
judicial functions, at year's end, the judiciary remained largely
ineffective and unable to dispense justice. Thousands of persons held
in detention had not received a trial, and no investigations had been
initiated into alleged abuses by either pro- or anti-Qadhafi groups. In
addition, judges cited concerns about the overall lack of security in
cities and around the courts as one of the reasons that they had not
yet returned to work, further hindering the reestablishment of the
judiciary.
Trial Procedures.--The law under Qadhafi and the interim government
provides for the presumption of innocence and the right to legal
counsel, provided at public expense for the indigent. During the year
these standards were generally not respected in practice. Qadhafi
security agents and largely independent revolutionary militias detained
persons without legal authority, undermining the prospect of fair
public trials.
As of year's end, neither the interim government nor the TNC before
it had taken known steps to formalize the status of irregularly held
detainees or transfer them into the paralyzed legal system. As of
year's end, no known criminal trials had been undertaken by the
judiciary under the control of post-Qadhafi authorities.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Under the Qadhafi government, a
large but unknown number of persons were in detention or imprisoned for
engaging in peaceful political activity or belonging to an illegal
political organization. Political prisoners held in Abu Salim Prison,
some for more than 15 years for security-related offenses, were also
subjected to disappearance after protests began in February, according
to AI. The families of more than 100 such prisoners were unable to
establish contact with them from mid-February, but in late August some
of these long-term political detainees reemerged once opposition forces
took control of Abu Salim Prison (see section 1.d., Amnesty).
The TNC, interim government, and various militias, to the extent
that they controlled security forces, held persons in a variety of ad
hoc facilities on political grounds, particularly former Qadhafi
officials, ISO members, and others accused of ``subverting the
revolution.''
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Under Qadhafi citizens did
not have access to courts to seek damages for or demand cessation of
human rights violations perpetrated by his regime, although in a series
of special cases, some released political prisoners were legally able
to seek compensation through the court system beginning in 2010.
Citizens did not have the right to seek redress in civil court for
Qadhafi-era security service actions.
The Constitutional Declaration provides for the right to resort to
the judiciary, but the post-Qadhafi judicial system did not have the
capacity to provide citizens' access to civil remedies for human rights
violations. Under TNC and interim government control, some civil
proceedings restarted, albeit unevenly, in different parts of the
country.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--Qadhafi-era law prohibits such actions, but the
government did not respect the prohibitions in practice. Until the fall
of the regime in October, Qadhafi security forces regularly entered
private homes of those accused of supporting the opposition and seized
and hoarded belongings. As revolutionary groups gained territory
throughout the conflict, there were also reports of similar behavior by
militias. In particular, press reports after the fall of Tripoli in
late August suggested a number of break-ins and thefts by incoming
regional militias, at times targeting suspected Qadhafi supporters.
In addition to maintaining a widespread informant network (see
section 1.d.), the Qadhafi government routinely monitored telephone
calls and Internet usage, including e-mail communication, reportedly
increasing such monitoring prior to the February protests and
throughout the conflict. There were no known reports that the TNC or
transitional government monitored private communications or had the
capacity to do so.
In areas under their control, Qadhafi authorities increased their
ongoing policy of collective punishment of relatives of certain
individuals, particularly oppositionists. In previous years this often
amounted to structural discrimination by curbing access to public
utilities or works. During the unrest it included direct intimidation
and sometimes arrest of family members. Although the transitional
government was not responsible for such behavior, it was unable to
deter militia groups from pursuing reported attacks or discrimination
on similar grounds. For example, rights groups reported that militia
and armed actors' intimidation and violence against dark-skinned
displaced persons from Tawargha, a town from which Qadhafi forces
launched their siege of Misrata, which amounted to collective
punishment of Tawarghans for attacks by Qadhafi's forces on Misrata
during the first months of the conflict (see sections 1.g.).
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The period of broad-scale internal armed conflict lasted from late
February, after protests in the East and West escalated into rebellion,
until the TNC declared ``liberation'' of the country on October 23.
Beginning in February and March, Qadhafi forces met protesters with
excessive and often deadly force (see section 1.a.). Localized
opposition activities evolved into an armed conflict by late February,
with regular clashes between government forces and armed opposition
fighters continuing until October. Opposition fighter groups were often
composed of disparate local movements, rather than a cohesive national
resistance, which only began demonstrating effective offensive
coordination by August. Investigations by the prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court (ICC), the U.N.-appointed International
Commission of Inquiry on Libya (COI), and international human rights
organizations reported evidence of Qadhafi forces' killings, forced
disappearances, arrest and imprisonment, torture, persecution of
civilians, rape, forcible transfers, intentional restrictions on
humanitarian access to afflicted populations, and attacks on civilians.
In its attempt to regain areas taken by the opposition, these forces
launched a military campaign that included both deliberate killings and
indiscriminate use of force, which NGO observers described as
widespread and systematic. Prorevolution opposition fighters, many
grouped into loosely organized bands and regionally based militias,
also engaged in deliberate killings, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment,
and other abuses. Abuses by unknown actors also occurred.
Killings.--In its attempts to quell protests, silence critics, and
respond to armed opposition, Qahdafi forces failed to take sufficient
precautionary measures to protect civilians and in various cases
directly targeted civilians with intent to kill, according to various
rights groups. In a May 4 report, the ICC prosecutor asserted that the
shooting of protesters and persecution of civilians alleged to support
the opposition was systematically employed as a matter of policy. The
regime's use of force was reported to be disproportionate, according to
rights groups, in areas across the country. For example, according to
AI reports, regime forces fired live ammunition and heavy weapons,
including tank shells and rocket-propelled grenades, at fleeing
residents and set up antiaircraft guns in streets, firing at and
killing protesters. Such disproportionate force caused deaths from
serious injuries, including dismemberment and severing of the torso,
according to the COI. In Tripoli and elsewhere, government efforts to
cover up evidence of killings by removing bodies from streets and
hospitals made confirming the number of deaths difficult.
Qadhafi's campaign of enforced disappearances, which deliberately
targeted opposition supporters in addition to arbitrarily targeting
civilians, led to extrajudicial killings. Executions of persons held by
Qadhafi forces were reportedly common upon withdrawal of Qadhafi forces
from areas where opposition troops were advancing. For example,
according to a September 14 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, 34 bodies
discovered in a mass grave in al-Qawalish in western Libya, in addition
to three others nearby, were likely the bodies of men detained by
Qadhafi forces at checkpoints or taken from their homes in early June
and executed upon the retreat of Qadhafi forces from the area. Exhumed
bodies with bullet wounds were found blindfolded and their hands bound.
Local testimonies collected by HRW claimed that identified victims were
from the nearby town of al-Qal'a and included at least nine men over
60, including an 89-year-old individual.
The Qadhafi regime's use of snipers on rooftops was widespread,
with media reports of snipers deliberately shooting and killing both
civilians (including children) and opposition combatants in cities
across the country, including but not limited to Adjdabiya, Misrata,
Tripoli, and Zawiyah.
Qadhafi forces also used indiscriminate force during the conflict,
often in efforts to regain control of opposition-controlled areas,
affecting noncombatant residents. According to widespread reporting,
Qadhafi forces used imprecise heavy weaponry and munitions, including
cluster munitions, rocket launchers, mortars, and artillery shells, to
attack dense urban areas in various regions. The use of force in
residential areas led to widespread reports of civilian deaths and
injuries, including children.
While Qadhafi forces' use of indiscriminate attacks was common
across the country, damage was particularly severe in Misrata, which
came under siege in February. Qadhafi's forces closed in on the city
and attacked the port (which was the only avenue for humanitarian aid
and evacuations), launching indiscriminate rocket attacks on
residential areas until May, only to resume in mid-June and
sporadically thereafter. The siege led to widespread reports of
civilian deaths. Human rights groups also documented other
indiscriminate tactics, such as using ball bearings in rockets. Qadhafi
forces similarly conducted attacks on Zawia, Zintan, Ajdabiya, and
other cities, leading to heavy damage of residential areas and large
numbers of civilian deaths.
Since the beginning of the armed conflict, opposition forces--
including independent militias and armed protesters--reportedly killed
actual and suspected Qadhafi loyalists, sub-Saharan alleged
mercenaries, and security force members, as well as persons who were
accused of being Qadhafi supporters by virtue of their location or
darker skin color. As the conflict progressed, NGOs reported that a
pattern of targeted attacks appeared against regime loyalists,
including members of revolutionary committees, and Revolutionary Guard
and ISA members.
In various instances opposition fighters reportedly killed Qadhafi
loyalists and civilians and captured (and sometimes injured) fighters
as they advanced on major cities, including Tripoli and Sirte. For
example, on August 25 and 26, the media widely reported on the
discovery of approximately 30 bodies of Qadhafi fighters in a pro-
Qadhafi encampment in Tripoli, two of which had hands bound with
plastic handcuffs. Press reports speculated that those killed may
likely have been surrendered or captured by pro-Qadhafi combatants.
Nevertheless, the scale of killing by opposition forces was less than
the scale of killings by Qadhafi forces during the conflict.
Following a firefight on October 20, Misrata fighters detained and
later killed Mummar Qadhafi shortly after capture. His son, Muatassim,
was also captured and was filmed alive in captivity but later was
reported dead in uncertain circumstances. HRW found approximately 95
bodies at the site where Qadhafi was captured; between six and 10
bodies had gunshot wounds to the head and body and had apparently been
executed at the site.
On October 23, HRW found 53 bodies, some later identified as
civilians and Qadhafi loyalists and some of which showed signs of
having been treated for previous injuries before dying, in the Mahari
hotel in Sirte. According to HRW, the hotel was under the control of
Misrata opposition fighters around the time the killings were estimated
to have taken place. The names of five Misrata brigades were written on
hotel walls, including al-Nimer, al-Isnad, al-Fahad, al-Asad, and al-
Qasbah.
There were additional reports that numerous deaths in custody
occurred due to mistreatment. For example, HRW reported that in late
August guards at the Zarouq School detention facility in Misrata beat
to death Ashraf Salah Muhammad, a mentally ill man from Tawargha, in an
attempt to learn a password for a radio.
Opposition fighters, with fewer and more selectively targeted
weapons, also reportedly engaged in indiscriminate attacks during
combat, albeit on a more limited scale. Information remained sparse on
opposition militias' activities in this regard, although anti-Qadhafi
forces launched Grad rockets around Dafniya, Misrata, Sirte, and
possibly Tawargha, according to AI.
The discoveries of multiple mass graves across the country,
particularly in the capital, indicated that deliberate killings were
widespread, yet in many cases identifying the specific individuals
responsible was difficult. Following the capture of cities in the West,
opposition forces discovered several mass graves containing remains
dating from the conflict as well as prewar graves. On October 6, for
example, a mass grave thought to contain an estimated 200 bodies was
found in Gargarish, on the coast just north of Tripoli, according to
media reports. Unidentified and sometimes bound corpses found across
Tripoli, including in hospitals following the seizure of the city by
the opposition, were attributed to killings by regime or opposition
forces, depending on the source of the reporting.
Abductions.--Information was lacking about the whereabouts of
persons who disappeared during the fighting or were abducted and
detained when Qadhafi forces retreated from areas. While scores of
persons disappeared due to alleged support of the opposition or
participation in protests, others disappeared when Qadhafi forces in
reprisal campaigns arrested and enforced disappearances of adults and
children on the street, at mosques, and during home raids, such as in
Misrata, Zawiya, and Zuwara, according to rights groups. Family
testimonials to the international NGO Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
reported that Qadhafi forces kidnapped, raped, and held girls and
women, sometimes for days at a time. It was unclear at year's end if
kidnapped persons were killed, held for ransom, or later released.
Other civilians disappeared after leaving opposition-held areas, often
when attempting to travel to purchase basic necessities.
Opposition forces detained civilians, including sub-Saharan
migrants and Qadhafi loyalists, often arbitrarily and without legal
authority, and transported detainees when forces moved between
locations during and after the conflict. Following the seizure of
Tripoli, some opposition forces pursued an informal campaign of
arresting and holding hostage migrant workers, including women, on the
grounds that they were suspected Qadhafi loyalists or mercenaries. They
were held in a range of informal facilities in the capital, including
schools, and many had been released by year's end.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Civilians, including foreign
nationals, were vulnerable to abuses by both Qadhafi and opposition
forces, including arbitrary detention and torture. Civilians were
reportedly subject to different forms of mistreatment and attack by
Qadhafi forces because of their suspected association with the
uprising. A campaign of systematic arrests, torture, killings,
deportations, enforced disappearances, violence, and rape was reported
across the country that did not discriminate between civilians and
fighters. Victims were civilians allegedly participating in
demonstrations or supporting opposition fighters, activists, or
journalists; those who communicated with foreign journalists; and some
migrant workers who were forcibly expelled. Thousands of civilians,
including children, were violently abducted from the streets, homes,
and mosques. Their whereabouts remained unknown, often until they
escaped or were freed. Some of these ``disappeared'' persons appeared
on television ``confessing'' to membership in al-Qaida or acting
against regime interests.
Violence against civilians was particularly harsh after Qadhafi
forces recaptured towns and appeared to enforce a policy of collective
punishment.
Media and human rights groups reported that both sides stirred a
climate of racism that increased the vulnerability of sub-Saharan
nationals and dark-skinned civilians, including violent attacks,
robbery, beatings, and abuses such as sexual violence. Following the
outbreak of violence, for example, Qadhafi claims that the opposition
forces were supported by sub-Saharan African mercenaries led to
widespread media reports of attacks on sub-Saharan workers in Tripoli.
Opposition fighters and supporters reportedly abducted, arbitrarily
detained, tortured, and killed former and suspected Qadhafi loyalists,
government officials, and foreign nationals, including civilians,
suspected of being mercenaries. In February groups of protesters
assaulted, captured, and raided homes of sub-Saharan African and Libyan
civilians in eastern and central parts of the country, including al-
Bayda, Benghazi, Derna, and Misrata. The number of such victims,
including deaths, was difficult to corroborate due to local reluctance
to disclose details of the attacks to rights groups, yet many victims
reportedly wore civilian clothing. Some militias were responsible for
widespread arbitrary arrests that took place. The number of reported
attacks and arbitrary arrests decreased following the opposition's
early victory in the East but spiked again following the capture of
Tripoli. Incidents continued intermittently throughout the year.
There were sporadic reports that opposition forces attacked some
civilians when taking new areas. In mid-June and July, opposition
fighters gaining Qadhafi-held territory in the West attacked property,
including homes and hospitals, and beat some individuals alleged to
have supported government forces in al-Awaniya, Rayayinah, al-Qawalish,
and Zawiyat al-Bagu, according to HRW. In October HRW reported on
increased looting, detentions, and abuse as opposition fighters
increasingly took control of Qadhafi strongholds, claiming that the
opposition did not take sufficient measures to protect civilians.
There was widespread mistreatment of detainees arrested by Qadhafi
forces. Victims were held outside the protection of the law, denied
outside contact, and were particularly vulnerable to abuse. After
opposition forces captured Tripoli and Sirte, where Qadhafi forces
transferred scores of persons detained in different parts of the
country, testimonies from released detainees gave consistent reports of
severe mistreatment in captivity, some of which amounted to torture.
Evidence of torture among dead detainees was documented by human rights
groups in various parts of the country. There were various reports of
forced confessions, abuse during interrogation, burying detainees in
underground cells, and detainees shot in the foot. Abuses took place in
formal prisons and other converted spaces such as schools, warehouses,
and in some cases, shipping containers.
Opposition groups also engaged in detainee abuse. Treatment varied
widely from location to location, and abuse was not necessarily
systematic. There were reports in March and April of abuse of captured
security service members and civilian detainees, including perceived
Qadhafi loyalists, sub-Saharan Africans, and dark-skinned Libyans, in
the East in addition to their being held in poor and overcrowded
facilities. Violence, including beating, was common at the time of
capture, particularly for Qadhafi fighters caught on the battlefront,
but treatment in detention varied. Bodies of Qadhafi fighters found
with serious injuries, including near Zintan in July, suggested that
opposition fighters in some instances engaged in abuses such as
stripping, electrocution, decapitation, and beating.
Misrata milita members reportedly violently abused detainees from
Tawargha, a town near Misrata with a population of primarily dark-
skinned Libyans, due to allegations that they were complicit in
Qadhafi's attacks and mistreatment of Misrata's population during a
two-month onslaught, which included reported rapes and killings.
Allegations of rape as a tactic of war by Qadhafi forces were
widespread. On March 28, Iman al-Obeidi, a woman who said she was held
by Qadhafi soldiers and raped over consecutive days, appeared at a
Tripoli hotel to share her story with foreign journalists. The Qadhafi
government responded to her allegations by publicly stating al-Obeidi
was unstable, drunk, and potentially a prostitute. On May 19, the BBC
reported the first widespread incidence of rape as Qadhafi forces
retreated from Misrata. The ICC prosecutor's report called for
investigations into reports that Qadhafi's forces used rape as a matter
of policy. The PHR later documented evidence of military-sanctioned
rape in Misrata.
Some opposition forces reportedly engaged in rape, allegedly in
retaliation for widespread use of rape by Qadhafi forces, but often in
circumstances where witnesses did not come forward to identify a
perpetrator.
The use of land mines by Qadhafi forces without measures to prevent
civilian casualties was widespread during the conflict, including in
civilian and residential areas. The COI reported that such use of mines
was indiscriminate. Mines identified by HRW and other groups in at
least six locations included antipersonnel, antivehicle, and antitank
mines as well as plastic mines. HRW reported that forces did not mark,
monitor, or map minefields in cases of hand-planted mines near Ajdabiya
and antipersonnel mines in Misrata. In addition, parachute Type 84
Model A (antivehicle) mines were remotely launched into Misrata's port
via Grad rockets, scattering mines across a wide area of the port and
preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid, according to HRW. Qadhafi
forces were similarly observed planting sea mines in the Misrata
harbor. At year's end, there was no evidence that Qadhafi forces
recorded the use of such scattered mines. There were no known reports
of opposition forces using landmines.
The restriction of relief supplies and humanitarian aid to isolated
populations was a result of both intensive fighting and deliberate
attempts by Qadhafi forces to restrict assistance to vulnerable
populations. For example, heavy fighting in Zintan in late May forced
humanitarian organizations to temporarily withdraw. Qadhafi forces
additionally restricted humanitarian access, including medical aid and
delivery of key items indispensable to the survival of the civilian
population, in particular during their siege of opposition-held
territory in the Western Mountains, including Zintan and Misrata.
There were widespread reported violations by Qadhafi forces of
medical neutrality during the conflict, in addition to attacks on
health care workers, patients, ambulances, and medical facilities. By
March the PHR reported incidents of armed men storming and shooting in
medical facilities, attacks on medical professionals, disappeared
patients, secret disposal of bodies from hospitals, gunmen using
ambulances to fire on protesters, denial of medical staff and supplies,
and cases where the injured were shot dead instead of being taken to
hospitals. The COI reported that pro-Qadhafi forces entered Zawiya
hospital to arrest patients with gunshot wounds (on the assumption that
they were opposition fighters) and their doctors.
Opposition forces also violated principles of medical and
humanitarian neutrality. In July opposition forces looted medical
equipment and vandalized medical facilities in the formerly Qadhafi-
held areas in Rayayinah, al-Awaniya, and Zawiyat al-Bagul in the West.
Although there were reports that doctors tended to treat both
opposition and Qadhafi fighters, on October 10, HRW reported that the
``Kilometer 50'' field hospital west of Sirte had a policy of treating
only opposition fighters and not injured Qadhafi loyalists or
civilians. Denial of medical care by prorevolution doctors was not
systematic, according to the PHR's observations.
Throughout the conflict Qadhafi forces concealed tanks and heavy
armor near civilians and civilian objects and in urban areas, including
in Misrata, in what rights groups claimed was a deliberate attempt to
use human shields as cover. For example, the PHR reported eyewitness
accounts that, in April and May, Qadhafi troops forcibly detained 107
civilians south of Misrata for use as human shields to guard munitions.
There were no known reports of opposition forces using human shields.
Civilians were forcibly displaced for reasons other than military
necessity. In late March, in a campaign of shelling and violence
against civilians in Misrata, Qadhafi troops forced thousands of people
from their homes. In August violent activity and arbitrary arrests by
Misrata militias in Tawargha led many Tawarghan civilians to flee the
town, which had been previously used by Qadhafi forces as a base for
attacks on Misrata. There were reports, including by the U.N. high
commissioner for refugees, of armed men going door to door in the
opposition-held East in early March in an attempt to force persons
suspected of being sub-Saharan Africans to leave the country. The
identities of the perpetrators could not be confirmed.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--Under Qadhafi, the law provided for freedom of speech ``within
the limits of public interest and principles of the [1969]
Revolution,'' but in practice freedom of speech and press was severely
limited and censored, particularly criticism of government officials or
policies. There were provisions in the penal code that criminalized
``insulting public officials.'' The Constitutional Declaration provides
for freedoms of opinion, expression, and the press, all of which the
new postrevolution authorities generally respected.
Freedom of Speech.--Freedom of speech was limited in law and
practice under Qadhafi; the penal code provided life imprisonment for
undermining the country's reputation and the death penalty for anyone
who advocated changing the principles of the Qadhafi-era law or his
political, economic, and social structures, which effectively
prohibited all political activities and expression. The Qadhafi
government enforced these provisions through widespread arrests of
known online activists and government critics calling for protests in
February (see section 1.d.). The TNC and subsequent interim government
did not restrict freedom of speech.
Freedom of Press.--Before the uprising the government censored,
scrutinized, and controlled the media; newspapers often published
articles provided by the state verbatim. As early as late February, the
Qadhafi regime jammed independent broadcast media. It also restricted
foreign journalists' ability to cover the unrest in areas under its
control by requiring escorts and expelling foreign correspondents. The
TNC and the successor interim government generally accommodated
freedoms of expression, including online.
Violence and Harassment.--In an attempt to stifle coverage of the
unrest, from mid-February Qadhafi forces led a campaign of severe
harassment of journalists, including abductions and detentions,
violence, and movement restrictions. For example, on March 18 and 21,
respectively, proregime gunmen in Benghazi shot and killed Ali Hassan
Jaffer, a Qatari cameraman for al-Jazeera, and Mohammed Nabbous, a
Libyan and founder of news channel Libya al-Hurra. Throughout the
conflict in Tripoli, Qadhafi forces effectively detained foreign
journalists at the Rixos Hotel, selectively limiting their movement and
access to sites in order to influence their reporting. Other
journalists were injured, captured, and in some instances killed on the
front lines or traveling between conflict areas.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The Qadhafi government
effectively censored all media and restricted criticism, which was in
part made possible by its ownership and control of virtually all print
and broadcast media.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The TNC and interim government
promoted a climate of free expression, provided for in the
Constitutional Declaration, setting up a committee with the goal of
establishing a climate favorable to a free press. The number of media
outlets grew in the country. For example, as of May, 60 new print
publications had been registered with the Benghazi Municipal Council.
Internet Freedom.--A single government-owned service provider
offered Internet access. The Qadhafi government actively attempted to
impede the flow of information within, to, and from the country by
cutting landlines and restricting the Internet and all other forms of
communication. As of year's end, communications infrastructure had been
largely restored to prerevolution levels, with functioning but
inconsistent cellular telephone and Internet services.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Qadhafi government
severely restricted academic freedom. The TNC's Constitutional
Declaration specifically provides for freedom of scientific research.
Following the end of the conflict, academics with a background studying
or teaching Qadhafi's ``Green Book'' ideology faced discrimination.
There were no known restrictions on cultural events under the new
government. Amazigh communities, particularly in the West, were able
for the first time in 42 years to use their language in public
communications.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for peaceful assembly with prior approval,
but in practice under Qadhafi peaceful meetings or demonstrations were
generally allowed only when they were in support of the government. In
April the ICC prosecutor reported evidence that officials planned to
control demonstrations by using tear gas before resorting to shooting.
Security forces responded to protesters in February and March with
lethal violence, injuring and killing scores of peaceful civilians in
addition to some armed protesters, many of which were reportedly
security force defectors (see sections 1.a. and 1.g.).
While the TNC and interim governments respected freedom of
assembly, autonomous militias clashed violently with pro-Qadhafi
protesters, for example, on December 28 in Tarhouna.
Freedom of Association.--The Qadhafi government severely restricted
the right of association and generally allowed only institutions
affiliated with the government to operate. In areas under control of
the opposition, which included the entire country by the end of
October, the TNC and interim government respected and promoted freedom
of association. The Constitutional Declaration included freedom of
association for political and civil society groups. Libyans founded
hundreds of self-styled NGOs, some of which supported the war effort.
Other NGOs took on political colorings. The new government tolerated
the emergence of nascent political groups and self-described parties.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--Both Qadhafi-era law and the
Constitutional Declaration recognize freedom of movement. However, both
parties to the conflict restricted freedom of movement.
The Qadhafi government allowed the Office of the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to operate on a limited basis and
provide some services but generally did not cooperate with it or other
humanitarian organizations. The UNHRC operated throughout the conflict
and provided services to refugees, returnees, and IDPs. The new
government generally cooperated with the UNHRC and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees,
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other
persons of concern.
In-Country Movement.--The Qadhafi government generally did not
restrict freedom of movement within the country, apart from conflict
zones. In-country movement became more dangerous as a result of the
conflict, and after the conflict ended in October some autonomous
militias imposed barriers to movement.
Foreign Travel.--Under the Qadhafi regime, freedom to travel
outside the country was at times restricted by the arbitrary seizure or
nonissuance of passports.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--As many as 240,000 citizens
were internally displaced at the height of the conflict, as well as
approximately 500,000 foreign workers. By the end of the year, all but
65,000 citizens had returned home. Very few of the foreign workers
returned to the country. The entire town of Tawargha, containing 35,000
citizens, was displaced following the fall of the Qadhafi regime after
Tawarghans faced Misrata militia violence for having served as a base
for Qadhafi forces' siege of Misrata earlier in the year. Most
Tawarghans remained displaced at year's end. More than 30,000 citizens
and migrants from cities that experienced heavy fighting, including
Ajdabiya, Sirte, Misrata, Bani Walid, and Ras Lanuf, also remained
displaced. The U.N., ICRC, and NGOs provided assistance to IDPs during
and after the conflict. The TNC and interim government did not have the
capability to promote the safe, voluntary return, or resettlement of
IDPs, nor were there adequate laws and policies in place to assist
them.
IDPs were vulnerable to abuses, such as armed attacks, widespread
arbitrary detention, trafficking, forced labor, and reported gender-
based violence, from some militia forces or other armed groups. For
example, at Sidi Bilal Port outside of Tripoli, there were reports in
October that an estimated 450 sub-Saharan Africans were isolated and
vulnerable, unable to reintegrate into the community due to fear of
discrimination and violence. Refugees International reported that women
were targets of sexual violence at the port and that local groups
harassed men, accusing them of mercenary activity. On about October 23,
armed men shot two sub-Saharan African men at the port. Local leaders
were unwilling or unable to provide alternative sites for the migrants.
Additionally, IDPs from tribes known to be loyal to the Qadhafi
government, such as the Tawargha, Qawalish, and Mesheshiya, faced
harassment, violence, intimidation, and discrimination. Opposition
forces in Misrata arbitrarily arrested hundreds of Tawarghan IDPs,
including women and children, and transferred them to detention in
nearby Misrata, where rights groups and humanitarian reported there was
serious mistreatment and torture.
The Qadhafi government responded to conflict-induced displacement
in areas under its control, such as Tripoli, Zlitan, al-Khums, and
Gharian, by temporarily housing some IDPs in hotels, dormitories, and
private homes, according to humanitarian organizations. There were no
known efforts or policies to address permanent resettlement.
Informal local coordination structures among the prorevolution
population emerged during and after the conflict to address various
humanitarian challenges, including the displaced population. The
transitional government's efforts to address permanent resettlement had
not begun by year's end.
As of year's end, the TNC and interim government had not begun to
address questions concerning laws and policies to protect IDPs in
accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
Protection of RefugeesPrior to the conflict the UNHRC had
registered an estimated 9,000 refugees from the Palestinian
territories, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and other African countries, and
identified approximately 3,700 asylum seekers in the country. Many
registered refugees and asylum seekers fled to Tunisia, Egypt, and
Europe during the conflict. As of year's end, the UNHRC office in Libya
could not verify the numbers and nationalities of those who remained.
More than 100,000 citizens and as many as 500,000 migrant workers
fled the country during the conflict. By year's end nearly all citizens
had returned, but only a negligible number of nonspecialized migrant
workers had returned.
The U.N. estimated that as many as 34,000 Syrians arrived in Libya
beginning in May. The UNHRC found that many were fleeing general and
targeted violence in Syria in addition to seeking economic
opportunities in Libya. Only approximately 1,000 Syrians opted to
register as refugees with the UNHRC.
Access to Asylum: Neither the Qadhafi government nor the new
transitional government established a system for providing protection
to refugees or asylum seekers. The Constitutional Declaration
recognizes the right of asylum and forbids repatriation of asylum
seekers. Asylum seekers were not legally recognized as a class distinct
from migrants in the country without residency permits. As such,
refugees and asylum seekers were subject to laws pertaining to
irregular migrants and were regularly held in detention. While the flow
of persons across the border continued throughout the conflict, there
were reports that hundreds to thousands of sub-Saharan Africans entered
the country illegally near year's end.
Refugee Abuse.--Some refugees faced abuses including killings,
arbitrary detention, attacks on camps, and gender-based violence.
Detention of sub-Saharan African refugees and migrants increased
significantly after the fall of the Qadhafi government, when
revolutionary forces rounded up and detained scores of sub-Saharan
Africans on suspicion that they supported the Qadhafi regime or were
complicit in abuses during the conflict. While the new government and
affiliated militias subsequently released several thousand detainees,
estimates of sub-Saharans detained in scattered detention sites ranged
from 1,500 to 2,500 at year's end. The UNHRC, ICRC, and International
Organization for Migration (IOM) were able to access many detention
sites and provided basic assistance. Most detainees were not officially
charged and had no access to review and judicial processes.
In August an assessment team of several humanitarian agencies found
3,000 to 4,000 sub-Saharan African migrants living in poor conditions
in a camp, lacking basic services, including sufficient health care,
near the town of al-Kufrah and reportedly having been subjected to
physical abuse. In September humanitarian organizations reported that
the living conditions for migrants camped outside Tripoli were very
poor, with migrants reportedly lacked access to food, water, shelter,
and medical care. Fear of violence of harassment caused migrants to
avoid leaving the camp to collect necessary supplies.
Stateless Persons.--By law citizenship is derived from birth in
country or from a citizen parent; there are naturalization provisions
for nonnationals.
The UNHRC identified as many as 25,000 primarily nomadic Tuareg in
the southwest who had been living in the country for several decades
but held no citizenship documentation. The UNHRC estimated that the
number of potentially stateless Tuareg could be as high as 100,000.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Under Qadhafi the country did not have a constitution, and there
were no legal means for the people to change their government.
Antigovernment groups took up arms against the government in a civil
war that, after eight months, resulted in Qadhafi's fall and a
political transition. A temporary Constitutional Declaration and road
map for political transition guided the interim government's
activities. The declaration, which defines the country as a democratic
state deriving authority from the people, provides for a range of
political, civil, and judicial liberties.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--The
Qadhafi-era ``Jamahiriya'' system of government included indirect
elections for a layered pyramidal structure of committees. The most
recent elections, held in 2009, were heavily influenced by Qadhafi's
inner circle and the Revolutionary Committees and ultimately had no
influence on the governance of the country, which was tightly
controlled by Qadhafi. By the end of the year, the TNC was preparing to
hold nation-wide elections in June 2012.
Political Parties.--The Qadhafi government prohibited the creation
of and membership in political parties. However, the TNC and interim
government promoted freedom of political parties, associations, and
other civil society organizations in the Constitutional Declaration and
in practice. At year's end, political groups were in the process of
formation under the interim government.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--The 51-member TNC had one
female member, and the interim government had two women among the 24
ministers. Five Amazigh members of the TNC boycotted the government
swearing-in ceremony to protest that no Amazigh were named to
ministerial positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Laws stipulating criminal penalties for official corruption are
unclear and were inconsistently applied under Qadhafi, when officials
regularly engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The transitional
government and citizens called for prosecutions of Qadhafi regime
officials' corruption.
The Qadhafi-era law did not provide for financial disclosure by
public officials or public access to government information, but
popular demands for accountability and transparency from the interim
government prompted it to pledge that it would pursue open practices,
such as publicly disclosing budgets and oil contracts.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Under Qadhafi the government prohibited the establishment of
independent human rights NGOs, and none operated in country. The TNC
and interim government were receptive to international and local human
rights organizations and were responsive to international observers.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The new authorities generally
cooperated with U.N. bodies, including human rights components of the
United Nations Support Mission to Libya. However, as of year's end, the
UNHRC had not secured a memorandum of understanding from the interim
government that would allow it to expand its activities.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Qadhafi-era law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex,
religion, disability, or social status. The Qadhafi government did not
enforce these prohibitions effectively, particularly with regard to
women and minorities. The Constitutional Declaration contains clear
references to equal rights, stating that all citizens are equal before
the law in enjoying civil and political rights, equal opportunities,
and the duties of citizenship without discrimination on the basis of
religion, sect, language, wealth, sex, descent, political views, social
status, or regional, family, or tribal affiliations.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Under Qadhafi, the law
prohibited domestic violence, but there was scant information on the
penalties for violence against women. The law criminalized rape. A
convicted rapist must marry the victim, with her agreement, or serve a
prison term of as long as 25 years. In previous years rape victims who
failed to meet high evidentiary standards reportedly could face charges
of adultery, according to HRW. The law did not address spousal rape.
The PHR and other groups reported that Qadhafi forces systematically
raped female civilians during the siege of Misrata (see section 1.g.).
Harmful Traditional Practices.--In August the PHR reported that a
father killed his three daughters (ages 15, 17, and 18) in Tomina, near
Misrata, after they were raped. The PHR reported that persons with
knowledge of honor killings in the country claimed that the practice
had ``a strong foothold'' and that, in previous years, those convicted
of such killings sometimes received reduced sentences.
Sexual Harassment.--The law criminalizes sexual harassment, but
there were no reports on how or whether this law was enforced under the
Qadhafi or new governments.
Reproductive Rights.--Couples and individuals have the right to
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. In previous years, virtually
all births took place in hospitals, and more than 90 percent of mothers
received pre- and postnatal care. The conflict caused a decrease in
available skilled medical personnel, as many expatriate medical workers
fled the country, which likely affected women's access to sufficient
care during childbirth.
Discrimination.--The law under Qadhafi granted women equality, but
in practice societal discrimination against women continued. Sharia
(Islamic law) governs family matters, including inheritance, divorce,
and the right to own property. The TNC's guiding Constitutional
Declaration states that citizens are equal under the law and includes
prohibitions on gender-based discrimination.
In some rural areas societal discrimination restricted women's
movements, even to local destinations, and impaired their ability to
play an active role in the workplace.
The government was the largest employer. Civil service salaries
were set according to education and experience. Women and men with
similar qualifications were paid at the same grade for positions that
were substantially similar. The private sector did not formally
discriminate on the basis of gender for access to employment or credit,
although women tended to earn less than men for similar work.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from either
parent or birth in country. Under the Qadhafi government, births were
registered in a government-issued family book.
Education.--The conflict disrupted the school year for thousands of
students across the country; while school continued in some areas such
as Tripoli, in other areas schools were not open. Schools partially
reopened in September and October; however, many remained empty due to
lack of materials, damage, or security concerns.
Qadhafi-era law imposed high fees on noncitizens enrolled in
primary and secondary schools. In previous years the U.N. Human Rights
Council noted that schools discriminated against children born out of
wedlock.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There was no known information
available on penalties for the commercial sexual exploitation of
children, the minimum age of consensual sex, and whether any laws
prohibit child pornography.
International Child Abductions.--The country was not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--There was reportedly no resident Jewish population.
There were examples of anti-Semitism during the year. In October,
protests in Tripoli called for the deportation of a Jewish activist who
had returned to Libya with the intent of restoring Tripoli's synagogue.
Some protesters' signs read, ``There is no place for the Jews in
Libya,'' and ``We don't have a place for Zionism.''
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The Qadhafi-era law provided for the
rights of persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities and provided for monetary and other types of social
assistance. In addition a number of organizations provided services to
persons with disabilities. Few public facilities had adequate access
for persons with physical disabilities, resulting in restricted access
to employment, education, and health care. There was limited access to
information or communications.
The conflict caused injuries and disabilities among fighters and
civilians, including children maimed by mortar or gunfire or injured
due to remaining unexploded ordnance. The interim government made
efforts to set up mechanisms to address issues among the war-wounded,
including the evacuation of large numbers of injured to hospitals in
other countries. Several international aid organizations operated in
the country clearing land mines and the explosive remnants of war.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arabic-speaking Muslims of
mixed Arab-Amazigh (Berber) ancestry constituted 97 percent of
citizenry. The principal minorities were Amazighs, Tuaregs, and Toubou.
These minority groups are predominantly Sunni Muslim but identify with
their respective cultural and linguistic heritage rather than with Arab
traditions. Several nomadic groups live in areas along the country's
desert borders, including Tuareg and Toubou. The country was home to an
estimated 1.5 million to two million foreign workers and undocumented
migrants, many of whom fled or were displaced during the conflict. Of
those, nearly one million were thought to be of Sahelian or sub-Saharan
African origin.
Under Qadhafi, Arabic was declared the only official language, and
the regime denied the existence of non-Arab citizens. Amazigh people
faced discrimination, including limitations on the use of their native
language. Amazigh fighters participated in the revolution and were able
to publicly use Amazigh symbols and the alphabet. At year's end, they
pursued fledgling efforts to advocate for equal protections for Amazigh
culture and language.
There was societal discrimination and violence against dark-skinned
Libyans, including those of original sub-Saharan descent, in part due
to allegations that Qadhafi used African mercenaries during the
conflict.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Under Qadhafi the government
deemed lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) orientation
illegal, and official and societal discrimination against LGBT persons
persisted during the year. The Qadhafi-era penal code made consensual
same sex sexual activity punishable by three to five years in prison.
The law provided for punishment of both parties.
No public information was available on societal discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. There were no known
reports of legal discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
identity in employment, housing, or access to education or health care.
Citizens tended to hold negative views of LGBT persons, and
homosexuality was socially stigmatized. Sexual orientation or gender
identity occasionally constituted the basis for societal violence,
harassment, blackmail, or other actions, generally at a local level. In
previous years there were infrequent reports of societal
discrimination, physical violence, or harassment based on sexual
orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no known
reports of societal violence toward persons with HIV/AIDS. In previous
years there were reports of societal stigmatization of persons with
HIV/AIDS, due to an association of the disease with drug use, sex
outside marriage, and homosexuality. No information was available about
the effects of the conflict on persons suffering from HIV/AIDS.
However, the fighting generally restricted the provision of medical
supplies and antibiotics in addition to prompting the departure of many
foreign national medical staff from the country. There were reports
that detainees suspected of having HIV/AIDS were segregated from the
rest of the detainee population, often in overcrowded spaces, and were
the last to receive medical treatment.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
Under Qadhafi workers were prohibited from forming and joining
independent unions, which were banned. Collective bargaining was also
restricted, as all collective agreements had to conform to the
``national economic interest.'' Strikes could be called only after all
conciliation and arbitration procedures had been exhausted. The
government or one of the parties could demand compulsory arbitration,
thus severely restricting strikes. The government had the right to set
and cut salaries without consulting workers. Union workers were not
well protected against antiunion discrimination.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were
nonexistent under Qadhafi. Although trade unions had existed officially
for more than 25 years, union membership was limited to citizens.
Furthermore, all workers were automatically members of the General
Trade Union Federation of Workers, which was sponsored by the Qadhafi
government. They could elect to withdraw from the union.
Under the TNC and interim government, the status of unions,
strikes, and employment law was not clear. During the 10 weeks that the
TNC interim government was in control of the entire country, there were
sporadic reports of strikes by professional groups, such as teachers
and lawyers, who used strike as a method to protest political policies
and actions. The TNC and interim government did not take any actions to
prevent or hinder these strikes.
Since February there were reports of migrant workers held hostage
by their employers after going on strike demanding their pay. In a case
involving Nepalese workers, neither the new government nor the official
trade unions provided assistance to the migrants, who were eventually
assisted by the IOM.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Qadhafi-era law
prohibited all forms of forced or compulsory labor. There were numerous
reports of forced labor by migrant workers, for example Filipinos,
Indians, and sub-Saharan Africans, in the construction and domestic
sectors after they were smuggled into the country. During the conflict
there were reports that both Qadhafi government fighters and militias
forced migrants into participating in fighting; the extent of the
practice was unknown. The IOM reported that migrants in IDP camps and
transit centers controlled by militias or armed groups were subject to
forced labor and trafficking.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Qadhafi-era law prohibited children younger than 18 from being
employed, except when in a form of apprenticeship. No information was
available concerning whether the law limited working hours or sets
occupational health and safety restrictions for children. Under Qadhafi
the General People's Committee for Manpower, Employment, and Training
was responsible for enforcing laws on child labor. At year's end it was
not clear whether the interim government had the capacity to enforce
these laws or which agency would be responsible for doing so.
There was no information available on the prevalence of child labor
or the effect that the conflict had on the practice.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 250 dinars
(approximately $200) per month. Although some public sector employees,
such as professors, received pay increases in recent years, a freeze
imposed more than a decade before continued to depress earnings. The
Qadhafi government paid an additional pension of 90 dinars ($72) for a
single person, 130 dinars ($104) for a married couple, and 180 dinars
($144) for a family of more than two. The interim government generally
continued these payment practices, except when wages were frozen for
periods during the conflict. The government heavily subsidized rent and
utilities, and government workers received an additional 130 dinars
($104) per month for food staples during the year. One-third of Libyans
lived below the poverty line.
The legal workweek was 40 hours. Under Qadhafi, the law stipulated
the standard working hours, night shift regulations, dismissal
procedures, and training requirements. The law did not specifically
prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
The Qadhafi government set occupational health and safety
standards. The Qadhafi-era law granted workers the right to court
hearings regarding these standards and provided workers with the right
to remove themselves from unhealthy or unsafe working conditions
without jeopardizing their employment.
Under Qadhafi, labor inspectors were assigned by municipal
governments to inspect places of work for compliance with government-
defined health and safety standards. Certain industries, such as the
petroleum sector, attempted to maintain standards set by foreign
companies. There was no information on whether workers could remove
themselves from an unhealthy or unsafe work situation without
jeopardizing their employment. There was no information available on
whether inspections continued during the conflict.
While the 2006 census counted 349,040 foreigners resident in the
country, observers and diplomatic missions with large migrant
populations in the country estimated that the preconflict number of
undocumented workers was between 1.5 and two million. Although foreign
workers reportedly constituted more than 20 percent of the workforce,
the labor law applies only to legal foreign workers who have work
contracts, which were a fraction of the total. Contracts, generally
written in Arabic, were required for the hiring business to sponsor the
worker for a visa, yet such contracts were rare and generally used only
if the business was closely monitored or regulated by the Qadhafi
government.
Under Qadhafi, authorities permitted foreign workers to reside in
the country only for the duration of their work contracts, and workers
were prohibited from sending more than half of their earnings to their
home countries. There was no information on whether the interim
government enforced these regulations. However, there were reports
that, by year's end, it had become difficult for migrants to acquire
work permits.
Foreign workers were subject to arbitrary pressures, such as
changes in work rules and contracts, and had little choice other than
to accept such changes or depart the country. This was especially true
during the conflict, when many foreign workers fled the country and
others were detained in temporary camps.
__________
MOROCCO
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, under which ultimate
authority rests with King Mohammed VI, who presides over the Council of
Ministers. The king may dismiss ministers, dissolve parliament, and
call for new elections. International and domestic observers judged
that the November 25 parliamentary elections were credible and
relatively free from government-sponsored irregularities. Security
forces reported to civilian authorities.
Beginning in the spring, the country underwent a four-month
constitutional reform process. In a March 9 speech, the king outlined
the guidelines for the new constitution. A commission of experts whom
he appointed wrote it, with input from an ``accompanying mechanism''
coordinating with political parties and numerous nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs), associations, and individuals. The king presented
the text publicly on June 17, and the populace adopted it in a
referendum on July 1. This new document safeguards the essential powers
of the king as the supreme arbiter among political forces, while
marginally increasing the authority of parliament. The new constitution
made significant steps in codifying civil liberties and advancing
gender parity. Arab Spring-inspired social upheaval was relatively
mild, although a new protest movement emerged, the February 20
Movement, that staged near-weekly peaceful demonstrations across the
country to demand political, economic, and social reforms as well as an
end to government corruption, to which the government sometimes
responded with excessive force (see below).
The most significant, continuing human rights problems were the
lack of citizens' right to change the constitutional provisions
establishing the country's monarchical form of government, arbitrary
arrests, and corruption in all branches of government.
Other human rights problems reported during the year included
police use of excessive force to quell peaceful protests, resulting in
dozens of injuries and at least four deaths; torture and other abuses
by the security forces; incommunicado detention; poor prison and
detention conditions; political prisoners and detainees; infringement
of freedom of the press; lack of freedom of assembly; lack of
independence of the judiciary; discrimination against women and girls;
trafficking in persons; and child labor, particularly in the informal
sector.
There was a problem of police and security force impunity, but the
government took steps to address the issue.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were reports
that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful
killings. On February 20, five protesters died in a bank fire in Al
Hoceima. Security officials said that the five were among a large group
engaged in vandalism and robbery when the fire broke out, but human
rights NGOs and family members alleged police brutality and a cover-up.
In addition, NGOs and the February 20 Movement alleged that two other
protesters died during protests as the result of police officers' use
of excessive force. Authorities denied those charges but opened
investigations in both cases.
Kamal Ammari, a participant in a February 20 Movement demonstration
in Safi, was severely injured in clashes with police on May 29 and died
four days later. Officials initially denied responsibility but later
declared the cause was a severe respiratory illness. Ammari's family,
domestic and international human rights NGOs, and eyewitnesses
challenged the government's version of events, alleging that he died as
a result of police beatings. The National Council for Human Rights
(CNDH), created and funded by the government, which succeeded the
Consultative Council on Human Rights (CCDH) on March 1, conducted an
investigation but did not release conclusions. Additionally, Karim
Chaib, a protester in a demonstration on February 20 in Sefrou, was
injured severely when security forces violently dispersed the crowd. He
died on February 23, allegedly from wounds sustained during this police
crackdown. No results were available in either investigation by year's
end (see section 2.b.).
There were no charges filed resulting from a continuing
investigation into the September 2010 death after two days of
imprisonment of Fodeil Aberkane following an altercation with police.
Authorities were investigating one police officer and five guards,
three of whom were in pretrial detention.
b. Disappearance.--The country's penal code requires security
forces to inform a detainee of charges and inform the detainee's family
of his or her whereabouts within 48 hours. The antiterrorism law
provides an exception to this rule by permitting authorities to detain
suspects without informing their families for up to 96 hours. This
initial detention period may be renewed twice--with the written
authorization of the prosecutor--up to a total detention time of 12
days. In addition authorities may prevent communication between the
detainee and his/her lawyer for up to two days after the initial four-
day detention expires (see section 1.d.).
The government stated that it followed the law in all cases and
that there were no cases of disappearance. However, the domestic NGO
the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), the international
NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the Party of
Justice and Development (PJD), an Islamist-oriented political party,
claimed that in several cases from 2010, authorities did not follow the
provisions of the penal code or the antiterrorism law and that
prolonged periods in unknown locations amounted to disappearances in
these cases.
During the year the PJD, the February 20 Movement, and several
domestic human rights NGOs mounted a public campaign calling for the
closure of an alleged secret detention facility at Temara. Government
authorities denied the facility existed and continued to claim that
arrest and pretrial detention were mistakenly equated with abduction
and forced disappearances and that families were informed about the
whereabouts of those detained. However, authorities permitted the CNDH
and several members of parliament to tour the Temara facility (see
section 5). In the wake of the public campaign calling for the closure
of the Temara facility, there were fewer reports of incommunicado
detentions.
Regarding the unresolved cases of disappearance dating back to the
1970s and 1980s, the CNDH continued to investigate claims of enforced
and involuntary disappearances. The government reported that since 2004
it had provided reparations to 25,442 victims of disappearance or other
abuses committed between 1956 and 1999 or to their family members.
Reparations were in the form of money, health care, employment, or
vocational training. A total of 345 beneficiaries received reparations
during the year amounting to the equivalent of more than five million
dollars. The CNDH also began shifting its activities to community
reparation projects and supported 107 of these--such as women's
empowerment, income generation, and preservation of the environment--in
13 provinces. The CNDH continued to review open claims for reparation
and occasionally received new claims, especially in Western Sahara.
Human rights groups representing Sahrawis, an ethnic minority
living throughout the country and constituting the majority of the
population of Western Sahara at the time of the contested
disappearances, voiced concern over the slow pace at which the CNDH was
addressing outstanding and new claims. An association of victims and
their families claimed that at least 114 cases remained unresolved and
accused the government and CNDH of failing to acknowledge many
additional cases of disappearances, especially from Western Sahara,
that occurred between 1956 and 1999.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and the law prohibit such practices, and
the government denied that it used torture. However, numerous NGO
reports and media articles alleged that members of security forces
tortured and abused individuals in their custody, particularly during
pretrial detention.
The law against torture requires judges to refer a detainee to a
forensic medical expert when the detainee or his or her lawyer requests
it or if judges notice suspicious physical marks on a detainee. The
government reported that as of September public prosecutors and
magistrates had requested expert medical examinations for 19
individuals, compared with 31 requests in 2010. Media and human rights
NGOs documented cases in which the antitorture law provisions were not
implemented.
A lawyer for Islamist detainees in the Toulal 2 prison in Meknes
conveyed the account of several prisoners that, on August 1, guards
brutally beat and raped with a stick at least four Islamist prisoners.
According to numerous prisoner witness statements, one prisoner,
Abdullah Al-Manfa'a, had been reciting the Qur'an for his fellow
inmates when guards dragged him from his cell and abused him. Other
prisoners protested and at least three of them received the same
treatment. The government reported that an August 9 medical exam
ordered by the Meknes court of appeals revealed no signs of abuse. The
prosecutor then closed the investigation into the affair.
Many civil society actors claimed that torture occurred at a police
administrative facility in Temara where police maintained detention
cells. On May 18, two CNDH members, along with members of a
parliamentary ad hoc committee, made a previously announced three-hour
visit to the facility and reported that they ``found no indicators that
would confirm, at the time of the visit, that this facility is a place
of illegal and unlawful detention'' (see section 5).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained
poor and generally did not meet international standards. Prisons were
overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions. There were no
reports regarding inadequate provisions for ventilation, temperature,
lighting, and access to potable water. The Moroccan Observatory of
Prisons (OMP), an umbrella grouping of lawyers promoting better prison
conditions, and human rights NGOs continued to report during the year
that prisons were overcrowded, prone to violence, and failed to meet
local and international standards. The government stated that its 61
prisons held 65,279 inmates as of October 1. The government reported
that it had opened seven new detention facilities during the year to
reduce overcrowding as well as to improve living conditions. OMP
reports in 2008 and 2009 maintained that the adult prison system
operated at approximately 133 percent capacity. In many cases those
imprisoned as minors completed their sentences as adults.
The government reported that 77 inmates, 54 of whom were
hospitalized and under the care of the Ministry of Health, died in
prison. Due to lack of access to information, local human rights NGOs
were unable to comment on these numbers. The government acknowledged
that providing adequate care was difficult in overcrowded conditions.
The Directorate General for Prison Administration (DGAP), a
separate agency that reports directly to the prime minister and
informally to the king, has responsibility for managing all prisons in
the country. It has its own budget and central administrative
apparatus. The Ministry of Justice directs the development and reform
of penal policy.
Three detention facilities, known officially as Reform and
Education Centers (RECs), were reserved exclusively for juveniles up to
the age of 20. Several other adult prison facilities have dedicated
areas for juvenile inmates. Although their separation was called for by
law, juveniles were sometimes held with adults, particularly in
pretrial detention and in police stations due to the lack of juvenile
prison facilities. As of August 31, NGOs reported that there were an
estimated 6,000 juveniles under the age of 20 at various prisons. Human
rights groups reported that young offenders were abused by other
minors, older inmates, and prison guards. Government figures indicated
that fewer than 3 percent of prisoners were women, and there was less
overcrowding in the women's sections. Women were held separately from
men.
The government continued implementing vocational and educational
training programs in prisons. The Mohammed VI Foundation for the
Reinsertion of Prisoners, managed directly by the king, provides
educational and professional training to young inmates on the verge of
release. The foundation runs RECs in 38 of the country's 61 prisons and
works with more than 4,000 prisoners each year. Graduates of the
foundation's training programs have a recidivism rate of 3 percent, in
contrast to the national average of 40 percent. During the year the
government opened seven new prisons in Sale, Tetouan, Meknes, Tiflet,
Khouribga, Oued Zem, and Beni Mellal. The government closed a number of
prisons due to poor sanitary conditions.
Some human rights activists asserted that the prison administration
reserved harsher treatment and conditions for certain prisoners, such
as Islamists. The government denied allegations that it accorded
different levels of treatment to any inmates. Prisoners frequently
employed hunger strikes to demand improved prison conditions or protest
lengthy pretrial detentions. Most of these ended within several days in
response to concessions from the government or prison authorities.
Although prison authorities provided meals to prisoners three times per
day, the amount of food provided was inadequate, and families and
friends regularly supplemented prisoners' diets.
The government rarely permitted prison visits by independent human
rights observers, local human rights groups, international groups, or
the media. As in years past, family members of prisoners accounted for
the majority of prison visits. At least 244 visits were by judiciary
authorities for various oversight reasons. The DGAP also reported that
46 regional or parliamentary commissions made prison visits during the
year, as well as the Temara visit of the joint CNDH-parliamentary
group. Authorities documented 128 visits by domestic NGOs during the
first nine months of the year. NGOs reported that although
international NGOs visited prisons in previous years, the DGAP's
director general discouraged such visits, and they ceased. The
International Committee of the Red Cross did not make any requests to
visit prisoners.
The CNDH, like the CCDH before it, acted as an ombudsman for human
rights and continued to expand the scope of its activities. The CNDH
received complaints from prisoners and from individuals writing on
behalf of their imprisoned family members (see section 1.e.). On
several instances the CNDH intervened directly with authorities to
secure royal pardons or address poor detention standards.
Government policy permits NGOs that provide social, educational, or
religious services to prisoners to enter prison facilities, but it does
not permit NGOs that only have a human rights mandate to do so except
with special authorization. There were no reports that prisoners and
detainees were denied permission to practice their respective
religions. The OMP and members of various NGOs, including the Moroccan
Organization for Human Rights (OMDH), the AMDH, and the Association of
Victims of Grave Human Rights Abuses (ASVDH), visited prisoners
regularly to distribute food and personal items and check on their
health and well-being as ``friends or family,'' not as human rights NGO
representatives.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, although police used both practices.
Police did not always observe due process. According to local NGOs and
associations, police did not always identify themselves when arresting
suspects nor did they consistently obtain warrants. Police reportedly
held some detainees without charging them.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security apparatus
includes several police and paramilitary organizations with overlapping
authorities. The National Police (DGSN) manages internal law
enforcement and reports to the Ministry of Interior. The Auxiliary
Forces also report to the Ministry of Interior and support gendarmes or
police. The Royal Gendarmerie, which reports to the Administration of
National Defense, is responsible for law enforcement in rural regions
and on national highways. Both the Royal Gendarmerie and the judicial
police report to the royal prosecutor. The Department of Royal Security
is a branch of the DGSN and reports to the king.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the security
forces, but the government did not have effective mechanisms to
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There was no systematic
prosecution of security personnel who committed human rights abuses.
Corruption and impunity reduced police effectiveness and respect for
the rule of law. Petty corruption was widespread among the police and
gendarmes, and broader, systemic corruption undermined law enforcement
and the effectiveness of the judicial system.
In February 2010 the king issued a royal high directive designed to
modernize and professionalize the DGSN by making it an autonomous
directorate. The government stated that these changes were aimed at
improving the quality of recruits and reducing corruption. Various
components of the king's directive were implemented during the year.
While the directive did not include provisions for additional training
of security forces, the government increased investigations,
prosecutions, and training--including a human rights component--for
security personnel.
The Ministry of Interior increased investigations of abuse, human
rights violations, and corruption across all security services under
its purview. During the year the government reported that it arrested,
prosecuted, or opened investigations regarding government authorities
or security officials at all levels for crimes ranging from assault and
battery to petty bribery throughout the country and Western Sahara.
There was no available information on the number of convictions and
punishments during the year, and many more incidents of alleged
corruption were never investigated. Cases often languished in the
investigatory or trial phases without resolution.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may
arrest an individual after a general prosecutor issues an oral or
written warrant; in practice warrants were sometimes issued after the
arrest. Warrants generally were issued on the basis of evidence and
exclusively by authorized officials. The law permits authorities to
deny defendants' access to counsel or family members during the initial
96 hours of detention under terrorism-related laws or 48 hours of
detention for other charges, during which police interrogated detainees
and alleged abuse or torture was most likely to occur.
Under the antiterrorism law, after the first 96 hours, two
additional 96-hour extensions are allowed with the written approval of
the prosecutor. Under the law a person may be detained without trial
for as long as one year while an investigating magistrate completes
work.
NGOs continued to report that as many as 40 percent of adult
detainees and more than half of incarcerated minors were in pretrial
detention. The law provides for a limited system of bail, but bail was
rarely granted. Some judges were unaware of legislation permitting the
use of the bail system or other alternative sentencing provisions. The
law does not require written authorization for a person to be released
from detention. In some instances judges released defendants on their
own recognizance. The antiterrorism law does not include a system of
bail. Under a separate military code, military authorities may detain
members of the military without a warrant or public trial.
According to the law, all defendants have the right to be
represented by attorneys, and if a defendant cannot afford private
counsel, a court-appointed attorney must be provided when the criminal
penalty exceeds five years in prison. In practice effective counsel was
not always provided. Police were required to notify a detainee's next
of kin of the arrest as soon as possible after the initial 48-hour
incommunicado detention in nonterrorism cases unless arresting
authorities applied for and received an extension from a magistrate,
but police did not always abide by this provision. Because of delays in
notifying family, lawyers sometimes were not informed promptly of the
date of arrest and were not able to monitor compliance with
administrative detention limits as well as treatment of the detainee
during this period.
Arbitrary Arrest.--It was common practice for security forces to
arrest a group of persons, take them to a police station to be
questioned, and then release them without charge.
Pretrial Detention.--Although the government claims that accused
persons are brought to trial within two months, prosecutors may request
as many as five additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention.
Technically an accused person may be kept in detention for as long as
one year prior to trial. There were reports that authorities routinely
held detainees beyond the one-year limit. According to the government,
as of October 1, pretrial detainees made up 45 percent of the 65,279
inmates in prison.
Amnesty.--The government used royal pardons rather than a parole
system as the principal judicial mechanism for early release. Pardons
may take the form of release, sentence reduction, or transfer.
The king pardoned 2,826 prisoners during the year. Included in
these were the April 14 royal pardons for 190 of the Salafists rounded
up after the 2003 Casablanca bombings, including five prisoners who had
been convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms in connection with
the Belliraj terrorist cell case in 2009. Domestic and international
observers had long maintained that the five were not guilty of any
crimes but had been convicted on fabricated charges because of their
political beliefs. The five were Mustapha Moatassim, Mohamed Marouani,
Mohammed Amine Regala, Alaa Badella Maa El Ainin, and Abdelhafid Srite.
The CNDH recommended the pardons following the social unrest that began
in February.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but in practice the courts often did not act
independently and were weakened by corruption and extrajudicial
influence. Corruption and extrajudicial influence on judges and other
court officials was commonplace and widely acknowledged by NGOs,
lawyers, and government officials.
After significant campaigning by his family and by domestic and
foreign human rights activists, retired colonel-major Kaddour Terhzaz
was pardoned and released from prison on March 2. He was arrested in
2008 for allegedly threatening the country's security through divulging
national defense information and convicted of treason. Various NGOs
stated that no witnesses were allowed to testify at his military trial
and that he was denied access to his attorney.
In April authorities released the last three of the seven Sahrawi
activists arrested in 2009 on charges of ``intelligence cooperation
with a foreign entity'' and ``incitement to disturb public order''
after a trip to Algeria and the Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf.
Four others had been released previously in 2010. Technically, all
seven have been ``provisionally released.'' Charges against them have
not been dropped.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent. The law
provides for the right to a fair public trial with the right of appeal
for all citizens; this did not always occur in practice, especially for
those protesting the incorporation of Western Sahara into the country.
Juries are not used, in accordance with the Napoleonic legal system.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trial and to
timely consultation with an attorney, although these rights were not
always enforced in practice. Attorneys were not appointed in all cases
or, if provided, were poorly paid or provided in an untimely fashion,
often resulting in inadequate representation. By law defendants in
criminal and human rights cases have access to government evidence
against them. In practice judges sometimes prevented or delayed access.
Under the law defense attorneys may question witnesses. Despite the
provisions of the law, some judges reportedly denied defense requests
to question witnesses or present mitigating witnesses or evidence.
If the judge determines that a confession was obtained under
duress, the law requires that it be excluded from evidence. Human
rights NGOs charged that judges often decided cases based on forced
confessions, especially in cases of Sahrawis or individuals accused of
terrorism. Police statements about detainees' statements were sometimes
used in place of defendants' confessions when there was a possible
question of duress.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Legislation does not define or
recognize the concept of a political prisoner. The government did not
consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners and stated that
all individuals in prison had been convicted or had been charged under
criminal law and were awaiting trial. However, several NGOs, including
the AMDH, Sahrawi organizations, and Amazigh activist groups, asserted
that the government imprisoned persons for political activities or
beliefs under cover of criminal charges.
The royal pardons granted to the six men associated with the
Belliraj case and the release of the last of the ``Sahrawi Seven'' (see
above) prompted an open, public debate regarding the concept and status
of political prisoners in the country. Recently released political
prisoners freely appeared before the media and accused the government
of having fabricated criminal charges against them to mask the
political motivations for their detentions. Even government officials
who had long denied the existence of political prisoners engaged in
open discussions of the question.
On April 18, Ilham Hasnouni was released after receiving a 10-month
sentence, which she has already served. Hasnouni, an activist with the
Marxist group Annahj Addimocrati, had been detained without trial for
10 months. She was eventually charged with destruction of public
property--among numerous other charges--due to her alleged role in a
2008 riot at Cadi Ayad University in Marrakech. Hasnouni, along with
several others, was arrested two years after the riot. Human rights
groups claimed that members of the group had been severely beaten and
deprived of food and water for 48 hours.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although individuals had
access to civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations
and filed such lawsuits, the courts were not entirely independent or
impartial in civil matters due to extrajudicial influence and
corruption. There are administrative as well as judicial remedies for
alleged wrongs.
A national ombudsman resolves civil matters when the judiciary is
unable to do so and has gradually expanded the scope of its activities.
As of October 1, the ombudsman had received 1,250 complaints; it judged
841 to be valid and referred those cases to other public
administrations as appropriate. The CNDH continued to serve as a
conduit through which citizens expressed complaints about government
malfeasance or human rights violations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--While the constitution states that an individual's
home is inviolable and that a search may take place only with a search
warrant, authorities occasionally entered homes without judicial
authorization, monitored private communications or movements without
legal process, and employed informer systems.
Although less than in previous years, authorities reportedly
searched and shut down activities in the homes of members of the
Justice and Charity Organization (JCO), an Islamist charitable and
sociopolitical group the government tolerated but did not officially
recognize. Members used their homes for ``open houses'' where they held
politically oriented meetings. JCO members claimed the Ministry of
Interior's General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance was
responsible for the harassment. In almost every case, authorities
detained, questioned, and later released JCO members without charges.
Sahrawi activists reported that when NGOs held meetings at members'
houses, both plainclothes and uniformed police occasionally intervened
(see the Western Sahara report).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law generally provides for freedom of speech and press,
although the government continued to restrict freedom of the press
through the legal system. Government-provided figures for the year
showed that 154 journalists or media outlets faced criminal or civil
charges, an increase from previous years. These numbers included cases
the government initiated as well as private citizens' libel complaints.
Numerous human rights groups criticized the steady stream of criminal
prosecutions, newspaper closings, and libel suits.
Freedom of Speech.--The law criminalizes criticizing Islam, the
institution of the monarchy, state institutions such as the military,
and the government's official position regarding territorial integrity
and claim to the Western Sahara. But during the year's historic period
of social unrest in Morocco and across the region, many members of
NGOs, political parties, and the February 20 Movement claimed they felt
more at liberty to discuss perceived shortcomings of the monarchy and
Islam, so long as they did not question them directly. Article 19 of
the previous constitution that codified the king's role as ``Commander
of the Faithful'' was a common topic of debate at universities, in the
media, and throughout society.
On September 9, rapper and February 20 Movement supporter Mouad
Belghout, who had been sharply critical of the monarchy in his songs,
was arrested and charged with assault against a pro-monarchy
demonstrator. A theory supported by numerous eyewitness accounts held
that Belghouat had been incited to fight and that authorities used the
fight as an excuse to arrest and disproportionately punish him. He
remained in detention at year's end.
Freedom of Press.--The antiterror law and press code include
provisions that permit the government to jail and impose financial
penalties on journalists and publishers who violate restrictions
related to defamation, libel, and insults. Prison sentences may be
imposed on those convicted of libel. Consequently, the press reported
gingerly on controversial and culturally sensitive topics involving the
military and national security. This was less the case than in previous
years, however, and many NGOs and February 20 Movement organizers
reported an overall relaxing of both self-censorship and government
restrictions on sensitive topics. The broadcast media, subject to the
same restrictions but more under government sway, was more circumspect
that newspaper, magazine, or book publishers.
On June 9, a court in Casablanca sentenced Rachid Niny, the editor,
publisher, and leading columnist for the country's highest-circulation
daily newspaper, Al Massae, to one year in prison and a 1,000 dirham
($130) fine. Niny had been charged under the penal code with
``denigration of a judicial ruling'' and ``knowingly publishing
information about a nonexistent crime.'' According to lawyers,
journalists, and some politicians, Niny's arrest and conviction were
politically orchestrated due to his criticism of the government's
application of antiterror laws, including the existence of a secret
detention and torture center at Temara, as well as his critical
coverage of corruption involving high-level government officials.
Violence and Harassment.--Authorities subjected some journalists to
harassment and intimidation during the year.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government rarely censored
the domestic press; however, it exerted pressure both by subsidizing
some publications and occasionally intimidating journalists in an
effort to get them to self-censor. The press code lists threats to
public order as one of the criteria for censorship. Journalists self-
censor, and the broadcast media is either wholly or partially
government owned. Publications and broadcast media must obtain
government accreditation, and the government has the ability to deny
and revoke accreditation as well as to suspend or confiscate
publications. In January 2010 the Ministry of Communication began
applying regulations requiring foreign stations to receive ministry
approval on a monthly basis in order to report on or record individuals
outside Rabat. On occasion the government blocked the entry of foreign
periodicals that contained, for example, caricatures of the king or the
Prophet Mohammed.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The antiterror law provides for the
arrest of journalists or the filtering of Web sites that are deemed to
``disrupt public order by intimidation, terror, or violence.''
Internet Freedom.--The government applied laws and restrictions
governing speech and the press to the Internet. There are neither
specific laws nor a body of judicial decisions concerning Internet
content or access. The government generally did not restrict access to
the Internet. Individuals and groups generally were careful to respect
the official boundaries and were able to engage in peaceful exchanges
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The government did not
publicly attempt to collect the personally identifiable information of
persons over the Internet in connection with citizens' peaceful
expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or beliefs.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--By law and in practice, the
government has the right to criminalize presentations or discussions
questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy, Islam, state institutions,
or the status of Western Sahara; however, the government generally
tolerated political and religious activism on university campuses.
Islamist groups wielded considerable influence on campuses. In some
cases they won student union elections and acted to constrain academic
freedom by intimidating or harassing students or professors. The
Ministry of Interior approved the appointments of university rectors.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedom of assembly and association within the limits
provided by law. In practice the government sometimes used
administrative delays and other methods to suppress or discourage
demonstrations. But both authorized and unauthorized sit-ins,
demonstrations, and protests occurred frequently throughout the
country. The government also prohibited or failed to recognize
associations it deemed unqualified for NGO status.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law conditions the right to freedom of
public assembly on acquiring Ministry of Interior permission. Some NGOs
complained that the approval process was inconsistent. The creation of
the February 20 Movement dramatically increased the number, size, and
geographical dispersion of demonstrations, particularly prior to the
July 1 referendum on the new constitution. The majority of these
demonstrations were tolerated, even if unauthorized.
However, on May 15, 22, and 29, security forces violently dispersed
February 20 Movement protests in various cities, resulting in dozens of
injuries and allegedly the death of Kamal Ammari in Safi (see section
1.a.). Security forces were also blamed for the deaths of Karim Chaib
in Sefrou (see section 1.a.) and Mohamed Bouderoua in Safi. The
government ordered investigations into these two deaths; they remained
open at year's end.
The May 15 protest was held in the vicinity of a government
facility in Temara that many human rights NGOs claimed was a secret
prison where detainees were routinely tortured. In the weeks following
the July 1 referendum, February 20 Movement protesters were frequently
met by pro-monarchy demonstrators who were both physically and verbally
abusive. The AMDH and other human rights NGOs claimed they saw security
forces encouraging these groups to harass the February 20 Movement
protesters and helping them to identify individuals that the police had
selected for particularly harsh treatment. Human rights groups blamed
at least one death on October 27 in Al Hoceima on the actions of
counterprotesters.
Other protests were also violently dispersed throughout the year,
particularly in Casablanca, Tangier, Khourigba, and Safi. Human rights
activists claimed that a March 15 crackdown on protesters in the
phosphate town of Khouribga caused one death.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for
freedom of association, although the government refused to recognize
officially NGOs that espoused ideals counter to a monarchical form of
government, the Malachite Rite of Sunni Islam as the state religion, or
the territorial integrity of the country. The establishment and
functioning of associations is governed by a 1958 decree. According to
the government, approximately 100,000 NGOs and associations were
registered.
New NGOs are required to register with the Ministry of Interior. A
proposed organization must submit its objective, bylaws, address, and
photocopies of members' identification cards to the ministry. In
practice the government has denied official recognition to NGOs that
advocate against the monarchy, Islam as the state religion, or
territorial integrity. The ministry issues a receipt to the
organization that signifies formal approval. If the organization does
not receive a receipt within 60 days, it is not formally registered.
Many organizations the government chose not to recognize functioned
without the receipts, and the government tolerated their activities.
Several organizations, including the ASVDH and the JCO, have won
administrative court judgments confirming that their applications for
registration conform to the law; however, administrative courts have no
enforcement powers beyond ruling that authorities exceeded their powers
and cannot force government officials to recognize NGOs.
Organizations supporting self-determination for Western Sahara,
including the ASVDH and the Sahrawi Collective of Human Rights
Defenders, were not permitted to register. Unregistered organizations
cannot access government funds or legally accept contributions. The
ASVDH remained unregistered despite a 2005 Agadir administrative court
decision requiring authorities to register it.
During the year authorities continued to monitor JCO activities and
on occasion disrupt them.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department's International
Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--In-country Movement.--The law
provides for freedom of movement within the country. This right was
generally respected in practice, although the government restricted
movement in areas regarded as militarily sensitive, including the
demilitarized zone in Western Sahara.
Foreign Travel.--The law provides for freedom of foreign travel,
and this right was generally respected in practice, although the
Ministry of Interior restricted the freedom of civil servants to travel
outside the country, including teachers and military personnel. Civil
servants and soldiers must obtain written permission from their
ministries to leave the country.
Exile.--While the law provides for forced exile, there were no
instances of forced exile during the year. Abdelkrim Mouti reportedly
remained in political exile in Libya. Mouti has lived abroad since
1975, claiming that Moroccan authorities are preventing his return by
denying him a passport. He was convicted in absentia in 1980 for the
assassination of a prominent politician but maintained his innocence.
Emigration and Repatriation.--The government encouraged the return
of Sahrawi refugees if they acknowledged the government's authority
over Western Sahara. The government continued to make travel documents
available to Sahrawis, and there were no reported cases of Sahrawis
being prevented from traveling (see the Western Sahara report).
Protection of Refugees.--The government cooperated with the Office
of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. As of
December the UNHRC reported approximately 800 refugees and 400 asylum
seekers in the country.
Access to Asylum.--The country has not adopted national refugee
legislation, nor has it established asylum procedures meeting
international standards. It defers to the UNHRC as the sole agency in
the country entitled to grant refugee status and verify asylum cases.
In this void the UNHRC conducted refugee status determinations during
the year and expected to continue this work in the future even as it
sought increased involvement by the government.
Refugee Abuse.--Refugees and asylum seekers--as well as migrants--
were particularly vulnerable to criminal gangs involved in human
trafficking. There were credible reports of government authorities
expelling illegal migrants, particularly at the border town of Oujda
but also into the desert along the border with Algeria. NGOs reported
that authorities left some migrants without food and water; however,
unlike in previous years, there were no reports of migrant deaths as a
result.
Access to Basic Services.--Refugees were unable to obtain residence
permits that would officially allow them access to the national health-
care system.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the right to change the constitutional
provisions establishing the country's monarchical form of government.
The law provides for, and citizens participated in, regular, free
elections based on universal suffrage for the parliament's Chamber of
Representatives and municipal councils. The parliament's Chamber of
Counselors and the regional councils are indirectly elected through
representatives. Citizens voted to accept a new constitution on July 1
and ratified it September 13.
The king may dissolve parliament in consultation with the prime
minister. As head of state he appoints the head of government.
According to the constitution, the king presides over the Council of
Ministers--the supreme decision-making body--except in cases when he
delegates that authority to the head of government. Constitutional
changes outlining this division of responsibility came into effect on
July 29, and it remained unclear by year's end which authorities the
king might delegate and which he might maintain. Matters of religion,
security, and strategic policy legally remain the purview of the king.
The constitution obliges the king to choose the prime minister from the
party with the most elected seats in the Chamber of Representatives.
The constitution authorizes the prime minister to nominate all
government ministers, although the king may dismiss them.
The constitution may not be changed without the king's approval.
The king, head of government, or parliament may propose amendments to
the constitution, but only the king has the power to put constitutional
amendment proposals to a national referendum.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--In the
November 25 legislative elections, which saw a turnout of approximately
45 percent of the registered electorate, the Islamist PJD won 107 of
the 395 seats at stake in 92 constituencies. Of the 395 seats, 60 were
reserved for women and 30 for those less than 40 years of age.
The law mandates the CNDH to supervise and facilitate the work of
domestic and international observers. Accordingly, the CNDH fielded an
estimated 3,500 domestic observers. The CNDH also accredited more than
300 international observers. Political parties and the vast majority of
the 3,500 domestic observers considered the elections free, fair, and
transparent. Most international observers considered them credible
elections in which voters were able to choose freely and deemed the
process relatively free of government irregularities.
Political Parties.--Political parties faced fewer government-
imposed restrictions as a result of the new constitution. The Ministry
of Interior applied new laws that made it easier for political parties
to register. By law a political party may not challenge the monarchy,
Islam as the state religion, or territorial integrity.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women's representation in
political parties' decision-making structures increased during the
year, and female politicians featured prominently in the press on a
variety of issues. The November elections saw an increase of women in
the Chamber of Representatives from 34 to 67.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but
the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. It was common
knowledge that corruption was a serious problem in the executive
branch--including the police--as well as the legislative and judicial
branches of government. There were reports of government corruption
during the year.
The judiciary's lack of independence and susceptibility to
influence were widely acknowledged, including by the king. During
several speeches throughout the year, the king highlighted the issue of
corruption. Since 2009 the king has called for judicial system reform,
including greater judicial independence, but many members of the well-
entrenched and conservative judicial community have been loath to adopt
new procedures, as well as new laws. Since 2007 the law has required
judges, ministers, and members of parliament to submit financial
disclosures.
The Central Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (ICPC) is
the agency responsible for combating corruption, but it does not have
the authority to require response from government institutions on
anticorruption cases. Officials attributed the low number of complaints
in part to the lack of legislation protecting plaintiffs and witnesses
in corruption cases. The ICPC launched an Internet portal for the civil
society to identify instances of corruption. In addition to the
commission, the ministry and the government accountability court had
jurisdiction over corruption issues.
During the year the government exhibited some efforts to address
corruption, but there were no high-profile cases. The inspector general
of the Justice Ministry investigated 151 ethics complaints against
judges (up from 65 in 2010), which resulted in the referral of three
judges to the Supreme Judicial Council for disciplinary measures.
According to observers, there was widespread corruption in the
police force. The government claimed to investigate corruption and
other instances of police malfeasance through an internal mechanism.
There is no freedom of information law, but the new constitution
provides for the access of citizens to information held by public
institutions. In practice the government did not grant access to
official information to citizens and noncitizens, including foreign
media.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government's attitude toward international human rights
organizations varied, depending on the political sensitivity of the
issues. Domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated in the country without government restriction (except those
that advocated in favor of independence for Western Sahara), and these
groups investigated and published findings on human rights cases.
Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their
views, except on Western Sahara.
The government recognized several dozen domestic and independent
human rights NGOs with national coverage. The OMDH and AMDH were
considered the largest human rights NGOs. The AMDH did not cooperate
officially with the government but usually shared information
informally with both the government and government-affiliated
organizations. The government occasionally met with and responded to
inquiries and recommendations from the OMDH and AMDH as well as
Transparency Maroc and the umbrella organization OMP.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government created three
entities to address issues concerning human rights. The CNDH served as
the principal advisory body to the king and government on human rights.
Most human rights NGOs and the public generally viewed the CNDH as a
credible and proactive government advocate protecting human rights and
a vehicle to seek redress in individual cases. The new Mediator
Institution acted as ombudsman and considered allegations of
governmental injustices, although in practice the CNDH filled many of
the roles of national social ombudsman. The government also created the
Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights, which promotes the
protection of human rights across all ministries, serves as a
government interlocutor with domestic and international NGOs, and
interacts with relevant U.N. bodies regarding international human
rights obligations.
In the case of allegations of serious human rights abuses, the
parliament may create a special committee to investigate. In 2010 such
a parliamentary committee composed of both majority and minority
political party representatives traveled to Western Sahara to
investigate the Agdim Izik camp dismantlement in November outside
Laayoune. The committee released its report in January. Parliament also
created an ad hoc committee in May to investigate accusations by
numerous human rights NGOs of torture in a detention facility in Temara
(see section 1.c.).
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, social status, faith, culture, regional origin,
or any other personal circumstance. In practice the government
generally enforced the law, although societal discrimination against
women was a problem, particularly in rural areas.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law punishes men convicted
of rape with prison terms of five to 10 years; when the conviction
involves a minor, the prison sentence ranges from 10 to 20 years.
Sexual assault can result in a prison sentence of up to one year and a
fine of 15,000 dirhams ($1,797). The government generally enforced the
law; however, spousal rape is not a crime, and various domestic
advocacy groups, such as the Democratic League for Women's Rights
(LDDF), reported that in eight of 10 cases of violence against women,
the perpetrator was the husband.
Women.--'s rights organizations pointed to numerous articles of the
laws pertaining to rape that they saw as perpetuating unequal treatment
for women and insufficient protection despite family law revisions.
Sexual assaults often were unreported.
The number of instances of rape in the country was not available at
year's end, but the government reported it had investigated 506 cases
in 2010 and 278 cases in 2009. A 2009-10 national survey by the
government's agency for statistics and forecasts found that nearly half
of women were victims of psychological violence; one in six were
affected by physical violence, and approximately 8 percent suffered
from sexual violence. According to the survey, 35.3 percent reported
having been subjected to physical violence at least once since the age
of 18, and 23.9 percent of women ages 18-64 reported undergoing a form
of physical or sexual violence in 2009. Marital violence was the most
common form of violence reported. The government indicated that it
expected a rise in reported incidents of violence as supporting social
services became more available.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence against
women, but the general prohibitions of the criminal code address such
violence. High-level misdemeanors occur when the victim suffers
injuries that result in 20 days of disability from work. Low-level
misdemeanors occur for victims who suffer disability for less than 20
days. NGOs reported that the courts rarely prosecuted perpetrators of
low-level misdemeanors.
Physical abuse was legal grounds for divorce, although few women
reported abuse to authorities, and most victims of domestic violence
preferred to mediate the problem within the family. Women choosing the
justice route preferred pursuing divorce in family courts rather than
police prosecutions.
The law is lenient toward husbands who commit crimes against their
wives. Police rarely became involved in domestic disputes. Several
women's NGOs reported that often laws are not enforced due to societal
pressures not to break up a family and to the conservative mentality of
some police and court officials.
The government operated hotlines for victims of domestic violence.
A small number of groups such as the Anaruz Network and LDDF were also
available to provide assistance and guidance to victims. Counseling
centers existed exclusively in urban areas, and services for victims of
violence in rural areas were generally limited to local police. Women's
shelters were not authorized under the law, but a few NGOs made efforts
to make shelter for victims of domestic abuse available. Courts have
``victims of abuse cells'' that bring together prosecutors, lawyers,
judges, women's NGOs, and hospital personnel to review domestic and
child abuse cases, ensure proper procedure is followed, and determine
the best interest of the woman or child.
Many domestic NGOs worked to advance women's rights and promote
women's issues. Among these were the Democratic Association of Moroccan
Women, Union for Women's Action, LDDF, and Moroccan Association for
Women's Rights. All advocated enhanced political and civil rights for
women. NGOs also promoted literacy and taught women basic hygiene,
family planning, and child care.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment in the workplace is a
criminal offense, but only when committed by a superior, and it is
defined as an abuse of authority. Authorities did not effectively
enforce laws against sexual harassment. According to the government,
although the law allows victims to sue employers, only a few did so,
since most feared losing their job as a result or worried about the
difficulty of proving the violation.
Reproductive Rights.--Contraception is legal, and most forms were
widely available. Individuals and couples were able to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
had the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. The Ministry of Health ran two programs: one
with mobile clinics providing maternal and child health and family
planning services in remote rural areas, and the other involving
systematic home visits to encourage the use of contraception and
provide family planning and primary health-care services. In practice
NGOs reported that women often faced obstacles in obtaining emergency
contraception from pharmacies. Skilled attendance at delivery and
postpartum care were available for women who could afford it, with
approximately 63 percent of overall births attended by skilled health
personnel. The most recent U.N. statistics showed that there were
approximately 110 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the
country in 2008 and that 52 percent of women ages 15-49 used a modern
method of contraception in 2010. The major factors influencing maternal
mortality and contraceptive prevalence rates were female illiteracy,
lack of knowledge about availability of services, cost of services, and
transportation to health centers and hospitals for those in rural
areas.
Discrimination.--The constitution provides women equal rights with
men in civil, political, economic, cultural, and environmental
affairs--an improvement from the previous constitution, which provided
only political equality. The constitution created a new body to monitor
gender equality issues, the Authority for Equality and the Fight
against all Forms of Discrimination.
Numerous problems related to discrimination against women remained.
Women's inheritances, which are determined by Sharia (Islamic law) for
Muslims, vary depending on circumstances, but are less than those of
men. Under Islamic law, daughters receive half of what their brothers
receive, and if a woman is the only child, she receives half and other
relatives receive the other half. A sole male heir would receive the
entire estate. Inheritance laws were not changed during the reform of
the family code and were not specifically addressed in the new
constitution.
According to two Ministry of Interior decrees from 1995 and 2004,
women are entitled to their share of collective lands, which make up
one-third of the country's territory. While ministry decrees carry the
force of law, implementation has met considerable local resistance from
men. Despite considerable lobbying by women's NGOs, enforcement of
these property laws remained inconsistent. However, the efforts of such
NGOs prompted the Ministry of Interior to publish new circulars--which
do not carry the force of law--in 2009 and 2010 that further pressed
for local enforcement of women's collective lands rights. The
government followed up with training for local authorities on the
implementation of the land allocation process. Women's NGOs reported
that the situation improved over the course of the year but wanted the
government to codify their rights in formal legislation.
The 2004 family code (Moudawana) changed the marriage age for women
from 15 to 18 years, placed the family under the joint responsibility
of both spouses, and rescinded the wife's duty of obedience to her
husband. The Moudawana removed the requirement for woman to have a
marital tutor as a condition of marriage, made divorce available by
mutual consent, and placed legal limits on polygamy.
Implementation of the controversial family law remained a concern
because it is largely dependent on the judiciary's willingness to
enforce it, and many judges did not agree with it. Corruption among
working-level court clerks and a lack of knowledge about its provisions
among lawyers were also obstacles to greater enforcement of the law.
There were few legal obstacles to women's participation in business
and other economic activities; however, the rate of participation in
the formal labor force was only 28 percent. In practice women were not
represented in leadership positions in trade unions. The majority of
women were illiterate, and a typical working woman earned 25 percent of
what a man earned. Women were able to travel, receive loans, and start
businesses without the permission of their husbands or fathers.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Since 2007 the law has permitted
female citizens to pass nationality to their children. Previously,
nationality was passed only through the father.
Education.--Girls continued to lag behind boys in school attendance
beyond the primary level.
Child Abuse.--Although NGOs, human rights groups, media outlets,
and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) claimed that child abuse was
widespread, there were no conclusive government statistics on the
extent of the problem. Anecdotal evidence also showed that abuse of
child domestic servants was a problem.
The government maintained 20 child protection centers (CPCs), five
specifically for girls. The CPCs were originally intended to provide an
alternative to prison for underage juvenile delinquents; however, the
centers were used to house delinquents, homeless children, victims of
domestic violence, drug addicts and other ``children in distress'' who
have committed no crime. Unlike the prisons, the CPCs were managed by
the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Child Marriage.--The legal age of marriage is 18 years, but parents
may secure a waiver from a judge for underage marriage. The judiciary
approved the vast majority of petitions for underage marriages.
Although the government took concrete steps to address it, child
marriage remained a concern, especially in rural areas.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Children were exploited through
prostitution within the country and were victims of sex tourism.
International Child Abductions.--The country became a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction with an effective date of June 1. For information see the
Department of State's report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as
country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--Community leaders estimated that the size of the
country's Jewish population was approximately 4,000 members. Jews
generally lived in safety, and the government provided them appropriate
security. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Some vendors at the annual government-sponsored book fair in
Casablanca in February offered publications that were anti-Semitic.
There was no indication that the government promoted these works.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The new constitution codifies the
government's role in protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. The law prohibits discrimination against persons with
physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment,
education, and access to health care; however, the government generally
did not effectively enforce these provisions. The law also provides for
regulations and building codes that assure access for persons with
disabilities, although the government did not effectively implement
these laws and regulations. While building codes have required
accessibility for all persons since 2003, the codes exempt most
preexisting structures and were rarely enforced upon new structures.
Government policy provided that persons with disabilities should have
equal access to information and communications, but special
communication devices for the blind and deaf were generally not widely
available.
The Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity has
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities
and attempted to integrate persons with disabilities into society by
implementing a quota of 7 percent for persons with disabilities in
vocational training in the public sector and 5 percent in the private
sector. Both sectors were far from achieving such quotas. Since 2008
the government has opened some 400 integrated classes for children with
learning disabilities, but in practice integration was largely left to
private charities. Typically, families supported persons with
disabilities, although some survived by begging.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Many of the poorest regions in
the country--particularly the Middle Atlas region--are predominantly
Amazigh with illiteracy as high as 80 percent. Basic governmental
services in this mountainous and underdeveloped region were not
extensive.
Official languages are Arabic and--with the new constitution--
Amazigh. Arabic predominates, but French and Amazigh were available in
the news media and, to a much lesser extent, educational institutions.
Approximately 60 percent of the population, including the royal
family, claimed some Amazigh heritage. Amazigh cultural groups
contended that their traditions and language were being lost rapidly to
Arabization. The government increasingly provided television programs
in the three Amazigh dialects of Tarifit, Tashelhit, and Tamazight. The
government also offered Amazigh language classes in the curriculum of
3,470 schools. Expanding Amazigh language education was hindered
primarily by a lack of qualified teachers, which the palace-funded
Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture was addressing through the creation
of university-level teacher training. Instruction in learning the
Amazigh language is mandatory for students at the Ministry of Interior
School for Administrators in Kenitra.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes
consensual same-sex sexual activity, but these provisions were
infrequently enforced. Questions of sexuality, sexual orientation, and
gender identity were addressed in the media and in public with more
openness than in previous years.
Sexual orientation or gender identity occasionally constituted the
basis for societal violence, harassment, blackmail, or other actions,
generally at a local level. There were infrequent reports of societal
discrimination, physical violence, or harassment based on sexual
orientation or gender identity. The government deems lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender orientation or identity illegal; therefore,
there were no reports of official discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, statelessness,
or access to education or health care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence against individuals living with HIV/AIDS, but
there was a stigma attached to being tested for HIV/AIDS. Persons
living with HIV/AIDS in the country faced discrimination and had
limited treatment options. The Joint U.N. Program on HIV/AIDS reported
some health-care providers were reluctant to treat persons with HIV/
AIDS for fear of infection.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The constitution provides workers with the rights to form and join
unions, strike, and bargain collectively, with some restrictions.
Certain categories of government employees, including members of the
armed forces, police, and judiciary, are prohibited from forming and
joining unions and from conducting strikes. Domestic workers are not
prohibited by law from unionizing, nor are they explicitly permitted,
as they are not covered by the labor code.
According to the labor code, the wages and employment conditions of
unionized workers should be agreed upon in discussions between employer
and worker representatives. The law allows several independent unions
to exist, but the code requires 35 percent of the total employee base
to be associated with the union for it to be considered representative
and able to engage in collective bargaining. The law prohibits
antiunion discrimination and prohibits companies from dismissing
workers for participating in legitimate union-organizing activities.
Courts have the authority to reinstate arbitrarily dismissed workers
and can enforce rulings that compel employers to pay damages and back
pay.
The law concerning strikes requires compulsory arbitration of
disputes, prohibits sit-ins, calls for a 10-day notice of a strike, and
allows for hiring replacement workers. The government can intervene in
strikes, and a strike cannot take place around issues covered in a
collective contract for one year after the contract comes into force.
The government has the authority to disperse demonstrations in public
areas where strikes have not been authorized and to prevent the
unauthorized occupancy of private space. Unions may not prevent
nonstrikers from working and may not engage in sabotage.
The government did not always enforce labor laws due to a lack of
sufficient inspection personnel and resources. Procedures were subject
to lengthy delays and appeals.
In practice freedom of association and the right to collective
bargaining were generally respected. However, the effective scope of
collective bargaining was limited. Employers frequently set wages
unilaterally for the majority of unionized and nonunionized workers.
The country's five largest unions negotiated with the government about
national-level labor issues. At the sectoral level, trade unions
negotiated with private employers concerning minimum wage,
compensation, and other concerns.
Labor disputes were common and were in some cases the result of
employers failing to implement collective bargaining agreements and
withholding wages. Trade unions complained that at times the government
used the penal code to prosecute workers for striking and suppress
strikes. However, trade unions reported that the right to strike was
respected more during the year due to the effects of large social
protests associated with the Arab Spring. Although most union
federations were strongly allied with political parties, unions were
free from government interference.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. In practice labor inspectors
did not inspect the small workshops and private homes where the
majority of such practices occurred, as the law does not allow labor
inspections in private homes. Inspectors' effectiveness was limited by
their small numbers, the broad geographic dispersion of sites, and the
low level of resources at their disposal.
Forced labor, especially of children, was reported. Girls from
rural areas were compelled to work as maids in urban areas, and boys
experienced forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction
industries and in mechanic shops (see section 7.c.).
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
minimum age for employment in all sectors is 15 years. Children younger
than 16 are prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day and
employers must give them a break of at least one hour. Children younger
than 16 are not permitted to work between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6
a.m. in nonagricultural work, or between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. in
agriculture. The overwhelming majority of child laborers worked in
rural agriculture, according to the government's statistical agency,
the High Planning Commission. Seasonal agriculture work is excluded
from the law. The law prohibits employment of children younger than 18
in stone quarries, mines, or any other positions the government
considers hazardous. The labor code, however, does not cover domestic
labor and therefore does not prohibit the employment of child maids or
domestics.
The Ministry of Employment and Professional Development is
responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and
regulations. The law provides for legal sanctions against employers who
recruit children under the age of 15, with fines ranging from 27,000 to
32,000 dirhams ($3,235 to $3,835). Legal remedies to enforce child
labor laws include criminal penalties, civil fines, and withdrawal or
suspension of one or more civil, national, or family rights, including
denial of legal residence in the country for five to 10 years.
The ministry did not systematically enforce these sanctions due to
a lack of resources. According to various reports, police, prosecutors,
and judges rarely enforced legal provisions on ``forced labor in cases
involving child domestics,'' and few parents of children working as
domestics were willing or able to pursue legal avenues that were likely
to provide any direct benefit.
According to Justice Ministry officials, no one was convicted
during the year for employing a child domestic. Labor inspectors
responsible for enforcing the labor code do not have jurisdiction to
inspect private residences. The Ministry of Employment's small cadre of
labor inspectors did not monitor the informal sector. Forty-three of
the 51 national labor inspectorates had an inspector trained in child
labor issues. These inspectors received up to 14 weeks of training from
the International Labor Organization's (ILO's) International Program on
the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC), which trained the 43 child labor
inspectors as well as 50 new general inspectors during the year.
Noncompliance with child labor laws was common in practice,
particularly in agriculture and private urban residences, where parents
placed children as young as six years of age to work as domestic
servants.
Under the 2006-15 National Plan of Action for Children, the
government expanded coordination with local, national, and
international NGOs on education and training programs during the year.
The ministry, led by the Office of the Director of Work, in conjunction
with NGOs, oversaw programs dealing with child labor. The programs
sought to decrease its incidence through awareness raising, financial
assistance to needy families, and the lowering of obstacles to school
attendance.
Reducing child labor has been the focus and secondary objective of
a number of government projects, mainly through increasing training for
enforcement stakeholders, improving legislation, reducing poverty,
increasing school retention in rural areas, and providing increased
protection services. From 2002 through 2010, through its joint efforts
with the ILO's IPEC, UNICEF, and others, the Ministry of Employment
reported that 16,283 children were removed from work by providing
viable alternatives, and 24,560 were preventively assisted.
Child labor occurred overwhelmingly in rural areas, which accounted
in 2010 for 91.2 percent of child workers, 93 percent of whom worked in
agriculture, primarily on family farms. According to 2010 government
statistics, labor inspectors issued 167 warnings and 45 fines to
businesses for employing children between the ages of 15 and 18. In
2009, 15 businesses were fined for employing children under the age of
15.
Some children were apprenticed before the age of 12, particularly
in small family-run workshops in the handicraft industry. Children also
worked in the informal sector in textiles, carpets, and light
manufacturing. Children's safety and health conditions and wages were
often substandard. In a 2011 report the High Planning Commission
estimated that approximately 13,000 children between the ages of seven
and 15 worked in urban areas in 2010, largely in the service sector.
Credible reports of physical and psychological abuse of domestic
servants were common. Some orphanages were accused of complicity in the
practice. The parents of children involved were paid for their
children's work. Most child domestics received food, lodging, and
clothing instead of monetary payment.
During the year the High Planning Commission reported that there
had been a significant reduction in child labor in the last decade,
claiming that in 2010 there were approximately 147,000 children from
the ages of seven to 15 actively working, compared with 517,000
children in the same age group in 1999.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 80 dirhams
($9.60) per day in the industrialized sector and 52.50 dirhams ($6.30)
per day for agricultural workers. The World Bank absolute poverty level
threshold wage was 70 dirhams ($8.40) per day.
The law provides for a 44 to 48 hour maximum workweek with no more
than 10 hours in a single day, premium pay for overtime, paid public
and annual holidays, and minimum conditions for health and safety,
including a prohibition on night work for women and minors. The law
prohibits excessive overtime. The labor code does not cover domestic
workers, who are primarily female citizens.
Occupational health and safety standards are rudimentary, except
for a prohibition on the employment of women and children in certain
dangerous occupations. The law outlines 33 areas of hazardous work that
workers under the age of 18 are prohibited from performing, which
include working in mines, handling dangerous materials, transporting
explosives, and operating heavy machinery.
In practice many employers did not observe the legal provisions for
condition of work, and the government did not always implement or
effectively enforce basic provisions of the labor code, such as payment
of the minimum wage and other basic benefits under the National Social
Security Fund. The country's labor inspectors attempted to monitor
working conditions and investigate accidents, but lack of resources
prevented effective enforcement of labor laws, and penalties were
generally not sufficient to deter violations.
Informal businesses hired approximately 60 percent of the labor
force and often ignored the minimum wage requirements. In many cases
several family members combined their incomes to support the family.
Most workers in the industrial sector earned more than the minimum
wage. Including traditional holiday-related bonuses, workers generally
were paid the equivalent of 13 to 16 months' salary each year.
Although workers in principle have the right to remove themselves
from work situations that endangered health and safety without
jeopardizing their continued employment, there were no reports of
workers attempting to exercise this right. According to NGOs, no major
workplace accidents occurred during the year.
__________
OMAN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of
2.7 million, including approximately 816,000 nonnationals. Sultan
Qaboos Al-Said has ruled since 1970. The sultan has sole authority to
enact laws through royal decree, although ministries draft laws and
citizens provide input through a Majlis al-Shura (Consultative
Council). On October 15, citizens chose among 1,100 candidates running
for seats on the 84-member Consultative Council. The 29-member Council
of Ministers advises the sultan on government decisions. The two-house
Majlis Oman (Oman Council) is composed of the Majlis al-Dawla (State
Council), whose 83 members are appointed by the sultan, and the Majlis
al-Shura. On October 19, a new law granted the Oman Council new powers
that expand its policy review function to include approving, rejecting,
and amending legislation and convoking ministers of agencies that
provide direct citizen services. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Oman experienced a series of relatively peaceful public protests
throughout the spring, with demonstrators demanding economic and
political reforms. There were lengthy sit-ins in the three largest
cities, including some significant acts of civil disobedience. One man
died and several were injured when security forces clashed with
disorderly protesters in the city of Sohar on February 27. On April 1,
another man died under similar circumstances. Security forces arrested
and detained hundreds of demonstrators throughout the country for
illegal weapons possession, arson, destruction of property, vandalism,
and blocking roads. There was one reported incident, which may have
been politically motivated, of two human rights activists kidnapped and
beaten by unknown persons.
The principal human rights problems were the inability of citizens
to change their government, limits on freedom of speech, and societal
mores that discriminate against women.
Other ongoing human rights concerns included restrictions on
freedoms of press and association, instances of domestic violence,
isolated reports that some employers placed expatriate laborers in
conditions of forced labor or abuse, and lack of independent
inspections of prisons and detention centers.
Security force impunity was not a significant problem in the
country. Security personnel and other government officials generally
were held accountable for their actions.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--On April 8, human rights activists Said al
Hashmi and Basma al Rajhi reported being abducted from their car by
several men, taken to a remote area, and beaten over several hours. Al
Hashmi and al Rajhi alleged their kidnappers demanded they stop their
political activities, threatening them with further violence if they
did not. Both suffered injuries in the attack and were briefly
hospitalized. The two reported the incident to the police, who had not
identified their attackers.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--While the law prohibits such practices, Amnesty
International published reports of detained protesters beaten in
prison.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions generally met international standards, although the
primary detention center for illegal immigrants was overcrowded. There
were on average 750 convicted individuals in jail during the year and
another few hundred awaiting trial. There were also several hundred
irregular immigrants in detention centers awaiting deportation.
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were
permitted religious observance. Authorities allowed prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of
inhumane conditions. The law permitted visits by independent human
rights observers, and the National Commission on Human Rights began
regularly visiting prisons. The government investigated and monitored
prison and detention center conditions, and authorities in some cases
investigated claims of abuse, but the results of investigations were
not documented in a publicly accessible manner. There is no ombudsman
to serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees. Prisoners had access to
potable water. Conditions for female prisoners were not worse than for
their male counterparts. Authorities sought to improve prison
conditions by building a new primary prison facility to international
standards.
In December several prisoners convicted of crimes relating to the
protests earlier in the year allegedly began a hunger strike. At year's
end, 23 prisoners remained on hunger strike with their condition
closely monitored by officials.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, and the government generally observed these
prohibitions.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Office, part
of the cabinet, controls internal and external security and coordinates
all intelligence and security policies. Under the Royal Office, the
Internal Security Service investigates all matters related to domestic
security, and the Sultan's Special Forces have limited border security
and antismuggling responsibilities. The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also
part of the cabinet, perform regular police duties, provide security at
points of entry, serve as the country's immigration and customs agency,
and includes the Coast Guard (ROPCG). The Ministry of Defense, and in
particular the Royal Army of Oman (RAO), is responsible for securing
the borders and has limited domestic security responsibilities. The
security forces performed their duties effectively.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the Internal
Security Service, the Sultan's Special Forces, the RAO, and the ROP.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law does
not require police to obtain a warrant before making an arrest but
provides that police must either release the person or refer the matter
to the public prosecutor. For most crimes, the public prosecutor must
formally arrest or release the person within 48 hours of detention.
Authorities generally informed detainees promptly of the charges
against them. There was a functioning bail system. Detainees generally
had prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, and the state provided
public attorneys to indigent detainees. Authorities generally allowed
detainees prompt access to family members, but police sometimes failed
to notify a detainee's family, or the detainee's sponsor in the case of
an expatriate laborer, of the detention.
Pretrial Detention.--For crimes related to terrorism or national
security, a new law allows the police to hold a detainee for up to 30
days without charge, and this law was utilized several times during the
year. Court orders are required to hold suspects in pretrial detention.
Judges may order detentions for 14 days to allow investigation and may
grant extensions. Authorities respected these rights in practice.
Amnesty.--The sultan declared three amnesties for different groups.
On February 13 and August 29, he pardoned a total of 195 convicted
individuals, both citizens and foreign nationals. On April 20, the
sultan pardoned 234 individuals arrested during public protests.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an
independent judiciary, the sultan may act as a court of final appeal
and exercise his power of pardon as chairman of the Supreme Judicial
Council, the country's highest legal body, which is empowered to review
all judicial decisions. While the government generally respected
judicial independence, the press questioned government influence in the
Azzaman newspaper case, in which two of the newspaper's editors and one
government employee were convicted of slander for an article that
criticized the undersecretary of justice. Principles of Sharia (Islamic
law) inform the civil, commercial, and criminal codes. All cases are
tried by either civilian or military court.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
and stipulates the presumption of innocence. Citizens and legally
resident noncitizens have the right to a public trial, except when the
court decides to hold a session in private in the interest of public
order or morals. There is no trial by jury.
Defendants have the right to be present, consult with an attorney
in a timely manner, present evidence, and confront witnesses. Courts
provide public attorneys to indigent detainees and offer legal defense
for defendants facing prison terms of three years or more. The
prosecution and defense counsel direct questions to witnesses through
the judge. Defendants and their lawyers generally had access to
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Those convicted in
any court may appeal a jail sentence longer than three months and fines
of more than 480 rials (approximately $1,250). The judiciary generally
enforced these rights for all citizens. In contravention to the law,
however, some judges occasionally discriminated against female
defendants by requesting that they appear in court with their fathers
or husbands. In such cases, women could seek redress for such treatment
through the courts.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil procedure codes
govern civil cases. Citizens and nonnationals were able to file cases,
including lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations. The
judiciary was generally independent and impartial, and court orders
were enforced effectively for all persons. The Administrative Court,
under the authority of the diwan of the Royal Court, reviews complaints
about the misuse of governmental authority. It has the power to reverse
decisions by government bodies and to award compensation. Appointments
to this court are subject to the approval of the Administrative Affairs
Council. The court's president and deputy president are appointed by
royal decree based on the council's nomination. Citizens and foreign
workers may file complaints regarding working conditions with the
Ministry of Manpower for alternative dispute resolution. The ministry
may refer cases to the courts if it is unable to negotiate a solution.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law does not require police to obtain search
warrants before entering homes, but they often obtained warrants from
the Public Prosecutor's Office. The government monitored private
communications, including by cell phone, e-mail, and Internet chat room
exchanges.
The Ministry of Interior required citizens to obtain permission to
marry foreigners, except nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries, whom Omanis may marry without restriction; permission was
not granted automatically. Citizen marriage to a foreigner abroad
without ministry approval may result in denial of entry for the foreign
spouse at the border and preclude children from claiming citizenship
rights. It also may result in a bar from government employment and a
2,000 rial fine (approximately $5,200).
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The law provides for limited freedom of speech and press. The
government generally restricted these rights in practice. Journalists
and writers exercised self-censorship.
Freedom of Speech.--The law prohibits criticism of the sultan in
any form or medium; ``material that leads to public discord, violates
the security of the state, or abuses a person's dignity or his rights";
``messages of any form that violate public order and morals or are
harmful to a person's safety"; and ``defamation of character.'' Courts
interpreted these laws to mean it is illegal to insult any public
official, and individuals sometimes were prosecuted for doing so.
Freedom of Press.--Authorities tolerated limited criticism
regarding domestic and foreign affairs in privately owned newspapers
and magazines, although editorials generally were consistent with the
government's views. The government and privately owned radio and
television stations did not generally broadcast politically
controversial material. There was no permanent international media
presence in the country.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--All content in both public and
private media print outlets was subject to an official, nontransparent
review and approval process before publication. Journalists and writers
exercised some self-censorship, although during the protests in the
early part of the year, this self-restriction decreased noticeably.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The government used libel laws and
national security concerns as grounds to suppress criticism of
government figures and politically objectionable views. Libel was a
criminal offense, and laws were strictly enforced with heavy fines and
occasional prison sentences imposed by the courts. The government also
prohibited publication of any material that ``violated the security of
the state.'' A new law prohibits publication of any government
documents without prior government approval. A court sentenced Ibrahim
al Ma'mari, Yusuf al Haj, and Haroon al Muqaibli to five months in
prison for crimes relating to accusations against the minister of
justice. Al Ma'mari and al Haj accused the minister of corruption in a
series of news articles published in Azzaman newspaper, which the
accused edited. Al Muqaibli was the government employee who leaked the
information to the newspaper. The newspaper also was ordered to close
for one month. The case was under appeal at year's end, and none of the
penalties had been applied.
Publishing Restrictions.--The law permits the Ministry of
Information to review all media products and books produced within or
imported into the country. In the ministry only occasionally prohibited
or censored material viewed as politically, culturally, or sexually
offensive from domestic and imported publications. There were no major
publishing houses in the country, and publication of books remained
limited.
Internet Freedom.--The law restricts free speech via the Internet,
and the government enforced the restrictions. The government's national
telecommunications company and two private telecommunications providers
made Internet access available for a fee to citizens and foreign
residents. Internet access was available via schools, workplaces, wide
area networks at coffee shops and other venues, especially in urban
areas.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority monitored the
activities of telecommunications service providers and obliged them to
block access to numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally
or politically sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications
services. The criteria for blocking access to Internet sites were not
transparent or consistent, although Web logs were sometimes blocked.
The government blocked popular Web forum ``Al Hurra'' after its
moderators refused to supply them with the IP address of a commentator
who had written on a ``political subject.'' The Web site was shut down
for a month. Authorities also blocked some Web sites used to circumvent
censorship, such as virtual private networks.
The government placed warnings on other Web sites informing users
that criticism of the sultan or personal criticism of government
officials would be censored and could lead to police questioning,
effectively increasing self-censorship.
Web site administrators or moderators were cautious concerning
content and were reportedly quick to delete potentially offensive
material in chat rooms, on social networking fora, and on Web log
postings.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government limited
academic freedom, particularly the publication or discussion of
controversial matters such as domestic politics, through the threat of
dismissal. Academics largely practiced self-censorship.
The government censored publicly shown films, primarily for sexual
content and nudity. Organizations appeared to avoid controversial
issues due to the belief authorities might not approve such events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly, and the
government restricted this right in practice. Government approval was
necessary for all public gatherings. Authorities enforced this
requirement sporadically.
Dozens of public demonstrations and labor strikes occurred
throughout the country during the first half of the year. For example,
on February 27, police responded to demonstrators in Sohar who were
destroying property and committing arson. Police shot into the crowd
with rubber bullets and used tear gas. One man died and several were
wounded. On April 1, protester Khalifa al-Alawi was killed in Sohar
during a clash with security forces using rubber bullets and tear gas
against rock-throwing demonstrators. Following this encounter, the
security forces dispersed demonstrators who had established long-term
sit-ins, one in Salalah and another in Sohar. Although hundreds of
people were initially detained, the sultan pardoned the majority before
they were charged. Of the 39 eventually charged and prosecuted, all
were accused of engaging in violent behavior or illegal weapons
possession, with 23 eventually convicted with terms ranging from a few
months to five years in prison.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association ``for legitimate objectives and in a proper manner.'' The
Council of Ministers limited freedom of association in practice by
prohibiting associations whose activities were deemed ``inimical to the
social order'' or otherwise not appropriate, and did not license groups
regarded as a threat to the predominant social and political views or
the interests of the country. Associations also must register with the
Ministry of Social Development, which approves all associations'
bylaws. The average time required to register an association was
approximately two years, although the process could be as short as two
months. Approval time varied based on the level of preparedness of the
applying organization and was often longer when a group required
significant help from the ministry to formalize its structure. Formal
registration of nationality-based associations was limited to one
association for each nationality.
No association may receive funding from an international group
without government approval. Individuals convicted of doing so for an
association may receive up to six months in jail and a fine of 500
rials (approximately $1,300). Heads of domestic NGOs reported that the
government periodically asked to review their financial records to
confirm sources of funding and required NGOs to inform the government
of any meetings with foreign organizations or diplomatic missions.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country and repatriation, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. The law does not
specifically provide for foreign travel or emigration. The Office of
the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did not visit the
country during the year, and it did not maintain an office or personnel
in the country. Some humanitarian organizations were restricted in
their ability to provide refugees with assistance. Specifically,
authorities prohibited the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) from
fulfilling the role of UNHRC in its absence, although other entities
were allowed to assist refugees.
In-Country Movement.--There were no government restrictions on
internal travel for any residents or citizens. Foreigners could not
change jobs without first obtaining sponsorship from the new employer.
Foreign Travel.--In 2010 the government removed the requirement
that a married woman obtain her husband's consent before receiving a
passport. Foreigners working in the country must obtain an exit visa
from their employer prior to leaving the country.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The laws provide for
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has
established a system for providing protection to refugees. The ROP is
responsible for determining refugee status but did not grant asylum or
accept refugees for resettlement during the year. The ROP's system for
granting refugee status was not transparent, and the law does not
specify a time frame in which the ROP must adjudicate an asylum
application.
Nonrefoulement.--In practice the government did not provide
protection against the return of refugees to countries where their
lives or freedom would be threatened. Tight control over the entry of
foreigners effectively limited access to protection for refugees and
asylum seekers. Authorities apprehended and deported hundreds of
Somalis, Yemenis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans who sought to enter the
country illegally by land and sea in the South, and Afghans and
Pakistanis who generally came to the country by boat via Iran in the
North. Authorities generally detained these persons in centers in
Salalah or the northern port city of Sohar, where they stayed an
average of one month before deportation to their countries of origin.
The law provides citizenship at birth if the father is an Omani
citizen, if the mother is a citizen and the father is unknown, or if a
child of unknown parents is found in the country. The law provides that
an adult may become a citizen by applying for citizenship and
subsequently residing legally in the country for 20 years, or 10 years
if married to a male citizen. During that time he/she cannot reside
more than one month of each year outside the country. However, a person
seeking naturalization is expected first to give up any previous
citizenship.
Women were not allowed to transmit citizenship to their spouses or
children.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens with the right to change their
government. The sultan retains ultimate authority on all foreign and
domestic issues. With the exception of the military and other security
forces, all citizens 21 years old and older have the right to vote for
candidates for the Consultative Council. In October the sultan issued a
royal decree granting limited legislative authority to the Oman
Council, which must either approve or suggest amendments to new laws.
Members of the Consultative Council enjoy freedom of speech in their
debates on subjects related to their duties.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On
October 15, approximately 60 percent of 518,000 registered voters
participated in elections for the Consultative Council. Electoral
commissions reviewed potential candidates against a set of objective
educational and character criteria (high school education, no criminal
history or mental illness) before allowing candidates' names on the
ballot. The Ministry of Interior closely monitored campaign materials
and events. There were no notable or widespread allegations of fraud or
improper government interference in the voting process. The government
did not allow independent monitoring of the elections.
Political Parties.--The law does not allow political parties to
exist.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There were 16 women on the
154-seat Council of Oman with one newly elected female member. There
were two appointed female ministers, both of whom served in the 29-
member cabinet. Women had difficulties participating equally in
political life due to conservative social constraints, especially in
rural areas.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were
isolated reports of government corruption during the year, including in
the police and other security organizations.
In September a court convicted and sentenced two mid-level
officials at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs to prison
for their role in the ``stone-crushing'' case, in which building
permits were granted to personal friends and acquaintances rather than
on the basis of governmental regulations to protect the environment. In
October the undersecretary for justice was replaced, after the
newspaper Azzaman accused him of misusing his office to deny a lower
ranking official an administrative promotion.
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The law does not provide for public access to government
information, although all royal decrees and ministerial decisions were
published.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
No registered or fully autonomous domestic human rights groups
existed. There were civil society groups that advocated for persons
protected under human rights conventions, particularly women and the
disabled. These groups were required to register with the Ministry of
Social Development.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government allowed
several international organizations to work in the country without
interference, including the World Health Organization, and the
International Labor Organization.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), a government-funded commission made up of members
from the public, private, and academic sectors, reported on human
rights to the sultan via the State Council. During the year, the
commission issued its first human rights report, which it submitted to
the U.N. Human Rights Council. It continued investigating 169 human
rights complaints it received during the year. The NHRC also began
conducting prison visits, and started a community and school outreach
program to discuss human rights with students.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination against citizens on the basis of
gender, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, place of residence,
and social class. The government generally enforced prohibitions on
most bases of discrimination effectively, but did not do so for
discrimination against women.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape with
penalties of up to 15 years in prison, but it does not criminalize
spousal rape. The government generally enforced the law when cases were
reported, but cultural and societal influences prevented victims from
reporting rape. As a result, there was no reliable estimate of the
extent of the problem. In 2010, the most recent year for which
statistics are available, the police charged 227 individuals with rape
or attempted rape. Foreign nationals working as domestic employees
occasionally reported that their sponsors or employees of labor
recruitment agencies had raped them. According to diplomatic observers,
police investigations resulted in few rape convictions, and sponsors
repatriated most of women who made the allegations. The law does not
specifically address domestic violence. Assault, battery, and
aggravated assault carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.
Allegations of spousal abuse in civil courts handling family law cases
reportedly were common. Victims of domestic violence may file a
complaint with police. Due to societal customs, women often sought
private family intervention to protect them from violent domestic
situations. Authorities generally enforced the law when they were aware
such crimes had occurred.
Sexual Harassment.--The law does not specifically prohibit sexual
harassment. In a 2009 study, 11 percent of women surveyed said they had
been sexually harassed.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--Although the government prohibits
female genital mutilation (FGM) in public hospitals and clinics, there
is no law prohibiting private practitioners from performing the
procedure. According to press reports, a recent Ministry of Health
study on FGM found that men and women across all ages broadly accepted
the practice, especially in rural areas, where it was reported to be a
common occurrence.
Reproductive Rights.--The government recognized the basic right of
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number,
spacing, and timing of their children. Health clinics were able to
operate freely in disseminating information on family planning under
the guidance of the Ministry of Health. There are no legal restrictions
on the right to access contraceptives. The government provided free
childbirth services to citizens within the framework of universal
health care. Prenatal and postnatal care was readily available and
used. World Health Organization statistics from 2008 indicated a
maternal mortality rate of 20 per 100,000 live births. Men and women
received equal access to diagnosis and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections, including HIV; however, social taboos prevent
individuals from seeking treatment.
Discrimination.--Despite legal and some social progress, including
the appointment of women as ministers, ambassadors, and senior
government officials, some social and legal institutions discriminated
against women. The law prohibits gender-based discrimination against
citizens. However, some aspects of Islamic law and tradition as
interpreted in the country discriminated against women. In some
personal status cases, such as divorce, a women's testimony is equal to
half of a man's. The law favors male heirs in adjudicating inheritance.
Women married to noncitizens may not transmit citizenship to their
children and cannot sponsor their noncitizen husband's presence in the
country.
Many women were reluctant to take an inheritance or marriage
dispute to court for fear of alienating the family. Illiteracy among
women 45 years of age and older hampered their ability to own property,
participate in the workforce, or inform themselves about their rights.
Women may own property, but government officials and banks applied
different standards to female applicants for housing loans, resulting
in fewer approvals for women. The law equalizes the treatment of men
and women in receiving free government land for housing.
Government policy provided women with equal opportunities for
education. Alhough educated women held positions of authority in
government, business, and the media, women still faced some job
discrimination based on cultural norms. The law entitles women to such
gender-related protections in the workplace as the right to paid
maternity leave and equal pay for equal work. The government, the
largest employer of women, observed such regulations, as did many
private sector employers.
The Ministry of Social Development is the umbrella ministry for
women's affairs. The ministry provided support for women's economic
development through the Oman Women's Associations and local community
development centers. The government also formed a committee to monitor
the country's compliance with the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from the
father. Women married to noncitizens may not transmit citizenship to
their children, yet there were no reported cases of statelessness. Most
births were registered promptly, although authorities granted birth
certificates and identification paperwork to children born with
nontraditional Omani names only after an unclear and lengthy civil
appeals process.
Education.--Primary school education for citizen children was free
and universal, but not compulsory.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--There is no law against female
genital mutilation (FGM), although the practice is prohibited in public
hospitals and other public health centers. FGM remains widespread,
however, and is widely condoned, according to a 2010 Ministry of Health
study. In the southern Dhofar region, FGM is performed on newborns and
involves a partial or total clitoridectomy (Type I as defined by the
World Health Organization). Throughout the rest of the country, FGM
usually consists of a minor cut made on the clitoris (Type IV). The
practice is usually carried out by persons with no medical training.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Commercial sexual exploitation of
children and child pornography are punishable by no less than five
years' imprisonment. All sex outside of marriage was illegal, and there
was no minimum age for marriage, but sex with a minor under 15 years of
age carried a heavier penalty (up to 15 years' imprisonment), and the
minor was not charged. Children under 18 were not widely used for
prostitution, and the country was not a destination for child sex
tourism.
International Child Abductions.--Oman is not a party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
For information see the Department of State's l report on country-
specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/
country--3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--There was no Jewish population, and there were no
reports of anti-Semitic acts or public statements by community or
national leaders vilifying Jews. Anti-Semitism was present in the
media. Anti-Semitic editorial cartoons depicting stereotypical and
negative images of Jews, along with Jewish symbols, were published
during the year. One overtly anti-Semitic article appeared in privately
owned newspaper Times of Oman.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides persons with
disabilities, including physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental
disabilities, the same rights as other citizens in employment,
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state
services. However, persons with disabilities continued to face some
discrimination. The law mandates access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, but many older buildings, including government buildings
and schools, were not retrofitted to conform to the law. The law also
requires private enterprises employing more than 50 persons to reserve
at least 2 percent of positions for persons with disabilities. In
practice this regulation was not widely enforced.
There is no protective legislation to provide for equal educational
opportunities for persons with disabilities.
The Ministry of Social Development is responsible for protecting
the rights of persons with disabilities. During the year the government
partnered with NGOs and the private sector to address the needs of
persons with disabilities and combat cultural and societal
discrimination against such persons through special seminars and
vocational training. The government provided alternative education
opportunities for more than 500 children with disabilities, including
overseas schooling when appropriate; this was largely due to lack of
capacity within the country. In addition, the Ministry of Education in
the past partnered with the International Council for Educational
Reform and Development to create a curriculum for students with mental
disabilities within the standard school system, which was in place
throughout the year.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) persons faced discrimination under the law and in
practice. Social norms also re-enforced discrimination against LGBT
persons. The penal code criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual conduct
with a jail term of six months to three years. There were no reports of
prosecutions for during the year, although nine prosecutions for sodomy
occurred in 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are
available.
The discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in any
context remained a social taboo, and authorities took steps to block
LGBT-related Internet content. There was no official or overt societal
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in
employment, housing, or access to education or health care.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. Foreigners seeking
residence in the country are tested for HIV; they are denied a visa if
they are HIV positive.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law recognizes workers' right to form unions and one general
federation to represent unions in regional and international fora. The
law prohibits members of the armed forces, other public security
institutions, government employees, and domestic workers from forming
or joining unions. At year's end, according to the Ministry of
Manpower, there were nearly 150 unions at the enterprise level and one
government-funded general federation of unions.
The government restricted union activities. The law permits only
one general federation of unions. The law prohibits unions from
accepting grants or financial assistance from any source without the
ministry's prior approval. Unions must notify the government at least
one month in advance of union meetings, although this requirement was
not enforced.
Workers have the right to strike, but strikes are subject to
certain requirements. The law requires an absolute majority of an
enterprise's employees to approve the strike, and notice must be given
to employers three weeks in advance of the intended strike date,
although the government did not enforce this law in practice. Strikes
occurred frequently and were generally resolved quickly, sometimes
through government mediation.
The law allows for collective bargaining, and regulations require
employers to engage in collective bargaining on the terms and
conditions of employment, including wages and hours of work. In cases
where there is no trade union, collective bargaining may take place
between the employer and five representatives selected by workers. The
employer may not reject any of the representatives selected. While
negotiation is ongoing, the employer may not act on decisions related
to issues under discussion. The law prohibits employers from firing or
imposing penalties on employees for union activity. Unions are open to
all legal workers regardless of nationality.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced or compulsory labor. There were reports that adult forced labor
occurred. Some men and women from South and Southeast Asia, most of
whom migrated voluntarily to the country as domestic servants or low-
skilled workers in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors,
faced working conditions indicative of forced labor. Reports included
instances of passports being withheld, restrictions on movement,
nonpayment of wages, long working hours without food or rest, threats,
and physical or sexual abuse. Some employers of domestic workers,
contrary to the law, continued to withhold documents releasing the
workers from employment contracts or demanded release fees totaling as
much as 600 rials (approximately $1,560) before allowing the workers to
change employers.
All foreign workers must be sponsored by an Omani employer. It was
sometimes difficult for an employee to change sponsors.
The government's labor inspectors performed random checks of
worksites to ensure compliance with all labor laws and had arrest
authority for the most egregious violations. The government provided an
alternative dispute resolution mechanism through the Ministry of
Manpower, which acted as mediator between the employer and employee for
minor disputes such as disagreement over wages. If not resolved to the
employee's satisfaction, he or she could, and often did, resort to the
courts for relief.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits all child labor. The minimum age for employment is 15
years, or 18 years for certain hazardous occupations. Children between
the ages of 15 and 18 may only work between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6
p.m. and are prohibited from working for more than six hours per day on
weekends or on holidays.
No instances of child labor were reported in the formal sector,
where the Ministry of Manpower generally effectively enforced the law.
Minor violations resulted in warnings, and employers were given time to
correct practices; however, significant violations may result in
immediate arrests. In practice, enforcement often did not extend to
small family businesses that employed underage children, particularly
in the agricultural and fishing sectors.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for citizens of
200 rials (approximately $520) per month did not provide a decent
standard of living for a worker and family. Approximately 2.5 percent
of citizens were unable to work and received government assistance.
Minimum wage regulations did not apply to a variety of occupations and
businesses, including small businesses employing fewer than five
persons, dependent family members working for a family firm, some
categories of manual laborers, and foreign workers.
The private sector workweek was 45 hours and included a two-day
rest period following five consecutive days of work. Government workers
had a 35-hour workweek. The law mandates overtime pay for hours in
excess of 45 per week. Government regulations regarding hours of
employment were not always enforced, especially for foreign workers.
Employees who worked extra hours without compensation could file a
complaint with the Ministry of Manpower's Directorate of Labor Care.
The law states an employee may leave dangerous work conditions
without jeopardy to continued employment if the employer was aware of
the danger and did not implement corrective measures. Employees covered
under the labor law may receive compensation for job-related injury or
illness through employer-provided medical insurance.
The ministry effectively enforced the minimum wage for citizens.
There was no minimum wage for noncitizens, although embassies generally
would not attest contracts for their nationals if they believed the
salary to be below market standards.
There were reports that migrant laborers in some firms and
households worked more than 12 hours a day for as little as 30 rials
(approximately $78) per month.
Domestic workers are not covered under the labor law, but separate
domestic employment regulations obligate the employer to provide
domestic workers with free local medical treatment throughout the
contract period. There are no maximum work hour limits, nor any
mandatory rest periods, although the contract between the employer and
worker can specify such requirements. Penalties for noncompliance with
health regulations are small, ranging from approximately 10 to 100
rials ($26 to $260), multiplying per occurrence per worker and doubled
upon recurrence.
The ministry processed complaints and acted as mediator. In a
majority of cases, the plaintiff prevailed, gaining compensation, the
opportunity to seek alternative employment, or return to their country
of origin in the case of foreign laborers. The ministry was generally
effective in cases regarding minor labor disputes; however, it did not
refer any egregious violations to the courts during the year.
Employers often cancelled the employment contracts of seriously
sick or injured foreign workers, forcing them to return to their
countries of origin.
Approximately 180 inspectors from the Department of Health and
Safety of the Labor Care Directorate generally enforced the health and
safety codes and made regular on-site inspections as required by law to
private sector work-sites.
__________
QATAR
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Qatar is a constitutional monarchy in which Emir Sheikh Hamad bin
Khalifa al-Thani exercises full executive power. The population is
approximately 1.76 million, of whom approximately 250,000 are citizens.
The 2005 constitution provides for hereditary rule by the Emir's male
branch of the al-Thani family. Sharia (Islamic law) is a primary source
of legislation. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
The principal human rights problems were the inability of citizens
to peacefully change their government, restriction of fundamental civil
liberties, and pervasive denial of workers' rights. Despite the
constitution's establishment of the right of association, the monarch-
appointed government prohibited organized political life and restricted
civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, and assembly and
access to a fair trial for persons held under the Protection of Society
Law and Combating Terrorism Law.
Other continuing human rights concerns included restrictions on
freedom of religion and movement, as foreign laborers could not freely
travel abroad. Trafficking in persons, primarily in the labor and
domestic worker sectors, was a problem. Legal, institutional, and
cultural discrimination against women limited their participation in
society. The unresolved legal status of ``Bidoons'' (stateless persons
with residency ties) resulted in social discrimination against these
noncitizens.
The government took steps to prosecute those who committed abuses,
and there were no cases of impunity reported.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit such practices, and
there were no reports that government officials employed them. The
government conducted training for law enforcement and military
personnel that focused on the prohibition of torture.
The government interprets Sharia as allowing corporal punishment
for certain criminal offenses. Courts ordered flogging prescribed by
interpretation of Sharia in cases of alcohol consumption and
extramarital sex by Muslims. On appeal the court typically reduced this
sentence to imprisonment or fine. Authorities reportedly did not carry
out corporal punishment during the year.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons and detention
centers generally meet international standards, including clean
sanitation facilities and potable water. Prisoners and detainees
generally had access to visitors, although prison officials limited
access to family and legal counsel at the state security prison.
According to past reports of detainees at the state security prison and
visits by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) chairman,
``security'' prisoners did not face significantly different conditions
from those of the general population. Authorities allowed prisoners and
detainees to submit complaints to judicial and administrative
authorities without censorship and to request investigation of credible
allegations of inhumane treatment. According to authorities they
investigated allegations, but the results were not public.
The government permits monitoring visits in accordance with the
standard modalities to all facilities except the state security prison
by independent human rights observers and international bodies. The
last reported visit by an international human rights organization to a
Qatari detention center was by the International Red Cross to the
Deportation Detention Center (DDC) in July. The government occasionally
provided embassies access to state security prisoners at separate
locations. The government-appointed NHRC conducted regular visits to
all facilities. Ombudsmen cannot serve on behalf of prisoners and
detainees.
There were approximately 600-700 prisoners at the Central Prison,
the principal facility for convicted criminals, and 500 detainees
awaiting trial in various detention centers throughout the country. The
NHRC reported that the DDC held an estimated 1,100 male and 300 female
detainees. Separate facilities exist for men and women, pretrial
detainees and convicted prisoners, and juveniles and adults. The
Ministry of Social Affairs has authority over juvenile detainees and
held them separately under the supervision of a social worker. There
was an average of only five or six juveniles held at any given time.
Conditions for women prisoners were the same as those for men. In
certain cases, fines, community service, and probation are used for
nonviolent offenders in lieu of prison sentences. There were no
reported efforts to improve record-keeping in the prison system.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the government generally observed
these prohibitions. Authorities may detain individuals in the state
security prison for indefinite periods under the Protection of Society
and Combating Terrorism Law. Processing speed for deportations
increased for most DDC detainees during the year, with the period of
detention ranging from two days to two months. On July 12, the
government announced a limit of two months' detention for all DDC
detainees except those facing additional criminal charges.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
maintained effective control over the police under the Ministry of
Interior and state security forces, and the government employed
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption.
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during
the year.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Criminal law
requires that persons be apprehended openly with warrants based on
sufficient evidence and issued by a duly authorized official, be
charged within 24 hours, and be brought before a court without undue
delay. Authorities generally respected this in practice for criminal
law cases. The state security service can arrest and detain suspects
for up to 30 days without referring them to the public prosecutor.
However, the Protection of Society Law and Combating Terrorism Law
provide exceptional procedures that permit detention without charge for
as long as 15 days, renewable for up to six months. The Protection of
Society Law permits an additional six months' detention without charge
with approval of the prime minister, who can extend the detention
indefinitely in cases of threats to national security. This law
empowers the minister of interior to detain persons suspected of crimes
related to national security, honor, or impudence. Decisions under this
law are subject to appeal by the prime minister only. Although
generally unused, a provision of this law permits the prime minister to
adjudicate complaints against these detentions. The Combating Terrorism
Law permits a second six-month period of detention with approval from
the Criminal Court, which can extend the detention indefinitely with
review every six months.
In most cases a judge may order a suspect released, remanded to
custody to await trial, held in pretrial detention pending
investigation, or released on bail. Although suspects are entitled to
bail (except in cases of violent crimes), it was used infrequently in
practice. Authorities were more likely to grant citizens bail than
noncitizens. Noncitizens charged with minor crimes may be released to
their citizen sponsor, although they cannot leave the country until the
case is resolved.
The accused is entitled to legal representation throughout the
process and prompt access to family members in non-security cases.
There are provisions for state-funded legal counsel for indigent
prisoners in criminal cases, and this requirement was generally honored
in practice. Authorities generally afforded suspects detained under the
Protection of Society Law and Combating Terrorism Law access to counsel
but delayed access to family members.
All suspects except those detained under the Protection of Society
Law or the Combating Terrorism Law must be presented before the Public
Prosecutor within 24 hours of arrest. If the Public Prosecutor finds
sufficient evidence for further investigation, a suspect can be
detained for up to 16 days before charges must be filed in the courts.
Judges may also extend pretrial detention for one month, extendable by
one month at a time up to six months, to provide authorities additional
time to conduct investigations.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention
and, with few exceptions, the government observed these prohibitions.
There were reports of individuals detained without formal charges by
security agencies on allegations of terrorist financing as stipulated
by the Counter-Terrorism Law.
Pretrial Detention.--With few exceptions, nearly all suspected
criminals go to trial within a month of arrest. The Permanent Committee
on Examining the Conditions of Inmates at the DDC is charged with
reviewing and acting on the cases of those in custody for two months or
longer.
Amnesty.--During Ramadan and on Qatar's National Day, the Emir
granted amnesty to 140 prisoners, including 37 citizens and 103
noncitizens. Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that the
Emir pardoned prisoners on National Human Rights Day.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides
for an independent judiciary, the Emir, based on the recommendation of
the Supreme Judicial Council, appoints all judges, who hold their
positions at his discretion. Approximately 75 percent of the judges
were foreign nationals dependent on residency permits. During the year
there were no reports of influence or corruption in the courts.
Suspects held in pre-trial detention under the Protection of Society
Law and Combating Terrorism Law had limited access to the legal system,
including a fair trial.
Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial
for all citizens, and the judiciary generally enforced this right,
except for suspects held under the Protection of Society Law and
Combating Terrorism Law.
The law provides defendants the presumption of innocence. Trials
are by jury and open to the public, but the presiding judge can close
the courtroom to the public if he deems the case to be sensitive.
Defendants are entitled to legal representation at public expense
throughout the pretrial and trial process. In matters involving family
law, Shia and Sunni judges may apply their interpretations of Sharia
for their groups. There were 164 Sunni judges, in addition to one Shia
judge for the small Shia population.
Defense attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant
to their cases, once the case has been filed in the court. Defendants
have the right to confront and question witnesses against them and to
present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants have the
right of appeal within 15 days of a decision, and use of the appellate
process was common in practice.
The high fee for appealing to the Court of Cassation in practice
restricted the right to appeal. In some cases the courts waived the
appellate fees if the appellant demonstrated financial hardship.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of
political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are civil remedies
available for those seeking damages for, or cessation of, human rights
violations, but there were no cases reported during the year. The law
specifies circumstances that necessitate a judge's removal from a case
for conflict of interest, and these laws were observed in practice.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution and the criminal procedures code
prohibit such actions, and the government generally respected these
prohibitions in practice; however, police and security forces
reportedly monitored telephone calls and e-mails. The government
prohibits membership in political organizations.
Citizens must obtain government permission, which was generally
granted, to marry foreigners. Male citizens may apply for residency
permits and citizenship for their foreign wives, but female citizens
can apply only for residency for their foreign husbands, not
citizenship.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press in
accordance with the law, but the government limited these rights in
practice.
Freedom of Speech.--Citizens individually discussed sensitive
political and religious issues, but not in public forums or as part of
political associations, which do not exist. Members of the much larger
foreign population did not express themselves publicly on sensitive
topics. During the year the government-supported Qatar Foundation
continued to fund the ``Doha Debates,'' a series of public debates
broadcast by the BBC featuring citizens and noncitizens speaking about
international (but not domestic) topics, such as whether NATO or Arabs
should deal with Libya and whether the Arab revolutions will produce
different dictators.
Freedom of Press.--The law provides for restrictive procedures on
the establishment of newspapers, closure, and confiscation of assets of
a publication. It also criminalizes libel and slander, including injury
to dignity. All print media were owned by members of the ruling family
or proprietors who enjoyed close ties to government officials. There
were no independent broadcast media, and state-owned television and
radio reflected government views. The government owned the Doha-based,
Arabic-language al-Jazeera satellite television network, which carried
international news and local news with an international component.
Although al-Jazeera management and the government claimed that the
channel was free of government influence, the government funded it,
controlled content, and hired and fired the management.
Violence and Harassment.--In at least one case, the authorities
contacted a reporter with a warning after the reporter published an
article critical of the government.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Journalists and publishers
continued to self-censor due to political and economic pressures when
reporting on government policies or material deemed hostile to Islam,
the ruling family, and relations with neighboring states. The Qatar
Radio and Television Corporation and customs officials censored
material. There were no specific reports of political censorship of
foreign broadcast news media or foreign programs. The government
reviewed and censored foreign newspapers, magazines, and books for
objectionable sexual, religious, and political content. Local news
vendors reported that Egyptian newspapers, such as al-Ahram, ``were
critical of Qatar and were occasionally censored or not allowed in the
country.''
Internet Freedom.--The Ministry of Culture restricted the peaceful
expression of views via the Internet and censored the Internet for
political, religious, and pornographic content through a proxy server,
which monitored and blocked Web sites, e-mail, and chat rooms through
the state-owned Internet service provider. For example, the government
blocked access to the popular blog ``Ikhbareya,'' which at times
published articles critical of the government. A user who believed a
site was mistakenly censored could submit the Web address to have the
site reviewed for suitability; there were no reports that any Web sites
were unblocked based on this procedure. The Ministry of Culture is
responsible for monitoring and censoring objectionable content on the
Internet. There was no evidence that the government prosecuted or
punished anyone or attempted to collect, request, obtain, or disclose
the personally identifiable information in connection with persons'
peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or
belief.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The constitution provides
for freedom of expression and scientific research according to the
conditions and circumstances stipulated by law. In practice instructors
at Qatar University noted that they often exercised self-censorship.
Instructors at foreign-based universities operating in the country
reported enjoying academic freedom. There were no reported government
restrictions on cultural events, although some groups organizing
cultural events reported that they exercised self-censorship. Films
were censored for political, religious, and sexual content and for
vulgar and obscene language.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for, but strictly regulates,
freedom of assembly. Organizers must meet a number of restrictions and
conditions to acquire a permit for a public meeting. For example, the
Director General of Public Security at the Ministry of Interior must
give permission for a meeting, a decision which is subject to appeal to
the minister of interior, who has the final decision. There were no
demonstrations by citizens, but Egyptian, Libyan, and Syrian
expatriates demonstrated peacefully near their embassies in conjunction
with the ``Arab Spring.'' Authorities approved permits for these
protests and did not intervene.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to
form groups, defined by the Consultative Council as professional
associations and private institutions, but the government limited this
right in practice. A total of 23 professional and private organizations
existed, the majority of which were charities. They are prohibited from
engaging in political matters or affiliating internationally and must
obtain approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs, which can deny
their establishment if it deems them a threat to the public interest.
There are no organized political parties or politically oriented
associations.
Administrative obstacles, including the slow pace of procedures
required to form such associations and institutions and strict
conditions on their establishment, management, and function restricted
the recognition of these groups. The Minister of Social Affairs must
approve applications, and the number of noncitizens cannot exceed 20
percent of the total membership without approval by the ministerial
cabinet. Only one organization applied to form a professional society
during the year; the application was pending at year's end. During the
year the government approved one new nongovernmental organization
(NGO), a charitable organization.
Professional societies must pay 50,000 riyals (approximately
$13,750) in licensing fees, 10,000 riyals ($2,750) in annual fees and,
since 2010, must have 10 million riyals ($2.75 million) in capital
funds. Private institutions must also have 10 million riyals in capital
funds, but this requirement can be waived by the Council of Ministers.
Registrations expire after three years, after which an association must
reregister.
Informal organizations, such as community support groups and
activity clubs, operated without registration, but they may not engage
in activities deemed political.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, but the government did not fully respect this right in
practice. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
generally did not ask the government to assist internally displaced
persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern.
In-Country Movement.--The only restrictions on in-country movement
for citizens concerned sensitive military, oil, and industrial
installations. Although there was less emphasis on setting and
enforcing ``family times'' at entertainment areas in Doha, several
local malls and souks continued to restrict access to certain areas to
foreign workers on weekends. Police also restricted foreign workers'
access to National Day celebrations on the corniche.
Foreign Travel.--The government prevents the travel of its citizens
only when they are involved in ongoing court cases. The government
severely restricted foreign travel for noncitizens, which principally
affected foreign workers. All noncitizens require an exit permit from
their employers to leave the country. Although the law provides an
administrative procedure for obtaining an exit permit without an
employer's approval, the process was burdensome. Foreign embassies
reported that the process was ineffective, and they continued to
receive requests to mediate disputes concerning exit permits between
foreign workers and their sponsors. The law outlaws the practice of
employers withholding workers' passports, but it remained a common
problem due to insufficient enforcement.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law does not
explicitly provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, but in
practice the government occasionally accepted such individuals as
``guests.'' The small number of persons granted residence on
humanitarian grounds were legally classified as immigrants.
Nonrefoulement.--The constitution prohibits the extradition of
political refugees. The government generally provided protection
against the expulsion or forcible return of refugees to countries where
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race,
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or
political opinion.
However, on June 2, a Libyan woman was forcibly deported to
Benghazi, Libya; she had fled after allegedly being gang-raped by
Libyan progovernment forces in Tripoli in March. A spokesman for the
UNHRC, which had recognized her as a refugee, said that it considered
her forced return a violation of international law by Qatar. The UNHRC
was ready to transport her to a safe facility in Europe. Government
officials ignored requests from the UNHRC and diplomatic
representatives to avoid returning her to Libya. Government officials
offered no public explanation for the deportation other than to note
that she overstayed her visa.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship derives solely from the father.
Women do not transmit citizenship to their children, even if the
parents are married and the child is born in the country. A woman must
obtain permission from authorities before marrying a foreign national,
but she does not lose citizenship upon marriage.
According to the NHRC, there were approximately 300-400 ``Bidoon''
residents (stateless persons with residency ties) in the country. They
suffered social discrimination, but not legal discrimination, based
upon their lack of nationality. The Bidoon were able to register for
public services such as education and health care.
The government provides a legal means for long-term residents to
acquire citizenship; in practice, restrictions and uneven application
of the law prevented stateless persons from acquiring citizenship. The
law allows a maximum of 50 noncitizen residents per year to apply for
citizenship after residing in the country for 25 consecutive years.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides for hereditary rule by the Emir's branch
of the al-Thani family and does not provide citizens the right to
change their government peacefully through elections. The Emir
exercises full executive powers, including appointment of cabinet
members. The Consultative Council, whose members the Emir appointed,
plays an advisory role only. The constitutional provision for
initiation of legislation by the Consultative Council remained
unimplemented. The influence of family and tribal traditions was
strong, and the government did not permit political parties or
opposition groups.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On May
10, citizens elected the 29 members of the fourth Central Municipal
Council to four-year terms. The Council advises the Minister of
Municipality and Urban Affairs on local public services. Diplomatic
missions noted no apparent irregularities in the elections. There were
an estimated 120,000 eligible voters, but only 41 percent of the 32,700
registered voters participated.
Voting is open to all citizens who are at least 18 years of age and
who have been naturalized for at least 15 years.
In November, the Emir announced national elections would be held in
late 2013 for 30 of the 45 members of the Consultative Council after
its current term ends.
Political Parties.--The government did not permit the organization
of political parties.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Although traditional
attitudes and roles continued to limit women's participation in
politics, women served in public office as chair of the Qatar
Foundation, vice president of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs
(SCFA) with ministerial rank, secretary general of the SCFA, head of
the General Authority for Museums, ambassador to the U.N. mission in
Geneva, and president of Qatar University. One woman served on the
Central Municipal Council and there were two female judges on the Court
of First Instance.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption and the
government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were no
reported cases of government corruption during the year. Public
officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
The National Committee for Accountability and Transparency has been
responsible for combating corruption since its establishment in 2007.
On December 2, the Emir announced the creation of a new Administrative
Control and Transparency Authority, headed by a deputy prime minister,
to track ministries and probe claims of abuses of power or funds. Its
mandate entails probing the misuse of public funds and investigating
complaints against government officials. The agency may also have
access to banking details, in cases that allege money laundering
activities.
The law does not provide for access to government information
beyond the requirement that the government publish laws in the official
gazette. Information on the government such as on the budget,
expenditures, or draft laws was generally not available.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The three NGOs operating in the country whose charters indicated an
interest in human rights were all funded by the government and
responsive to its influence. These included the NHRC, Qatar Foundation
for Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT), and Qatar Foundation for
Protecting Women and Children (QFPWC). They cooperated with the
government, rarely criticized it, and did not engage in political
activity.
No international NGO focusing on human rights or humanitarian
issues was registered in the country.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government-funded and -
appointed NHRC investigated local human rights conditions. The NHRC
reported that it handled 296 petitions for assistance during the
preceding 12 months, 182 of which were from Qataris and 114 from non-
Qataris. During the year the NHRC issued a report on the status of
human rights covering 2010.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality,
race, language, religion, and disability but not gender or social
status. In practice, Qatari custom outweighed government enforcement of
nondiscrimination laws, and legal, cultural, and institutional
discrimination existed against women, noncitizens, and foreign workers.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape, but
does not address spousal rape. There were publicized cases of rape
involving foreigners, but none were reported involving citizens. The
penalty for rape is life imprisonment, regardless of the age or gender
of the victim. If the perpetrator is a relative, teacher, guardian, or
caregiver of the victim, the penalty is death. The government enforced
the law against rape, but victims feared social stigma and
underreported the crime.
There is no specific law criminalizing domestic violence. According
to the NHRC, domestic violence may be prosecuted under the criminal law
that provides a general prohibition against violence. According to the
quasi-governmental QFPWC, domestic violence against women continued to
be a problem. There were neither arrests nor convictions for family
domestic violence among citizens publicized in the press, although
there were reports of cases involving noncitizens. During the year, 406
cases of domestic abuse against women were reported to the foundation.
There was no reported data on sexual abuse provided by foreign
embassies.
The SCFA operated a shelter under the supervision of the QFPWC to
accommodate abused women and children. During the year the shelter
accommodated 20 women and six children. The shelter provided a variety
of services, including financial assistance, legal aid, and
psychological counseling.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment is illegal and carries
penalties of imprisonment or fines. In some cases sponsors sexually
harassed and mistreated foreign domestic servants. Most domestic
servants did not press charges for fear of losing their jobs. The QFCHT
reported seven cases of sexual harassment, four of which were
ultimately resolved outside of court, one that was dismissed by
prosecutors, and two that were pending before the court. When the
domestic employees brought harassment to the attention of authorities,
the employees were occasionally deported and no charges were filed
against the employer.
Reproductive Rights.--There were no reports of government
interference in the right of couples and individuals to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination or
coercion. There was no direct government support for access to means of
contraception, but contraceptives were freely available without a
prescription. Licensed medical professionals attended mothers at birth,
and maternal care was readily available. Men and women had equal access
to treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Discrimination.--The constitution asserts the principle of equality
between citizens in rights and responsibilities, but legislation such
as the Housing Law and the Nationality Law undermine this principle of
equality with regard to women. The law governing the generous
government housing system was generally applied fairly in practice and
provides significant protection to women, with the exception of citizen
women divorced from noncitizen men. The Housing Law requires the
passage of five years' residency from the date of divorce for these
citizen women to obtain their housing entitlement. Under the
Nationality Law, citizen women faced legal discrimination in obtaining
and transmitting citizenship for their noncitizen husbands and their
children, respectively.
Traditions and interpretation of Sharia also significantly
disadvantage women in family, property, and inheritance law and in the
judicial system generally. For example, a non-Muslim wife does not have
the automatic right to inherit from her Muslim husband. She receives an
inheritance only if her husband wills her a portion of his estate, and
even then is eligible to receive only one-third of the total estate.
The proportion that women inherit depends upon their relationship to
the deceased; in the cases of siblings, sisters inherit only one-half
as much as their brothers. In cases of divorce, young children usually
remain with the mother, regardless of her religion, unless she is found
to be unfit. Women who are granted guardianship over their children by
law receive their financial rights and associated right of residence.
Women may attend court proceedings and may represent themselves,
but a male relative generally represented them. In cases involving
financial transactions, the testimony of two women equals that of one
man, but courts routinely evaluated evidence according to the overall
credibility of the witness and the testimony being offered and not on
the basis of gender.
A non-Muslim woman is not required to convert to Islam upon
marriage to a Muslim, but many make a personal decision to do so.
Children born to a Muslim father are considered Muslims. Men may
prevent adult female family members from leaving the country, but only
by seeking and securing a court order. During the year, there were no
reports that women older than 18 years of age were prevented from
traveling abroad.
According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, women
constituted approximately 13 percent of business owners, mainly
operating design companies, fashion establishments, training centers,
and beauty centers. Women served in the workforce as university
professors, public school teachers, and police. Women served as
professionals in government service, education, health, and private
business. Women received equal pay for equal work, but often lacked
access to some positions and did not receive equal allowances for
transportation, housing, and subsistence.
There is no specialized government office devoted to women's
equality, but the SCFA and NHRC continued their efforts to improve the
status of women and the family under both civil and Islamic law. The
councils contributed to a number of national and international
conferences, studies, and reports on the status of women in the
country, as well as the drafting of legislation affecting women and
children. During the year the SCFA and NHRC made a recommendation to
the ministerial council to provide equal rights to children of female
citizens married to noncitizens in the areas of health, education,
employment, and housing.
Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
father. The government generally registered all births immediately.
Education.--The government provides more for the welfare of citizen
than noncitizen children. Education was free and compulsory for all
citizens through the age of 18 or through nine years of education,
whichever comes first. Education is compulsory for noncitizen children,
but they pay a nominal fee.
Child Abuse.--There was no societal pattern of child abuse,
although there were some cases of family violence and physical and
sexual abuse. The QFPWC reported that, during the year, it received 172
cases involving abuse of children.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage is 18 years for boys
and 16 years for girls. Marriage of persons below these ages is not
permitted except in conformity with Qatari religious and cultural
norms. These norms include the need to obtain consent from the legal
guardian to ensure that both prospective partners consent to the union
and apply for permission from a competent court. There were rare
instances of child marriage in the Bedouin community.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There is no specific law
establishing a minimum age for consensual sex. By law, sex is
prohibited outside of marriage (see Child Marriage above). In the
criminal law, the penalty for sexual relations with a person younger
than 16 years old is life imprisonment. If the individual is the
relative, guardian, caretaker, or servant of the victim, the penalty is
death. There is no specific law prohibiting child pornography as all
pornography is prohibited, but the antitrafficking in persons law
passed in October specifically criminalizes the commercial sexual
exploitation of children.
The QFPWC conducted awareness campaigns on the rights of the child
and maintained a special hotline that allowed both citizen and
noncitizen children to call with questions and concerns ranging from
school, health, and psychological problems to concerns about sexual
harassment. This hotline operated in conjunction with the family abuse
hotline; statistics on use were not available.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The country does not have an indigenous Jewish
community; the few Jews in the country were foreigners with no
restrictions on traveling or working. On occasion, in response to
political events in the region, some of the country's privately owned
Arabic-language newspapers carried cartoons depicting offensive
caricatures of Jews and Jewish symbols and editorial comparisons of
Israeli leaders and Israel to Hitler and the Nazis. These occurred
primarily in the daily newspapers al-Watan, al-Sharq, al-Arab, and al-
Raya and drew no government response.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against and requires the allocation of resources for, persons with
physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment,
education, access to health care, and other state services or other
areas. There was no underlying pattern of abuse at education
facilities, mental health facilities, or prisons. The government is
charged with acting on complaints from individuals and the NHRC and
enforcing compliance. The law requires that 2 percent of jobs in
government agencies and public institutions be reserved for persons
with disabilities. Private sector businesses employing a minimum of 25
persons are required to hire persons with disabilities. Employers who
violate these employment provisions are subject to fines. There were no
reports of violations during the year.
Private and independent schools in general provided most of the
required services for students with disabilities, but government
schools did not. Few public buildings met the required standards of
accessibility for persons with disabilities, and new buildings
generally did not comply with standards. The SCFA is charged with
ensuring compliance with the rights and provisions mandated under the
law, but compliance was not effectively enforced.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Legal and social discrimination
against noncitizen workers was a problem. The government distinguished
between citizens and noncitizens in employment, education, housing, and
health services. Noncitizens were required to pay for electricity,
water, and some secondary and higher education (services provided
without charge to citizens). Noncitizens were eligible for medical
coverage at a nominal fee. Noncitizens generally could not own
property, but the law provides for property ownership in three
designated areas. Cultural, linguistic, and religious differences and
divergent economic status accentuated social discrimination between
citizens and migrant workers. ``Bidoons'' also endured social
discrimination.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits same-sex
sexual conduct between men but is silent on same-sex relations between
women. Under the criminal law, a man convicted of having sexual
relations with another man or boy younger than 16 years old is subject
to a sentence of life in prison. A man convicted of having same-sex
sexual activity with another man older than 16 is subject to a sentence
of seven years in prison. There were an unknown number of cases before
the courts during the year. There were no lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender (LGBT) organizations in the country. During the year, no
violence was reported against LGBT persons, but there was an underlying
pattern of discrimination toward LGBT persons based on cultural and
religious values prevalent in the society.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was
discrimination against HIV-infected patients. HIV-positive foreigners,
whose condition was typically diagnosed during their medical
examinations upon arrival in the country, were deported. HIV-positive
citizens were quarantined and received treatment.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law permits worker organizations in private enterprises that have
100 citizen workers 18 years of age and older. The law grants these
workers the rights to strike and bargain collectively. The law
prohibits those working in the public sector from forming and joining
unions. However, the law also makes the exercise of these rights
difficult. Noncitizens are not eligible to form worker committees, and
foreign workers may only be members of joint labor-management
committees.
The labor code allows for only one trade union: the General Union
of Workers of Qatar, which consisted of general committees for workers
in various trades or industries. A general committee must have 100 or
more members. These trade or industry committees in turn are composed
of worker committees at the individual firm level. The law forbids
worker organizations from affiliating with groups outside the country.
Although the law recognizes the right to strike, restrictive
conditions made the likelihood of a legal strike extremely remote.
Civil servants and domestic workers cannot strike; the law also
prohibits strikes at public utilities and health or security service
facilities, which include the gas, petroleum, and transport sectors.
The law requires approval for a strike by three-fourths of a company's
workers committee. Such committees are composed of an equal number of
representatives from management and labor, making it practically
impossible for labor to gain a strike authorization. The Labor
Department of the Ministry of Civil Service must rule on all industrial
disputes before workers can call a strike. Foreign embassies reported
several cases in which they intervened to resolve labor disputes
reported by their nationals working in the country.
In the past the government responded to labor unrest by dispatching
large numbers of police to the work sites or labor camps involved; the
strikes generally ended peacefully after these shows of force. In most
cases the government summarily deported the workers' leaders and
organizers.
The government circumscribed the right to bargain collectively
through control over the rules and procedures of the bargaining and
agreement processes. Employees could not freely practice collective
bargaining, and there were no workers under collective bargaining
contracts.
Local courts handled disputes between workers and employers. In
practice foreign workers avoided drawing attention to problems with
their employers due to fear of retaliation and deportation. The Human
Rights Office at the Ministry of Interior served as the point of
contact for the complaints of foreign workers, who were mostly from
South and South East Asia.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--On October 23, the
government enacted an antitrafficking in persons (TIP) law prohibiting
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, with up to 15 years'
imprisonment for the most serious offenses. The QFCHT conducted
training for law enforcement officials on applying the new anti-TIP
law, including methods of investigation and identifying victims.
Reports of forced labor continued, especially in the construction
and domestic labor sectors, which disproportionally affected migrant
workers. Some foreign workers who voluntarily entered the country for
work found themselves working under circumstances indicative of forced
labor, such as withholding of passports and travel documents, refusal
to grant exit permits, and working under conditions to which they had
not agreed.
On March 1, the QFCHT issued a National TIP Action Plan 2010-15
that aims to prevent the spread of human trafficking, provide
protection for TIP victims, and punish traffickers. According to the
QFCHT, at year's end the government had implemented 95 percent of the
plan's programs and projects for 2010-11 and 80 percent for 2011-12.
In 2010 the Ministry of Labor conducted 20,872 regular monthly
inspections and 3,030 spot inspections during the year. There was no
new information on inspections in 2011. Companies found in violation of
labor laws were generally given several weeks to correct their actions.
A company's second violation would result in its placement on a
strictly enforced government ``blacklist,'' which prohibits companies
from obtaining additional visas or hiring additional foreign workers.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law sets the minimum age for employment at 16. The law stipulates that
minors between the ages of 16 and 18 can work with parental or guardian
permission. Minors may not work more than six hours a day or more than
36 hours a week. Employers must provide the Labor Department with the
names and occupations of their minor employees and obtain permission
from the Ministry of Education to hire a minor. The Labor Department
may prohibit the employment of minors in jobs judged dangerous to the
health, safety, or morals of minors.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no minimum wage. The
median wage of noncitizen workers did not provide a decent standard of
living for a worker and family. The law prescribes a 48-hour workweek
with a 24-hour rest period, but most government offices followed a 36-
hour workweek. Employees who worked more than 48 hours per week or 36
hours per week during the holy month of Ramadan are entitled to
overtime pay of at least a 25 percent wage supplement. Government
offices and major private sector companies adhered to this law, while
employers often ignored the law with respect to unskilled laborers,
construction workers, and domestic and personal employees, the majority
of whom were foreigners. Domestic workers are not covered under the
labor law. Many such workers frequently worked seven days a week and
more than 12 hours a day with few or no holidays, no overtime pay, and
no effective means to redress grievances.
There are laws regarding worker safety and health, but
enforcement--a combined responsibility of the Ministry of Energy and
Industry, Ministry of Health, and Labor Department--was uneven due to
insufficient training and lack of personnel. Violators faced penalties
of up to 6,000 QR ($1,648) and 30 days' imprisonment in the most
serious cases, but labor observers reported that most safety and health
violations were handled through administrative fines or blacklisting.
The Labor Department opened an office in Doha's Industrial Area, where
most unskilled laborers resided, to receive complaints about worker
safety or nonpayment of wages.
Diplomatic representatives visited labor camps and found many
unskilled foreign laborers living in cramped, dirty, and hazardous
conditions, often without running water, electricity, or adequate food.
The Labor Inspection Department conducted monthly and random
inspections of labor camps; when it found them below minimum standards,
the operators received a warning, and authorities ordered them to
remedy the violations within one month. If they did not remedy the
violations, the Labor Department referred the matter to the public
prosecutor for action, and some cases went to trial.
During the year inspectors conducted a total of 24,107 observations
of work and labor housing sites. Inspectors found 20,669 acceptable and
1,531 unacceptable, the latter of which resulted in bans on the
companies in question; 493 remained under investigation at year's end.
Foreign labor officials reported that conditions at most labor camps in
the country remained below international standards. A foreign embassy
reported acceptable conditions at multiple camps that housed its
nationals, and embassy staff visited on a regular basis. A recent
survey of low-skilled laborers revealed that the average foreign
laborer worked 9.7 hours per day and that 96 percent of laborers worked
six or seven days a week. Other studies concluded that low-skilled
laborers earned an average of 14,000 QR ($3,846) annually.
According to foreign diplomats and some individual migrant workers,
the Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Affairs was widely
perceived to be objective within its narrow mandate when dealing with
the nonpayment of wages. The department claimed that it resolved 80
percent of the 3,630 complaints filed by workers between January and
September. The ministry referred 292 cases to the labor courts for
judgment. A limited number of labor complaints were referred to the
criminal courts, but statistics were not publicly available.
__________
SAUDI ARABIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by King Abdullah
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who is both head of state and head of
government. The government bases its legitimacy on its interpretation
of Sharia (Islamic law) and the 1992 Basic Law, which specifies that
the rulers of the country shall be male descendants of the founder King
Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud. The Basic Law sets out the system of
governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of the
government, and it provides that the Qur'an and the Traditions (Sunna)
of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's constitution. On
September 29, the country held elections on a nonparty basis for half
of the 1,632 seats on the 285 municipal councils around the country.
Women were not permitted to be candidates or to vote. Security forces
reported to civilian authorities.
The most important human rights problems reported included
citizens' lack of the right and legal means to change their government;
pervasive restrictions on universal rights such as freedom of
expression, including on the Internet, and freedom of assembly,
association, movement, and religion; and a lack of equal rights for
women and children, as well as for workers.
Other human rights problems reported included torture and other
abuses, poor prison and detention center conditions, holding political
prisoners and detainees, denial of due process and arbitrary arrest and
detention, and arbitrary interference with privacy, home, and
correspondence. Violence against women, trafficking in persons, and
discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, sect, race, and
ethnicity were common. Lack of governmental transparency and access
made it difficult to assess the magnitude of many reported human rights
problems.
The government prosecuted and punished a limited number of
officials who committed abuses, particularly those engaged in or
complicit with corruption. There were reports that some members of the
security forces and other senior officials, including those linked to
the royal family, committed abuses with impunity.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The government or
its agents were not known to have committed politically motivated
killings during the year. However, closed court proceedings in capital
cases made it impossible to determine whether the accused were allowed
to present a defense or were granted basic due process, and there were
reports that security forces in clashes with sometimes-armed
demonstrators killed persons during demonstrations (see section 2.b.).
For example, in one of the reported 79 executions during the year,
Amina bint Abdulhalim Nassir, a 60-year-old woman, was beheaded on
December 12 in the northern province of Al-Jouf reportedly after her
conviction of criminal charges of practicing ``witchcraft and
sorcery.'' Absent a penal code, there is no precise legal definition of
witchcraft, magic, or sorcery. According to press reports, she was
arrested in 2009 and following an investigation was tried by a first-
instance court, which found her guilty of practicing magic and sorcery
and sentenced her to death. The case was reviewed by the Court of
Appeal and the Supreme Judicial Council, which both upheld the
conviction, and the sentence was carried out by royal order.
In contrast with 2010, there were no reports that government forces
killed civilians in cross-border operations in Yemen.
b. Disappearance.--The government reportedly arrested and detained
persons during the year, refusing for extended periods in some cases to
acknowledge the detention or to provide information about an
individual's whereabouts. However, there were no reports of politically
motivated disappearances during the year.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law of criminal procedure and other legal provisions
prohibit torture and hold criminal investigation officers accountable
for any abuse of authority. Sharia, as interpreted in the country,
prohibits judges from accepting confessions obtained under duress.
Government officials claimed that Ministry of Interior rules
prohibiting torture assured that such practices did not occur in the
penal system, and the president of the governmental Human Rights
Commission (HRC) conducted prison visits to ascertain that torture did
not occur in prisons or detention centers. Nevertheless, during the
year there continued to be reports that authorities sometimes subjected
prisoners and detainees to torture and other physical abuse,
particularly during the investigation phase when interrogating
suspects; however, due to lack of government transparency, it was not
possible to ascertain the accuracy of these reports. There was no
available information on the number of cases of abuse and corporal
punishment.
For example, on July 27, security officials reportedly took a
prominent human rights activist, Mekhlef bin Daham al-Shammary, from
his prison cell at the Damman General Prison to a room where there were
no surveillance cameras and severely beat him. A guard then allegedly
poured an antiseptic cleaning liquid down al-Shammary's throat,
resulting in his being taken to a hospital (see section 1.e.).
There were reports that at least two of a group of 16 men found
guilty of security-related offenses were tortured in the period between
their arrest in 2007 and their conviction on November 22. Among them,
according to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Amnesty
International (AI), was Suliman al-Reshoudi, a 73-year-old former
judge, who was subjected in prison to ``severe physical and
psychological tortures,'' including more than three years of solitary
confinement. One of the detainees was allegedly beaten on at least
seven occasions with metal sticks and received electric shocks. Saud
al-Hashimi was reportedly abused by being placed for five hours in a
severely cold cell and forced to confess, among other acts, to
contacting Al-Jazeera television station and to collecting money
without the permission of the ruler (see section 5).
The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
(CPVPV), a semiautonomous agency commonly known as the religious
police, has the authority to monitor social behavior and enforce
morality.
On May 21, the Saudi Gazette reported the death of a Jordanian man
following an alleged car chase by the religious police. After stopping
him, they reportedly detained the man and forcibly cut his hair. He was
later hospitalized with head injuries and subsequently died. The
Ministry of Interior reportedly investigated the incident, but no
further information was available.
The courts used corporal punishment as a judicial penalty. On
December 23, the right hand of a Nigerian citizen was amputated after
he was found guilty of theft and his appeals exhausted. According to a
December 16 Human Rights Watch (HRW) letter to the HRC chairman, a
Riyadh general court sentenced four Iraqis and two Syrians to the
amputation of the left foot and right hand each for armed robbery of
four million riyals (approximately $1 million) from a supermarket. One
of the Iraqis alleged severe physical mistreatment amounting to torture
for eight days until he signed, unread, a prepared confession.
In contrast to 2010, there were no reports of rape or other sexual
abuses during arrest and detention, according to the unlicensed NGO
Human Rights First Society (HRFS).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions varied, and some did not meet international
standards. No independent human rights observers visited prisons or
detention centers during the year, but the government permitted
domestic organizations, such as the NGO National Society for Human
Rights (NSHR), which is supported by a trust funded by the estate of
the late King Fahd, and the governmental HRC, to perform some
monitoring of prison conditions. In its annual report, the NSHR
registered 409 cases in 2010 involving prisoners who complained about
conditions, compared with 682 cases in 2009. The NSHR monitored health
care in prisons and brought deficiencies to the attention of the
Ministry of Interior, which administers prisons and detention centers.
Overcrowding in prisons was a problem. After visiting 16 jails
across the kingdom, the NSHR published a report in February stating
``most jails are operating at double their capacities, something that
denies inmates many of their basic rights.'' The report also noted a
number of other problems in prisons and detention centers, the worst
being the women's section of the Deportation and Detention Center in
Jeddah. Violations listed in the report included a shortage of and
improperly trained wardens, lack of access to prompt medical treatment
when requested, holding prisoners beyond the end of their sentences,
and not informing prisoners of their rights.
The director general of prisons announced in October that there
were 49,000 male and female prisoners and detainees in the kingdom.
Information on the maximum number of prisoners and detainees the
facilities were meant to hold was not available.
Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners.
Persons suspected or convicted of terrorism offenses were separated
from the general population, according to diplomatic sources, but held
in similar facilities. The government permitted relatives and friends
to visit some persons detained for terrorist activities, but security
prisoners and some other prisoners did not have reasonable access to
visitors. Detainees and prisoners were permitted to perform religious
observances. There was no information available whether prisoners were
able to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship or
whether credible allegations of inhumane conditions and treatment were
investigated and made public.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law provides that no entity
may restrict a person's actions or imprison him, except under
provisions of the law. Nonetheless, because of the government's
ambiguous implementation of the law and a lack of due process, the
Ministry of Interior, to which the majority of forces with arrest power
report, maintained broad powers to arrest and detain persons
indefinitely without judicial oversight or effective access to legal
counsel or family. In practice authorities held persons for weeks,
months, and sometimes years and reportedly failed to promptly advise
them of their rights, including their right to be represented by an
attorney. According to an April 20 HRW report, authorities arrested
more than 160 demonstrators in the Eastern Province in the preceding
three-month period. At year's end, of an estimated 350 demonstrators
arrested during the year in the Eastern Province, approximately 70
remained incarcerated.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The king, interior
minister, defense minister, and Saudi Arabian National Guard commander
all have responsibility in law and in practice for law enforcement and
maintenance of order. The Ministry of Interior exercised primary
control over all internal security and police forces, except the
General Intelligence Presidency, the government's primary external
intelligence agency that reports directly to the king and maintains its
own forces. The civil police and the internal security police are
authorized to arrest and detain individuals. The semiautonomous CPVPV,
which monitors public behavior to enforce strict adherence to the
official interpretation of Islamic norms, reports to the king via the
Royal Diwan (royal court) and to the Ministry of Interior. The members
of the religious police are required to carry official identification
and have a police officer accompany them at the time of an arrest,
although compliance was sporadic.
Security forces were generally effective at maintaining law and
order. The Board of Grievances (Diwan Al-Mazalim), a high-level
administrative judicial body that specializes in cases against
government entities and reports directly to the king, is the only
formal mechanism available to seek redress for claims of abuse.
Citizens may report abuses by security forces at any police station, to
the HRC, or to the NSHR. The HRC and the NSHR maintained records of
complaints and outcomes, but privacy laws protected information about
individual cases, and information was not publicly available. During
the year there were no reported prosecutions of security forces for
human rights violations, but the Board of Grievances held hearings and
adjudicated claims of wrongdoing. The HRC in cooperation with the
Ministry of Education provided materials and training to police,
security forces, and the religious police on protecting human rights.
The Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution (BIP) and the Control
and Investigation Board (CIB) are the two units of the government with
authority to investigate reports of wrongdoing. On November 28, the
Council of Ministers formally approved changes to the responsibilities
for the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution, the Control and
Investigation Board, and the General Auditing Bureau (GAB). The
investigation and prosecution powers of the CIB were transferred to the
BIP; however, the CIB continued to be responsible for the investigation
and prosecution of financial cases. All financial audit and control
functions were limited to the GAB.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to
the 1992 Basic Law, ``no person shall be arrested, searched, detained,
or imprisoned except in cases provided by law, and any accused person
shall have the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer or a
representative to defend him during the investigation and trial
stages.'' Authorities may summon any person for investigation, and an
arrest warrant may be issued based on evidence, but in practice
warrants frequently were not used and they were not required in cases
where probable cause existed. There was a functioning bail system for
less serious criminal charges. The law does not specify a time frame
for access to a lawyer. The practice is for the state to provide a
lawyer for indigents. There were no established procedures providing
detainees the right to contact family members following arrest. The law
requires charges be filed within 72 hours of arrest and requires a
trial within six months. Reportedly, authorities frequently failed to
observe these legal protections and there was no requirement to advise
suspects of their rights. In practice no judicial proceedings began
until a full investigation was completed by authorities, which in some
cases took years.
Incommunicado detention was sometimes a problem. Frequently,
security and some other prisoners were held for long periods before
family members or associates were notified of their whereabouts.
Arbitrary Arrest.--There were reports of arbitrary arrest and
detention. Although the law prohibits detention without charge, during
the year authorities detained without charge security suspects, persons
who publicly criticized the government, Shia religious leaders, and
others who violated religious standards.
Pretrial Detention.--Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. The
NGO Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) challenged the
Ministry of Interior in court on cases considered to involve arbitrary
arrest or detention; however, the ACPRA claimed the ministry ignored
judges' rulings, and judges appeared powerless to take action against
it. There was no available information on the percentage of the prison/
detainee population in pretrial detention or the average length of time
held.
On April 2, the Ministry of Interior's Bureau of Investigation and
Prosecution released statistics accounting for those detained for
suspicion of terrorism since 2001. The data suggested that roughly half
of the 11,527 persons arrested had been released. Of those not
released, 2,215 had been referred to ``the competent criminal courts,''
with 1,612 convicted by April 2 and the remaining still being tried.
There were 1,931 detainees nearing transfer to court as investigations
were being finalized; 934 detainees were still being held pending final
charges; and another 616 were ``still pending trial,'' although it was
not clear what that meant. The Ministry of Interior also reportedly
paid compensation of 32 million riyals ($8.5 million) to 486 detainees
for being held longer in detention than their jail sentences and
provided 529 million riyals ($141 million) in monthly assistance to the
families of suspects.
Amnesty.--The king continued the tradition of sometimes tempering
judicial punishments. The details of the cases varied, but the
demonstration of royal pardons sometimes included reducing or
eliminating corporal punishment, for example, rather than wiping the
slate clean. However, the remaining sentence could be added to a new
sentence if the pardoned prisoner committed a crime subsequent to his
release. There were pardons or grants of amnesty on special occasions
throughout the year. The Saudi Press Agency reported 1,543 prisoners
were pardoned and released during the year. In addition, the agency
reported 325 Indonesian prisoners of a reported total of 1,719 in jail
on various charges were pardoned and released during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides that judges are
independent and are subject to no authority other than the provisions
of Sharia and laws in force. In practice the judiciary was not
independent as it was required to cooperate with executive authorities
with the king as arbiter. Although allegations of interference with
judicial independence were uncommon, the judiciary was reportedly
subject to influence. There were no reports during the year of courts
exercising jurisdiction over senior members of the royal family. There
were alleged problems enforcing court orders, particularly against the
Ministry of Interior.
Trial Procedures.--The law states that defendants should be treated
equally in accordance with Sharia. In the absence of a penal code,
Sharia as interpreted in the country is the basis of the penal system.
The Council of Senior Religious Scholars (Ulema), an autonomous
advisory body, has the authority to determine how judges should
interpret Sharia.
Sharia is not based on precedent in all cases; this, combined with
the lack of a penal code, means that rulings and sentences can diverge
widely. Judges may base their decisions on any of the four Sunni
schools of jurisprudence. Shia citizens use their own legal traditions
to adjudicate intra-Shia family law cases.
The law states that court hearings shall be public; courts may be
closed at the judge's discretion, and many trials during the year were
closed. According to the Ministry of Justice, a trial may be closed
depending on the sensitivity of the case to national security, the
reputation of the defendant, or the safety of witnesses. On May 16, the
government opened the first public trials for terrorism for 11 suspects
accused of participating in a 2004 attack. During the year the
government opened similar trials of suspected terrorists to observers
from the HRC, the media, and the public; however, observers required
advance approval from the Ministry of Interior.
According to the law, there is neither presumption of innocence nor
trial by jury. The law provides defendants the right to be present at
trial and to consult with an attorney during the investigation and
trial. According to the HRC, at the government's discretion, an
attorney may be provided to indigents at public expense. Defendants
also have the right to confront or question witnesses against them and
call witnesses in their behalf. However, the court presents the
witnesses. The law provides that an investigator appointed by the
Bureau for Investigation and Prosecution questions the witnesses called
by the litigants before the initiation of a trial and may hear
testimony of additional witnesses he deems necessary to determine the
facts. There is no right to access government-held evidence. Defendants
may request to review evidence, and the court decides whether to grant
the request. The court must inform convicted persons of their right to
appeal rulings.
Sharia as interpreted by the government extends these provisions to
all citizens and noncitizens; however, the law and practice
discriminate against women (see section 6), nonpracticing Sunni, Shia,
and persons of other religions. For example, judges may discount the
testimony of nonpracticing Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, or persons of
other religions; sources reported that judges sometimes completely
ignored testimony by Shia.
Among many reports of irregularities in trial procedures was the
case of Mohammed Saleh al-Bajady, a businessman and cofounder of ACPRA,
whom police arrested the day after his March 20 participation in a
protest outside the Ministry of Interior in Riyadh. According to a
December 1 AI report, he was apparently charged with forming the ACPRA,
harming the reputation of the state, and having banned books in his
possession. His lawyers reportedly did not have access to him or his
trial in the Specialized Criminal Court, which, according to a report
of a telephone call to his wife, began in August. He remained in prison
in Riyadh at year's end.
In August the Royal Diwan forwarded the case of Rizana Nafeek to
the Riyadh Provincial Reconciliation Committee to negotiate a
settlement between Nafeek, a Sri Lankan domestic worker, and the
parents of an infant she was convicted of having killed. In September
2010 the High Court rejected an appeal in Nafeek's case; she had no
legal representation at her initial trial in 2007, and an initial
appeal hearing revealed that her interpreter may not have been
qualified.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political
prisoners or detainees who reportedly remained in prolonged detention
without charge could not be reliably ascertained. However, the HRC
reported the number of inmates held on terrorism-related charges was
4,662 as of December 25. In many cases it was impossible to determine
the legal basis for incarceration and whether the detention complied
with international human rights norms and standards. Those who remained
imprisoned after trial were often convicted of terrorism-related
crimes, and there was not sufficient public information about such
alleged crimes to make a judgment about whether they had a credible
claim to be political prisoners.
The government asserted that secret detentions were part of its
efforts to combat terrorism. International NGOs, AI in particular,
criticized the government for abusing its antiterrorism prerogatives to
arrest some members of the political opposition. Security detainees
were not given the same protections as other prisoners or detainees.
High-profile prisoners generally were well treated. Certain prisoners,
held on terrorism related charges, were given the option to participate
in rehabilitation programs. Authorities sometimes restricted legal
access to detainees (see section 1.d.); no international humanitarian
organizations had access to them.
For example, on August 8, officials revealed that authorities
arrested prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer on August 3; he
remained in detention at year's end, allegedly for ``inciting public
opinion.'' Authorities reportedly allowed al-Amer's relatives to visit
him in detention. Sheikh al-Amer was detained multiple times over the
past several years, such as his February 27 detention for 10 days after
he received wide attention for preaching a sermon calling for political
reforms and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
On February 20, authorities released three Shia activists detained
without charge. Munir al-Jassas, a well-known blogger, was arrested in
2009 after criticizing anti-Shia discrimination; Muhammad Al Libad and
Ramzi Jamal were arrested in January 2010 after organizing protests
against anti-Shia discrimination.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Complainants claiming
human rights violations generally sought assistance from the HRC or
NSHR, which either advocated on their behalf or provided courts with
opinions on their cases. The HRC was generally responsive to
complaints; domestic violence cases were the most common. However,
individuals or organizations may also pursue claims for damages or seek
government action to end human rights violations from the Board of
Grievances.
Human rights activist (imprisoned without charge since June 2010)
Mekhlef bin Daham al-Shammary filed a complaint against the government
and demanded material and moral compensation for suffering when
imprisoned for more than four months in 2007. Al-Shammary was arrested
for repeatedly holding unauthorized political meetings.
On June 9, the Board of Grievances ruled that human rights activist
and student Thamer Abdulkareem al-Kather was being held arbitrarily and
should be released, but the Ministry of Interior appealed the verdict.
In March 2010 the ministry's security arm, the General Directorate of
Investigation, arrested al-Kather without charge in Qassim and
transferred him to a prison in Riyadh. Al-Kather had advocated for
prisoners' rights and constitutional reform.
In August the Board of Grievances ordered Jeddah police to pay
152,700 riyals ($41,000) to a man detained for almost three years
without trial. The police reportedly had forgotten about him and his
case.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The government used the considerable latitude provided
by the law to monitor activities legally and intervene where it deemed
necessary. The government strictly monitored politically related
activities and took punitive actions, including arrest and detention,
against persons who engaged in certain political activities, such as
direct public criticism of some senior royals by name, forming a
political party, or organizing a demonstration. There were reports from
human rights activists of governmental monitoring or blocking of mobile
telephone or Internet usage before planned demonstrations. The
government did not respect the privacy of correspondence or
communications. Customs officials reportedly routinely opened mail and
shipments to search for contraband. In some areas Ministry of Interior
informants allegedly reported ``seditious ideas,'' ``antigovernment
activity,'' or ``behavior contrary to Islam'' in their neighborhoods.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The government codified and clarified severe restrictions on
freedoms of speech, press and the Internet during the year. Government-
friendly ownership in print or broadcast media led to self-censorship,
and there was relatively little need for overt government action to
restrict freedom of expression. However, the government could not rely
on self-censoring in the dispersed social media and Internet world.
Accordingly, to control information, it monitored and sporadically
blocked certain Internet sites. On a number of occasions, government
officials and senior clerics publicly warned against inaccurate reports
on the Internet and reminded the public that criticism of the
government and its officials should be done through available private
channels.
Freedom of Speech.--The government monitors public expressions of
opinion and took advantage of legal controls to impede the free
expression of opinion and restrict those verging on the political
sphere. Public employees are prohibited from directly or indirectly
engaging in dialogue with local or foreign media or participating in
any meetings intended to oppose state policies. The law forbids
apostasy and blasphemy.
Internet activists (one Facebook group claimed 26,000 adherents)
urged people to demonstrate in favor of political and economic reforms,
particularly on March 11. In the face of warnings from religious and
government leaders and a strong security presence, a single religion
teacher came to demonstrate. Police arrested him immediately after he
spoke to the BBC and other reporters about the need to ``to speak
freely'' and have ``freedom'' and ``democracy. He remained in detention
at year's end.
On September 10, a court in Jeddah brought charges against Waleed
Abu al-Khair, a human rights lawyer and supervisor of the Facebook
group ``Saudi Human Rights Monitor,'' for various expressions of
political opinion. The multiple charges ranged from ``insulting the
judiciary'' and ``asking for a constitutional monarchy'' to
``incitement of public opinion against the public order of the
country,'' according to HRW. In February Abu al-Khair had signed two
petitions calling for political reform presented to King Abdullah. At
year's end he was not in custody and no trial date was set, but he had
been restricted from travel outside the country.
Freedom of Press.--The Press and Publications Law, extending
explicitly to Internet communications, governs printed materials;
printing presses; bookstores; import, rent, and sale of films;
television and radio; and foreign media offices and their
correspondents. On April 29, a royal decree amended the Press and
Publications Law to stiffen penalties further and created a special
commission to judge violations. The amendments ban publishing anything
``contradicting Sharia; inciting disruption; serving foreign interests
that contradict national interests; and damaging the reputation of the
Grand Mufti, members of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, or
senior government officials.'' The Ministry of Culture and Information
may permanently close ``whenever necessary'' any means of
communication--defined as any means of expressing any viewpoint that is
meant for circulation--that it deems is engaged in a prohibited
activity as set forth in the April 29 royal decree. Print and broadcast
media, already self-censored, did not appear to have been demonstrably
affected by the new April restrictions.
The government owned most print and broadcast media and book
publication facilities in the country, and members of the royal family
owned or influenced those that were privately owned and nominally
independent, including various media outlets and widely circulated pan-
Arab newspapers such as Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat. The government
owned, operated, and censored most domestic television and radio
outlets.
Satellite television dish usage was widespread. Although satellite
dishes technically were illegal, the government did not enforce
restrictions on satellite dishes. Access to foreign sources of
information, including the Internet, was common. Privately owned
satellite television networks headquartered outside the country
maintained local offices and operated under a system of self-
censorship. Many other foreign satellite stations broadcast a wide
range of programs into the country, in English and Arabic, including
foreign news channels such as CNN, Fox, BBC, Sky, and Al-Jazeera.
Foreign media are subject to licensing requirements from the Ministry
of Culture and Information and cannot operate freely.
The Ministry of Culture and Information must approve the
appointment of all senior editors and has the authority to remove them.
The government provides guidelines to newspapers regarding
controversial issues. A 1982 media policy statement urges journalists
to uphold Islam, oppose atheism, promote Arab interests, and preserve
cultural heritage. The governmental Saudi Press Agency reports official
government news.
All newspapers in the country must be licensed by the government.
Media outlets can legally be banned or publication temporarily halted
if the government assesses that they violate the Press and Publications
Law.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government reportedly
penalized those who published items counter to government guidelines
and directly or indirectly censored the media by licensing domestic
media and by controlling importation of foreign printed material.
Authorities prevented or delayed the distribution of foreign print
media, effectively censoring these publications.
On September 19, Fahad al-Aqran, the editor in chief of Al-Madina,
and Abdulaziz al-Sowaid, a columnist for Al-Madina, were fired and
referred to the Ministry of Culture and Information's review board
after the columnist wrote an article with controversial interpretations
of theological issues.
The Consultative Council (Majlis as-Shura), an advisory body,
frequently allowed print and broadcast media to observe its proceedings
and meetings, but the council closed high-profile or controversial
sessions to the media. In some cases individuals criticized specific
government bodies or actions publicly without repercussions. In the
most prominent instance during the year, they did so only after the
king was critical of the poor response of authorities after the January
floods in Jeddah, which resulted in numerous deaths.
Internet Freedom.--The 2001 Press and Publications Law already
implicitly covered the electronic media, since it extended to any means
of expression of a viewpoint meant for circulation, ranging from words
to cartoons, photographs, and sounds. In March the government issued
``Implementing Regulations of Electronic Publishing'' setting out rules
for Internet-based and other electronic media, including chat rooms,
personal blogs, and text messages.
The law criminalizes the publication or downloading of offensive
sites. The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC)
filtered and blocked access to Web sites it deemed offensive, and there
were credible reports that it monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms.
The law restricted the ability of individuals and groups to engage in
the expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
All Web sites registered and hosted in the country must be
authorized by agencies of the Ministry of Culture and Information. The
CITC dealt with requests to block adult content and coordinated
decisions with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority on phishing sites
seeking to obtain confidential personal or financial information. All
other requests to block sites were submitted to an interagency
committee, chaired by the Ministry of Interior, for a decision to block
a site or not. In addition to designating unacceptable sites, the CITC
accepted requests from citizens to block or unblock sites. According to
the CITC's general manager, authorities received an average of 3,000
requests daily to block and unblock sites. According to the NGO
Reporters Without Borders, authorities claimed to have blocked
approximately 400,000 Web sites.
Access to the Internet was legally available only through
government-authorized Internet service providers. Although the
authorities blocked Web sites offering proxies, persistent Internet
users could work around the blocked sites and continue to access the
Internet via other proxy servers.
Laws criminalize defamation on the Internet, hacking, unauthorized
access to government Web sites, and stealing information related to
national security, as well as the creation or dissemination of a Web
site for a terrorist organization. The government reportedly collected
personally identifiable information concerning the identity of persons
peacefully expressing political, religious, or ideological opinions or
beliefs.
On February 15, the Ministry of Interior released Muhammad Abdullah
al-Abdulkareem, a professor of law at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic
University, after having arrested him in December 2010 for posting an
article describing political factions in the royal family on his
Facebook page.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academics reportedly
practiced self-censorship. The government censored public artistic
expression, prohibited cinemas, and restricted public musical or
theatrical performances apart from those considered folkloric and
special events approved by the government. For example, on October 16,
police arrested student and filmmaker Firas Buqna for producing a Web
video on poverty in Riyadh. The episode followed previous shows on
youth and police corruption. The online video was viewed more than a
million times in the first three weeks after the arrest. Authorities
released Buqna without charge on October 31.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law does not
provide for freedom of assembly and association, which the government
strictly limited in practice.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires a government permit for an
organized public assembly of any type, and it was a crime to
participate in political protests or unauthorized public assemblies. In
contrast to prior years, security forces allowed several small
unauthorized, nonpolitical demonstrations around the country during the
year despite a March 5 Interior Ministry statement that demonstrations
were banned and that it would take ``all necessary measures'' against
those seeking to ``disrupt order.'' On March 6, the Council of Senior
Religious Scholars reinforced the government's stance, stating
``demonstrations are prohibited in this country'' and explaining that
``the correct way in Sharia of realizing common interests is by
advising.''
In the Eastern Province city of Qatif, the scene of demonstrations
throughout the year, there were instances of some violent clashes
between demonstrators and police. On October 3, 11 policemen and at
least three civilians reportedly were wounded by gunfire. Between
November 20 and 23, four demonstrators died following clashes between
demonstrators and security forces. YouTube displayed videos purporting
to portray residents, largely Shia, protesting alleged systematic
discrimination, incitement against them, and neglect in public
investment while showing antiroyal slogans written on walls. In other
regions government authorities reportedly arrested nonviolent
demonstrators and detained them briefly.
Women were not allowed to gather in public with unrelated men.
Freedom of Association.--The law does not provide for freedom of
association, and the government strictly limited this right in
practice. The government prohibited the establishment of political
parties or any group it considered as opposing or challenging the
regime. All associations must be licensed by the Ministry of Social
Affairs and comply with its regulations. Groups that hoped to change
some element of the social or political order reported that their
licensing requests went unanswered. The ministry reportedly used
arbitrary means, such as requiring unreasonable types and quantities of
information, to effectively deny associations licenses.
A request for recognition of the Islamic Nation Party (Hizb al-Umma
al-Islam) as a political party resulted in the arrest on February 16 of
seven of its nine founders. According to HRW's citation of the request,
they appeared to have been detained solely for trying to create a party
whose professed aims included ``supporting the peaceful reform
movement'' (see section 3).
Government-chartered associations observed citizen-only
limitations. For example, the Saudi Journalists Association, which
operates under a government charter, did not give voting rights in the
organization to noncitizen members and prohibited them from attending
the association's general assembly.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law does not contain provisions
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, or
emigration and repatriation. The government cooperated with the Office
of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
In-Country Movement.--Generally the government did not restrict the
free movement of male citizens within the country or the right of
citizens to change residence or workplace, provided they held a
national identification card (NIC). The law requires all male citizens
15 years of age or older to hold an NIC. For women the NIC was
optional, reflecting the different status of female citizens, and could
be issued only if a woman's male guardian (grandfather, father, uncle,
brother, husband, son, or nephew) consented in writing to its issuance
or if she already held a valid passport, also issued only with a
guardian's consent. The government prohibited women from driving motor
vehicles; some women drove during the year in an effort to publicize a
campaign to lift the ban. The guardianship system requires a woman to
have the permission of her male guardian to work or move freely in the
country (see section 6).
Foreign Travel.--There are restrictions on foreign travel,
including for women and members of minority groups. No one may leave
the country without an exit visa and a passport. Women and minors
(younger than age 21) require a male guardian's consent to have a
passport and travel abroad. A noncitizen wife needs permission from her
husband to travel unless both partners sign a prenuptial agreement
permitting the noncitizen wife to travel without the husband's
permission. Government entities and male family members can
``blacklist'' women and minor children, prohibiting their travel. In
cases involving custody disputes, the male guardian is legally able to
prevent even adult children from leaving the country.
Travel of foreign workers remained under the complete control of
their employers or sponsors, who were responsible for processing
residence permits and exit visas on their behalf. Sponsors often held
their employees' passports, despite a law specifically prohibiting this
practice.
The government continued to impose travel bans as part of criminal
sentences. The government on occasion reportedly confiscated passports
and revoked the rights of some citizens to travel for political reasons
but often did not provide them with notification or opportunity to
contest the restriction.
According to the ACPRA, authorities continued a travel ban on Fahad
al-Orani, one of the cofounders of the ACPRA; Abdullah al-Hamed, a
former professor and cofounder of the ACPRA; and Matrouk al-Faleh.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The law provides that
the ``state will grant political asylum if public interest so
dictates.'' The country has no law implementing this provision, and the
UNHRC managed refugee and asylum matters. The government permitted
UNHRC-recognized refugees to stay in the country temporarily pending
identification of a durable solution. The government generally did not
grant asylum or accept refugees for settlement from third countries.
Government policy is not to grant refugee status to persons in the
country illegally or who have overstayed a pilgrimage visa. The
government strongly encouraged persons without residency to leave, and
it threatened or imposed deportation. Access to naturalization was
difficult for refugees. During the year the UNHRC registered more than
600 refugees and 95 asylum seekers.
Employment.--Refugees and asylum seekers were unable to work
legally.
Access to Basic Services.--Access to health care, education,
courts/judicial procedures, and social services is reserved for
citizens. Refugees' only access to basic services is through the UNHRC.
The UNHRC office in Riyadh provided subsistence allowance to a limited
number of vulnerable families based on a needs assessment.
Stateless Persons.--The country has a significant number of
habitual residents who are legally stateless, but data on the stateless
population are incomplete and scarce, and the government was not open
to discussing the matter.
Under the Nationality Law, citizenship is derived from the father,
but several scenarios lead to statelessness of children: (1) a child
born to an unmarried mother is not affiliated with the father legally,
even if the father has recognized the child, and therefore is
stateless; (2) when identification documents are withdrawn from a
parent, the child also loses his or her identification and accompanying
rights (possible when a naturalized parent denaturalizes voluntarily or
loses citizenship through other acts); (3) children of a citizen mother
and a noncitizen father are without nationality, unless they acquire
citizenship from the father; and (4) children of a citizen father and a
noncitizen mother are noncitizens, unless the government has authorized
the marriage of the parents prior to birth. In addition when government
authorities withdraw a citizen's national identification card, his or
her children also lose their Saudi citizenship.
The UNHRC unofficially estimated there were approximately 70,000
stateless persons in the country, almost all of whom were native-born
Arab residents known locally as Bidoon (an Arabic word that means
``without"); there were also some Baloch and West Africans.
Bidoon are persons whose ancestors failed to obtain nationality,
such as descendants of nomadic tribes not counted among the native
tribes during the reign of the country's founder, King Abdulaziz;
descendants of foreign-born fathers who arrived before there were laws
regulating citizenship; and rural migrants whose parents failed to
register their births. As noncitizens Bidoon were unable to obtain
passports or travel abroad. The government denied them employment and
educational opportunities, and their marginalized status made them
among the poorest residents of the country. In recent years the
Ministry of Education encouraged them to attend school. The government
issued Bidoon five-year residency permits to facilitate their social
integration in government-provided health care and other services,
putting them on similar footing with sponsored foreign workers.
There were an estimated 240,000 Palestinians resident in the
kingdom, who were not registered as refugees, as the mandate of the
U.N. Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) to protect and assist Palestinian
refugees is limited to the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to change their
government peacefully and establishes the Al Saud family monarchy as
the political system. The law provides citizens the right to
communicate with public authorities on any matter, and the government
is established on the principle of consultation (shura), requiring the
king and senior officials to make themselves available by holding
meetings (majlis), open-door events where in theory any male citizen or
noncitizen may express an opinion or a grievance. Only a few members of
the ruling family have a voice in the choice of leaders, the
composition of the government, or changes to the political system. The
Allegiance Commission, composed of 34 senior princes appointed by the
king, is responsible for selecting a king and crown prince upon the
death or incapacitation of either.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On
September 29, following a two-year postponement, the government held
elections for the second time since 1963 for the country's 285
municipal councils; elected candidates filled half of the 1,632 seats
while the king appointed the other half. As in the first elections in
2005, participation was limited to civilian male citizens at least 21
years old. According to the Municipal Council Elections Committee,
there was no legal prohibition against women voting; however, as in
2005, the committee cited logistical and other technical reasons why
women were not allowed to participate in the elections. More than 1,700
lawyers from the National Committee of Lawyers monitored the elections
nationally, and the organization assessed that the elections were fair
and transparent. The NSHR, however, refused to observe the elections,
protesting women's ineligibility to vote or seek election. Candidates
were not permitted to contest under party affiliation. On September 25,
the king issued a royal decree permitting women to vote and run in
future municipal council elections.
Political Parties.--There were no political parties or similar
associations. On February 16, one week after a group of nine
individuals submitted a request for recognition of the Islamic Nation
Party (Hizb al-Umma al-Islam) as a political party to the Royal Court
and the Consultative Council, seven of the party's nine founders were
arrested. A statement posted on the party's Web site on February 17
said that authorities arrested Ahmad bin Sa'd al-Ghamidi, Sa'ud al-
Dughaithir, SheikhAbd al-'Aziz al-Wuhaibi, Sheikh Muhammad bin Husain
al-Qahtani, Muhammad bin Nasir al-Ghamidi, Walid al-Majid, and Abd al-
Karim al-Khadhar. According to the Web site, authorities demanded that
they sign a legally binding promise to withdraw their names from the
party's founding document. All members of the group signed such
statements and were released except for al-Wuhaibi, who refused to do
so and was sentenced to seven years in prison (see section 2.b.).
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Societal discrimination
based on widespread gender segregation excluded women from most aspects
of public life, with the large-scale exclusion of women from formal
decision making; however, women increasingly participated in political
life, albeit with significantly less status than men. There were 12
female advisers to the 150-man royally appointed Consultative Council,
which advises the king and can propose legislation. On September 25,
the king issued a royal decree providing for women to be appointed to
serve as full Consultative Council members at the beginning of the next
term in 2013. There were no women on the High Court (women's ability to
practice law is limited) or Supreme Judicial Council. There were two
women in senior-level government positions, as deputy minister for
women's education and deputy minister for women's higher education.
There are no laws that prevent minorities from participating in
political life on the same basis as other citizens, but societal
discrimination marginalized the Shia population. The Consultative
Council included only five Shia members. There were no religious
minorities in the cabinet. At year's end there were some Eastern
Province Shia judges dealing with intra-Shia personal status and family
laws.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There were
reports of government corruption during the year, including a
perception of corruption by some members of the royal family and the
executive branch of the government.
There were very few high-level public investigations or
prosecutions. Following flooding in Jeddah in January, the government
launched investigations into allegations of widespread official
corruption and malfeasance thought to have contributed to the resulting
damage and loss of life in the 2011 floods. In a paper presented at a
government performance seminar held in Riyadh in April, the General
Audit Bureau reportedly noted that ``what happened in Jeddah clearly
illustrated the poor performance of government departments because of
bribery and widespread corruption.'' The government charged a number of
municipal officials with corruption as a result of the 2009 Jeddah
floods, and at year's end the trials continued with no convictions or
acquittals.
Government employees who accept bribes face 10 years in prison or
fines up to one million riyals ($267,000). Public officials were not
subject to financial disclosure laws. On March 18, King Abdullah issued
a royal decree establishing a National Anti-Corruption Commission,
responsible for promoting transparency and combating all forms of
financial and administrative corruption; the commission's ministerial-
level director reported directly to the king and was charged with
referring cases of corruption to the Control and Investigation Board
and the Ministry of Interior's Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution.
The law does not provide for and there is no right to public access
to government information, such as ministerial budgets or allocations
to members of the royal family.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The law provides that ``the State shall protect human rights in
accordance with the Islamic Sharia"; however, the government restricted
the activities of, while at times cooperating to varying degrees with,
domestic and international human rights organizations in investigations
of alleged violations of human rights.
The government often cooperated with and sometimes accepted the
recommendations of the NSHR, the sole government-licensed domestic
human rights organization. The NSHR, funded through a trust fund from a
deceased member of the royal family, accepted requests for assistance
and complaints about government actions affecting human rights.
The government viewed two active human rights groups, which the
government failed to license, the HRFS and the ACPRA, with suspicion
and claimed they were meddling in government affairs. At year's end the
government had not licensed the HRFS, whose founder, Ibrahim al-
Mugaiteeb, applied for a license in 2002. The government continued to
permit its informal operation, but since the group was formally
``unlicensed'' it remained unclear which activities the group could
undertake without risking punishment, and even ``permitted'' activities
could be criticized by the government. Without a license the group was
unable to raise operating funds, which severely limited its activities.
ACPRA applied for a license in 2008, which was not granted; however,
the government allowed its unlicensed operation.
A third, less active group, the National Saudi Committee of Human
Rights, has tried unsuccessfully to register since 2003, according to
HRW.
An abortive attempt to create a political organization, accompanied
by a petition calling for political reform, preceded the 2007 arrests
of nine men who, along with seven others, were held without formal
charges until August 2010. On November 22, a court in Riyadh convicted
the 16 men on a range of charges that included allegedly forming a
secret organization, attempting to seize power, inciting discontent
against the king, financing terrorism, and money laundering. The men
received sentences that varied from 10 to 30 years and included travel
bans and fines (see section 1.c.).
The government also viewed international human rights NGOs with
suspicion. For example, AI's main Web site was blocked temporarily in
late Julyafter it criticized a draft antiterrorism law that it
suggested would stifle peaceful protest in the kingdom. The HRC stated
that the government welcomed the visits of legitimate, unbiased human
rights groups, but added that the government could not act on the
``hundreds of requests,'' in part because it was cumbersome to decide
which domestic agency would be their interlocutor.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--The government-funded HRC is
effectively a part of the government. The HRC president has ministerial
status and reports to the king. According to the NSHR's 2009 report,
the HRC ``met with weak collaboration on the part of some governmental
bodies in spite of the issuance of royal directives.'' The adequately
resourced HRC was considered effective in highlighting problems but had
limited capacity to effect change. The HRC worked directly with the
Royal Diwan and the Council of Ministers; with a committee composed of
representatives of the Consultative Council and the Ministries of
Labor, Social Affairs, and Interior; and with Consultative Council
Committees for the Judiciary, Islamic Affairs, and Human Rights.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits discrimination based on race but not gender,
disability, language, or social status. The law and tradition
discriminated on the basis of gender. The government generally
reinforced Sharia-based traditional prohibitions on discrimination on
the basis of disability, language, or social status but did not
effectively enforce laws prohibiting discrimination based on race.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a punishable criminal
offense under Sharia with a wide range of penalties from flogging to
execution. Generally the government enforced the law based on its
interpretation of Sharia, and courts punished the victim for illegal
``mixing of genders,'' as well as the perpetrator. The government did
not recognize spousal rape. Statistics on incidents of rape were not
available, but press reports and observers indicated rape was a serious
problem. The government did not maintain public records on
prosecutions, convictions, or punishments. Most rape cases were
unreported because victims faced possible societal reprisal, diminished
marriage opportunities, criminal sanction up to imprisonment, or
accusations of adultery.
There were no laws criminalizing violence specifically against
women, and the law does not distinguish domestic violence within the
general legal prohibition against violence. Researchers stated that
violence against women may be seriously underreported, making it
difficult to gauge the magnitude of the problem. Officials stated that
the government did not clearly define domestic violence and that
procedures concerning cases, and accordingly enforcement, varied from
one government body to another. NSHR's 2010 annual report noted that it
investigated 282 cases of domestic violence and violations of women's
rights, compared with 257 such cases in 2009. Violence included a broad
spectrum of abuse. The government made efforts to combat domestic
violence, and the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue held
workshops and distributed educational materials on peaceful conflict
resolution between spouses and in families.
The government supported family protection shelters. During the
year the HRC fielded complaints of domestic abuse and referred these
complaints to other government offices. The HRC's women and children's
branches throughout the kingdom received 350 complaints from 71 women
during the year; domestic violence and abuse accounted for most of the
cases. The HRC advised complainants and offered legal assistance to
some female litigants. The organization provided facilities for the
children of women complainants and litigants and it distributed
publications supporting women's rights in education, health care,
development, and the workplace.
Sexual Harassment.--The extent of sexual harassment was difficult
to measure with little media reporting and no government data. The
government's interpretation of Sharia guides courts on cases of sexual
harassment. Employers maintained separate male and female workspaces
where feasible.
Reproductive Rights.--There were no reports of government
interference in couple's right to decide freely and responsibly the
number, spacing, and timing of children. Statistics from the World Bank
indicate that Saudi fertility rates steadily declined since 1980.
Intrauterine devices were the most popular form of birth control in the
country, and women, regardless of marital status, were legally able to
obtain them. Birth control pills also were available to women in local
pharmacies without prescriptions. Although no legal barriers prevented
access to contraception, in practice many women were limited by
constraints on mobility and economic resources. Information was not
available regarding equal diagnosis and treatment of sexually
transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women continued to face significant discrimination
under law and custom, and many remained uninformed about their unequal
rights. Although they may legally own property and are entitled to
financial support from their guardian, women have few political or
social rights, and society treats them as unequal members. The law
prohibits women from marrying non-Muslims, but men may marry Christians
and Jews. Women may not marry noncitizens without government
permission; men must obtain government permission if they intend to
marry noncitizens from outside Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the
United Arab Emirates.
The guardianship system requires that every woman have a close male
relative as her ``guardian'' with the authority to approve her travel
(see section 2.d.). A guardian also has authority to approve some types
of business licenses and study at a university or college. Women can
make their own determinations concerning hospital care. A husband who
``verbally'' (rather than via a court process) divorces his wife or
refuses to sign final divorce papers continues to be her legal
guardian.
Widespread societal exclusion restricted women from using many
public facilities. When unrelated men are present, women must sit in
separate, specially designated family sections. They are not allowed to
consume food in restaurants that do not have such sections. Women risk
arrest for riding in a vehicle driven by a male who is not an employee
or a close male relative. Cultural norms enforced by state institutions
require women to wear an abaya (a loose-fitting, full-length black
cloak covering the entire body) in public and to conceal their hair.
The religious police also generally expected Muslim women to cover
their faces and non-Muslim women from other Asian and African countries
to comply more fully with local customs of dress than non-Muslim
Western women. In rural areas and smaller cities, women adhered to the
traditional dress code of covering the entire body, hands, feet, hair,
and face.
Women also faced discrimination in courts, where the testimony of
one man equals that of two women. In divorce proceedings women must
demonstrate legally specified grounds for divorce, but men can divorce
without giving cause. In doing so men are required to pay immediately
an amount of money agreed upon at the time of the marriage that serves
as a one-time alimony payment. Women who demonstrate legal grounds for
divorce also are entitled to alimony.
Women faced discrimination under family law. For example, a woman
needs her guardian's permission to marry. Courts awarded custody of
children when they attained a specified age (seven years for boys and
nine years for girls) to the divorced husband or the deceased husband's
family. In numerous cases former husbands prevented divorced noncitizen
women from visiting their children. Women are also discriminated
against under inheritance laws, where daughters receive half the
inheritance awarded to their brothers.
Women constituted more than 58 percent of university students;
education through university level was generally segregated. The only
other exceptions to segregation in higher education were medical
schools at the undergraduate level and the King Abdullah University of
Science and Technology, a graduate-level research university where
women worked jointly with men, were not required to wear the veil, and
drove cars on campus.
On July 11, the Ministry of Labor issued regulations requiring all
women's garment stores to be staffed solely by women. The regulations
also created guidelines for women to telework but banned women from 20
professions, mostly in heavy industry. On March 26, the Ministry of
Justice announced plans to open 1,000 legal, administrative, social,
and religious positions within the judiciary to women throughout the
country; however, women could not work as judges or prosecutors. A 2010
report by the central bank estimated that 36,000 female citizens worked
in the public sector and 48,000 worked in the private sector.
The law requires a woman to obtain the permission of a male
guardian to work if the type of business is not ``deemed appropriate
for a woman.'' A woman cannot accept a job in a rural area unless she
lodges with an adult male relative who agrees to act as her guardian.
Widespread gender segregation directly led to discrimination in
employment. Despite gender segregation the law grants women the right
to obtain business licenses, and women frequently obtained licenses in
fields that might require them to supervise foreign workers, interact
with male clients, or deal frequently with government officials. In
medical settings and in the energy industry, women and men worked
together, and in some instances women supervised male employees. Women
who work in establishments with 50 or more female employees have the
right to maternity leave and child care.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship derives from the
father, and only the father can register a birth. There were cases of
citizen children denied public services, including education and health
care, because the government failed to register the birth entirely or
immediately.
Child Abuse.--Abuse of children occurred, but information was
sparse. In 2010 the NSHR registered 82 instances of violence against
children, according to its annual report.
Child Marriage.--Sharia does not specify a minimum age for marriage
but suggests girls may marry after reaching puberty. According to some
senior religious leaders, girls as young as age 10 may be married.
Families sometimes arranged such marriages, principally in rural areas
or often to settle family debts, without the consent of the child. The
HRC and NSHR monitored cases of child marriages, which they reported
were rare or, at least, rarely reported. The bride's age must be
recorded in the application for a marriage license, and registration of
the marriage is a legal prerequisite for consummation. The government
reportedly instructed marriage registrars not to register marriages
involving children.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--There is no specific law
providing penalties relating to commercial sexual exploitation of
children or child pornography and no minimum age for consensual sex.
The law prohibits pornography.
International Child Abduction.--The kingdom is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For country-specific information see http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html
Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish citizens and no
statistics available concerning the religious denominations of
foreigners.
According to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, no imams publicly
espoused intolerant views warranting dismissal during the year;
however, there continued to be unconfirmed reports that Sunni imams,
who receive government stipends, used anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and
anti-Shia language in their sermons. During the year the ministry
issued periodic circulars to clerics and imams in mosques directing
them to include messages on the principles of justice, equality, and
tolerance and to encourage rejection of bigotry and all forms of racial
discrimination in their sermons.
The government's multiyear project to revise textbooks, curricula,
and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content
disparaging religions other than Islam began in 2007. The government
mandated the removal of controversial terms from school textbooks and
the substitution of such terms with the phrase from the Qur'an ``There
is no compulsion in religion.'' All elementary and middle school
textbooks except for grades three and six had reportedly been revised
by year's end. Nonetheless, for example, a 2010-11 seventh-grade text
contained the sentence, ``The nature of the Jews is duplicity, oath-
breaking, and back-stabbing.'' Although textbook reviews and revisions
continued at year's end, the revisions were insufficiently extensive to
remove all language defaming non-Muslims and pronounced anti-Semitic
perspectives.
Editorial cartoons occasionally exhibited anti-Semitism
characterized by stereotypical images of Jews along with Jewish
symbols, particularly at times of heightened political tension with
Israel. Anti-Semitic editorial comments sometimes appeared in print and
electronic media in response to regional events.
The King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue continued to
promote dialogue, tolerance, and moderation. A mix of high-level
government and religious officials openly supported the center's
campaign against religious extremism and intolerant language,
especially in mosques and schools.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual,
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health
care, or the provision of other state services or other areas. There is
no legislation mandating public accessibility to buildings,
information, and communications. Newer commercial buildings often
included such access, as did some newer government buildings. Persons
with disabilities had equal access to information and communications.
Information about patterns of abuse of persons with disabilities in
prisons and educational and mental health institutions was not
available. The Ministry of Social Affairs is responsible for protecting
the rights of persons with disabilities. Vocational rehabilitation
projects and social care programs increasingly brought persons with
disabilities into the mainstream.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination
is illegal, societal discrimination against members of national, racial
and ethnic, or tribal minorities was a problem. Foreign workers from
Africa and Asia were subject to formal and informal discrimination,
especially racial discrimination. The tolerance campaign of the King
Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue sought to address some of these
issues.
There were numerous cases of assault against foreign workers and
reports of widespread worker abuse. The Shia minority continued to
suffer social, legal, economic, and political discrimination. To
address the problem, the Ministries of Defense and Interior and the
National Guard held antidiscrimination training courses in recent years
for police and law enforcement officers. There were no reports of
training during the year or of the success rate of these programs.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Under Sharia as interpreted in
the country, same-sex sexual conduct is punishable by death or
flogging. It is illegal for men ``to behave like women'' or to wear
women's clothes and vice versa. There were few reports of societal
discrimination, physical violence, or harassment based on sexual
orientation or gender identity, and there was no official
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in
employment, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health
care. Sexual orientation and gender identity could constitute the basis
for harassment, blackmail, or other actions; however, no such cases
were reported.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no reported
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. By
law the government deported foreign workers who tested positive for
HIV/AIDS upon arrival or when hospitalized for other reasons. There was
no indication that HIV-positive foreigners failed to receive
antiretroviral treatment or that authorities isolated them during the
year. The Ministry of Health's HIV/AIDS program worked to fight stigma
and discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law does not provide for the right of workers to form and join
independent unions. The law makes no provision for collective
bargaining or for workers to strike legally, and it does not prohibit
retaliation against strikers.
There are no labor unions in the country, and workers face
potential dismissal, imprisonment, or, in the case of migrant workers,
deportation for union activities.
The government allows citizen-only labor committees in workplaces
with more than 100 employees, but the government places limitations on
the right of association and is heavily involved in the formation and
activities of these committees. For example, the Ministry of Labor
approves committee members, and ministry representatives can attend
committee meetings. According to the International Trade Union
Confederation's 2011 Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights,
the minutes of the meetings must be submitted to management and then
passed on to the minister, and the ministry can dissolve committees if
they violate regulations or threaten public security. Committees can
make recommendations to company management regarding only improvements
to work conditions, health and safety, productivity, and training
programs.
There were several strikes tied to construction projects and
nonpayment of wages reported in the press during the year. Most were
resolved peacefully within a few days with no reports of violence
against labor leaders or activists. There were no reports that striking
workers were arrested or threatened with deportation.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law sets forth
working conditions and pay, including for children, and implicitly
prohibits forced labor through fines and bans on the violating sponsor
from future hiring. In August the Ministry of Labor mandated the
establishment of fewer, larger expatriate labor recruitment firms,
ostensibly to better protect migrant workers, including domestic
workers. At the end of the year, these ``mega-recruitment firms'' were
still not fully operational. Under the previous system, the government
did not effectively enforce legal protections for migrant workers, and
the labor law does not apply to domestic employees, the largest group
of workers susceptible to forced labor conditions. The 2009
antitrafficking law and other laws prohibiting abuse apply to domestic
workers, and unconfirmed government reports government indicated at
least some abusive sponsors were investigated and prosecuted under the
statutes. There were reports that forced or compulsory labor occurred,
especially among migrant workers and children. According to a June 21
Arab News article, for example, local authorities in the southern
province of Jizan discovered a 45-year-old Sri Lankan maid, Indrani
Mallika Hettiarachchi, who had been kept against her will without pay
for nearly 14 years by her employer; authorities subsequently arrested
the employer.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law states no person younger than 15 years may legally work unless that
person is the only family worker. According to the International Labor
Organization, children between the ages of 13 and 15 may work if the
job is not harmful to health or growth and does not interfere with
schooling. There is no minimum age for workers employed in family-owned
businesses or other areas considered extensions of the household, such
as farming, herding, and domestic service. Children younger than age 18
may not work in hazardous or harmful industries, such as mining, or
industries with power-operated machinery. There were reports of foreign
domestic workers younger than 18, some of whom traveled to the country
with forged documents.
Child labor occurred in the country, most commonly in the form of
begging. Children from poor families and foreign children trafficked
into the country specifically for this purpose worked as beggars.
Children from other countries, primarily Yemen and Ethiopia, were
forced into child begging rings, street vending, and family businesses.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In March the king issued a royal
decree setting a monthly minimum wage of 3,000 riyals ($800) for public
sector employees. There was no private sector minimum wage; however,
according to Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency statistics for 2009, the
lowest-paid workers, manual and unskilled laborers, took home
approximately 1,000 riyals ($267) per month plus some allowances, such
as for living quarters.
Labor regulations provide for a 48-hour standard work week at
regular pay; a weekly 24-hour rest period (normally on Fridays,
although the employer may grant it on another day); and time-and-a-half
pay for overtime, with a maximum of 12 additional hours. While the
government enforced these standards for most workers, they did not
apply to domestic workers (see section 7.b.).
Migrant domestic workers were vulnerable to abuse and exploitation,
including nonpayment of wages, working long hours without rest,
restrictions on movement, and physical and verbal abuse.
Bilateral labor agreements stipulate conditions on foreign workers'
minimum wage, housing, benefits including leave, medical care, and
other topics. Conditions varied depending on the country's relative
bargaining leverage. Noncitizen laborers generally negotiated and
agreed to conditions prior to arrival in the country, but many found
themselves subjected to conditions to which they had not agreed to,
such as delays in payment of wages, changes in employer, or different
working hours and conditions. The Ministry of Labor's Migrant Workers'
Welfare Department addressed cases of abuse and exploitation.
Noncitizen workers were able to submit complaints and seek help from
the 37 offices throughout the country, although the government was not
generally responsive. The Ministry of Labor reportedly maintained a
database of abusive employers and occasionally banned individuals and
companies who mistreated noncitizen workers from sponsoring such
workers for up to five years; however, the ministry did not provide any
examples of employers banned during the year.
The estimated 8.4 million noncitizen workers, including
approximately 1.5 million female domestic employees, may reside or work
in the country only under the sponsorship of a citizen or business. The
law does not permit noncitizens to change their workplace without their
sponsor's permission, thus forcing the worker to remain with the
sponsor until fulfillment of the contract or seek the assistance of the
embassy to return home. Under the new Saudization program,
``Nitaqaat,'' whose implementation began on June 11, the visas of
foreign workers at companies not meeting specific goals for employing
citizens as a percent of their workforce lapses, and these workers can
transfer their sponsorship to a new firm. Sponsors with commercial or
labor disputes with foreign employees could ask authorities to prohibit
the employees from departing the country until the dispute is resolved.
Sponsoring employers controlled foreign workers' ability to remain
employed and in the country. In most cases sponsoring employers held
foreign workers' passports and were responsible for processing
residence permits on their behalf, although the country has a law
prohibiting the withholding of passports. Many noncitizen workers,
particularly domestic employees, were not able to exercise their right
to remove themselves from dangerous situations. Some employers
physically prevented them from leaving or threatened them with
nonpayment if they left.
Foreign workers can contact the labor offices of their embassies
for assistance, and, although there were some accounts in the media,
most information about abuses came from embassy representatives from
labor exporting countries. There continued to be a large number of
reported incidents of abuse, including the withholding of passports,
restrictions of movement and communication, and nonpayment of wages.
Credible reports suggest that employers sometimes forced female
domestic employees to work 16 to 20 hours per day, seven days per week,
with little or no pay. Other workers were abused as well. For example,
authorities blocked Radio Netherlands' worldwide Arabic Web site after
a July 15 program on Saudi mistreatment of foreign workers that
included a video of the beating of an Asian worker with a stick. In
some contract disputes, a sponsor held the employee in country until
the dispute was resolved to force the employee to accept a
disadvantageous settlement or risk deportation without any settlement.
During the year both Indonesia and the Philippines put bans in place on
new domestic workers from their countries working in Saudi Arabia while
they sought to improve the contract terms of their workers. The
Philippines also requested that prospective employers provide bank
statements. As of year-end, the bans remained in place.
During the year hundreds of domestic workers sought shelter at
their embassies, some fleeing sexual abuse or other violence, and some
embassies maintained safe houses for citizens fleeing situations that
amounted to bondage. The workers usually sought legal help from
embassies and government agencies to obtain end-of-service benefits and
exit visas. The government rarely filed criminal charges against
abusive employers.
In addition to their embassies, domestic employees may contact the
NSHR, the HRC, the governmental Permanent Committee to Combat Human
Trafficking, and the Ministry of Labor's Migrant Workers' Welfare
Department, a department providing services to safeguard migrant
workers' rights and to protect them from abuse. Workers may also apply
to the offices of regional governors and may lodge an appeal with the
Board of Grievances against decisions from those authorities.
The government engaged in a news campaign highlighting the plight
of abused workers, trained law enforcement and other officials on
combating trafficking in persons, and worked with the embassies of
labor-sending countries to disseminate information about labor rights
to foreign workers.
The labor law provides for safety inspections and enables Ministry
of Labor-appointed inspectors to examine materials used or handled in
industrial and other operations and to submit samples of suspected
hazardous materials or substances to government laboratories. The
Ministry of Health's Occupational Health Service Directorate works with
the Labor Ministry on health and safety matters. Regulations require
employers to protect some workers from job-related hazards and disease,
although violations occurred. These regulations did not cover farmers,
herdsmen, domestic servants, or workers in family-operated businesses.
Foreign nationals privately reported frequent failures to enforce
health and safety standards.
__________
SYRIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Syria is a republic ruled by the authoritarian regime of President
Bashar al-Asad. The president makes key decisions with counsel from a
small number of security advisors, ministers, and senior members of the
ruling Ba'ath (Arab Socialist Renaissance) Party. The constitution
mandates the primacy of Ba'ath Party leaders in state institutions and
society. President Asad and party leaders dominate all three branches
of government. Asad was confirmed as president for his second seven-
year term in a 2007 yes-or-no referendum that was neither free nor fair
by international standards. Security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Calls for democratic reform by nonviolent demonstrators began in
mid-March and continued through year's end. The Asad regime used
indiscriminate and deadly force to quell such protests, including
military assaults on several cities. For example, in late April the
regime deprived the southern city of Dara'a of electricity, water, and
medical services, and it restricted entry and exit for approximately 20
days while shelling mosques and other civilian targets. The regime
maintained the use of deadly force against its citizens despite its
agreement to an Arab League plan to engage in reforms and cease killing
civilians on November 2. The U.N. reported that more than 5,000
civilians were killed during the year. When the protests began in
March, local committees emerged and took responsibility for organizing
events within their own communities. Together the committees formed the
Local Coordinating Committees (LCCs) of Syria.
The three most egregious human rights problems during the year were
the regime's denial of its citizens' right to peacefully change the
government; massive attacks and strategic use of citizen killings as a
means of intimidation and control; and denial of civil liberties such
as freedom of speech, assembly, and association.
Other serious problems included disappearances; torture and abuse;
poor prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and
detention; denial of fair public trial; arbitrary interference with
privacy; and lack of press, Internet, and academic freedom.
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) remained restricted in practice,
especially those that attempted to work in the areas of civil society
and democracy. The government restricted freedoms of religion and
movement. Several groups in society, notably a portion of the Kurdish
population, were denied citizenship. There was limited progress on laws
combating trafficking in persons. Violence and societal discrimination
against women and minorities continued, and workers' rights remained
restricted.
Impunity was pervasive and deeply embedded, as the government made
no attempt to punish, arrest, or prosecute officials who violated human
rights. Corruption was rampant throughout the government, and the
judiciary lacked independence.
According to government-controlled media, armed opposition groups
committed numerous conflict-related abuses. Given a lack of
corroboration, the uncoordinated nature of armed groups, and the
intensity of the conflict in many regions, it was extremely difficult
to confirm whether opposition groups had committed human rights
violations.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--During the year
there were thousands of reports of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of
life, many as a result of government actions against peaceful
prodemocracy protesters. Human Rights Watch (HRW), among other NGOs,
recorded testimony from several members of government security forces
claiming commanding officers ordered them to fire on protesters. The
U.N. reported that since the March protest began, more than 5,000
civilians had been killed by year's end, while UNICEF confirmed that at
least 386 children were killed in the same period. Activist groups
inside the country reported numerous undocumented deaths and alleged
that the regime arbitrarily killed hundreds of civilians with heavy
weaponry. According to reports, the regime fired antiaircraft guns at
civilians in several cities, including Homs in August, September, and
November. Eyewitnesses also reported the use of snipers in various
cities including Dara'a, Homs, Deir al-Zour, and Damascus and its
suburbs. Activists reported that victims were often chosen at random
and many of them were not associated with the protests. According to a
June 1 HRW report, on multiple occasions beginning in March, government
security forces shot and killed protesters in the southern governorate
of Dara'a and prevented injured protesters from receiving medical care,
resulting in many more deaths. Other NGOs reported similar events
elsewhere, as well as that security forces entered hospitals in order
to slow or interrupt medical care. The government also reportedly
tortured detainees to death. An August 31 Amnesty International (AI)
report detailed extrajudicial killings in detention facilities, noting
that at least 88 deaths were reported to AI between April 1 and 15 and
that there was evidence that torture caused or contributed to death in
at least 52 cases. The government claimed it had set up a commission to
investigate allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings, but at
year's end there was no evidence it was operational.
On the evening of April 17, unknown attackers killed 17 protesters
in Homs when they opened fire on a crowd mourning the death in custody
of a tribal leader. The government did not launch an investigation into
the incident, stating that members of the ultraconservative Salafist
Muslim organization were responsible, but antigovernment activists
maintained that government agents perpetrated the violence.
On May 24, one month after his disappearance, security forces
returned the body of 13-year-old Hamza Khatib to his family. On April
29, according to human rights observers, Khatib was arrested during
antigovernment protests in the southern city of Saida. Activists
reported that government security forces severely tortured, castrated,
and killed the boy. Videos of an unofficial autopsy showed a corpse
badly scarred and beaten with bullet wounds in both arms. There were no
arrests or prosecutions of those responsible for Khatib's death.
At year's end there were no known developments in cases of unlawful
killing from prior years, including Riyadh Ahmed Khalil, Wadee'
Sha'booq, and Yusuf Jabouli.
b. Disappearance.--Forced disappearances took place in previous
years; however, the number of disappearances reported increased
substantially after antiregime demonstrations began in mid-March. The
vast majority of disappearances reported by activists, human rights
observers, and international NGOs appeared to be politically motivated.
The regime targeted critics and antigovernment protesters. LCCs and the
international NGO Insan reported thousands of disappearances following
antigovernment protests. Detention without notification was common.
On April 22, for instance, 18-year-old Abdel Aziz Kamal al-Rihawi
disappeared from the Damascus suburb of Harasta after attending
antigovernment demonstrations. Insan reported that al-Rihawi had called
a relative and said that security forces shooting live ammunition were
preventing him from leaving the area. At year's end the government had
not provided any information about his disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code
provides up to three years' imprisonment for violations. Local NGOs
reported a substantial increase in the use of torture by authorities
subsequent to the onset of antigovernment protests in March. Activists
cited hundreds of credible cases of security forces allegedly abusing
and torturing prisoners and detainees, maintaining that many instances
of abuse went unreported. Some victims died as a result of torture.
Others declined to allow their names or details of their cases to be
reported for fear of government reprisal. Numerous NGOs, including the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), asserted that hundreds of
corpses returned to families during the year exhibited signs of torture
on their bodies. There were a significant number of exceptionally
brutal cases of abuse of children by the regime during the year.
The U.N. Commission of Inquiry's November 28 report included
numerous testimonies on sexual torture used on male detainees such as
beating of the genitals, forced oral sex, electroshocks and cigarette
burns to the anus, and repeated threats that they would be raped in
front of their family and that their wives and daughters would also be
raped. The commission also reported that former detainees witnessed the
presence of children younger than 10 in detention centers in various
locations run by the military and security forces and that torture was
applied equally to adults and children. Testimonies indicated that boys
in detention were subjected to sexual torture in front of adult men;
for instance, a 20-year-old man witnessed the rape of an 11-year-old
boy by three security service offers while another man witnessed a 15-
year-old boy being raped in front of his father. Former prisoners,
detainees, and reputable local human rights groups reported that other
methods of torture and abuse included electrical shocks, pulling out
fingernails, forcing objects into the rectum, beatings while the victim
is suspended from the ceiling and on the soles of the feet, alternately
dousing victims with freezing water and beating them in extremely cold
rooms, hyperextending the spine, bending the body into the frame of a
wheel and whipping exposed body parts, using a backward-bending chair
to asphyxiate the victim or fracture the spine, and stripping prisoners
naked for public view.
On March 6, local secret police arrested and tortured 15 boys
between the ages of 10 and 15 who had spray-painted revolutionary
messages on a wall in the southern governorate of Dara'a. Police
reportedly beat and burned the children and pulled out their
fingernails. When the boys' families marched on the governor's house to
demand their release, security forces opened fire on them, sparking
demonstrations and government actions in retaliation. Authorities
released the children after two weeks.
On September 10, the body of activist Ghiyath Mattar was returned
to his family with noticeable signs of torture. On September 6, air
force intelligence officers had arrested him in the Damascus suburb of
Daraya. There were no investigations by authorities into his death.
Berazani Karro, a Kurd who was reportedly tortured in detention and
sentenced to five years in prison in March 2010, was believed to have
been released.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Harsh and life-threatening
prison conditions were common, especially after arrests stemming from
the protests caused a substantial increase in the prison and detention
center population. The generally poor facilities did not meet
international standards for health and sanitation. Detention conditions
at security and intelligence service facilities were the harshest,
while those at the Ministry of Justice were less severe. Facilities
lacked proper ventilation, lighting, access to potable water or
adequate food, and sufficient sleeping quarters. Released prisoners
commonly complained of sickness and injury due to unacceptable
conditions. Reports of maltreatment and abuse of prisoners were very
common According to local and international NGOs, the government held
prisoners and detainees without adequate basic or emergency medical
care.
The government did not provide statistics on its prison population,
but NGOs highlighted overcrowding as one of the major problems in
prisons. Because of increased arrests and detentions during the year,
according to international media, authorities converted stadiums to
prisons for antiregime demonstrators in the coastal city of Banias and
the southern city of Dara'a. Activists asserted that the regime also
housed arrested protesters in factories and vacant warehouses that were
overcrowded and lacked adequate bathroom facilities.
The government reportedly held minors in adult facilities. Pretrial
detainees were usually held separately from convicted prisoners.
However, during the year they were often temporarily held together in
inadequate spaces. Facilities for political or national security
prisoners, especially accused Islamists, were generally much worse than
those for common criminals.
Each branch of the four security services operated its own
detention centers, and most cases of torture or mistreatment reportedly
occurred in these facilities. According to local NGOs, authorities
sometimes deliberately placed political prisoners in crowded cells with
convicted and alleged felons and subjected them to verbal and physical
threats. Political prisoners also reported they often slept on the
ground due to lack of beds, were subject to frequent searches, and
faced solitary confinement if authorities found them in possession of
impermissible items. Guards regularly eavesdropped on political
prisoners' conversations with their lawyers and visiting family
members. Some former detainees and human rights observers reported that
the government denied political prisoners access to reading materials,
including the Qur'an.
The LCCs reported that government security forces used excessive
force to quell several prison riots during the year. On June 22, for
example, security forces suppressed a general strike by prisoners in a
prison in Hassakeh. According to the LCCs, after prisoners took the
main prison square, security forces stormed the prison with tear gas
and live ammunition. Four people were reportedly killed as a result of
the operation. The government did not release any information on this
or any other prison riot during the year.
There were numerous examples of authorities failing to protect
those in custody. Several human rights groups reported that the regime
actively incited violence against political prisoners. On September 10,
SOHR reported that regime loyalists beat prominent activist Najati
Tayara in his prison cell in Homs. The 66-year-old Tayara was arrested
after he reported to Western media that the regime was ``shelling''
Homs in response to political protests against the regime.
According to NGOs, prisoners have the right to complain about harsh
treatment or conditions. However, there were no credible mechanisms or
avenues for prisoners to complain or submit grievances, and authorities
rarely investigated allegations or provided public documentation of
complaints or grievances. Activists reported there was no ombudsman to
serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees. There were no serious
attempts by the government to improve recordkeeping or use alternative
sentences for nonviolent offenders. Prisoners officially charged with
crimes had limited access to visitors, although most visits were
closely monitored by security officials. However, thousands of
prisoners detained without charge were held incommunicado in unknown
locations.
The government generally prohibited independent monitoring of
prison or detention center conditions; however, diplomatic and consular
officials had limited access in some cases. On September 6, the regime
allowed a high-profile visit from the staff of the International
Committee of the Red Cross, who toured the central prison in the
Damascus suburb of Adra and met with several prisoners.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention. In practice, however, these activities
persisted and were significant problems. In effect until April 19, the
Emergency Law authorized the government to conduct preventive arrests
and overrode constitutional and penal code provisions against arbitrary
arrest and detention, including the need to obtain warrants. After the
Emergency Law was technically lifted, security forces continued to make
arbitrary arrests and often accepted bribes to release those arrested.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities
did not maintain effective control over the four major branches of
security forces. Military Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence
report to the Ministry of Defense, the Political Security Directorate
reports to the Ministry of Interior, and the General Intelligence
Directorate reports directly to the Office of the President. The
Interior Ministry controls the four separate divisions of police
forces: emergency police, traffic police, neighborhood police, and riot
police.
Impunity was a widespread problem. The General Command of the Army
and Armed Forces may issue an arrest warrant in the case of crimes
committed by military officers, members of the internal security
forces, or customs police officers in the pursuit of their normal
duties; such cases must be tried in military courts. In practice there
were no known prosecutions or convictions of police and security force
personnel for abuse and corruption, and the security forces operated
independently and generally outside the control of the legal system.
There were no reported government actions to reform the security forces
or the police.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Warrants are
generally required for arrest in criminal cases. Upon arrest, the
individual is usually brought to a police station for processing and
detained until a trial date is set. The length of time a person could
be held without charge was unknown. At the initial court hearing, which
can be months or years after the arrest, the accused may retain an
attorney at personal expense or be assigned a court-appointed attorney,
although lawyers are not ensured access to their clients before trial.
The law provides for prompt access to family members, but NGOs and
families reported inconsistent application of the law, with some
families waiting as long as a year to see relatives. Civil and criminal
defendants have the right to bail hearings and possible release from
detention on their own recognizance. This right was not applied
consistently throughout the legal system and was rarely available to
pretrial detainees.
In cases involving political or national security offenses, arrests
were often carried out in secret with cases assigned in a seemingly
arbitrary manner to military, security, or criminal courts. Suspects
were detained incommunicado for prolonged periods without charge or
trial and denied the right to a judicial determination regarding
pretrial detention. In most cases detainees were not informed of
charges against them until their arraignment, which was often months
after their arrest. Security detainees did not have access to lawyers
before or during questioning or throughout the preparation and
presentation of their defense. Following the increase in civil unrest
in mid-March, many more suspects were accused of political and national
security offenses.
The government often failed to notify foreign governments when
their citizens were arrested or detained or after they had been
released or deported, especially when the case involved political
charges.
Arbitrary Arrest.--In effect until April 19, the Emergency Law
authorized the government to conduct preventive arrests and overrode
constitutional and penal code provisions against arbitrary arrest and
detention, including the need to obtain warrants. After the Emergency
Law was technically lifted, security forces continued their previous
practices and, in fact, arrested more individuals arbitrarily. There
were also several reports that the security services would arrest
relatives of a wanted person to pressure that individual to surrender.
Warrants and court orders were rarely issued or presented before an
arrest. Most detentions were made secretly at the order of one of the
security branches. Arbitrary and false arrests were common, and
detainees had no legal redress. Often the authorities cited no reasons
for arresting civilians.
Human rights observers and watchdog groups estimated that the
government arbitrarily arrested tens of thousands of citizens during
the year, most notably those who took part in antigovernment
demonstrations, but also alleged Islamists, Muslim Brotherhood members,
and civil society and human rights activists. Activists and
international humanitarian organizations stated that government forces
conducted security raids in response to antigovernment protests in
several towns and cities, including Dara'a, the Damascus suburb of
Muadamiyah, the coastal city of Lattakia, and the central cities of
Homs and Hama, arresting men between 16 and 50 years old.
On March 25, the secret police arrested a foreign engineer in
Damascus for filming antigovernment protests and held him in an
undisclosed location. Security authorities reportedly forced him to
make a taped confession broadcast on state television, where he said he
had sold photographs of demonstrations to a foreign government. On
April 1, he was released from custody without charge and allowed to
leave the country. The government did not notify his embassy of the
arrest or allow access to him.
Pretrial Detention.--Many people who disappeared were believed to
be either in long-term detention without charge or possibly to have
died while detained. Many detainees brought to trial had been held
incommunicado for years. A shortage of available courts and lack of
legal provisions for a speedy trial or plea bargaining also contributed
to lengthy pretrial detentions.
Amnesty.--There were two announced amnesties during the year, with
President Asad reportedly pardoning or reducing sentences of thousands
of prisoners of conscience as well as other prisoners. Several known
political prisoners were released, including Haithem al-Maleh and
blogger Kamal Sheikho; however, Shiekho was subsequently rearrested on
March 16 after engaging in a protest calling for the release of
political prisoners. HRW reported on December 27 that authorities
transferred hundreds of detainees to off-limits military sites to hide
them from Arab League monitors in the country.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but courts were regularly subject to political
influence, and outcomes of cases with political context appeared
predetermined. An estimated 95 percent of judges were Ba'athists or
closely aligned to the Ba'ath Party.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants before civil and criminal courts are
entitled to legal representation of their choice; the courts appoint
lawyers for indigents. Defendants are presumed innocent and are allowed
to present evidence and to confront their accusers. Trials are public,
except for those involving juveniles or sex offenses. Defendants can
appeal verdicts to a provincial appeals court and ultimately to the
Court of Cassation. There are no juries. Defendants and their attorneys
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Human
rights lawyers noted that in some politically charged cases, the
prosecution case files that defense lawyers were allowed to see did not
include any evidence.
Not all citizens enjoyed these rights equally because parts of the
family and criminal law are based on sharia and discriminate against
women. Some personal status laws use sharia regardless of the religion
of those involved.
On April 18, President Asad formally announced the dissolution of
the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), which conducted unfair,
nonpublic trials not subject to judicial appeal.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Throughout the year the
government detained critics and charged them with a wide range of
political crimes, including treason. The number of political prisoners
and detainees--both citizens and foreigners--was difficult to determine
due to the lack of official government information and because
different security services, each of which maintained its own
incarceration facilities, held significant numbers of such detainees.
Authorities refused to divulge information regarding numbers or names
of persons in detention on political or security-related charges. Local
human rights observers estimated that authorities arrested more than
10,000 political prisoners between March 15 and year's end, a marked
increase from the previous year. The figure included participants in
antigovernment protests. The government frequently held political
detainees in regular jails or in detention centers run by the security
forces for extended periods without charges or trials and did not
inform their families. The government tried such detainees in criminal
court.
During the year the government rearrested and briefly detained
several signatories of the Damascus Declaration (a statement of unity
by Syrian opposition figures issued in 2005), most notably Riad Seif
and Ali Abdallah. On June 17, after his May amnesty, security forces
rearrested Abdallah and subsequently released him on July 20. On May 5,
security forces rearrested Seif after he participated in antigovernment
protests in Damascus but released him after 10 days.
On February 14, the government sentenced 18-year-old blogger Tal
al-Mallouhi to five years in prison for the ``leaking of sensitive
information'' on her blog. Mallouhi was first arrested in 2009 and held
for more than one year without being charged or provided legal
representation and without access to her family. The secret trial took
place at the SSSC without independent observers.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil remedies for human
rights violations were in practice nonexistent.
Property Restitution.--Security forces routinely seized detainees'
property and personal items. Following the beginning of civil unrest,
confiscation of personal telephones, computers, and electronics by the
authorities increased sharply. According to local human rights
contacts, specific cases were too frequent to track. Security forces
did not catalogue these items in accordance with the law, and although
detained individuals had the right to retrieve them after their
release, authorities often did not return the property.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the Emergency Law
in effect until April 19 authorized security services to enter homes
and conduct searches without warrants if broadly defined security
matters are involved. After the Emergency Law was lifted, the practice
reportedly continued. Police bypassed the normal search warrant
requirement in most instances by citing security reasons or emergency
grounds for entry. Random home raids occurred in the large cities or
towns of most governorates, usually following large antigovernment
protests.
The government opened mail addressed to both citizens and foreign
residents and routinely monitored Internet communications, including e-
mail (see section 2.a.).
The government barred membership in some political organizations,
including Islamist parties, whose members were often arrested. The
government tolerated other illegal political parties (see section 3,
Elections and Political Participation).
The government actively targeted and arbitrarily arrested the
family members of government critics and human rights groups. On August
30, air force intelligence agents seized Yassin Ziadeh, the brother of
exiled activist Radwan Ziadeh. Activists reported that the government
targeted Yassin due to his brother's criticisms of the regime. At
year's end Yassin continued to be held incommunicado at an unknown
location and had not been charged. Composer Malek Jandali's parents
were killed in their home in Homs in retaliation for Jendali's
activities in the United States.
There were unconfirmed reports that security personnel forced
prisoners to watch relatives being tortured to extract confessions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--While the constitution provides for freedom of speech and the
press, the government virtually eliminated these rights in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--The government maintained broad discretion to
determine what constituted illegal expression, and individuals could
not criticize the government publicly or privately without fear of
reprisal. The regime also stifled criticism by invoking penal code
articles prohibiting acts or speech inciting sectarianism, and it
monitored political meetings and used informer networks.
Freedom of Press.--The government exercised extensive control over
local print and broadcast media, and the law imposes strict punishment
for reporters who do not reveal their government sources in response to
government requests. The government or the Ba'ath Party owned and
operated most newspaper publishing houses. A number of quasi-
independent periodicals, usually owned and produced by individuals with
government connections, were published during the year. The government
prohibited all Kurdish-language publications, although there were
credible reports that such publications were available in the country.
The government owned some radio and most local television
companies, and the Ministry of Information closely monitored all radio
and television news and entertainment programs to ensure adherence to
government policies. Despite restrictions on ownership and use,
satellite dishes were widely used, although the government jammed some
Arab networks.
The government owned or controlled nearly all book publishing
houses. Books critical of the regime were illegal.
Violence and Harassment.--As in previous years, government forces
detained, arrested, and harassed journalists and other writers for
works deemed critical of the state. Harassment included attempts at
intimidation, banning them from the country, having journalists
dismissed from their positions, or failing to respond to requests for
continued accreditation. Journalists were also subject to physical
attacks during the year.
There were increased reports of government harassment of foreign
correspondents covering the unrest in the country. The government
accused satellite channels, such as Al Jazeera, of distorting or
fabricating the facts, and the regime sponsored aggressive
demonstrations outside the embassy of Qatar, the country where Al
Jazeera is based. It was very difficult for correspondents to obtain
visas, although some of this eased in December. Government security
forces often followed and monitored foreign reporters throughout the
country.
On August 25, according to human rights observers, masked men who
reportedly were part of a proregime group kidnapped prominent
cartoonist and activist Ali Ferzat and broke both his hands so that he
could no longer draw, before leaving him by the side of the road with a
bag over his head. At year's end there had been no public
investigations or arrests related to the case.
Raghda Hassan, a writer and veteran activist arrested by security
forces in February 2010, was released early from prison during the
year.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--The government strictly
controlled the dissemination of information and prohibited most
criticism of the government and discussion of sectarian issues,
including religious and ethnic minority rights. The Ministries of
Information and Culture censored domestic and foreign publications
prior to circulation or importation and stopped circulation when
content was judged to be critical or sensitive. Publication or
distribution of any material security officials deemed threatening or
embarrassing to the government was prohibited. Censorship was usually
greater for materials in Arabic.
Local journalists exercised self-censorship on subjects such as
criticism of the president and his family, security services, or
Alawite religious groups. Foreign journalists who did not observe these
guidelines were barred from the country, and domestic journalists who
broke the rules and wrote on these issues were required to live outside
the country or risk being arrested upon their return.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The media law in force until August
25 prohibited the publication of ``inaccurate'' information,
particularly if it ``causes public unrest, disturbs international
relations, violates the dignity of the state or national unity, affects
the morale of the armed forces, or inflicts harm on the national
economy and the safety of the monetary system.'' Persons found guilty
of publishing such information were subject to prison terms ranging
from one to three years and fines ranging from 500,000 to one million
Syrian pounds (SYP) ($9,000 to $18,000). According to the new media law
issued on August 25, journalists could not be imprisoned for practicing
their profession; however, they could face fines of up to one million
SYP ($18,000) for speaking out against the regime.
Internet Freedom.--There were government restrictions on access to
the Internet and reports that the government monitored e-mail or
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could not engage without
prospect of punishment in the expression of views via the Internet,
including by e-mail. The government applied the media law, as well as
general legal code, to regulate Internet use and prosecute users.
The government often monitored Internet communications, including
e-mail, and interfered and blocked Internet service in various cities.
The security branches were largely responsible for restricting Internet
freedom. The government made no attempts to oversee or restrict the
security branches' monitoring and censoring of the Internet. Internet
blackouts often occurred on Fridays to coincide with the usual timing
of antigovernment protests. According to various groups, all of the
country's Internet service providers regularly blocked access to a
variety of Web sites. Observers estimated that approximately 180 sites
were blocked at one time or another, including the proreform Web site
All4syria.org and sites associated with Kurdish opposition groups, the
Muslim Brotherhood, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood, and antigovernment
Arabic newspapers such as Sharq al-Awsat.
On February 8, after nearly five years, the government lifted bans
on Facebook and YouTube; however, human rights observers reported the
government continued to impede the flow of information on government
violence out of the country, particularly YouTube images of protesters
being beaten, arrested, and killed. In December the government banned
the use or import of iPhones, which had been used by citizens to
document and share evidence of violence surrounding the protests. Human
rights activists believed the government often attempted to collect
personally identifiable information of activists on the Internet in
order to coerce or retaliate against them. Activists reported that they
were forced by authorities to turn over the passwords to their e-mail
and social media accounts, and that their Web sites and accounts were
subject to attacks by cybercriminals with allegiance to the government.
Opposition members and independent reports indicated that Internet and
mobile communications were cut off on a regional basis during key
moments of unrest.
On July 1, authorities arrested blogger Anas Al-Marawi after he
demanded that President Asad leave the country. He was released without
charge on August 28.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and cultural events. Teachers generally were not
permitted to express ideas contrary to government policy. Authorities
permitted slightly more freedom of expression at the university level,
but the government imposed restrictions on the ability of public
universities to associate with foreign cultural centers.
The Ministry of Culture banned and censored films and exercised the
right of approval over films shown at cultural centers operated by
foreign embassies.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of assembly, but
Emergency Law provisions superseded this right, and the government
continued to restrict freedom of assembly after the Emergency Law's
repeal. On September 6, President Asad issued Decree No. 110 amending
the law regulating peaceful protest. The amendment restored to the
government the broad powers it previously exercised under the Emergency
Law, and it criminalized demonstrations, increasing penalties for
violators from a fine of 5,000 SYP ($90) to as much as one year's
imprisonment plus a fine of 50,000 SYP ($900).
Ministry of Interior permission is required for demonstrations or
any public gathering of more than three persons. The ministry generally
did not respond to requests or approved them after the scheduled date
of the event. As a rule only demonstrations by the government,
government-affiliated groups, or the Ba'ath Party were authorized, and
these were orchestrated by the regime on numerous occasions.
The government used unnecessary force against peaceful
demonstrators on many occasions during the year, killing numerous
persons (see section 1.a.). For example, on March 16, family members of
prisoners of conscience gathered in a Damascus square to support those
detained. Within minutes of beginning, security officers dressed in
civilian clothing allegedly violently dispersed the silent vigil, which
included women, children, and the elderly, and detained at least 34
persons.
Freedom of Association.--The constitution permits private
associations but also grants the government the right to limit their
activities. In practice the government restricted freedom of
association, requiring prior registration and approval for private
associations. The government restricted the activities of associations
and their members, and the executive boards of professional
associations were not independent.
The government often denied requests for registration or failed to
act on them, presumably on political grounds. None of the approximately
14 local human rights organizations operated with a license, but many
functioned under organizations that had requisite government
registration. The government continued to block the multiyear effort by
journalists to form a regional Arab media association. On August 4,
President Asad issued a decree permitting the legal establishment of
independent political parties; the press reported several proregime
groups were establishing parties (see section 3, Elections and
Political Participation).
Under the authority of laws that criminalize membership and
activity in organizations that the government deems illegal, security
forces arrested hundreds of persons linked to local human rights groups
and prodemocracy student groups.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom
of movement ``within the territories of the state unless restricted by
a judicial decision or by the implementation of laws.'' In practice the
government imposed restrictions on in-country movement and foreign
travel. The government generally cooperated with the Office of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N. Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and other humanitarian
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers.
In-Country Movement.--The government maintained security
checkpoints, primarily in military and other restricted areas. Foreign
diplomats were not permitted to travel in most of the country, and
following the unrest, they were rarely granted permission to travel
outside Damascus.
Foreign Travel.--Although citizens are ostensibly free to travel
internationally, in practice the government limited freedom of movement
for foreign travel and emigration by requiring citizens to apply for
exit visas. In addition, the government often imposed travel bans on
oppositionists and human rights or civil society activists. Individuals
the government banned from traveling internationally during the year
included many of the Damascus Declaration members, political activists,
and bloggers. Human rights observers believed the actual number of
activists affected by a travel ban was in the tens of thousands and
increased throughout the year. Many citizens learned of the ban against
their travel only after they were prevented from departing the country.
The government usually applied travel bans without explanation for
their basis or duration, including in cases when individuals needed to
travel for health reasons.
The government often reported it had lifted a travel ban against a
certain activist but nevertheless prevented him or her from traveling
outside the country. For instance, on August 30, security officials
prevented Damascus Declaration leader Riad Seif from traveling,
although the government announced his travel ban had been lifted
earlier in the year. Seif was attempting to travel to Germany for
cancer treatment, but security officials alleged that he had suspicious
luggage and did not allow him on the plane.
In June President Asad reportedly placed a travel ban on his
cousin, Brigadier General Atef Najib, the head of the security forces
in Dara'a, in response to the use of excessive force there. There was
no report of any credible investigation by the government into state
security operations or any court rulings against Najib.
Women over age 18 have the legal right to travel without the
permission of male relatives, but a husband may file a request with the
Interior Ministry to prohibit his wife from departing the country.
Emigration and Repatriation.--Persons who have unsuccessfully
sought asylum in other countries and who have past connections with the
Muslim Brotherhood have been prosecuted upon their return to the
country. The law provides for the prosecution of any person who
attempts to seek refuge in another country to escape a penalty in
Syria. The government routinely arrested dissidents and former citizens
with no known political affiliation who tried to return to the country
after years or even decades in self-imposed exile. Emigrants who did
not complete mandatory military service could pay a fee to avoid
conscription while visiting the country. Persons of Syrian origin who
were born in a foreign country but were able to demonstrate service in
the army of the country of birth were exempt from military service
without payment.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Observers estimated there
were approximately 300,000 IDPs in the country with numerous media
reports on the increasing numbers of internally displaced persons due
to drought and political unrest. It was unclear whether there were laws
and policies in place in accordance with the U.N. Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement. The government provided limited food relief
through the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC). In cooperation with the
SARC, international organizations such as the World Food Program and
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
provided additional food and medical assistance. There were no
government resettlement efforts for IDPs.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws
provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has established a system for providing protection to
refugees. The government respected the UNHRC's eligibility
determinations regarding asylum seekers.
Nonrefoulement.--During the year the government forced at least 84
asylum seekers to return to where their lives or freedom may have been
threatened. The government also forcibly returned some Iraqi refugees,
including women whom authorities had arrested on charges of
prostitution, depositing them across the border in Iraq.
Refugee Abuse.--Incidents of refugee abuse occurred. For example,
in August military forces swept through the al-Ramel Palestinian
refugee camp in Latakia, forcing approximately 8,000 refugees to flee.
The population was displaced to the beach and to a nearby stadium while
the military terrorized the few residents who remained in the camp. The
refugees subsequently returned to their homes in the camp.
In October military forces detained a 15-year-old Iraqi refugee and
deported him back to Iraq without notifying the UNHRC. The boy claimed
he was raped and tortured in custody with electric shocks to extract
information on the alleged illegal activity of other refugees.
During the year the UNHRC assisted 711 refugee victims of gender-
based violence through several ``safe houses'' in Damascus that
provided accommodation, food, social counseling, vocational training,
and legal and medical services for refugee women and children who had
suffered any form of violence in the country or prior to their arrival.
Employment.--The law does not explicitly permit refugees, except
for Palestinians, the right to work. The government rarely granted
refugees a work permit; however, many refugees found work in the
informal sector as guards, construction workers, street vendors, and in
other manual jobs. U.N. agencies reported that security services
continued the practice of detaining Iraqi refugees for working without
a permit.
Access to Basic Services.--The law allows for the issuance of
identity cards to Palestinian refugees and the same access to basic
services provided to citizens. Iraqi refugees are also allowed access
to publicly available services, such as health care and education.
Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived solely from the father,
living or deceased. Following the 1962 census, approximately 120,000
Kurds lost their citizenship. The single-day census in 1962 was
ordained by legislative decree and executed unannounced to the
inhabitants of al-Hassake Province. Government justification for this
measure was to identify Kurds who had entered the country since 1945.
In practice anyone who was not registered for any reason or did not
have all the required paperwork became ``foreign'' overnight, and
anyone who refused to participate was recorded as ``undocumented.''
This process stripped some 150,000 Kurds of Syrian nationality. As a
result they and their descendants lacked identity cards and therefore
were unable to access government services, including health care and
education. They also faced social and economic discrimination.
Furthermore, stateless Kurds do not have the right to inherit or
bequeath assets, and their lack of citizenship or identity documents
restricted their travel to and from the country.
On April 7, President Asad issued Decree No. 49 declaring that
stateless Kurds in the Hassake Governorate registered as ``foreigners''
could apply for citizenship, and as of September 13, the Web site
KurdWatch reported that 51,000 stateless Kurds had received identity
cards indicating their citizenship. However, the decree did not extend
to the approximately 160,000 ``unregistered'' stateless Kurds, who
remained without a national identity at year's end.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Although the constitution provides the right for citizens to
peacefully change their government through elections, in practice they
did not have that right because elections were neither free nor fair.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--On
December 12, local council elections were held across the country. The
government claimed widespread participation, with upwards of 85 percent
voter turnout in some areas. However, reports from activists indicated
very low voter turnout and low public awareness of candidates running
for office.
The most recent presidential and parliamentary elections took place
in 2007. The government barred international election monitors from
entering the country to observe the elections. Local and international
human rights advocates found the elections neither free nor fair and
stated that they served to reassert the primacy and political monopoly
on power of President Bashar al-Asad and the Ba'ath Party. Although
some opposition groups estimated voter turnout in the presidential
election at significantly less than 50 percent, the government's
official statistics reported voter turnout to be 96 percent, and
President Asad reportedly won 98 percent of the vote. Outside observers
uniformly dismissed the voter statistics as fraudulent and not
representative of observed participation.
On September 28, President Asad issued Decree No. 374, forming the
Higher Committee for Elections, which is composed of five judges and
tasked with supervising the electoral process.
Political Parties.--The president and the Ba'ath Party suppressed
political opposition. The constitution provides that the Ba'ath Party
is the ruling party and ensures that it has a majority in all
government and popular associations, such as workers' and women's
groups. The Ba'ath Party dominated the 250-member People's Council. The
Ba'ath Party and nine other smaller satellite political parties
constitute the coalition National Progressive Front, the only framework
for legal political party participation for citizens. This changed on
August 4 when President Asad issued Decree No. 100, which allows the
establishment of political parties, although it forbids those based on
religion, tribal affiliation, or regional interests. Several political
groups tolerated by the government were planning to establish political
parties.
Membership in the Ba'ath Party or close familial relations with a
prominent party member or powerful government official assisted in
economic, social, or educational advancement. Party or government
connections made it easier to gain admission into better schools,
access lucrative employment, and achieve greater advancement and power
within the government, military, and security services. The government
reserved certain prominent positions, such as provincial governorships,
solely for Ba'ath Party members.
In practice the government tolerated some other political parties,
such as the Communist Union Movement, and it subjected members of other
parties, such as the Communist Action Party, People's Party, and Arab
Social Union, to harassment but not automatic arrest for membership.
Members of Islamist parties were subject to immediate arrest. Including
the Muslim Brotherhood and 12 Syrian Kurdish parties, there were an
estimated 30 illegal opposition political parties of varying sizes and
influence operating in the country.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women and minorities
generally participated in the political system without formal
restriction.
During the year a female vice president and three female cabinet
ministers were in office. Thirty of the 250 members of parliament were
women. In addition, the president had two high-ranking female advisors.
There are Christian, Druze, and Kurdish ministers in the
parliament. Alawites, the ruling religious minority, held greater power
in the cabinet.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively.
Corruption continued to be a pervasive problem in the police forces and
security services. During the year there were reports of prison guards
demanding bribes from prisoners and their visitors. Visiting family
members who paid higher bribes enjoyed visits to detainees without
police surveillance. Bribes reportedly ranged from 200 to 3,300 SYP
($3.60 to $60). Human rights lawyers and family members of detainees
said government officials in courts and prisons solicited bribes for
favorable decisions and provision of basic services. Traffic police
officers regularly solicited bribes from drivers, and child laborers
reported bribing police to avoid arrest.
Beginning in mid-March Rami Makhlouf, the wealthiest man in the
country and a cousin of President Asad, was the target of public anger
and a symbol of regime corruption. Makhlouf is believed to own majority
interests in several industries such as telecommunications, industry,
oil, and duty-free shops. In response to widespread protests, on June
16, Makhlouf publicly announced he would dedicate his assets and time
to charity work.
There are no public financial disclosure laws for public officials.
The prime minister's Central Commission for Control and Inspection is
the main administrative body responsible for coordinating and
monitoring public sector corruption. Each government body, including
the ministries, has a Control and Inspection Department that reports
directly to the Central Commission.
In previous years there were no laws providing for public access to
government information, and the government granted no access in
practice. The media law issued on August 25 provides for access to
information from ministries and other government institutions, but
there was no information about whether it was implemented during the
year.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government restricted attempts to investigate alleged human
rights violations and rarely cooperated with any independent attempts
to look into alleged violations. The government did not grant
permission for the formation of any domestic human rights
organizations. Dozens of such groups operated illegally in the country
and increased as a result of civil unrest throughout the year. During
the year there were reports that the government harassed domestic human
rights activists by subjecting them to regular surveillance and
imposing travel bans as they sought to attend workshops and conferences
outside the country. Domestic organizations reported that they rarely
received responses from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. The
government normally responded to queries from human rights
organizations and foreign embassies regarding specific cases by
reporting that the case was still under investigation; that the
prisoner in question had violated national security laws; or, if the
case was in criminal court, that the executive could not interfere with
the allegedly independent judiciary.
In general the government was highly suspicious of international
human rights NGOs and typically did not allow them into the country. As
a matter of policy, the government denied to international human rights
groups that it had committed any human rights abuses. The government
continued to bar HRW from visiting the country. It denied other
organizations access to several locations where government agents were
launching assaults on antigovernment protesters. Following the onset of
unrest in mid-March, the government also placed more restrictions on
humanitarian and aid organizations.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--The government failed to
cooperate with or grant access to the UNHRC's independent commission of
inquiry, explaining that it would examine the possibility of
cooperating with the commission once the work of its own independent
special legal commission was completed; however, there were no reports
that the government took steps to establish its own commission during
the year. The U.N. commission published its report on November 28.
While the regime permitted Arab League monitors to enter the
country, it restricted their access and movement. The majority of
participating Arab countries pulled their monitors from the mission due
to the government's impediments to the monitors' efforts and the
continued killing of civilians and other human rights violations.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equal rights and equal opportunity
for all citizens and prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status. The government did not enforce
the law effectively or make any serious attempt to do so.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--Rape is a felony, but the
government did not effectively enforce existing rape laws. There are no
laws against spousal rape. According to the law, rape is considered to
occur ``when a man forces a woman who is not his wife to have
intercourse'' and is subject to punishment of at least 15 years in
prison. The law further stipulates that the rapist faces no punishment
if he marries the victim. The victim's family sometimes agrees to this
arrangement to avoid the social stigma attached to rape. If the victim
is too young for marriage, the rapist receives a longer prison
sentence. Recent statistics on the incidence of rape were not
available; observers reported at least 1,300 cases in 2009.
The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and
violence against women went unpunished during the year. The majority of
domestic violence and sexual assault cases were not reported; victims
traditionally have been reluctant to seek assistance outside the family
for fear of social stigmatization. Observers reported that when some
abused women tried to file a police report, the police did not
investigate their reports thoroughly, if at all, and in other cases
police officers responded by abusing the women, including by sexual
harassment, verbal abuse, hair pulling, and slapping, particularly at
the criminal security branch at Bab Musallah in Damascus. Victims of
domestic violence have the legal right to seek redress in court, but
few did so because of the social stigma attached to such action.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Damascus continued to run a 24-
hour emergency shelter and telephone hotline for female victims of
domestic violence and reported that the police had been increasingly
helpful in referring women to the shelter. Additionally, the
Association for Women's Role Development, Oasis of Hope, and the Syrian
Family Planning Association provided family and psychological
counseling to battered women in Damascus.
Gender-based violence was an ongoing issue for the Iraqi refugee
population (see section 2.d.).
Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not specifically
prohibit ``honor crimes'' and in fact permitted judges to reduce usual
legal penalties for such crimes, as they often did in practice. The
government kept no official statistics on honor crimes; however, there
were numerous press and anecdotal reports of honor crimes throughout
the year. According to an Interior Ministry estimate from mid-2008 to
mid-2009, 38 honor crimes took place. NGOs estimated there were between
300 and 400 such killings during the year, since actual numbers were
likely higher than the number of cases reported. The media reported on
January 13 that a man tied up his unmarried, pregnant sister and forced
her to swallow pesticide, which killed her.
Sexual Harassment.--The law prohibits sexual harassment and
specifies different punishments depending on whether the victim is a
minor or an adult. Sexual harassment rarely was reported nor laws
against it enforced.
Reproductive Rights.--The government generally respected the basic
rights of couples and individuals to decide the number, timing, and
spacing of children free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
Apart from the general insecurity in the country and attendant economic
difficulties, there were no impediments to access to information on
family planning, contraception, and maternal health services, including
skilled attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential
obstetric care and postpartum care.
Discrimination.--The constitution provides for equality between men
and women and for the ``right of every citizen to earn his wage
according to the nature and yield of the work.'' However, a number of
sections of family and criminal law do not treat men and women equally.
In addition, only 22 percent of women participated in the formal labor
force, compared with 82 percent of men. In addition, women earned on
average one-fifth the salary of men. The government sought to overcome
traditional discriminatory attitudes toward women and encouraged
women's education by ensuring equal access to educational institutions,
including universities; nevertheless, women made up only 41 percent of
the tertiary education students. The Commission for Family Affairs,
Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor shared
responsibility for attempting to provide for equal legal rights of
women.
Personal status, retirement, and social security laws discriminate
against women. Under criminal law, if a man and woman separately commit
the same criminal act of adultery, the woman's punishment is double
that of the man's. For Muslims, personal status law treats men and
women differently. Some personal status laws mirror Islamic law
regardless of the religion of those involved in the case. A divorced
woman is not entitled to alimony in some cases, such as if she gave up
her right to alimony to persuade her husband to agree to the divorce.
In addition, under the law a divorced mother loses the right to
guardianship and physical custody of her sons when they reach the age
of 13 and of her daughters at age 15. Guardianship goes to the paternal
side of the family after the ages of 13 and 15, respectively.
Inheritance for all citizens except Christians is based on the
government's interpretation of Islamic law. Accordingly, Muslim women
usually were granted half of the inheritance share of male heirs. In
all communities male heirs must provide financial support to female
relatives who inherit less. If they do not, females have the right to
sue. During the year there were reports that in some regions custom
prevailed over the law, and women were denied any inheritance.
A woman's husband or any other male relative may request that his
wife's travel abroad be prohibited. Although official statistics were
not available, foreign embassies reported a number of such incidents
during the year.
Women participated actively in public life and were represented in
most professions, including the armed forces. Women were not impeded
from owning or managing land or other property. Various sources
observed that women constituted a minority of lawyers, university
professors, and other professions. Additionally, women were represented
in the judiciary, parliament, and high levels of government, including
six ministerial positions.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived solely from
the father, living or deceased. The government did not register the
births of some Kurdish residents, including stateless Kurds (see
section 2.d.). Failure to register resulted in deprivation of services.
Education.--The government provided free public education to
citizen children from primary school through university. Education is
compulsory for all children between the ages of six and 12. Noncitizen
children could also attend public schools at no cost but required prior
permission from the Ministry of Education.
In general Palestinians and other noncitizens, including stateless
Kurds, can send their children to school and universities; however,
stateless Kurds are ineligible to receive a degree documenting their
academic achievement.
Societal pressure for early marriage and childbearing interfered
with girls' educational progress, particularly in rural areas, where
the dropout rates for female students remained high.
Child Abuse.--The country lacked a formal law protecting children
from abuse. There were reports during the year of government forces
sexually assaulting, torturing, and killing children, usually
associated with antigovernment protests (see sections 1.a., 1.b., and
1.c.).
Child Marriage.--The legal age for marriage is 18 for males and 17
for females. However, a male 15 years or older and a female 13 years or
older may be married if a judge deems both to be willing parties to the
marriage, both are ``physically mature,'' and the fathers or
grandfathers of each consent. Although underage marriage has declined
considerably in the past decades, it was common and occurred in all
communities, albeit in greater numbers in rural and less developed
regions. UNICEF reported in 2009 that 15 percent of urban children and
12 percent of rural children were married.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The penal code stipulates
penalties for those found guilty of certain forms of child abuse
associated with trafficking crimes--namely kidnapping and forced
prostitution--both of which carry a penalty of up to three years in
prison. Rape of a child under the age of 15 is punishable by up to 21
years in prison. Premarital sex is technically illegal, but observers
reported that the law was not enforced. The law considers child
pornography a trafficking crime, but there was no information available
as to penalties provided or whether or not the law was enforced.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information see the Department of State's report on
compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well as country-specific
information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--There were an estimated 100 to 200 Jews living in
the country. Jewish leaders reported no acts of physical violence or
specific instances of anti-Semitism against, or harassment of, Jewish
persons. The national school curriculum did not include materials on
tolerance education or on the Holocaust.
On an opposition Web site, writer Osama Al-Malouhi made an
accusation of blood libel, stating that the Jewish people's tradition
of using blood to make matzah bread explains their support for conflict
under Syrian President Asad.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities and seeks to integrate them into the
public sector workforce, but the government did not effectively enforce
these provisions. The law protects persons with disabilities from
discrimination in education, access to health, or provision of other
state services, and it reserves 4 percent of government jobs and 2
percent of private jobs for persons with disabilities. Private
businesses are eligible for tax exemptions after hiring persons with
disabilities.
The government did not effectively implement access for persons
with disabilities to buildings, communication, or information.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is responsible for
assisting persons with disabilities and worked through dedicated
charities and organizations to provide assistance, often to promote
self-sufficiency through vocational training.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The government generally
permitted national and ethnic minorities to conduct traditional,
religious, and cultural activities, although the Kurdish population--
citizens and noncitizens--continued to face official and societal
discrimination and repression. However, the government used less
violence and arrested fewer Kurds than in previous years. Many
activists and opposition groups claimed that the government's marked
change in attitude toward the Kurds was an effort to manipulate
sectarian tensions for propaganda purposes. Unlike in previous years,
there were no reports of suspicious Kurdish conscript deaths in the
military, nor did government forces perpetrate violence during Kurdish
festivals such as the New Year (Nowruz) celebrations.
Although the government contended there was no discrimination
against the Kurdish population, it placed limits on the use and
teaching of the Kurdish language. It also restricted the publication of
books and other materials in Kurdish, Kurdish cultural expression, and
at times the celebration of Kurdish festivals.
Authorities continued enforcement of an old ruling requiring that
at least 60 percent of the words on signs in shops and restaurants be
in Arabic. Officials reportedly sent patrols into commercial districts
to threaten shop owners with closure if they refused to change the
names of their stores into Arabic. Minority groups--especially Kurds,
whom the government appeared to target specifically--regarded the step
as a further attempt to undermine their cultural identity.
After the start of the March uprising, the government utilized its
state-run television station to spread propaganda that the protesters
were Sunni Islamists in an effort to scare minority groups into
submission to the state.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizing
homosexual conduct states that any sexual act ``contrary to nature'' is
punishable by up to three years in prison. There were no reports of
prosecutions under the law during the year; however, reports indicated
that the government had arrested dozens of gay men and lesbians over
the past several years on vague charges such as abusing social values;
selling, buying, or consuming illegal drugs; and organizing and
promoting ``obscene'' parties.
Although there were no known domestic NGOs focused on lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender matters, there were several online networking
communities, including Facebook pages. Human rights activists reported
that there was overt societal discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity in all aspects of society.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Human
rights activists believed that the extent of the problem was widely
underreported.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides for the right to freedom of association, to form and
join unions, strike in all nonagricultural sectors, and to bargain
collectively. However, the government placed severe restrictions on
these rights, and workers could not establish unions that are
independent of the government. Ba'ath Party doctrine stipulated that
worker rights were protected through these quasi-official labor
organizations. The labor code does not apply to workers covered under
the Civil Service Law, under which employees neither have nor are
deemed to need collective bargaining rights, nor does it apply to
domestic servants, agricultural workers, NGO employees, or informal
sector workers. All unions must belong to the General Federation of
Trade Unions (GFTU), under Ba'ath Party domination. The GFTU controlled
most aspects of union activity, including which sectors or industries
can have unions. It also has the power to disband union governing
bodies. Union elections were generally free of direct GFTU
interference, but successful campaigns usually required membership in
the Ba'ath Party. The GFTU president was a senior member of the Ba'ath
Party, and he and his deputy could attend cabinet meetings on economic
affairs.
Threats of punishment and fines severely restricted the right to
strike. The law prohibited strikes involving more than 20 workers in
certain sectors, including transportation and telecommunication, or
strike actions resembling public demonstrations. Penalties included
fines and prison sentences, and the government could also impose forced
labor as punishment to individuals who caused ``prejudice to the
general production plan.'' As overt opposition to the government grew
during the year, some professional organizations, including lawyers'
syndicates in Damascus, Aleppo, and Daraa, conducted sit-ins protesting
political and security actions. Government forces quickly disrupted
these and arrested participants.
Because of the GFTU's close ties to the government, the right to
bargain collectively did not exist in practice. Government
representatives were part of the bargaining process in the public
sector, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor could object to,
and refuse to register, any concluded agreements.
Public sector unions did not normally bargain collectively on wage
issues, but union representatives participated with representatives of
employers from the government-affiliated Chambers of Industry and
Commerce and the supervising ministry in establishing minimum wages,
hours, and conditions of employment in the private sector. Workers
served on the boards of directors of public enterprises, and union
representatives were included on the boards. There were no reports that
any individual union, the GFTU, or any cooperatives exercised their
right to collective bargaining during the year.
The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector,
although past government repression dissuaded most workers from
exercising this right. Unrest and economic decline during the year
caused many workers to lose their private sector jobs, giving employers
the stronger hand in disputes.
There are no legal protections for self-employed workers, although
they compose at least 55 percent of the total workforce.
Foreign workers may join the syndicate representing their
profession but may not run for elected positions, with the exception of
Palestinians, who may serve as elected officials in unions.
While there were no reports of antiunion discrimination, a
mechanism to report this practice does not exist. Since unions and
professional syndicates are part of the government's bureaucratic
structure, the law protects union members from discrimination.
The free trade zones were exempt from the laws and regulations
governing hiring and firing.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not
prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and such practices
existed in the country. Employment agencies recruited thousands of
women--primarily from Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and
Somalia--to work as domestic servants. Many employers subjected these
women to excessive work hours, inadequate living quarters, restrictions
on movement and communication, and emotional and physical abuse.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
labor law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in
the workplace. The minimum age for most types of nonagricultural labor
is 15 years or the completion of elementary schooling, whichever is
older, and the minimum age for employment in industries with heavy work
is 17. Children under the age of 18 may work no more than six hours a
day and may not work overtime or during night shifts, weekends, or on
official holidays. In all cases parental permission is required for
children younger than 16 to work. Restrictions on child labor do not
apply to those who work in family businesses and do not receive a
salary.
The Labor Ministry reported that 500 children were involved in
child labor, while UNICEF estimated the number to be 650,000. Iraqi
refugee families--prohibited by law from working--relied on child labor
in the service sector or on small farms as their main source of income.
In August 2010, according to local media, the ministry announced
new provisions to prevent child begging and solicitation. The
provisions include fines ranging from 23,000 to 46,000 SYP ($414-$828),
but monitoring and enforcement measures are unclear. The unrest during
the year limited official attention to child labor and other
nonsecurity issues.
The Labor Ministry monitored employment conditions for persons
younger than 18, but there were too few inspectors to ensure compliance
with the laws. The Labor Inspection Department reportedly performed
unannounced spot checks of employers daily to enforce the law, but the
scope of these checks was unknown. Independent information and audits
regarding government enforcement were not available.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law divides public sector
monthly minimum wage into five levels based on job type and/or level of
education varying between 9,765 and 14,760 SYP ($176-$266). Benefits
included compensation for meals, uniforms, and transportation.
Weakening of the currency during the year reduced the purchasing power
of all salaries. Most public sector employees relied on the endemic
system of bribery. Private sector companies usually paid much higher
wages, with the lower end semiofficially set by the government and
employer organizations. Many workers in the public and private sectors
took additional manual jobs or their extended families supported them.
The Labor Ministry is responsible for enforcing the minimum wage.
The public sector workweek was 35 hours, and the private sector
workweek was 40 hours, excluding meals and rest breaks. Hours of work
could increase or decrease based on the industry and associated health
hazards. The law guarantees at least one meal or rest break totaling no
less than one hour per day. Employers must schedule hours of work and
rest such that workers do not work more than five consecutive hours or
10 hours per day in total. Employers must provide premium pay for
overtime work.
Only licensed employment agencies may recruit domestic workers from
abroad, and they are responsible for providing safe working conditions
for migrant domestic workers. The Labor Ministry is responsible for
regulating these activities, although the scope of oversight was
unknown. In large cities Asian domestic workers sometimes overstayed
their visas and continued to work in the country for years. The unrest
during the year stimulated a large-scale departure of foreign workers
as demand for services declined.
The labor code includes provisions mandating that employers take
appropriate precautions to protect workers from hazards inherent to the
nature of work. The Ministries of Health and Labor designated officials
to inspect work sites for compliance with health and safety standards;
however, such inspections were sporadic, apart from those conducted in
hotels and other facilities that catered to foreigners. The enforcement
of labor laws in rural areas was more relaxed than in urban areas,
where there were more inspectors. Workers may lodge complaints about
health and safety conditions with special committees established to
adjudicate such cases. Workers have the right to remove themselves from
hazardous conditions without risking loss of employment. However, the
law does not cover migrant workers, rendering them more vulnerable to
abuse.
__________
TUNISIA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tunisia is a constitutional republic. After the revolution that
deposed former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali's two-decade-long
regime on January 14, interim Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi first
led an interim government, followed by Prime Minister Beji Caid
Essebsi, who presided over the government and preparations for the
country's October 23 Constituent Assembly elections. The country held
free and fair elections on October 23 for the Constituent Assembly,
which was mandated to draft a new constitution and appoint a new
government. Civilian and military security forces reported to civilian
authorities.
Ben Ali's departure created an unprecedented opening for respect
for human rights in the country. Previous restrictions on freedoms of
the press, expression, assembly, and association under Ben Ali's 23-
year dictatorship largely ceased, and citizens enjoyed new liberties as
they prepared for and participated in the country's first open,
inclusive, and democratic election. Exiled political and human rights
activists returned, imprisoned political prisoners were released, and
civil society and human rights activists pursued their work without
government disruption or intimidation.
Women vastly increased their political participation, but they
continued to face significant societal barriers to their economic
participation. There were reports of security officials using excessive
force in arresting protesters, and poor prison conditions persisted.
There were also reports of security officials not following legally
established arrest procedures and continued concern about judicial
independence.
At year's end the government was pursuing legal action against Ben
Ali-era officials accused of committing human rights abuses, as well as
those suspected of corruption, but this process had not been completed.
Some individuals eluded prosecution by fleeing the country, including
Ben Ali.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
The National Fact-Finding Commission to Investigate the Abuses
During the Recent Period, established after Ben Ali's abdication and
led by Taoufik Bourderbala, estimated that 350 people were killed
between December 17, 2010 and January 14, 2011 by forces operating
under Ben Ali's command. The U.N. estimated at least 300 civilians were
killed during the unrest.
During a July demonstration in Sidi Bouzid, 14-year-old Thabet
Belkacem died when a bullet fired by security forces ricocheted and hit
him in the stomach. The police had fired warning shots in response to
Molotov cocktails thrown by the crowd. In early September security
forces in Metlaoui intervened to break up clashes between tribal
families. Police fired warning shots, one of which killed a 16-year-old
girl.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances. The government ratified the International Convention
for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in June.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The government ratified the Optional Protocol to the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading
Treatment or Punishment in June.
Multiple international organizations received first-hand accounts
of harsh physical treatment of individuals for participation in
demonstrations. For example, Human Rights Watch (HRW) observers
reported witnessing security officials using excessive force when
arresting protesters at demonstrations in Tunis on multiple occasions,
including during the March ``Kasbah II'' and the July ``Kasbah III''
sit-ins.
The government granted access for a visit by the U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez (see section 5). Following his week-
long visit in May, during which Mendez met with the interim government,
civil groups, and victims, Mendez confirmed that, while not widespread,
in some instances authorities had used torture.
In a break with previous years, actions by the judiciary indicated
that government officials would be held accountable for torture. On
November 29, a military tribunal sentenced former minister of interior
Abdallah Kallal to four years in prison for his role in directing a
violent crackdown in response to a 1990 coup attempt, which resulted in
the subsequent torture of military officials.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention
center conditions varied. HRW observed overcrowding at two prisons in
February but predicted conditions would improve after an amnesty freed
thousands of political prisoners detained during the Ben Ali era.
Prisoner rebellions seriously damaged 14 prisons, leading to
overcrowding in detention facilities that remained functional. In some
cases prisoners died after setting fires in their cells. In one case in
January, 42 prisoners in Monastir died in a prison, and in July two
prisoners in Kasserine died of smoke inhalation. According to the
Ministry of Justice, between January 15 and May 1, the total number of
prisoners in the country dropped from an estimated 31,000 to 21,000.
There was no information available on whether prisoners had access
to potable water, whether there are prison ombudsmen, whether steps had
been taken to improve recordkeeping or to use alternatives to
incarceration for nonviolent offenders, whether the conditions for
women prisoners were worse than those for men, whether prisoners were
permitted religious observance, whether prisoners could submit
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship, or whether
authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
There were reportedly 28 prisons for men and one prison for women, and
approximately 21,000 prisoners, including 400 women, were incarcerated.
According to officials, prisoners' personal space was inadequate at
just three to four square meters of space per prisoner. After a
February visit, HRW reported severe overcrowding and inadequate
opportunities for physical activity in Mornaguia prison. Prisoners are
allowed one family visit per week, three meals per day, one shower per
week, the receipt of food and property from family three times per
week, unlimited receipt of parcels and letters, and unlimited legal
visits. Adult prisoners were reported to have access to educational and
vocational training programs, although in practice only 10 percent had
access.
Following the January revolution, the government permitted access
to prisons by independent, nongovernmental observers for the first
time. Officials' February 2 decision to allow HRW to visit two prisons
effectively ended a 20-year ban on human rights organizations' access
to prisons. On May 14, HRW reported that the government was also
allowing human rights organizations' representatives to visit death row
inmates.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, although security forces did not always observe
these provisions in practice. There were several instances of
demonstrators and bystanders arbitrarily arrested and at times
arbitrarily detained in March, April, and May.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Interior has legal authority and responsibility over law enforcement,
but the Ministry of Defense assumed an increased role in the country's
internal security during the year at the request of the Executive
Branch. The Interior Ministry controls the police, who have primary
responsibility for law enforcement in the major cities; the National
Guard (gendarmerie), which is responsible for border security and
policing smaller cities and the countryside; the Directorate General
for National Security; and firefighters.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that police must have a warrant to arrest a suspect, unless
the crime committed is a felony or is in progress. The penal code
permits detention for as long as six days before arraignment, during
which time the government may hold suspects incommunicado. Arresting
officers must inform detainees of their rights, immediately inform
detainees' families of the arrest, and make a complete record of the
times and dates of such notifications. There were several reports that
police sometimes ignored those rules.
Detainees have the right to know the grounds of their arrest before
questioning and may request a medical examination. Detainees do not
have a right to legal representation during prearraignment detention.
The law permits the release of accused persons on bail, and detainees
have the right to representation by counsel during arraignment. By law
the government provides legal representation for indigents, although it
is unclear whether this was done in practice. At arraignment the
examining magistrate may decide to release the accused or remand the
prisoner to pretrial detention.
The law requires that pretrial detainees be held separately from
convicted prisoners, but the Justice Ministry reported that due to
overcrowding, pretrial prisoners were held with convicted prisoners.
In cases involving crimes for which the sentence may exceed five
years or that involve national security, pretrial detention may last an
initial period of six months and may be extended by court order for two
additional four-month periods. For crimes in which the sentence may not
exceed five years, the court may extend the initial six-month pretrial
detention only by an additional three months. During this pretrial
stage, the court conducts an investigation, hears arguments, and
accepts evidence and motions from both parties. Reports of mistreatment
during pretrial detention continued during the year, with multiple
activists reporting harsh physical treatment of individuals for
participation in demonstrations.
The Emergency Law enacted during the revolution remained in effect
throughout the year and police applied it when arresting demonstrators
who were deemed to be organizing without a permit. U.N. Special
Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez reported that an estimated 66 people,
including 22 minors, were detained for 12 hours after protests in May
without access to their lawyers or families and that they were forced
to kneel and remain in uncomfortable positions for extended periods.
Mendez also stated that he had seen evidence of people being kicked,
beaten, and burned with cigarettes.
Arbitrary Arrest.--There were several instances of demonstrators
and bystanders arbitrarily arrested. While there were no statistics
available on how many persons were arrested arbitrarily, there was
anecdotal evidence that arbitrary arrests occurred in Tunis in March,
April, and May.
Pretrial Detention.--There were no updated statistics on the
proportion of the prisoner population that remained in pretrial
detention. According to 2010 estimates, approximately 50 percent of the
prisoner and detainee population was in pretrial detention.
Amnesty.--On January 20, then prime minister Mohamed Ghannouchi
issued an amnesty for political prisoners. The amnesty applied to all
those who were imprisoned or prosecuted for crimes as a result of their
political or trade union activities, and approximately 800 political
prisoners were released after the amnesty went into effect on February
19. The International Association for the Support of Political
Prisoners reported that the last of the political prisoners, including
people charged and convicted under the previous regime's terrorism
laws, were freed in early March. There were differing numbers on how
many prisoners were granted amnesty during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an
independent judiciary; however, historically the executive branch and
the president strongly influenced judicial procedures, particularly in
cases involving political dissidents and oppositionists. Many of the
judges who had been appointed by Ben Ali retained their positions after
his overthrow.
Trial Procedures.--In civilian courts defendants have the right to
a presumption of innocence, public trial, and a trial by jury, as well
as the right to consult with an attorney or to have one provided at
public expense, the right to confront witnesses against them and
present witnesses and evidence, the ability to access government-held
evidence, and the right to appeal.
Military courts fall under the Ministry of Defense. Military
tribunals have the authority to try cases involving military personnel
and civilians accused of national security crimes. A defendant may
appeal a military tribunal's verdict to the civilian Supreme Court. In
prior years civilians accused of national security crimes have been
sentenced in military tribunals. The government ratified the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court in June.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of new
political prisoners or detainees during the year. Following the
promulgation of the General Amnesty Act for citizens involved in
political cases, in February the government granted amnesty to
approximately 500 political prisoners.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens are permitted to
seek civil remedies for human rights violations. The military courts
handled redress of alleged abuses by security forces during civil
disturbances during the revolution. Cases brought before civilian
courts did not move forward because officials, and sometimes civilian
judges, refused to cooperate in the investigations.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and in a departure
from prior years, the government generally respected these prohibitions
in practice.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Killings.--Police were deployed to disperse the protests during
demonstrations that began in mid-December 2010 and continued into early
2011. According to the U.N., at least 300 civilians were killed and
approximately 700 injured during the unrest, which included individuals
who died during prison riots. According to HRW, the majority of the 78
demonstrators reported dead in January were killed by police fire.
Investigations by the Fact Finding Commission on Abuses during the
Recent Period revealed that approximately 350 people were killed
between December 17, 2010, and January 14, 2011, by forces operating
under Ben Ali's command.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--After the constitution was suspended following the protests
that overthrew Ben Ali, the government removed many of the speech and
press restrictions that previously existed and abolished the powerful
Ministry of Information, which had served as the former regime's main
organ of censorship. Unlike in previous years, criticism of the
government was frequently published in online and print media. Despite
these changes, there were some reported incidents of authorities
suppressing speech and press critical of the government or failing to
protect the freedom of speech and press.
Freedom of Speech.--While the legal restrictions on free speech
were lifted, there were instances of government authorities failing to
protect citizens' right to free speech. In June activists complained
that authorities failed to respond expeditiously when protesters
disrupted the screening of the secular-themed film, Ni Allah, Ni Maitre
(Neither Allah, Nor Master), and harassed viewers.
Freedom of Press.--In May authorities arrested Samir Feriani, who
worked as a police officer in the Interior Ministry for 20 years, after
he published two letters in the newspaper L'Expert accusing an unnamed
ministry official of taking part in a crackdown on popular uprisings in
Sidi Bouzid and Kasserine. Feriani also claimed that the records of the
Palestine Liberation Organization, which was based in Tunis from 1982
to 1994, were destroyed following Ben Ali's departure. A military
tribunal acquitted Feriani on September 29 and released him
conditionally, but at year's end he faced charges in civil court of
defamation and causing public disorder in connection with his report.
The government issued more than 30 licenses for new television
channels. After years of requesting a license and having its Web site
hacked and archives destroyed in 2008, independent radio station Radio
Kalima received a license in June.
Violence and Harassment.--There were several reports of security
officials harassing or threatening journalists during street
demonstrations or protests. On May 5, police assaulted at least 15
journalists and chased them into the offices of the daily newspaper La
Presse.
Actions to Expand Press Freedom.--The government created two high
commissions to review Ben Ali-era press codes that stipulated which
topics press sources could cover and determined penalties for
violators. In February the interim government established the
Commission for Reform of the Media and Information, an independent
commission for media reform. The commission consulted with the
government and presented recommendations for a legal framework for
radio and television licensing. It also proposed establishing a new
public service broadcaster to disseminate information to the public and
allow for informed public opinion.
The new press code adopted in August abolished the criminalization
of both the defamation of state institutions and of publishing
offensive content about the president. The new law, however,
criminalizes ``defaming recognized religions'' and ``distributing false
information.'' The latter offense was invoked in May when police
officer Samir Feriani was arrested and charged with distributing
information ``likely to harm public order'' (see above).
Internet Freedom.--Widespread use of and access to the Internet and
social media sites was a major facilitating factor in sparking the
December 2010-January 2011 protests. An estimated 18 percent of youth
had a Facebook account, and since the fall of the former government,
Internet sites were no longer blocked. The government took several
steps during the year to end official Internet censorship. In May a
case was brought to court requesting the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI)
to filter pornography. A high court overturned the lower court ruling
requiring the ATI to filter pornography, ruling that there could be no
censorship of Web sites, including those with pornographic content. At
year's end the case was being appealed.
Web sites that were previously blocked, such as Reporters without
Borders and YouTube, were no longer censored. There were no government
restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the
government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and
groups engaged in the free expression of views via the Internet,
including by e-mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The new opening for freedom
of speech also allowed for frequent demonstrations, and the government
intervened in some demonstrations after they turned violent. In some of
these cases authorities either did not respond or were slow to respond.
Several demonstrations that turned violent or damaged personal property
involved Salafist extremists. One example was the heated accusations
against professors and students related to wearing short skirts and
whether or not the government should allow students to wear the full-
face covering, niqab (veil), at academic institutions. At Manouba
University in Tunis, for example, fundamentalists opposing the ban on
the use of the niqab interrupted classes and intimidated teachers.
Authorities initially did not intervene in an antiniqab ban sit-in but
then forcibly removed the demonstrators after Manouba's dean requested
protection for faculty and students. Cultural events deemed offensive
by religious fundamentalists were attacked on several occasions.
In June fundamentalists attacked a movie theater that was hosting
the opening screening in the country of the independent secular-themed
film Ni Allah, Ni Maitre. The fundamentalists broke the theater's
windows and the film screening was canceled. Despite the theater's
location two blocks from the Ministry of Interior, police were
reportedly slow to respond to the attack, and organizers complained
that police did not provide adequate protection despite their prior
acknowledgement of the potential for protests of the film to become
violent.
On October 9, violent extremists (allegedly Salafists) attacked the
offices of the private television station Nessma and the University of
Sousse in protest of the October 7 broadcast of the French-Iranian
animated film Persepolis that was followed by a debate on religious
fundamentalism. Nessma TV co-owner Nebil Karaoui subsequently issued a
public apology for airing the film. On October 14, unknown individuals
attacked Karaoui's home and on October 16, authorities arrested five
people in connection with the vandalism and attempted arson of his
house, although they were detained only briefly and not charged.
Karaoui and two employees were charged with ``undermining sacred
values.'' The trial was postponed, and Karaoui faced criminal charges
at year's end.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The constitution, although technically suspended after Ben
Ali's departure in January, allowed for the freedom of assembly. Since
the revolution, there have been spontaneous demonstrations, protests,
and strikes across the country. On January 14, the government enacted
an Emergency Law requiring all gatherings of more than three people
including rallies, demonstrations, and marches to apply for a permit at
least three days in advance. At year's end there were no accounts of
the government refusing permits. During the year there were several
instances of security personnel having violent confrontations with
protesters in which both civilians and police were injured or killed.
In July police harassed and chased demonstrators in Tunis who were
holding a sit-in calling for judicial reform because the event's
organizers had not applied for the required permit.
Freedom of Association.--Under Ben Ali, the law provided for
freedom of assembly and association, but the former government severely
restricted this right in practice. After Ben Ali's departure, the
government did not restrict the registration or work of private
organizations, political parties, or organizations of women,
minorities, or professionals. In the lead-up to the October Constituent
Assembly elections, 111 political parties were registered. The
Independent Elections Committee refused to register some parties
because they did not qualify for political party status under the 2011
Electoral Law.
A new draft law on associations was presented in August and
promulgated on September 24. It eliminates the penal dispositions in
the previous law as well as the prohibition on belonging to, or serving
in, an unrecognized or dissolved association. The registration
procedure has been eased, and it is more difficult for government
entities to hinder or delay the registration process. Most importantly,
the Interior Ministry can no longer abolish an association without
passing the case through the courts.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/
rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice. The government cooperated closely with the Office of the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees,
asylum seekers, displaced migrants, and other persons of concern.
International relief organizations praised the government's
humanitarian response to the influx of refugees, migrants, and
displaced persons from Libya.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the
government has not established a system for providing protection to
refugees. During the year the government kept borders open during civil
unrest in Libya, allowing more than a million Libyans and third-country
nationals to seek temporary safe haven and access to basic services.
Refugee Abuse.--There were two incidents in Camp Shousha, a refugee
camp for third-country nationals approximately eight kilometers from
the Tunisian-Libyan border, in which refugees and displaced migrants
were killed. On May 22, camp residents set fire to part of the camp,
killing four. On May 24, residents demonstrated against poor conditions
in the camp. Later that day, residents from the nearby town of Ben
Guerdane looted and set fire to the camp, resulting in three confirmed
deaths. Authorities were reportedly slow to step in and restore order
and security in the camps, and they continued to investigate the
incidents at year's end. Some testimonials from camp residents and
witnesses gathered by HRW in June state that the Tunisian military was
complicit in the May attacks on the camp, but there was no additional
information to corroborate this claim.
Durable Solutions.--The government cooperated with the UNHRC in its
efforts to identify durable solutions for third-country nationals who
fled Libya and could not be repatriated to their countries of origin.
These primarily included persons from Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and
Iraq. The UNHRC has referred some of these persons for resettlement in
other countries.
Temporary Protection.--During the year the government also provided
temporary protection to thousands of individuals who may not qualify as
refugees, although they were fleeing the conflict in Libya. In addition
to an estimated 100,000 Libyan refugees who registered with the UNHRC
in Tunisia, the government allowed more than 660,000 Libyans to enter
the country to seek short-term medical care and commercial
opportunities. It also provided temporary protection to more than
200,000 third-country nationals who had been working in Libya.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The constitution provides citizens the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercised their right to do so in
the country's first ever free and fair election. The interim government
established an Independent Elections Commission as well as a new
electoral code to elect the Constituent Assembly on October 23. The
government ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights in June.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Elections for the newly established Constituent Assembly took place on
October 23 and were judged by both international observer missions and
the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) as free, fair, and
transparent.
Political Parties.--After the revolution, the historically dominant
Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) party was dissolved and outlawed.
More than 100 political parties registered to run in the Constituent
Assembly elections. Those parties that did not receive accreditation
were rejected due to incomplete applications or because their programs
were found to be inconsistent with laws prohibiting discrimination and
parties based on religion. There were no reports of government
interference with the right to organize, stand for election,
publicizing views, or campaigning. Political party youth wings were not
restricted.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--There are no laws that
prevent women or minorities from voting or participating in political
life on the same basis as men or nonminority citizens. In an effort to
include more women in the electoral process, the government adopted a
candidate gender parity law in April, requiring political parties to
list an equal number of male and female candidates on electoral lists.
The law also stipulates that male and female candidate names had to
alternate in order to increase the opportunities for female candidates
to be selected. Women constituted 26 percent of the elected 217-member
Constituent Assembly. Three of 41 members of the new cabinet were
women.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government made some effort to implement these laws effectively.
During the year the investigation and prosecution of high-level and
wide-scale corruption that occurred during the Ben-Ali regime emerged
as the key legal issue facing the criminal justice system. A Fact-
Finding Commission on Cases of Embezzlement and Corruption, established
in late January, led efforts to identify corrupt practices and conduct
related investigations. The commission received an estimated 9,000
complaints, investigated allegations of corruption, and referred
credible cases the Ministry of Justice for prosecution. At year's end
105 cases had been transferred for prosecution, including alleged
financial, taxation, customs, land, and administrative crimes.
During the year there was no applicable law providing for public
access to government information. In December several Constituent
Assembly members presented a letter calling for ``open governance''
legislation, which would allow public access to government documents
and proceedings. At year's end the initiative was under review.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Operating space for domestic and international human rights groups
improved dramatically during the year. After the revolution, a variety
of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their
findings on human rights cases. Acting government officials were
increasingly cooperative and responsive to their views.
On September 9, the LTDH held its first national congress in 11
years after having been banned and repressed under the Ben Ali regime.
Prime Minister Beji Caid Essebsi attended the conference, the first
time a head of government attended an LTDH congress. During the year
the government granted international NGOs HRW and Reporters without
Borders permission to open offices in Tunis. These organizations were
permitted to freely conduct in-country research and investigations into
human rights issues, including prison visits.
U.N. and Other International Bodies.--On July 13, then minister of
foreign affairs Mouldi Kefi signed a host country agreement with the
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), marking the opening
in Tunis of the first UNHCHR field office in the Middle East and North
Africa region. From May 22 to 26, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human
Rights and Counter-Terrorism Martin Scheinin visited the country to
assess human rights improvements since the transition. In his report
Scheinin applauded the dismantlement of the Directorate for State
Security and commended the government's decision to ratify the
International Convention on Disappearances, the Optional Protocols to
the Convention against Torture, and the Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. From May 15 to 22, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan
Mendez conducted an assessment and reported that the government gave
him broad access to interview former government officials and victims
of alleged human rights abuses under the former regime.
Government Human Rights Bodies.--Shortly after Ben Ali's
abdication, then interim president Mbazza established the National
Fact-Finding Commission to Investigate the Abuses During the Recent
Period to investigate alleged cases of police abuse during protests
before and after Ben Ali's departure. The government-run commission was
supported by the Office of the Prime Minister, although a lack of human
resources reportedly constrained its work. The commission made 56
visits around the country to collect testimony from victims and
witnesses and catalogued 2,054 violations during the year. The
commission does not have prosecutorial power but gathers information
for historical recordkeeping. Taoufik Bouderbala, a lawyer and a former
president of the LTDH, is president of the commission, which is
composed of 17 people, including nine women.
According to Bouderbala's public statement on August 26 that,
despite former security chiefs' denials of the existence of snipers,
the commission's investigations corroborated allegations that some
shots fired at demonstrators during the revolution came from snipers.
He said that the commission had tried to summon (by correspondence)
security officials to testify, but that the requests remained
unanswered. Commission member Slaheddine Jourchi also said publicly on
August 26 that strong solidarity between security officers had been the
main obstacle in the commission's relationship with the Interior
Ministry.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender,
disability, language, or social status, and the government generally
respected this provision in practice; however, women face significant
barriers to their economic participation, and certain laws adversely
affected women.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The penal code specifically
prohibits rape, including spousal rape, and the government occasionally
enforced this law. There were no reports of prosecution for spousal
rape. Sexual assaults accompanied by acts of violence or threats with a
weapon are punishable by death; for other cases of rape, the prescribed
punishment is life imprisonment. Penalties were more severe when the
victim was under age 20 (see Children). Social and cultural pressures
often dissuaded sexual assaults from being reported.
Laws against domestic violence provide penalties for assault
committed by a spouse or family member that are double those for the
same crimes committed by an unrelated individual, but enforcement was
rare, and domestic violence remained a serious problem.
Sexual Harassment.--Sexual harassment was a problem, although there
were no data to measure its extent. Victims of sexual harassment are
required to file a complaint in criminal court where the allegations
are then investigated, though bureaucratic problems in securing
convictions occurred. According to the criminal code, the penalty for
sexual harassment is one year in prison and a 3,000 dinar ($2,000)
fine. Civil society groups criticized the law on harassment as too
vague and susceptible to abuse.
Reproductive Rights.--There were no reports of government
interference in the right of couples and individuals to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and
to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination,
coercion, and violence. Women had free access to contraception. In
collaboration with NGOs, the government maintained its policy of
keeping the national birthrate low through public awareness campaigns.
The government provided essential health care for women, including
skilled attendance during childbirth and treatment for sexually
transmitted infections, although some rural women did not have access
to these services. Several registered domestic NGOs also care for HIV-
infected individuals.
Discrimination.--Women faced discrimination under the law. Codified
civil law is based on the Napoleonic code, although judges often used
Sharia (Islamic law) as a basis for customary law in family and
inheritance disputes. Most property acquired during marriage, including
property acquired solely by the wife, was held in the name of the
husband. Customary law based on Sharia prohibited women from marrying
outside their religion. Application of Sharia inheritance law resulted
in discrimination against women, although some families avoided the
application of Sharia by executing sales contracts between parents and
children to ensure that daughters received shares of property equal to
those of sons. There was a double standard in Sharia inheritance law
based on gender and religion: non-Muslim women and their Muslim
husbands may not inherit from each other. The government considers all
children from those marriages to be Muslim and forbids those children
from inheriting from their mothers.
Female citizens can transmit citizenship to their children
regardless of the father's citizenship. On November 23, the government
amended the national citizenship code granting women married to
noncitizens the right to transmit their citizenship to their children
without official consent from noncitizen fathers.
The law explicitly requires equal pay for equal work and the
government generally enforced it in practice, but the law also allows
some female employees in the public sector to engage in part-time work
and receive two-thirds of their original full-time salary. The
government defended the law as allowing women to balance family and
professional life, but some women's rights advocates believed treating
women and men differently under the law was an infringement of women's
rights. Societal and cultural barriers significantly reduced women's
participation in the formal labor force, in particular in managerial
positions. Women in the private sector earned on average two-thirds
less than men.
On August 16, the government adopted a draft decree to lift
previous reservations to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women. A ``general declaration'' was
maintained, although it was not certain that all aspects of the
convention would be implemented if they were deemed to be in conflict
with Islam.
Children.--Birth registration.--Citizenship is derived by birth
from one's parents, and births are registered immediately.
Child Abuse.--No statistical information on child abuse was
published during the year, and no other statistical information on
child abuse was available.
Child Marriage.--The minimum age for marriage for both sexes is 18.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--Anyone who has sexual relations
with a girl under the age of 10 is subject to the death penalty. Anyone
who has sexual intercourse with a girl under 15 years old is liable to
six years' imprisonment. If the victim is over 15 years of age and
under 20 years, the penalty is five years' imprisonment.
International Child Abductions.--Tunisia is not party to the 1980
Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Jews live in Tunisia. A
few anti-Semitic acts were reported throughout the year, to which
authorities were generally responsive. In February a small crowd of
about a dozen people gathered in front of Tunis's synagogue and chanted
anti-Semitic slogans. A larger counterdemonstration promoting religious
tolerance was held several days later. The leader of the Jewish
community, Roger Bismuth, met with then prime minister Mohamed
Ghannouchi to discuss the incident and anti-Semitism in the country.
The Interior Ministry responded by condemning incitements to violence
and explicitly referenced the synagogue protests. In December the
government affirmed its policy that Jews were full citizens with equal
rights.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons with physical or mental disabilities and mandates that
at least 1 percent of public and private sector jobs be reserved for
persons who have disabilities; however, NGOs reported that this law was
not widely enforced, and many employers were apparently unaware of its
existence.
There was some discrimination against persons with disabilities in
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of
other state services.
A 1991 law, which remained in effect after the revolution, requires
all new public buildings to be accessible to persons with physical
disabilities, and the government enforced the law. Persons with
disabilities did not have access to most buildings built before 1991.
The government issues cards to persons with disabilities for benefits
such as unrestricted parking, priority medical services, preferential
seating on public transportation, and consumer discounts. The
government provides tax incentives to companies to encourage the hiring
of persons with physical disabilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs
is charged with protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) took steps to
accommodate voters with disabilities. The IEC's publicity campaign for
voter registration, which ran from July 11 to August 14, targeted such
voters; for example, television advertisements showed a woman using
sign language to encourage deaf voters to register. Another
advertisement featured a presentation in sign language by a young man
discussing why voting is important for the country's future. Billboards
promoting voter registration displayed a young man in a wheelchair
extolling citizens to vote. During the October 23 Constituent Assembly
elections, election observers noted infrastructure such as ramps at
polling stations and polling staff accommodating disabled voters in
accordance with electoral procedures.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual
activity remained illegal under the penal code, which criminalizes it
with sentences of up to three years in prison. There was anecdotal
evidence that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
individuals faced discrimination, including allegations that police
officers sometimes harassed openly gay persons and accused them of
being the source of HIV/AIDS. There were no known reports of persons
arrested for consensual same-sex sexual activity; however, a local LGBT
activist reported an uptick during the year in harassment of and
assaults by unknown individuals on persons perceived to be LGBT,
including multiple incidents in which individuals were followed to
their homes and assaulted by people the victims described as Salafists.
Human rights activists also alleged that government forces continued to
assault individuals perceived as LGBT.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law provides workers with the right to organize, form and join
unions, and strike, provided workers give 10 days' advance notice to
their federations and receive approval. The Ministry of Interior issues
unions permits to strike and hold demonstrations. The International
Trade Union Confederation and the International Labor Organization
characterized the requirement for strike notification as an impediment
to freedom of association. The right to strike extended to civil
servants, with the exception of workers in ``essential'' services, that
is, those jobs ``whose interruption would endanger the lives, safety,
or health of all or a section of the population.'' However, the
government had not issued a decree stipulating which services were
``essential.'' While the provision could potentially be misused, the
Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) reported that during the year the
right to strike was largely respected in public enterprises and
services and that the provision of ``minimum service'' during strikes
is subject to negotiations between unions and employers. The law
prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers and retribution against
strikers, and it protects the right to bargain collectively.
The government generally respected and enforced the laws
prohibiting retribution against strikers. Conciliation panels, in which
labor and management were represented equally, settled labor disputes.
Tripartite regional arbitration commissions settled industrial disputes
when conciliation failed. Representatives of the Ministry of Social
Affairs, the UGTT, and the Tunisian Association for Industry, Commerce,
and Handicrafts (UTICA) constituted the commissions' membership.
A committee chaired by an officer from the Labor Division of the
Office of the Inspector General approved all worker dismissals. The
committee was composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social
Affairs, UGTT, and the company dismissing the worker. Workers have the
right to reinstatement after dismissal for union activities. Following
the ouster of Ben Ali, the UGTT and UTICA reached an agreement about
the right to join a union and engage in union activities. The agreement
provides that employers may not harass or arbitrarily dismiss any
worker for joining a union and engaging in union activities.
Two labor federations emerged during the year in addition to the
UGTT, which had been the country's only recognized labor federation:
the General Confederation of Tunisian Labor (CGTT) and the Union of
Tunisian Labor (UTT). On February 1 and on May 1, the government
recognized the CGTT and the UTT, respectively.
Unions rarely sought advance approval in practice to conduct
strikes. Wildcat strikes (those not authorized by union management)
were commonplace throughout the year. The state of emergency did not
inhibit or prevent labor unions in the public and private sectors from
conducting strikes.
On September 6, the prime minister ordered the dissolution of the
Union of Internal Security Forces after its membership allegedly
conspired to oust the commander of the National Guard, Army General
Moncef Helali.
After Ben Ali's departure, the UGTT, CGTT, and UTT were independent
of the government and had the right to decide union leadership. They
were not explicitly aligned with political parties, but prominent UGTT
members played a role in the formation of the Tunisia Labor Party
(PTT).
The UGTT alleged antiunion practices among private sector
employers, including firing union activists and using temporary workers
to deter unionization. In certain industries, such as textiles, hotels,
and construction, temporary workers accounted for a significant
majority of the workforce. With the emergence of ``labor pluralism''
during the year, employers complained that negotiating bargaining
agreements had become more complicated. UTICA, along with the
government, continued to maintain an exclusive relationship with the
UGTT in reaching collective bargaining agreements. Collective social
negotiations were held only with the UGTT. The government tended to
ignore CGTT and UTT demands that their representatives be included in
tripartite negotiations. However, in the face of sporadic strikes,
walkouts, and sit-ins staged by the CGTT and UTT, individual companies
were compelled to reach settlements with these labor confederations.
Although the labor code covers temporary workers, enforcement efforts
were weaker than for permanent workers. Toward the end of the year
there was an upsurge in strike activity on behalf of temporary workers.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
forced and compulsory labor, and provides for penalties of up to 10
years' imprisonment for capturing, detaining, or sequestering a person
for forced labor. Some girls were subjected to domestic servitude
within the country, although the government did not report that such
practices occurred.
Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits the employment of children younger than 16. Persons under
18 are prohibited from working in jobs that present serious threats to
their health, security, and morality. The minimum age for light work in
the nonindustrial and agricultural sectors during nonschool hours was
13. Workers between the ages of 14 and 18 must have 12 hours of rest
per day, which must include the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In
nonagricultural sectors children between the ages of 14 and 16 may work
no more than two hours per day. The total time that children spend at
school and work may not exceed seven hours per day. The penal code
prescribes 10 years' imprisonment for capturing, detaining, or
sequestering a person for forced labor and up to two years'
imprisonment for forced child begging.
Labor inspectors from the Ministry of Social Affairs monitored
compliance with the minimum age law by examining the records of
employees. On occasion labor inspectors coordinated their spot checks
with UGTT and Ministry of Education officials. Officials from the
National Social Security Fund also conducted inspections of factories
and industrial sites to ensure compliance. According to representatives
of the National Committee on Child Labor, the Ministry of Social
Affairs investigated 485 complaints of suspected child labor abuses
during the year. Most pertained to young apprentices, age 15 and
younger, who were supposed to receive vocational training but instead
were doing manual labor. Authorities levied fines against 24 employers
for violating the law.
Young children sometimes performed agricultural work in rural areas
and worked as vendors in towns, primarily during the summer school
vacation. Child labor existed elsewhere in the informal sector,
particularly in the handicraft industry, and children reportedly worked
as mechanics in small shops or as street vendors of flowers,
cigarettes, and other small items. Adolescent girls worked as domestic
servants. A 2008 survey of 130 Tunis area domestic workers found that
52 percent were younger than 16, which violates the law.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings of the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides for a
range of administratively determined minimum wages. Effective June 17,
the government raised the industrial minimum wage to 286 dinars
(approximately $190) per month for a 48-hour workweek and to 246 dinars
($164) per month for a 40-hour workweek. On June 9, the government
increased the agricultural daily minimum wage from approximately eight
dinars ($5.50) to nine dinars ($6). On May 28, former minister of
social affairs Mohamed Ennaceur reported that 24.7 percent of the
population lived on less than $2 per day. Under former president Ben
Ali's regime, the poverty rate was calculated at $1 per day.
The law sets a maximum standard 48-hour workweek for most sectors
and requires one 24-hour rest period per week. For other sectors the
workweek is 40 hours with 125 percent premium pay for overtime. The law
prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. Depending on years of service,
employees are statutorily awarded 18 to 23 days of paid vacation.
Although there is no standard practice for reporting labor code
violations, workers have the right to report violations to regional
labor inspectors.
Special government regulations control employment in hazardous
occupations such as mining, petroleum engineering, and construction.
Workers were free to remove themselves from dangerous situations
without jeopardizing their employment, and they could take legal action
against employers who retaliated against them for exercising this
right. The Ministry of Social Affairs has responsibility for enforcing
health and safety standards in the workplace. Under the law, all
workers--including those in the informal sector--are afforded the same
occupational safety and health protections. However, enforcement of
these measures was inadequate. In addition to enforcing occupational
safety and health regulations, regional labor inspectors enforced
standards related to hourly wage regulations. The country's cadre of
380 inspectors inspected most firms approximately once every two years.
The government did not adequately enforce the minimum wage law,
particularly in nonunionized sectors of the economy. The prohibition
against excessive compulsory overtime was not always enforced.
Working conditions and standards generally were better in export-
oriented firms, which were mostly foreign-owned, than in those firms
producing exclusively for the domestic market. More than 500,000
people, the vast majority of whom were women, worked in the informal
sector, which labor laws did not cover and in which labor violations
were more prevalent. A 2008 survey of 130 domestic workers in the
greater Tunis region conducted by the University of Tunis, for example,
found that the majority received salaries below the minimum wage, 99
percent indicated that they lacked work contracts, 23 percent said they
were victims of physical violence, and 11 percent claimed to be victims
of sexual abuse. Temporary contract laborers complained throughout the
year that they were not accorded the same protections as permanent
employees. Among their complaints was abusive dismissal without cause.
There were no major industrial accidents during the year. Credible
data on workplace accidents, injuries, and fatalities were not
available.
__________
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven semi-
autonomous emirates with a resident population of approximately 8.5
million of whom an estimated 11.5 percent are citizens. The rulers of
the seven emirates constitute the Federal Supreme Council, the
country's highest legislative and executive body. The council selects a
president and a vice president from its membership, and the president
appoints the prime minister and cabinet. In 2009 the council selected
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi Emirate, to a
second five-year term as president. The emirates are under patriarchal
rule with political allegiance defined by loyalty to tribal leaders, to
leaders of the individual emirates, and to leaders of the federation.
There are limited democratically elected institutions and no political
parties. A limited, appointed electorate participates in periodic
elections for the Federal National Council (FNC). Citizens can express
their concerns directly to their leaders through traditional,
consultative mechanisms such as the open ``majlis'' (forum). The FNC, a
nonlegislative, consultative body, consists of 40 representatives
allocated proportionally to each emirate based on population. The
appointed electorate elected 20 on September 24, 2011 and the rulers of
the individual emirates appointed another 20 in mid-November. Security
forces reported to civilian authorities.
Three core human rights issues continue to be of concern: citizens'
inability to change their government; limitations on citizens' civil
liberties (including the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and
association); and lack of judicial independence. Although the
government took steps to expand political participation, political
parties are not permitted. The government continued to interfere with
privacy and to restrict civil liberties, including usage of the
Internet. Capacity and structural issues leave the judiciary
susceptible to political influence.
In contrast with 2010, there were no reports of torture during the
year, and there were no reports that flogging was employed as
judicially sanctioned punishment. There were, however, reports of
police and prison guard brutality during the year. Arbitrary and
incommunicado detention remained a problem. Although there were limited
reports of corruption, the government lacked transparency. Domestic
abuse of women remained a problem; however, police and social workers
addressed the issue in close coordination, with the presence of social
workers at police stations to communicate in private with victims of
violence. Women and noncitizens faced legal and societal
discrimination. Trafficking in persons continued, the government
restricted the rights of foreign workers, and abuse of foreign domestic
servants and other migrant workers remained a problem.
The government took steps to prosecute and punish officials who
committed abuses. Police who committed wrongdoing were held
accountable.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were no
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated
disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and there were
no known reports that government officials employed torture; however,
there were reports of police and prison guard brutality during the
year.
In March Ajman police arrested a 14-year-old Arab girl on charges
of adultery, subjected her to a virginity test, held her in solitary
confinement, and later jailed her with adult women after receiving
reports that she had met a 25-year-old man on her building's rooftop.
No further information was available at year's end.
In May domestic media reported that 13 police officers allegedly
beat and tortured three Pakistani prisoners, killing one and severely
injuring the others.
Sharia (Islamic law) courts had the option of imposing flogging as
punishment for adultery, prostitution, consensual premarital sex,
pregnancy outside marriage, defamation of character, and drug or
alcohol abuse. Caning in past years resulted in substantial bruising,
welts, and open wounds on those flogged. There were no reports that
punishments of this type were administered during the year.
On September 12, upon payment of 3.4 million dirhams (approximately
$925,000) in diya (blood money), the Sharjah Court of Appeal revoked
the death sentences of 17 Indian nationals convicted of murder in March
2010. In September 2010 local media reported the convicts claimed their
confessions were obtained after a severe beating by police in Dubai.
The government deported four of the former prisoners in November, but
13 others remain in the Sharjah Central Jail due to a travel ban
imposed because of other pending litigation against them.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied
widely among the emirates. There were reports of police and prison
guards mistreating individuals, particularly at the Bur Dubai police
precinct. On April 14, British and international media reported that a
British tourist died in police custody after Dubai police severely beat
him. A government investigation determined that he died of natural
causes. There were reports that prisoners with HIV did not receive
appropriate health care.
The government has not released statistics on prison demographics
and capacity since 2006. There was at least one report of a girl held
with female adults during the year. Some prisons were overcrowded,
particularly in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Prisoners had access to visitors,
but it was unclear if they were permitted religious observance.
Prisoners had access to potable water. Prisoners have a right to submit
complaints to judicial authorities; however, details about
investigations into complaints were not publicly available. Ombudsmen
cannot serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees. The government
stated that it inspected and monitored prison and detention center
conditions.
Police in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stated that nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross
had access to observe prison conditions if requested. Charitable NGOs
visited prisons during the year and were permitted to provide material
support but were unable to determine the welfare of the prisoners.
Members of the Emirates Human Rights Association (EHRA) met with
federal Ministry of Interior officials and prisoners during visits to
several detention facilities during the year.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were reports that the
government held persons in official custody without charge or a
preliminary judicial hearing. The Ministry of Interior detained foreign
residents arbitrarily at times. The law permits indefinite, routine,
and incommunicado detention without appeal. Under this procedure, the
detainee may contact an attorney but is not permitted to see friends
and family.
In June local authorities refused for more than a month to confirm
the detention of an American citizen being held by the State Security
Department. From June 1, until his deportation on September 14, he was
detained without charge and held incommunicado except for one consular
visit.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of
Interior oversees police general directorates in all of the seven
emirates; each emirate, under its corresponding police general
directorate, maintains its own police force and supervises police
stations. All emirate police forces are officially branches of the
ministry; in practice they operated with considerable autonomy. The
police forces are responsible for internal security and the federal
armed forces are responsible for external security. Local police are
semiautonomous.
The Ministry of Interior has broad authority to investigate abuses.
Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the local police
forces, and the government had effective mechanisms to investigate and
punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of impunity
involving security forces during the year.
On October 17, local press reported the prosecution of a 26-year-
old Dubai police officer charged with kidnapping and raping a Moroccan
woman in the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance. The trial
continued at year's end.
No information was available on the outcome of a August 2010 Dubai
court case involving a British woman allegedly raped and beaten by an
Emirati soldier.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police
stations received complaints from the public, made arrests, and
forwarded cases to the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor then
transferred cases to the courts. The law prohibits arrest or search of
citizens without probable cause; however, incidents occurred in
practice. There were reports that security forces failed to obtain
warrants in some cases. Police must report an arrest within 48 hours to
the public prosecutor, who then must determine within 24 hours whether
to charge, release, or further detain the suspect. In practice, the
public prosecutor did not always meet the 24-hour time limit, although
police usually adhered to their 48-hour deadline. Prosecutors are
required to submit charges to a court within 14 days of the police
report, at which point the detainee should be informed of the charges
against him; it was unknown whether this was true in practice. Public
prosecutors may order detainees held as long as 21 days without charge,
or longer in some cases with a court order. Courts may not grant an
extension of more than 30 days of detention without charge; however,
judges may renew 30-day extensions indefinitely. Public prosecutors may
hold suspects in terrorism-related cases without charge for six months.
Once a suspect is charged with terrorism, the Supreme Court may extend
the detention indefinitely.
There is no formal system of bail; however, authorities can
temporarily release detainees who deposit money, a passport, or an
unsecured personal guarantee statement signed by a third party.
Defendants in cases involving loss of life, including involuntary
manslaughter, may be denied release in accordance with the law. Some
prisoners, detained on charges related to a person's death, were
released after making a monetary payment (diya).
A defendant is entitled to an attorney after police have completed
their investigation. Police sometimes questioned the accused for weeks
without access to an attorney. The government may provide counsel, at
its discretion, to indigent defendants charged with felonies that are
punishable by imprisonment of 3 to 15 years. The law requires the
government to provide counsel in cases in which indigent defendants
face punishments of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Generally
authorities granted family members prompt access to those arrested on
charges unrelated to state security; however, some persons were held
incommunicado.
Arbitrary Arrest.--The government committed arbitrary arrests,
notably in cases that allegedly violated state security regulations. On
February 4, the State Security Department arrested Hasan Muhammed Al
Hammadi, an active board member of the Teachers' Association, after he
expressed support for demonstrators in Egypt during a mosque sermon in
Sharjah. The government held him in incommunicado detention in
Khorfakkan and later transferred him to Abu Dhabi. The government
released him on February 17 after he turned over his passport to
authorities. Arabic press reported that he may be charged under Article
182 of Federal Law No. 3 of 1987 for using religion to incite sedition
or acts threatening internal security, but no further information was
available about his case at year's end. The government later dissolved
the elected board of the Teachers' Association (see Section 5.
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental
Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights). Arbitrary arrest
also occurred during the detention of Ahmed Mansoor, (see section 1.e.,
Political Prisoners and Detainees).
Pretrial Detention.--According to reports, pretrial detention was
in some cases arbitrarily lengthy (see section 1.e., Denial of Fair
Public Trial).
Amnesty.--While there were no known amnesties during the year, on
religious and national holidays and after returning from long periods
of convalescence overseas, rulers of each emirate regularly pardon and
pay the debts of many prisoners. According to press reports, rulers
pardoned at least 4,192 prisoners and paid their debts during the year.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary; however, in practice court decisions remained
subject to review by the political leadership and suffered from
nepotism. There were reports that the State Security Department
intervened in judicial affairs. The judiciary was composed largely of
contracted foreign nationals subject to potential deportation, further
compromising its independence from the government. There was no
functional separation between the executive and judicial branches.
By tradition the local rulers' offices, or ``diwans,'' maintained
the practice of reviewing some criminal and civil offenses before they
referred cases to prosecutors. They also reviewed sentences judges
passed, returned cases to the court on appeal if they did not approve
of the verdict, and approved the release of every prisoner who had
completed a sentence. The diwans' involvement--usually in cases between
two citizens or between a citizen and noncitizen--led to lengthy delays
prior to and following the judicial process and lengthened the time
defendants served in prison. The diwan's decision in any court case is
considered final and, when a judge and diwan disagree, the diwan's
decision prevails.
Trial Procedures.--According to the law, defendants are presumed
innocent until proven guilty. The constitution provides the right to a
public trial, except in national security cases or cases the judge
deems harmful to public morality. As in countries with civil law
systems, there are no jury trials. Defendants have the right to be
present at their trial and a limited right to legal counsel in court.
While awaiting a decision on official charges at the police station or
the prosecutor's office, a defendant is not entitled to legal counsel.
In all cases involving a capital crime or possible life imprisonment,
the defendant has a right to government-provided counsel. The
government may also provide counsel, at its discretion, to indigent
defendants charged with felonies punishable by imprisonment of three to
15 years. The law provides prosecutors discretion to bar defense
counsel from any investigation. Defendants and their attorneys can
present witnesses and question witnesses against them, but this did not
always happen in practice. Defense counsel has access to relevant
government-held evidence. By law all court proceedings are conducted in
Arabic. Despite the defendant's procedural right to a translator, in
some cases involving deportation of illegal residents, the court
provided translation only at sentencing. The defense counsel often used
a translator to communicate with the defendant. In cases involving
foreign defendants, especially for crimes of moral turpitude,
authorities sometimes deported the defendants immediately based solely
on allegations.
Each court system has an appeals process. Death sentences may be
appealed to the ruler of the emirate in which the offense is committed
or to the president of the federation. In murder cases, consent of the
victim's family is required to commute a death sentence. The government
normally negotiated with victims' families for the defendant to offer
diya in exchange for forgiveness and a commuted death sentence. In
cases that end in acquittals, the prosecutor may appeal and provide new
or additional evidence to a higher court. An appellate court must reach
unanimous agreement to overturn an acquittal.
The case of an American citizen charged with financial crimes
valued in millions of dirhams continued at year's end, marking the
fourth year of incarceration without a conviction for the accused. The
courts and prosecutor's office continued to raise additional claims
against the defendant that required new rulings from the judge. The
courts granted bail to the Emirati codefendant but continued to deny
bail for the American citizen despite two earlier rulings that approved
the bail requests. These practices have kept the accused incarcerated
since 2008 without conviction while Emirati defendants in similar cases
were allowed to defend their cases outside incarceration in bail
status. The case remains ongoing. Foreigners charged with financial
crimes are, in some cases, permitted to defend their cases under bail
status at the judge's discretion.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there were
persons reportedly held incommunicado and without charge for unknown
reasons (see section 1.d., Arbitrary Arrest or Detention).
In April security forces arrested Ahmed Mansoor, Nasser Bin Ghaith,
Fahad Dalk Al-Shihhi, Hassan Ali Al Khamis, and Ahmed Abdulhaleq Ahmed
for publicly insulting the country's rulers through postings on an
online discussion forum. Several of the men had earlier signed a public
petition to President Sheikh Khalifa calling for universal suffrage in
the FNC elections and requesting full legislative authority for the
FNC. The government also charged Mansoor with perpetrating acts that
endanger state security and undermine the public order. In the group
trial, the three-judge panel of the Federal Supreme Court consisted of
noncitizen judges from Egypt and Syria who, according to defense
attorneys, did not appear at times to understand the Emirati Arabic
dialect. There were reports that the prosecution did not specify the
explicit acts of defamation that were used against the defendants, and
that the government did not provide an opportunity to the defense to
cross-examine some prosecution witnesses. Government officials
reportedly reviewed all written communication between the defendants
and their attorneys and monitored all conversations during jail visits.
On November 27, the court sentenced Mansoor to three years in prison
and his co-defendants to two years. The government pardoned all five on
November 28.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens and noncitizens
had access to the courts to seek damages for, or cessation of, human
rights violations. The civil courts, like all courts in the country,
lacked independence. Administrative remedies were available for labor
complaints and were particularly common in cases regarding physical
abuse of domestic workers.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits entry into a home without
the owner's permission, except when police present a warrant in
accordance with the law, but there were credible reports that security
forces occasionally failed to obtain warrants. Officers' actions in
searching premises were subject to review by the Ministry of Interior,
and officers were liable to disciplinary action if their actions were
judged irresponsible.
The constitution provides for freedom and confidentiality of
correspondence by mail, telegram, and all other means of communication.
However, there were reports that the government censored some incoming
international mail, tapped telephones, and monitored outgoing mail and
electronic forms of communication without legal process.
Local interpretation of Sharia prohibits Muslim women from marrying
non-Muslims and Muslim men from marrying women not ``of the book,''
meaning adherents of religions other than Islam, Christianity, and
Judaism.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the
press; however, the law prohibits criticism of rulers and speech that
may create or encourage social unrest, and the government restricted
the freedom of speech and press in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--After the onset of the Arab Spring, authorities
severely restricted public criticism of the government and ministers.
The government made several arrests reportedly related to a petition
for democratic reforms (see section 1.d., Arbitrary Arrests and section
1.e., Political Prisoners and Detainees).
In January 2010 authorities dismissed a government employee and
advisor to the Ras al Khaimah crown prince after the employee
criticized the lack of press freedom in the country. Authorities
confiscated the individual's passport in 2010 and did not return it.
Freedom of Press.--The government owned several of the country's
newspapers and heavily influenced the privately owned media,
particularly through government subsidies. Except for media located in
Dubai and Abu Dhabi's special free trade zones and foreign language
media targeted to foreign residents, most television and radio stations
were government-owned and conformed to unpublished government reporting
guidelines. Satellite-receiving dishes were widespread and provided
access to international broadcasts without local censorship.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--By law the National Media
Council (NMC), appointed by the president, licenses and censors all
publications, including private association publications. The law
authorizes censorship of domestic and foreign publications to remove
criticism of the government, ruling families, or friendly governments;
statements that ``threaten social stability"; and material considered
pornographic, excessively violent, derogatory to Islam, or supportive
of certain Israeli government positions. In April authorities removed
an unflattering feature on Dubai from newsstand copies of the
international magazine Vanity Fair. According to the NMC and Dubai
police officials, journalists were not given specific publishing
instructions; however, government officials reportedly warned
journalists when they published material deemed politically or
culturally sensitive. Journalists practiced extensive self-censorship
regarding the issues they chose to cover for fear of government
retribution, particularly since most journalists were foreign nationals
and could be deported. Some books perceived as critical of the
government were not available for sale in the country.
Libel Laws/National Security.--The government used libel laws to
suppress criticism of its leaders and institutions. No journalists have
received prison sentences for defamation since 2007. Other punishments
for violations of libel laws remained in force, including suspension of
publishing for a specified period of time and penalties of five million
dirhams (approximately $1.4 million) for disparaging senior officials
or royal family members and 500,000 dirhams (approximately $140,000)
for misleading the public and harming the country's reputation, foreign
relations, or economy.
On May 30, the Dubai Court of Misdemeanors acquitted British
journalist Mark Townsend in the August 2010 case in which he had been
charged with defamation for allegedly criticizing his employer, Khaleej
Times.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted access to some Web
sites and monitored chat rooms, instant messaging services, and blogs.
Self-censorship was apparent in many chat rooms and blogs, and local
media reported that the Ministry of Interior monitored Internet use in
cybercafes. In August Dubai police announced that individuals could be
imprisoned for forwarding or spreading information that insulted the
country's reputation or that were viewed as being capable of inciting
violence through instant messaging services or social media.
The country's only two service providers used a proxy server to
block material deemed inconsistent with the country's values, as
defined by the Ministry of Interior. Blocked material included
pornographic and other sites deemed indecent; dating and matrimonial
sites; gay and lesbian sites; sites concerning the Bahai faith; some
sites originating in Israel; and sites explaining how to circumvent the
proxy servers. The proxy servers occasionally blocked broad categories
of sites. The service providers populated their list of blocked sites
primarily from lists purchased from private companies, although
individuals could also report offensive sites to be blocked. Social and
politically oriented Web sites remained either blocked or modified
during the year. International media sites accessed using UAE internet
providers contained filtered content. The government also blocked some
sites that contained content critical of ruling families. The NMC was
responsible for creating lists of blocked sites. Service providers do
not have the authority to remove Web sites from block lists without
government approval. In February Facebook pages related to organizing
antigovernment protests were blocked. The government also blocked Voice
Over IP Web sites like Skype.
The law explicitly criminalizes the use of the Internet to commit a
wide variety of offenses and provides fines and prison terms for
Internet users who violate political, social, and religious norms. The
law also criminalizes acts commonly associated with ``cybercrimes,''
such as hacking, ``phishing,'' and other forms of financial fraud. The
law provides penalties for using the Internet to oppose Islam,
proselytize Muslims to join other religions, ``abuse'' a holy shrine or
ritual of any religion, insult any religion, incite someone to commit
sin, or contravene ``family values'' by publishing news or photos
pertaining to a person's private life or family.
During the year the government prosecuted online activist Ahmed
Mansoor and others for their online activities (see section 1.e.,
Political Prisoners and Detainees).
In August a British national was fined 3,000 dirhams (approximately
$800) for insulting her coworker and the holy Islamic month of Ramadan
on her personal Facebook page.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom and censored academic materials for schools. Official
permission was required for conferences that discussed political
issues, and organizations found it difficult to secure meeting space
for public events that dealt with contentious issues.
Cultural institutions typically avoided showcasing artwork that
critiqued the ruling regime or religion. In April Sharjah officials
fired the American director of the Sharjah Biennial art fair after
certain art pieces were deemed to be critical of Islam.
In November the International Bar Association held its annual
global meeting in Dubai. A few participants reported that authorities
almost cancelled the conference, only allowing it to proceed after
organizers removed certain programs from the conference agenda, such as
a panel on women and Islam.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution
provides for freedoms of assembly and association; however, in practice
the government did not respect these rights.
Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires a government-issued permit
for organized public gatherings. During the year authorities dispersed
impromptu, unpermitted gatherings or protests, at times arresting
participants. While there is no uniform standard for the number of
people that can gather, civil society representatives reported that
groups of four or more could be asked to disperse without a permit. In
practice the government did not interfere routinely with informal,
nonpolitical gatherings held without a government permit in public
places unless there were complaints. The government generally permitted
political gatherings that were aligned with the government's policies.
Freedom of Association.--Political organizations, political
parties, and trade unions are illegal. All associations and NGOs were
required to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and many
received government subsidies. Registration rules require that all
voting organizational members, as well as boards of directors, must be
Emirati citizens; this excludes almost 89 percent of the population
from fully participating in such organizations. Approximately 140
domestic NGOs--mostly citizens' associations for economic, religious,
social, cultural, athletic, and other purposes--were registered with
the ministry. More than 30 unregistered local NGOs that focused on
nonpolitical topics operated with little to no government interference.
Associations must follow the government's censorship guidelines and
receive prior government approval before publishing any material.
During the year the government dissolved the boards of directors of
two professional organizations (see section 5, Governmental Attitude
Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged
Violations of Human Rights).
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, emigration, and repatriation, and the
government generally respected these rights in practice; however, the
government imposed legal restrictions on foreign travel. The government
cooperated with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations on a humanitarian basis,
but it did not grant refugee status or asylum. The lack of passports or
other identity documents restricted the movement of stateless persons,
both within the country and internationally.
Foreign Travel.--Male citizens involved in legal disputes under
adjudication were generally not permitted to travel outside the UAE.
Custom dictates that a husband can prevent his wife, minor children,
and adult unmarried daughters from leaving the country by taking
custody of their passports.
Citizenship.--The government may revoke naturalized citizens'
passports and citizenship status for criminal or politically
provocative actions. On December 4, government authorities revoked the
citizenship of six members of the organization Dawat Al-Islah, some of
whom had signed a petition earlier in the year calling for an elected
parliament with executive powers.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--The country's laws do
not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status nor is there a
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the government
did not provide protection against the expulsion or return of refugees
to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on
account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a
particular social group, or political opinion.
Refugee Abuse.--The government continued to detain some persons
seeking refugee status, particularly Palestinians and non-Arabs, while
they awaited resettlement in third countries.
Access to Employment and Basic Services.--As access to employment,
education, and other public services is based on an individual's status
as a legal resident, refugees were not eligible for such benefits.
Stateless Persons.--Estimates suggested that an unverified range of
20,000 to 100,000 persons without any citizenship or proof of
citizenship (known as ``Bidoon") resided in the country. Most Bidoon
lacked citizenship because they did not have the preferred tribal
affiliation used to determine citizenship when the country was
established. Others had entered the country legally or illegally in
search of employment. Citizenship is derived generally from one's
parents; thus, Bidoon children born within the country's territory
remained stateless. Children of female citizens married to noncitizens
do not acquire citizenship automatically at birth, but their mothers
can obtain citizenship for the children after submitting an
application, which the government generally accepts. However, on
November 30, in the context of celebrating the UAE's 40th National Day,
President Khalifa announced that children of Emirati mothers married to
foreigners would have the right to apply for Emirati citizenship. A
foreign woman may receive citizenship through marriage to a citizen
after 10 years of marriage, and anyone may receive a passport by
presidential fiat.
The government has a naturalization process, and individuals can
apply for citizenship; however, there were no reports of stateless
persons receiving citizenship during the year. There were reports of
stateless persons being forced to accept third-country citizenship as a
means to gain a passport.
The Bidoon reportedly faced harassment by governing officials and
were vulnerable because of their lack of legal status. They faced
discrimination in employment and had restricted access to medical care
and education. Without passports or other identity documents, their
movement was restricted, both within the country and internationally.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law does not provide citizens the right to peacefully change
their government. Federal executive and legislative power is in the
hands of the Federal Supreme Council, a body composed of the hereditary
rulers of the seven emirates. It selects from its members the country's
president and vice president. Decisions at the federal level generally
represented consensus among the rulers, their families, and other
leading families. The ruling families, in consultation with other
prominent tribal figures, also choose new emirate rulers.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--While
there were no democratic general elections, on September 24, a 130,000-
member appointed electorate elected 20 members of the FNC, a 40-member
consultative body with no legislative authority. Seats in the FNC were
apportioned to each emirate based on population size. Each emirate
appoints a portion of the other 20 FNC members. Authorities expanded
the electorate from the 2006 election, in which they appointed only
6,689 Emiratis. The electorate appointment process lacked transparency.
Approximately 28 percent of eligible voters participated, electing one
woman among the 20 FNC members. There were more than 460 candidates,
some of whom publicly lobbied for greater legislative authority without
retaliation from the government.
Political Parties.--Citizens did not have the right to form
political parties.
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Although some traditional
practices discouraged women from engaging in political participation,
the government prioritized women's participation in the September FNC
elections and in other areas. Women constituted 46 percent of the
electoral pool, appointed by the emirates' rulers, and 18 percent of
FNC candidates. There were four women in the cabinet; seven women, one
of whom was elected, served in the FNC; and several women served as
public prosecutors or judges. In Sharjah six women served on the 40-
seat Consultative Council, reportedly one of the most active local
consultative bodies on women's issues, and women also served as
directors of local departments. A few women held nonfederal senior
government positions in the other emirates.
Except in the judiciary, religious and racial minorities, including
Shia, did not serve in senior federal positions. Many judges were
contracted foreign nationals.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and
the government generally implemented the law effectively. Government
corruption reportedly occurred at the administrative level. According
to some reports, individuals connected to the ruling families went
unpunished for corruption due to the lack of an independent judiciary.
Nepotism and corrupt financial and legal practices existed. There were
no financial disclosure laws for public officials. The Ministries of
Interior and Justice and the State Audit Institution were responsible
for combating government corruption.
On January 31, local press reported the prosecution of the Abu
Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority's (ADWEA) Insurance Section head,
along with four other officials, by the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court, for
accepting bribes worth 297 million dirhams (approximately $82 million).
On November 15, local press reported that the Abu Dhabi Criminal Court
of First Instance sentenced the former ADWEA insurance head to three
years' imprisonment and reparations of the 297 million dirhams along
with a fine of an additional 297 million dirhams (totaling
approximately $164 million). The court sentenced three officials to six
months' imprisonment and one official to three months' imprisonment.
All four were ordered deported as they are noncitizens.
The law provides for public access to government information, but
the government followed this provision selectively. Requests for access
usually went unanswered.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
The government generally did not permit organizations to focus on
political issues. Two recognized local human rights organizations
existed at the beginning of the year: the quasi-independent EHRA, which
focused on human rights issues and complaints such as labor rights,
stateless persons' rights, and prisoners' well-being and humane
treatment; and the government-subsidized Jurists' Association Human
Rights Committee, which focused on human rights education and conducted
seminars and symposia subject to government approval. Although a
government prosecutor headed the EHRA, it generally operated without
government interference, apart from the requirements that apply to all
associations in the country.
During the Arab Spring, after representatives from the Jurists'
Association and the Teachers' Association signed an online petition
calling for greater political reforms, the Ministry of Social Affairs
dissolved the boards of directors of both organizations and
reconstituted them with state appointees, stating that both groups had
violated laws forbidding organizational interference in politics or
matters of state security. The government directed and subsidized
participation by NGO members in events outside the country. All
participants must obtain government permission before attending such
events, even if they are not speakers, and the government could
restrict representatives of NGOs from traveling to conferences abroad.
The government did not allow international human rights NGOs to be
based in the country but allowed representatives to visit on a limited
basis. There were no transparent standards governing visits from
international NGO representatives.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution provides for equality for citizens without regard
to race or social status, and the law prohibits discrimination based on
disability; however, legal and cultural discrimination existed and went
unpunished. The constitution does not prohibit discrimination based on
gender or language, nor does it provide for equality for noncitizens.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape and
it is punishable by death under the penal code. The penal code does not
address spousal rape. The penal code allows men to use physical means,
including violence, at their discretion against female and minor family
members. Domestic abuse cases may be filed as assault without intent to
kill, punishable by 10 years in prison if death results, seven years
for permanent disability, and one year for temporary injury.
In general the government did not enforce such laws effectively.
Although domestic abuse against women, including spousal abuse,
remained a problem, and there were widespread and frequent reports that
employers raped or sexually assaulted foreign domestic workers, such
cases rarely made it to court. Furthermore, in Sharia courts the
extremely high burden of proof for a rape case contributed to a low
conviction rate. In addition, female victims of rape or sexual crimes
faced the possibility of prosecution instead of assistance from
government authorities. Victims of domestic abuse may file complaints
with police units stationed in major public hospitals. Social workers
and counselors, usually female, also maintained offices in public
hospitals and police stations. However, women often were reluctant to
file formal charges of abuse for social, cultural, and economic
reasons. Only Dubai had a domestic abuse center.
Sexual Harassment.--The government can prosecute harassment via the
penal code prohibition for the following: ``disgracing or dishonoring''
a person in public, punishable by a minimum of one year in prison and
up to 15 years if the victim is under the age of 14 years; ``infamous''
acts against the rules of decency, which carry a penalty of six months
in prison; or ``dishonoring a woman by word or deed on a public
roadway,'' which could result in up to one year in prison and a 10,000
dirham (approximately $2,725) fine. The government did not enforce the
law effectively.
Reproductive Rights.--Married couples had the right to decide
freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their
children, and to have the information and means to do so free from
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Fornication outside of marriage
is a crime. There was no information on whether men and women were
treated and diagnosed equally for sexually transmitted infections,
including HIV.
Discrimination.--Women faced legal and economic discrimination. The
government's interpretation of Sharia applied in personal status cases
and family law. The law forbade Muslim women to marry non-Muslims.
Unlike men, female citizens married to noncitizens did not
automatically pass citizenship to their children; however, this changed
slightly on the UAE's 40th National Day (see section 2.d, Stateless
Persons). The law permits a man to have as many as four wives. Women
normally inherited less than men under the government's interpretation
of Sharia. For example, a son may inherit double what a daughter
inherits when their parent dies.
In order for a woman to obtain a divorce with a financial
settlement, she must prove that her husband has inflicted physical or
moral harm upon her, has abandoned her for at least three months, or
has not maintained her upkeep or that of their children. Alternatively,
women may divorce by paying compensation or surrendering their dowry to
their husbands. Sharia law no longer applies to child custody cases. In
August 2010 the Federal Supreme Court adopted the ``best interests of
the child'' standard to determine which parent should receive custody,
regardless of Sharia law's prescription based on the child's age.
Fornication outside of marriage is a crime, and the government may
imprison and deport noncitizen women if they bear children out of
wedlock. Paternity denial was an emerging phenomenon in the courts. In
several instances, despite DNA tests proving paternity, the courts
could not force a man to accept paternal responsibility. In the absence
of an acknowledged father, the mothers of these children faced
potential legal charges of adultery, for which the punishment can be
lashing. However, there were no reports of such lashings during the
year.
No law prohibits women from working or owning businesses, and a man
has no right under the government's interpretation of Sharia to ban his
wife from working if she was employed at the time of their marriage;
however, anecdotal reports suggest that some husbands did so. Women who
worked in the private sector regularly did not receive equal benefits
and reportedly faced discrimination in promotions and equal wages.
While foreign men working in the country could obtain residency permits
for their families for three years, foreign women could obtain permits
only for a renewable one-year period.
Women constituted more than 75 percent of university students.
Federal law prohibits co-education in public schools and universities
except in the United Arab Emirate University's Executive MBA program,
and certain graduate programs at Zayed University. Several private
schools, private universities, and institutions were co-educational.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived generally
from one's parents. The government registered births of stateless
persons (Bidoon), but it did not automatically grant citizenship to
them (see section 2.d., Stateless Persons).
Education.--Education is compulsory through the ninth grade;
however, compulsory education was not enforced, and some children did
not attend school, especially children of noncitizens. Noncitizen
children could enroll in public schools only if they scored more than
90 percent on entrance examinations, which were given only in Arabic.
The government provided primary education free to citizens but not to
noncitizens. Public schools were not coeducational after kindergarten.
Girls and women generally continued to higher levels of education than
their male peers.
Child Abuse.--The law prohibits child abuse. It was reportedly not
prevalent, but there was some evidence that societal influences
prevented cases from being reported. The government provides some
shelter and help for child victims of abuse or sexual exploitation. In
April the government hosted a three-day meeting of the Virtual Global
Task Force, composed of law enforcement agencies from around the world
cooperating to protect children from online child abuse and sexual
exploitation. Newspapers frequently advertised the Ministry of
Interior's child abuse reporting hotline. In July Minister of Interior
Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced the establishment of the
Center for Child Protection within the ministry to develop policies and
strategic plans for family and child protection. At year's end, the
Dubai Foundation for Women and Children was working on the first
nationwide comprehensive study of child abuse.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--The law does not address female
genital mutilation (FGM), which some Somali, Omani, and Sudanese
foreign residents practiced although the practice is rare in the UAE.
The Ministry of Health prohibits hospitals and clinics from performing
FGM.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--The law criminalizes the sexual
exploitation of children, with a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Consensual sex is illegal outside of marriage, carrying a minimum
penalty of one year in prison. The penalty for sex with children under
the age of 14 is life imprisonment. Distribution and consumption of
child pornography is illegal (see section 6, Child Abuse).
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction. For information on international parental child abduction,
please see the Department of State's annual report on compliance at
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/
congressreport--4308.html, as well as country-specific information at
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html.
Anti-Semitism.--There were no synagogues for the small foreign
Jewish population in residence. Some news articles and editorials
contained anti-Semitic remarks. These expressions occurred primarily in
daily newspapers without government response.
Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons,
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination
against persons who have physical and mental disabilities; however, the
government was slow to implement and enforce the law.
Most public buildings provided some form of access for persons with
disabilities in accordance with the law.
Health care provided in the Ministry of Social Affairs' five
federal rehabilitation centers, as well as those in private centers,
reportedly was inadequate; the rehabilitation centers lacked qualified
individuals who specialized in physical and other medical therapies.
Rehabilitation centers focused almost exclusively on medical
rehabilitation for people with disabilities and failed to address the
need for vocational rehabilitation. Rehabilitation centers considered
individuals with disabilities as subjects of medical care and medical
``cures,'' which impeded social and economic integration and the
recognition of the individuals' human rights and human dignity.
Various departments within the Ministries of Labor, Education, and
Social Affairs were responsible for protecting the rights of persons
with disabilities, and the government effectively enforced these rights
in areas related to employment, housing and other entitlement programs.
The emirate of Abu Dhabi reserved 2 percent of government jobs for
citizens with disabilities, and other emirates and the federal
government included statements in their human resources regulations
emphasizing that priority should be given to hire citizens with
disabilities in the public sector. The employment of persons with
disabilities in the private sector remained a significant challenge due
to a lack of training and opportunities, a lack of public awareness,
and prevalent societal discrimination.
The Community Development Authority of Dubai, among other
government agencies, carried out some public awareness campaigns during
the year to improve understanding of sexual and psychological
harassment faced by children with physical and mental disabilities.
Officials overseeing the September 24 FNC election assisted voters
with disabilities, and polling stations had wheelchair ramps at both
the men and women's entrances. Moreover, a blind candidate from Sharjah
ran in the FNC election.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Approximately 89 percent of the
country's residents were noncitizens originating primarily from the
Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against noncitizens was
prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including
employment, education, housing, social interaction, and health care.
The law criminalizes commercial disputes and bankruptcy, which led
to discrimination against foreigners. In practice, these laws were
selectively enforced and allowed local Emiratis to threaten expatriate
business people and foreign workers with harsh prison sentences to
assure a favorable outcome in commercial disputes.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Both civil law and Sharia
criminalize homosexual activity. Under Sharia the death penalty is the
punishment for individuals who engage in consensual homosexual
activity. There were no prosecutions for homosexual activity during the
year. At times the government subjected persons to psychological
treatment and counseling for homosexual activity.
Cross-dressing is a punishable offense. The government deported
cross-dressing foreign residents and referred citizens to public
prosecutors.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS
and other diseases faced discrimination. There were credible reports
that government officials discriminated against prisoners with HIV by
not granting commuted sentences or parole that other prisoners with
similar records had received, and that HIV-positive prisoners did not
have access to appropriate health care in detention. Noncitizen
residents infected with HIV, hepatitis types B and C, tuberculosis, and
leprosy were denied all health benefits, quarantined, and deported.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The law does not permit workers to form or join unions. The law does
not prohibit strikes in the private sector, but it allows an employer
to suspend an employee for striking. The labor code forbids strikes by
public sector employees, security guards, and migrant workers. There is
no right to collective bargaining. In the private sector, individual
employment contracts must be approved by and registered with the
Ministry of Labor. The labor code does not apply to public servants or
domestic and agricultural workers.
At the request of an employer, the government may cancel the work
permit of and deport for up to one year any foreign worker for
unexcused absences over seven days or for participating in a strike.
No unions existed in the country. The government granted some
professional associations with majority citizen membership a limited
ability to raise work-related issues, to petition the government for
redress, and to file grievances with the government. These
organizations were required to receive government approval for
international affiliations and travel. Foreign workers may belong to
these professional associations; however, they do not have voting
rights and cannot serve on the organizations' boards.
Private sector employees may file collective employment dispute
complaints with the Ministry of Labor, which acts as mediator between
the parties under the labor law. Employees may file unresolved disputes
with the labor court system, which are in turn forwarded to the
conciliation council. In practice most cases were resolved through
direct negotiation. All foreign workers have the right to lodge labor-
related grievances with the Ministry of Labor. The ministry sometimes
intervened in disputes and helped negotiate a private settlement.
Public sector employees may file an administrative grievance or a
case in the civil courts to address a labor-related dispute or
complaint. There was no publicly available information on cases filed.
Protests and strikes took place, most of them illegal. Most worker
protests were related to unpaid wages and hazardous or abusive working
conditions. The government generally did not punish workers for
nonviolent protests or strikes, but it did disperse such protests
during the year. On January 26, police detained 74 workers in Dubai
during a strike by more than 3,000 employees demanding wage increases
from Arabtec, a construction company. The company agreed to a wage
increase and improved benefits for thousands of workers, but the
government deported the 74 detained workers.
On May 2, the government dissolved the board of the Teachers'
Association, an organization that represents and defends the rights of
teachers in the country (see section 5).
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, the government did
not effectively enforce the law, and such practices occurred,
predominantly involving migrant workers from South and East Asia
employed in construction or domestic work.
Migrant workers were subject to forced labor. Employers routinely
held employees' passports, thus restricting their freedom of movement.
While employer passport retention is illegal, few laborers filed
complaints. Migrant workers also were subject to nonpayment of wages,
threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Upon arrival to the country,
some foreign workers signed contracts that had lower salaries or
involved a different type of work than what was stated in contracts
signed in their country of origin, a practice known as ``contract
switching.'' There were reports that some female migrant workers were
forced into prostitution.
Some noncitizen domestic and agricultural workers were subject to
unpaid labor to repay their employers for hiring expenses, often in the
form of forced labor. In most of these cases, workers paid recruitment
fees in their country of origin and were responsible for repaying them
once beginning work. In some cases, employers withheld payment while
workers ``repaid'' expenses incurred by employers to sponsor the
worker; some employers did not pay workers even after these debts were
repaid. In other cases, workers who had taken out a loan to pay labor
recruiting fees in their home countries arrived in destination
countries and spent most or all of their salaries trying to pay either
the labor recruiters or loan sharks back, at times trapped in
unpleasant or exploitative work environments because of the incumbent
debt.
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
law prohibits employment of persons younger than 15 years and has
special provisions for employing persons between 15 and 18 years. There
were separate provisions regarding foreign resident children 16 or
older. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing these
regulations and generally enforced them effectively. Unlike in previous
years, there were no reports of foreign children who came to the
country under their parents' work permits and subsequently pressured to
work. The traditional practice of using Emirati children as camel
jockeys continued in some privately held races.
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons
Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no established minimum
wage. Salaries, which depended on the occupation and employer, were
estimated at around 400 dirhams (approximately $110) per month for
domestic or agricultural workers and 600 dirhams (approximately $164)
per month for construction workers.
According to the labor law, the workday is eight hours and the work
week six days. In practice, some service sector businesses did not
provide employees paid annual holidays. Legal provisions requiring
overtime pay and prohibition on excessive compulsory overtime exist.
However, these provisions only apply to employees under the auspices of
the Ministry of Labor and are not enforced. These provisions do not
cover workers in domestic services, agriculture and other categories
administered by the Ministry of Interior.
Domestic workers fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Interior and labor laws do not apply to them. The unregulated
conditions of domestic workers left them vulnerable to long hours and
underpayment.
The law requires employers to provide employees with a safe work
and living environment; however, the government did not uniformly
enforce health and safety standards during the year, although it did
increase monitoring and enforcement of labor laws and regulations.
Workers' jobs were not protected if they removed themselves from what
they considered to be unsafe working conditions. In 2010 the Ministry
of Labor employed 450 labor inspectors. Inspections of workplaces--
primarily construction sites--took place throughout the year, resulting
in fines for employers who violated workplace safety or midday break
rules. The ministry also employed language interpreters to assist
foreign workers in understanding employment guidelines.
The law and regulations provide for minimum rest periods and limits
hours worked depending on the nature of the work. The law mandates a
2.5-hour midday work break for most outdoor laborers between June 15
and September 15. The government routinely fined employers for
violating the midday break rule and published compliance statistics.
However, during July and August, the hottest months of the year, the
government exempted oil, asphalt, and cement companies from following
the law. In July local press reported that labor inspectors had visited
9,533 firms and had fined 34 firms for violations, reporting 99.7
percent compliance. In addition to being fined between 10,000 and
20,000 dirhams (approximately $2,725-5,450), offenders are barred from
obtaining additional work permits for between six months and a year.
During the year the government began implementing changes to the
labor code announced in December 2010 that eliminated the requirement
that foreign workers who wanted to switch jobs obtain a letter of no
objection from their employer. However, the change in regulation did
not apply to day laborers, construction workers, or domestic servants.
In January the government amended the labor law to allow employees
the option to work without an employment contract or, in cases in which
a contract was in force, to change employer sponsors after a maximum of
two years (and even within two years in certain cases) in certain
employment categories for improved job mobility.
Foreign workers frequently did not receive their wages from
employers on time, sometimes for extended periods. However, the
government's implementation of the Wages Protection System (an
electronic salary verification system) and fines discouraged employers
from not paying salaries to foreign workers under the auspices of the
Ministry of Labor. According to a January 9 press report, at least 3.3
million workers received their wages via direct deposit through the
Wages Protection System. The estimated 700,000 workers and 40 percent
of companies not yet enrolled were reportedly small businesses. The
Wages Protection System did not apply for foreign workers under the
authority of the Ministry of Interior, including domestic and
agricultural workers.
The Ministry of Labor operated a toll-free hotline in Arabic,
English, and Urdu through which workers were able to report companies
that violated break rules or delayed wage payments.
Despite the Ministry of Labor's efforts to improve housing
facilities, some low-skilled and foreign employees continued to face
substandard living conditions, including overcrowded apartments or
lodging in unsafe and unhygienic ``labor camps,'' which sometimes
lacked electricity, potable water, and adequate cooking and bathing
facilities. Construction of newer worker accommodations was ongoing.
Individual emirates enforced their own standards for minimum conditions
for labor accommodations.
Reports of migrant worker suicides continued, with reports linking
the deaths to poor working conditions, abusive employers, and heavy
debts caused by exploitative labor recruitment agencies, as well as by
low wages relative to the high cost of living.
During the year the press reported a number of cases in which
workers were injured or killed on job sites due to inadequate safety
measures. Although the law requires the government to monitor job-
related injuries and deaths, in practice the government registered the
cases but did not consistently follow up on them, although there was at
least one case of a significant court-ordered fine imposed for
negligence.
In Abu Dhabi, stricter enforcement of labor safety standards,
particularly in the construction industry, appeared to be having an
effect on the number of safety violations.
Domestic workers routinely were subject to physical, sexual, and
emotional abuse. There were reports that employers withheld the
passports of their domestic workers; in some cases, they prevented
workers from leaving the country. For example, on September 17, local
press reported a Filipina housemaid fled her employers' residence in
Umm Al Quwain after she was beaten regularly, burned with a hot iron,
and forced to work seven days a week without pay for three years.
__________
WESTERN SAHARA
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory and administers
Moroccan law through Moroccan institutions in the estimated 85 percent
of the territory it controls. However, the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario), an
organization that has sought independence for the former Spanish
territory since 1973, disputes Morocco's claim to sovereignty over the
territory.
There has been no census since the Spanish left the territory, but
the population was estimated to be more than 500,000, many of whom were
attributable to Moroccan in-migration. The indigenous population is
Sahrawi, (literally ``people of the desert'' in Arabic) who also live
in southern Morocco, in Algeria, and in Mauritania.
The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the northern
two provinces after Spain withdrew in 1975 and extended its
administration to the third province after Mauritania renounced its
claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently from
1975 until a 1991 ceasefire and the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping
contingent, the U.N. Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara, whose
mandate does not include human rights monitoring. In the late 1980s,
Morocco constructed a 1,250-mile stone and sand wall known as the
``berm'' that effectively marks the limit of its administrative
control.
In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario agreed to settle the sovereignty
dispute by referendum. The parties did not resolve disagreements over
voter eligibility and which options for self-determination
(integration, independence, or something in between) should be on the
ballot; consequently, a referendum never took place.
There have been several attempts to broker a solution since 2007 in
face-to-face negotiations between representatives of the two sides
under U.N. auspices. Morocco has proposed autonomy for the territory
within the kingdom; the Polisario has proposed a referendum in which
full independence would be an option. Meetings in January, March, June,
and July under the auspices of Personal Envoy of the U.N. Secretary
General for Western Sahara Christopher Ross did not yield significant
progress toward a permanent solution.
Morocco considers the part of the territory that it administers to
be an integral part of the kingdom with the same laws and structures
conditioning the exercise of civil liberties and political and economic
rights. Under the constitution, ultimate authority rests with King
Mohammed VI who presides over the Council of Ministers and approves
members of the government recommended to him by the prime minister. On
July 1, Moroccans adopted a new constitution and on November 25,
Morocco held legislative elections, which included Western Saharan
provinces. (For additional information on political developments in
Morocco, see the 2011 Morocco Human Rights Report.)
Apart from government action to restrict pro-independence views and
associations, overall human rights conditions in the territory tended
to converge with those in the kingdom. Several long-standing human
rights issues that continue to be of concern were related to pro-
independence activity, including limitations on the freedom of speech
and assembly, the use of arbitrary detention to quell dissent, and
physical and verbal abuse of detainees during arrests and imprisonment.
Widespread impunity existed, although the government prosecuted at
least one official who committed abuses. Corruption continued among
security forces and the judiciary. In addition, Sahrawis faced
discrimination in the application of the laws on prison visitation
rights and NGO registration.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There was one report
that a government security official committed an unlawful killing.
In December 2010 an off-duty policeman shot and killed Said Dambar,
a Sahrawi resident of Laayoune. Initially denied access to the victim's
body for several hours, Dambar's family later was told that he had been
drinking with the policeman when the latter's firearm accidently
discharged, shooting Dambar in the head. The family refused throughout
the year to bury his body until an independent autopsy had been carried
out to determine the circumstances of Dambar's death and clear him of
having consumed alcohol. On October 12, a court sentenced the policeman
involved in the killing to 15 years in prison, a sentence upheld on
appeal. Authorities, however, never authorized the independent autopsy,
and Moroccan administrative and law enforcement authorities regularly
harassed members of the Dambar family and demanded they bury Dambar's
body. Dambar's brother lost his eligibility for a position with the
Ministry of Finance on October 3 and was told by Ministry of Interior
representatives he would obtain the position once he buried his
brother.
Many international and local NGOs reported that violent
confrontations between Sahrawi protesters and Moroccan security forces,
which took place at Agdem Izik in Laayoune in October and November 2010
and resulted in 13 deaths and numerous injuries, exacerbated tensions
between the Sahrawi population and Moroccan authorities. The tensions
provoked incidents of violence throughout the year.
b. Disappearance.--There were no confirmed reports of politically
motivated disappearances, but NGOs reported several cases of arbitrary
arrest and detention for periods up to 20 days that they claimed
amounted to disappearances.
In the October 2010 case of Mohamad Abdellah Dayhani, plainclothes
police in Laayoune allegedly abducted Dayhani, whose family reported to
the NGO Sahrawi Collective of Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) that they
had received no information from authorities after inquiring about his
whereabouts at a police station. The government confirmed that Dayhani
had been arrested on terrorism charges but claimed it had followed due
procedure in the conduct of the arrest. According to authorities, on
October 27, Dayhani was sentenced to 10 years in prison for planning to
commit acts of terrorism.
Regarding the still-unresolved cases of disappearance dating to the
1970s and 1980s, the governmental National Council for Human Rights
(CNDH) continued to investigate claims of enforced and involuntary
disappearances. The CNDH acknowledged that due to a lack of evidence,
it likely will be unable to resolve 10 difficult cases. Sahrawi human
rights groups and families, on the other hand, claimed that at least
114 cases remained unresolved and that many more were unacknowledged.
As its predecessor, the Consultative Council for Human Rights
(CCDH), has done since 2000, the CNDH provided reparations during the
year to victims of human rights abuses, including monetary assistance,
vocational training, and medical insurance to Sahrawis or family
members of those who had disappeared or been detained during the 1970s
and 1980s. The CNDH continued to receive and investigate reparation
claims throughout the year, although NGOs claimed the 114 unresolved
cases had not been accepted by the CNDH for review. The CNDH stated it
had shifted focus from individual reparations to community projects,
although all the examples of such projects indicated by the CNDH were
located outside Western Sahara in internationally recognized Morocco.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--There were credible reports that security forces engaged
in torture, beatings and other mistreatment of detainees. Both
international and local NGOs continued to report abuses, especially of
Sahrawi independence advocates.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Allegations of abuse and
substandard prison conditions persisted.
The Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP), a local NGO consisting
of lawyers and activists promoting better conditions for prisoners,
stated that it regularly received complaints of physical abuse and
occasional reports of torture from the family members of inmates in
Laayoune Prison, the sole prison in Western Sahara. However,
independent verification of these claims was impossible as access to
the prison had been prohibited since 2008 for human rights NGOs. The
most common complaints alleged physical abuse, a lack of access to
health care, and the transfer of prisoners to locations far from their
families within Western Sahara and to internationally recognized
Morocco.
Human rights and pro-independence activists claimed authorities
falsely charged them with criminal offenses. Laws require authorities
to investigate abuse allegations for any individual facing prosecution
who requests an investigation, but local and international human rights
advocates claimed that courts often refused to order medical
examinations, or to consider medical examination results in cases of
alleged torture.
The 23 Sahrawis arrested during the November 2010 dismantling of
the Agdem Izik camp and subsequent violence in Laayoune remained in
custody during the year at Sale Prison near Rabat. Families of the
detainees complained that prison conditions were unusually harsh, with
limited family visitation rights and little access to health care,
proper food, and clean clothes. A December 9 CNDH prison visit led to
improved conditions for the detainees and the provisional release of
two of the detainees on health grounds. Throughout the year there were
continuing credible reports from many who were detained and
subsequently released-- as well as many of the families of those still
in custody--that security officials beat and otherwise abused them.
Domestic NGOs alleged that in numerous instances security officials
threatened detainees with rape.
NGOs that provide social or religious services to prisoners were
permitted to enter detention facilities, but not human rights NGOs.
Generally such visits were restricted to common areas within the
detention center with no access to prisoners in their cells. The
government reported 84 visits to detention centers in Western Sahara
during the year: judicial officials conducted 50, regional monitoring
commissions 11, and national NGOs 23. The OMP relayed complaints of
substandard prison conditions to authorities but was not allowed to
conduct its own investigations of these complaints. The CNDH also
received complaints but did not visit Laayoune Prison during the year.
In October the government reported that the public prosecutor and
magistrates had requested expert medical examinations for 19
individuals in both Morocco and Western Sahara, compared with 31
requests in 2010. An 11-member coalition of Moroccan NGOs reported that
52 Sahrawis arrested by security forces in connection with the November
2010 camp dismantlement and ensuing protests alleged police torture in
late 2010 and early 2011 and submitted requests for medical
examinations. The government's response to their requests remained
unknown at year's end.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention but security forces routinely ignored this in
practice.
At year's end, the 23 Sahrawis arrested during the dismantling of
the Agdem Izik camp and subsequent violence in Laayoune remained in
custody at Sale Prison near Rabat. The government issued no clear
charges other than police allegations that they were connected to the
deaths of 11 security service personnel during the riots. On November
10, the prisoners were referred to a military court, but no trial date
was set.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police impunity
remained a problem. According to several international, domestic, and
Sahrawi NGOs, the number of complaints filed against police by alleged
victims of human rights abuses increased. The government disputed the
alleged increase and provided statistics indicating that through
October, residents of Western Sahara filed 45 complaints against
authorities based throughout the territory. The judicial police and the
prosecutor investigated all 45 complaints but the prosecutor dismissed
32 due to lack of evidence. Thirteen cases remained under investigation
at year's end. International and domestic human rights organizations
claimed that authorities dismissed nearly all complaints relying only
on the police version of events.
The government stated that it increased security personnel training
in human rights and regularly coordinated with the CNDH to draw on the
expertise of its members. Human rights components are included in basic
training as well as in various educational milestones throughout the
careers of most security personnel. According to the government, some
prosecutions involved officers who allegedly committed crimes in the
territory; however, the number was unavailable because data was not
disaggregated by region. Past practice often left alleged abusers in
leadership positions or transferred them to other positions.
There were several cases of societal violence between Sahrawis and
residents who originate from internationally recognized Morocco. The
government reported that security forces responded adequately to
minimize violence, although Sahrawi activists alleged that the security
forces responded slowly and sometimes tacitly encouraged violence.
On February 25, during an international music concert in Dakhla,
groups of Moroccan youth entered the Sahrawi neighborhood of Oum Tounsi
and violent confrontations ensued. According to eyewitnesses, police
did nothing to stop the confrontations. The following day, a Sahrawi
demonstration protesting police inaction turned violent and began
targeting police and official-looking vehicles. Military forces were
ordered from outside Dakhla and finally brought the situation under
control. Fifteen persons were injured.
On September 25, a similar event occurred in Dakhla following a
soccer match between a local team and one from Morocco. Following the
match, fighting broke out that quickly pitted Moroccans against
Sahrawis. According to Sahrawi activists, when Sahrawi protesters began
chanting pro-independence slogans, security forces encouraged Moroccan
civilians to be more aggressive with the ``enemy.'' Fighting continued
on September 26, as Moroccan youth entered Sahrawi neighborhoods until
outside security forces restored calm. The two days of violence
resulted in eight deaths--including two members of the armed forces--
and dozens injured. Immediately following the violence, several dozen
Moroccans and Sahrawis were arrested of whom 14 were convicted and 17
remained in custody at year's end. Others were detained briefly and
released.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may
arrest an individual after a general prosecutor issues an oral or
written warrant; in practice, warrants occasionally were issued after
the arrest. Authorities denied defendants' access to counsel or family
members during the initial 96 hours of detention under terrorism-
related laws or 48 hours of detention for other charges, during which
police interrogated detainees and alleged abuse or torture was most
likely to occur. In many cases, including those not related to
terrorism, detainees were held incommunicado for several days and
granted limited or no access to legal representation. Under the
antiterrorism law, after the first 96 hours, two additional 96-hour
extensions are allowed with the written approval of the prosecutor.
Under the law a person may be detained without trial for as long as one
year while an investigating magistrate completes work.
Arbitrary Arrest.--NGOs claimed several cases of arbitrary arrest
and detention occurred for periods up to 20 days. Security services
commonly rounded up groups of individuals and detained them for several
hours or days without charges before releasing them. In many cases the
families of the detainees were not informed until after their release.
The 23 Sahrawis arrested during the November 2010 dismantling of
the Agdem Izik camp and subsequent violence in Laayoune remained in
custody during the year at Sale Prison near Rabat (see above).
Pretrial Detention.--Pretrial detention was a problem. Several NGOs
alleged that across Morocco and Western Sahara, at least 50 percent of
all detainees were awaiting trial. By the end of the year, 23 Sahrawis
had been in pretrial detention in Sale Prison for more than a year
after their arrest during the violence in Laayoune in November 2010.
Another 17 had been in custody for approximately three months after
their arrest during the September violence in Dakhla.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The government denied that
there were political prisoners or detainees and claimed all those
incarcerated had been convicted of or charged with crimes. However,
human rights and pro-independence groups alleged that there were up to
85 Western Saharan individuals held across Western Sahara and
internationally recognized Morocco whom they considered political
prisoners.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Moroccan law prohibits citizens
from criticizing Islam or the institution of the monarchy. It is also
illegal to voice opposition to the government's official position
regarding territorial integrity and Western Sahara. Most media outlets
and bloggers practiced self-censorship on these issues, and there were
no reports of government action against them for what they had written.
However, at least one blogger claimed that police had detained and
physically abused him for several hours while they demanded to know the
nature of his foreign travel and his contact with several diplomatic
missions in Morocco.
The government enforced strict procedures governing the ability of
NGOs and activists to meet with journalists. Foreign journalists needed
prior official approval from the Ministry of Communication before
meeting with pro-independence NGOs. There were no reports of
authorities barring journalists from traveling to Laayoune and no
reports of journalists being prevented from meeting pro-independence
activists.
Internet Freedom.--Moroccan and international media, including
Polisario-controlled television and radio from the Sahrawi refugee
camps in Algeria-- as well as satellite television, were available in
the territory. There was no indication that Internet access in the
territory differed from that in internationally recognized Morocco,
which was generally open. However, pro-independence bloggers assumed
they were monitored closely by authorities and felt the need to hide
their identity.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The Ministry of
the Interior required those wishing to hold public gatherings,
including demonstrations, to obtain permission for public assemblies.
Despite this requirement, sit-ins, demonstrations, and unauthorized
peaceful protests occurred. Authorities tolerated the majority of these
events, even those that were not authorized.
The government generally used administrative delays and other
methods to suppress or discourage demonstrations with political
overtones and prohibited or failed to accept requests from groups that
were associated with human rights activism or harbored pro-independence
opinions regarding the Western Sahara.
Several organizations with social and economic demands claimed
security forces prevented them from protesting during the period
surrounding the one year anniversary of the Agdem Izik camp
dismantlement from early October to mid-November. Authorities allowed
an unlicensed protest organized by human rights abuse victims of the
1970s-1990s, who had occupied the Laayoune CNDH office, to demand
compensation for the abuses they suffered during that time.
Pro-independence organizations and some human rights NGOs stated
that in recent years they have applied less frequently for legal
permits to engage in sit-ins and demonstrations because police rarely
granted the permits. The government reported that by the end of the
year, over 1,120 demonstrations or protests had been held in Western
Sahara. The majority of these related to socioeconomic issues such as
unemployment and housing concerns, but a few also had political
overtones, such as sit-ins by relatives of disappeared persons and
alleged political prisoners.
There were several instances of security forces using excessive
force against pro-independence demonstrators. Authorities violently
dispersed several protests throughout the year, resulting in dozens of
serious injuries to heads and limbs that required medical attention.
Victims of such abuse claimed that government authorities were slow to
respond to the formal complaints they filed.
Freedom of Association.--As in previous years, the government did
not allow the Sahrawi CODESA or the Association of Sahrawi Victims of
Grave Human Rights Violations (ASVDH) to register as official NGOs,
limiting their ability to raise funds domestically and internationally
and to secure space for public meetings. The CNDH invited the ASVDH to
join its executive council, which consists in part of members of civil
society. The latter refused on grounds that it would continue to seek
formal recognition as a registered NGO before it would consider joining
the council.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.
d. Freedom of Movement.--Unlike in the previous year, there were no
reports that the government restricted freedom to travel abroad. There
were no reports of the government revoking citizenship.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Moroccan citizens in the Western Sahara participated in Moroccan
parliamentary elections on November 25. National turnout exceeded 70
percent of registered voters, and local authorities in Western Sahara
regularly claimed that turnout in their region exceeded the national
average. There was no indication that the government prevented pro-
independence candidates from running; however, domestic observers
leveled accusations of government complicity in corruption, principally
vote buying, in some locations.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
Corruption among security forces and judicial officials was a
problem.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
A small number of international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally
were responsive to requests for meetings. The domestic NGOs
investigating human rights cases are usually those not recognized by
the government. Nevertheless, government officials occasionally
investigated cases raised by these NGOs.
In part as a response to international calls for better human
rights monitoring in Western Sahara, Morocco expanded the presence of
the governmental CNDH in the territory. On March 1, the CNDH opened an
office in Dakhla in October, complementing an existing one in Laayoune.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
Women.--Relatively little information was available on
discrimination against women in the territory. Women participated
actively in political and economic activities. Most Sahrawis in the
territory lived in urban or semi-urban environments, and their
circumstances paralleled the situation in internationally recognized
Morocco. In the November 25 communal elections, no women won seats on
local tickets in Western Sahara, although across both Morocco and
Western Sahara 60 women were elected on the national ticket.
Section 7. Worker Rights
The Moroccan labor code applies in the Moroccan-controlled areas of
the territory. The constitution and the labor code permit the right to
strike.
Moroccan unions covering all sectors were present in those areas
but were not active. The largest trade confederations maintain a
nominal presence in Laayoune and Dakhla. These include the Moroccan
Union of Labor, the Democratic Confederation of Labor, and the National
Union of Moroccan Workers.
There were no known labor strikes, other job actions, or collective
bargaining agreements during the year. Most union members were
employees of the Moroccan government or state-owned organizations.
Unions were also active in the phosphate and fishing industries. Wage-
sector workers in the territory earned up to 85 percent more than their
counterparts in Morocco as an inducement for Moroccans to relocate to
the territory. The government exempted workers from income and value-
added taxes.
The labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor, and there were no
reports that such practices occurred. Penalties for those who
perpetrate forced labor range up to four years' imprisonment, and
penalties for forced child labor are between one and three years in
prison. Labor inspectors assigned to labor delegation offices enforce
Moroccan labor laws. There are two delegations in Western Sahara, one
in Laayoune and one in Oued Eddahab.
Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in
Morocco. There were no reports regarding child labor in the formal wage
sector. There were reports of children working in family-owned
businesses and in the agricultural sector.
The minimum wage and maximum hours of work in the territory were
identical to those in Morocco. Occupational health and safety standards
were the same as in Morocco and enforcement was rudimentary, except for
a prohibition on the employment of women in dangerous occupations.
In practice during peak periods, workers in fish processing plants
worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days per week.
__________
YEMEN
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Yemen is a republic with a constitution that provides for a
president, parliament, and an independent judiciary. In 2006 citizens
elected President Ali Abdullah Saleh to another seven-year term in a
generally open and competitive election, but one characterized by
multiple problems with the voting process and the use of state
resources on behalf of the ruling party. Ali Abdullah Saleh led North
Yemen from 1978 until its unification with South Yemen in 1990 and the
unified Yemeni state through 2011. Saleh agreed to transfer power in
November, marking the first change in Yemen's leadership structure in
more than 33 years and setting in motion a two-year transition period.
Although the constitution provides for a separation of powers, until
the transition agreement, Saleh, his family, and close allies
maintained nearly exclusive control of the state apparatus. There were
significant instances in which elements of the security forces acted
independently of civilian control. Following the defection of a key
military commander in March, major components of the armed forces were
not under government control. Those remaining under de jure government
authority were for the most part under the direct control of the Saleh
family, rather than formal national authorities.
Large-scale demonstrations began on January 23 calling for the
removal of the Saleh family from power. The subsequent defection of
military units, an internal armed conflict between government and
opposition forces beginning in May, and President Saleh's refusal to
implement an internationally brokered transition agreement until
November 23 led to a prolonged period of upheaval that triggered a
severe economic decline, increased insecurity around the country, and a
humanitarian crisis. National institutions were ineffective or
nonexistent, and the independence of the judiciary was undermined.
Parliamentary sessions were not held between April and December,
restarting only after the signing of the transition agreement in late
November. With tensions continuing at year's end, although at a
decreased intensity after the start of the transition process, the
political stalemate and armed conflict between elites generally
resulted in a degraded human rights environment.
The most important human rights problems were government military
and security forces' violent reactions to citizens' efforts to
peacefully change their government, and the inability of citizens to
exercise the full range of their basic human rights.
Other major human rights problems included: torture and other
cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest
and detention; denial of fair public trials; lack of judicial
independence; limits on freedoms of speech, press, and assembly;
extremist threats and violence; restrictions on freedom of movement;
lack of transparency and significant corruption at all levels of
government; use of child soldiers by organized forces and tribal and
other informal militias; and restrictions on worker rights.
Impunity was persistent and pervasive. The government did not
undertake credible investigations or prosecutions of officials for
human rights abuses. Government officials implicated in serious human
rights violations remained in their positions at the end of the year.
Nongovernmental actors engaged in internal armed conflict with
government forces and proxies and committed abuses related to
traditional tribal conflicts or simple criminality. Multiple armed
groups, including opposition and progovernment tribal militias,
regionally and religiously oriented insurgents, terrorist groups
including Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), military units that
had defected, and government-sponsored ``thugs,'' perpetrated numerous
human rights abuses. Principal among these were arbitrary killings,
unlawful detentions, and use of excessive force, often in heavily
populated urban areas, where combatants employed artillery, rockets,
and sometimes tanks, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of
persons.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--There were numerous
reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or
unlawful killings. Government forces and proxies responded with
excessive force to Arab Spring-inspired opposition demonstrations, as
well as to demonstrations seeking greater autonomy in the southern
governorates. Excessive force was also used in internal armed conflicts
in Sana'a, Ta'iz, Zinjibar, and elsewhere, resulting in the killing of
civilian bystanders (see sections 1.g. and 2.b.).
Although there were no reports of abuses by regular army units,
internal security forces such as the Central Security Forces (CSF), and
members of special military units, particularly the Republican Guard,
repeatedly used lethal force against opposition protesters seeking the
ouster of President Saleh. Non-uniformed pro-Saleh gunmen, who
according to credible sources received payment and weapons from regime
figures, also killed and injured opposition protesters.
According to a September 16 report of the U.N. Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ``many Yemenis peacefully
calling for greater freedom, an end to corruption, and respect for rule
of law were met with excessive and disproportionate use of lethal force
by the state.'' The report, issued after the June 28-July 6 visit of an
OHCHR delegation, noted a pattern of the use of live ammunition to
quell protests in Aden in February that subsequently spread to Sana'a,
Ta'iz, Ibb, Hudaydah, Mukalla, Dhamar, and al-Baydah. In Ta'iz, the
Republican Guard, under the command of Brigadier General Murad al-
Awbali, repeatedly launched artillery barrages targeting opposition
demonstrators. The OHCHR report added that government forces also used
tear gas, batons, electric stun guns, and polluted water cannons. The
government in many cases used only nonlethal means but often failed to
adhere to a policy of a graduated use of force. By October 18, attacks
by government forces and pro-Saleh civilians resulted in the deaths of
at least 245 demonstrators and bystanders.
On March 18, gunmen in civilian clothes shot into crowds and killed
more than 50 unarmed demonstrators in the ``Change Square'' sit-in site
in Sana'a. According to independent and opposition observers, the
gunmen were members of unidentified government military and other
security units, as well as tribesmen paid by government funds. The
nature of the wounds--many victims were shot in the head--indicated a
level of proficiency suggesting formal military training, and many of
the gunmen fired from properties owned by government officials. The
government claimed that the protesters were impinging on the rights of
residents in the neighborhood near Change Square, that some of the
protesters were armed, and that the gunmen were individuals protecting
their property. Uniformed security forces did not intervene to stop the
gunmen firing into the crowd. Seventy-eight suspected gunmen were
charged for alleged crimes during the March 18 attack. Their cases did
not reach a final disposition by the end of the year.
On May 29, approximately 50 demonstrators and bystanders were
killed when units of the Republican Guard, a military force commanded
by the president's son, Ahmed Ali al-Saleh, raided an opposition sit-in
site in Ta'iz. Republican Guards employed small arms, mortars, and
tanks. They burned the demonstrators' tents and, according to
eyewitnesses, raided a local hospital, removing medical supplies and
damaging equipment. Brigadier General al-Awbali did not face sanctions
and remained at his post at the end of the year.
The head of security in Ta'iz during the May 29 incident, Abdullah
Qairan, had been removed in March from his position as the head of
security in Aden following repeated reports of use of excessive force
against demonstrators aligned with the southern secessionist ``Al-
Hirak'' movement. He was thereafter appointed as the head of security
in Ta'iz, and accounts of use of excessive force by security services
were reported there within days. A prosecutor in Aden Governorate
issued a warrant for Qairan's arrest in September, which remained
unexecuted at year's end. Despite the warrant and a pattern of
excessive force under his tenure in both Aden and Ta'iz, including the
attack on May 29, Abdullah Qairan remained in his position as security
director in Ta'iz at the end of the year.
Politically motivated killings by nongovernmental actors also
occurred. On June 3, a bomb placed in a mosque in the Presidential
Palace exploded while President Saleh, other high-level government
officials, and dozens of security personnel were attending prayers.
Dozens were killed, including the head of the Shura Council, and
President Saleh was severely injured along with the governor of Sana'a,
the speaker of parliament, and other senior officials. No group claimed
responsibility for the attack, and an investigation continued at the
end of the year.
Terrorist and insurgent groups also committed unlawful killings.
AQAP members conducted multiple attacks on Houthi-affiliated tribesmen
in northern Yemen. AQAP members and associated militants also
assassinated members of government security services in the southern
cities of Aden and Zinjibar and were responsible for the deaths of many
civilians during continued AQAP attempts to take control of Zinjibar
from May until the end of the year.
b. Disappearance.--During the year there were reports of
politically motivated disappearances of individuals associated with
southern protests. Although many disappearances were short-term
detentions followed by releases, the whereabouts of other individuals
remained unknown for months or longer. Civil society groups accused the
government of using sporadic disappearances to intimidate the populace.
On February 20, Hassan Baum, a prominent leader of the Southern
Movement, and his son Fawaz were kidnapped by government personnel
while convalescing at a hospital in Aden. They were held until December
7 without charge, during which time they were denied contact with
family and lawyers, who had no information about their location.
Tribal kidnappings traditionally carried out to attract government
attention to specific grievances also occurred. For example, gunmen
kidnapped three foreign aid workers on November 22, reportedly in an
effort to pressure the government to release colleagues whom the
government had detained the day before. The aid workers were released
two days later. Members of opposition armed groups, including First
Armored Division personnel, tribesmen affiliated with Sadiq and Hamid
al-Ahmar, and followers of religious cleric Abdul Majid al-Zindani
kidnapped government officials and Saleh loyalists (see section 1.g.).
The kidnap victims were generally held for short periods and then
released, at times as part of prisoner exchanges with the government.
In addition to politically motivated tribal kidnappings, women and
girls were also kidnapped as part of traditional coerced marriage.
Since the law does not recognize spousal rape, any rape would be
legally negated by a subsequent marriage (see section 6).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, but there were
reports that government officials employed them. Domestic law lacks a
comprehensive definition of torture, according to the 2010 U.N.
Committee against Torture's Concluding Observations on the country.
Mistreatment of prisoners and detainees was barred as a matter of law
and policy, but a lack of discipline and training resulted in
violations, some of which were reported.
Human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and former
detainees and prisoners alleged that authorities employed torture and
mistreatment. The NGO Amnesty International (AI) reported allegations
of torture and other mistreatment by police and prison guards,
particularly by National Security Bureau (NSB) officials, in the first
weeks of detention. Methods cited included beatings with sticks and
rifle butts, kicking, and prolonged suspension by the wrists. The OHCHR
delegation visit report contained allegations of such treatment of
civilians by several government security organizations. The OHCHR also
reported that it appeared that opposition supporters committed acts of
torture. The OHCHR met a pro-Saleh poet who reportedly was tortured in
May by antigovernment supporters, and released after having his tongue
removed for having praised the president. Similarly, some clerics who
spoke in favor of the president were assaulted.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Local and international
observers reported prison conditions remained poor and did not meet
international standards. The government permitted visits to most
facilities by independent human rights observers, although access was
granted very arbitrarily and often depended on local supervisors'
decisions.
Many prisons, particularly in rural areas, were overcrowded, with
poor sanitary conditions, inadequate food, and inadequate medical care.
In some cases prison authorities reportedly extracted bribes from
prisoners to obtain privileges or refused to release prisoners who had
completed their sentences until the prisoners family members paid
authorities.
Approximately 11,000 prisoners (of whom 1.6 percent were female and
1.4 percent juveniles) were held in Ministry of Interior (MOI) prisons.
More than half of those incarcerated were either awaiting trial or were
under remand subject to investigation. Pretrial detainees were held
with convicted criminals. Because of poor record keeping and a lack of
communication between prisons and the central government in Sana'a, the
size of the prison population could only be roughly estimated.
In some rural and women's prisons, children were held with adults.
By custom young children and infants born in prison remained in custody
with their mothers. Local NGOs asserted children were held with adults
in Sana'a jails. Male and female prisoners were segregated and were
subject to similar conditions. Segregation between adults and juveniles
was inconsistent. Prisoners had access to potable water. Complaints to
judicial authorities could be submitted, but the process was not
practicable during the year because of the general breakdown in
government services accompanying the political unrest. Prisoners and
detainees generally had visitors and were permitted religious
observance. Authorities granted limited access to family members of
Political Security Office (PSO) prisoners and detainees but routinely
denied parliamentarians and NGOs access to investigate human rights
violation claims. The PSO argued that those denied access failed to
comply with proper notification procedures.
In general, there was no public evidence that authorities
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions. There was no
ombudsman to serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees. There were no
known efforts to improve record keeping or to use alternatives to
sentencing for nonviolent offenders. The International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) conducted multiple visits to PSO and MOI prisons.
However, government officials denied ICRC delegates access to NSB
prisons. The ICRC was also granted access to detention facilities
maintained by opposition groups.
Opposition groups and military units that defected to the
opposition, such as the First Armored Division, maintained detention
facilities to which ICRC delegates were granted access. In some
instances opposition groups held detainees for alleged criminal
violations.
Unauthorized ``private'' prisons and detention centers in rural
areas controlled by tribes continued to operate, holding persons
subject to tribal justice. Tribal leaders sometimes misused the prison
system by placing ``problem'' tribesmen in private jails, sometimes
simply rooms in a sheikh's house to punish them for noncriminal
actions. Persons often were detained in such circumstances for strictly
personal or tribal reasons without trial, judicial sentencing, or other
fundamental legal safeguards.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary
arrest and detention, but the government often did not observe these
prohibitions. Enforcement of the law was inconsistent, particularly in
cases involving suspected security offenders and those from the
political opposition.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The primary state
security and intelligence-gathering entities, the PSO and the NSB,
report directly to the Office of the President. There was no clear
definition of many of the NSB's duties, which have evolved from
protecting the country from external threats to overlapping with those
of the PSO, which is domestically focused and charged with identifying
and combating political crimes and acts of sabotage.
The Criminal Investigation Division reports to the MOI and
conducted most criminal investigations and arrests. The Central
Security Office, also a part of the MOI, maintains a Counter Terrorism
Unit and the paramilitary CSF, which was often accused of using
excessive force in crowd control situations.
Units under the formal supervision of the Ministry of Defense (MOD)
were also employed to quell domestic unrest and to participate in
internal armed conflicts. Regular army units were engaged in fighting
AQAP and associated groups located in Zinjibar in Abyan Governorate but
were not used in domestic law enforcement. However, special units under
the MOD, including the Republican Guard, were used to suppress
demonstrations and often employed excessive force. The Republican Guard
commander, the president's son Ahmed Ali Saleh, also commanded the
Yemen Special Operations Forces, which, along with the Counter
Terrorism Unit, were deployed during internal armed conflicts in Sana'a
and Abyan with domestic counterterrorism and regime-protection
functions.
The CSF, Yemen Special Operations Forces, Republican Guards, NSB,
and other security organs ostensibly reported to civilian authorities
in the ministries of interior and defense and Office of the President.
However, members of President Saleh's family controlled these units,
often through unofficial channels rather than through the formal
command structure. This fact, coupled with a lack of effective
mechanisms to investigate and prosecute abuse and corruption,
exacerbated the problem of impunity. There were no attempts to reform
security forces, which were largely ineffective in preventing or
responding to societal violence. The transition agreement implemented
on November 23 commits the government to reorganizing the security and
armed forces, a process started in December with the creation of a
joint Military and Security Committee.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law
provides that an individual cannot be arrested unless apprehended in a
criminal act or served with a summons and that a detainee must be
arraigned within 24 hours or be released. The judge or prosecuting
attorney must inform the accused of the basis for the arrest and decide
whether detention is required. The law stipulates a detainee may not be
held longer than seven days without a court order. The government
frequently did not respect these rights in practice.
There are legal provisions for bail, but some authorities abided by
these provisions only if they received a bribe. The law prohibits
incommunicado detention and provides detainees the right to inform
their families of their arrests and to decline to answer questions
without an attorney present, but these rights were not always
respected. The law states that the government must provide attorneys
for indigent detainees, but in practice it often did not do so. Tribal
mediators reportedly settled almost all rural cases without reference
to the formal court system.
Citizens regularly claimed security officials did not observe due
process when arresting and detaining suspects and demonstrators. Some
members of the security forces continued to arrest or detain persons
for varying periods without charge, family notification, or hearings.
Detainees were often unclear which investigating agency had arrested
them, and the agencies frequently complicated determination by
unofficially transferring custody of individuals among agencies.
Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as hostages
until the suspect was located. Authorities stated they detained
relatives only when the relatives obstructed justice. Human rights
organizations rejected this claim.
The U.N. Committee Against Torture expressed concern in its 2010
Concluding Observations report about the government holding relatives
of alleged wanted criminals.
Although both denied it, the MOI and the PSO operated extrajudicial
detention facilities, according to local and international NGO reports.
Unauthorized private prisons and detention facilities also existed.
Arbitrary Arrest.--Both government and nongovernmental groups
commonly practiced arbitrary arrest. The number of persons arrested in
arbitrary circumstances was difficult to estimate, as many detainees'
names were not recorded, some detainees were never transferred to
official detention centers, and many were arrested and released
multiple times during the year. According to the domestic NGO Yemeni
Human Rights Organization (HOOD), security forces repeatedly arrested
peaceful protesters in Sana'a throughout the year.
Pretrial Detention.--An international monitoring organization
estimated that approximately 53 percent of MOI detainees were either
charged and awaiting trial or being held while an investigation was
pending. Despite the law, prolonged detention without charge--or, if
charged, without a public preliminary judicial hearing within a
reasonable time--were common practices. Trial delays were caused by
judicial inefficiency, corruption, and staff shortages.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an
independent judiciary, but the judiciary was weak and not independent
in practice, as corruption and executive branch interference severely
hampered its operations. Litigants maintained, and the government
acknowledged, that a judge's social ties and occasional bribery
influenced verdicts. Many judges were poorly trained, and some were
closely associated with the ruling party. The government's frequent
reluctance to enforce court orders further undermined the integrity and
efficiency of the judiciary. Members of the judiciary were threatened
and harassed.
Trial Procedures.--Defendants are considered innocent until proven
guilty. Trials are generally public, but all courts may conduct closed
sessions ``for reasons of public security or morals.'' There are no
jury trials. Judges, who play an active role in questioning witnesses
and the accused, adjudicate criminal cases. Defendants have the right
to be present and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner.
Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and present
witnesses and evidence on their behalf; defendants and their attorneys
have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases.
Defense attorneys are allowed to counsel their clients, address the
court, and examine witnesses and any relevant evidence. The law
provides for the government to furnish attorneys for indigent
defendants in serious criminal (felony) cases; in practice counsel was
not always provided. All defendants have the right to appeal.
A court of limited jurisdiction considers security cases. A
specialized criminal court, the State Security Court, operates under
different procedures with nonpublic sessions. However, it was not
operational during the year because of persistent unrest. It was first
established in 1999 to try persons charged with kidnapping, carjacking,
attacking oil pipelines, and other acts considered to be a ``public
danger.'' This court does not provide defendants with the same rights
provided in the regular courts. Defense lawyers reportedly did not have
full access to their clients' charges or relevant government-held
evidence and court files.
In addition to established courts, there is a system of tribal
adjudication for noncriminal issues; in practice tribal judges often
adjudicated criminal cases. Persons tried under the tribal system
usually had not been formally charged with a crime but had been
publicly accused. The results carried the same, if not greater, weight
as court judgments, as tribal process was often respected by the public
more than a formal court system seen by many as corrupt and lacking
independence.
Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political
prisoners and detainees. The government detained numerous Southern al-
Hirak secessionists for their antiregime activities and other
demonstration leaders, journalists, persons with alleged connections to
the Northern Houthi rebels, and mainstream proreform demonstration
leaders for their antiregime activities. Some were held for prolonged
periods, while many were released within days. Opposition elements,
such as the First Armored Division, also detained for political reasons
persons affiliated with the regime.
Confirmation of the number and assessment of the status of
political prisoners or detainees was difficult. The government and
opposition elements severely restricted or barred information to and
access by local or international humanitarian organizations, detainees
were not publicly charged, and often their detentions were short-term.
Absent charges, it was difficult to determine whether detainees'
actions had gone beyond advocacy and dissent to acts of violence. The
government also continued to detain suspects accused of links to
terrorism, at times without due process.
In one notable case, a leading organizer of antiregime protests,
Tawakul Karman, head of the NGO Women Journalists without Chains, was
arrested on January 23 (the day following the first mass
demonstrations) in front of her home in Sana'a. After widespread public
outcry, she was released the next day without charge. The incident
sparked increasing momentum in the growing youth opposition movement.
Brief detentions were also used to harass leaders of opposition
parties, such as Hassan Zaid, secretary general of the al-Haq Party,
who was arrested on July 5. His captors, allegedly from the NSB,
released him hours later without comment or charge (see section 3).
According to a local human rights organization, the government
arbitrarily imprisoned persons for human rights advocacy. One activist,
Walid Sharafuddin, was arrested in 2009 on charges of supporting the
Houthis and spying for Iran. His attorney alleged that the PSO tortured
him during his detention. Sharafuddin's trial, begun in December 2010,
was characterized by serious procedural abuses. At year's end he
remained in detention without having received a fair trial.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides a limited
ability to pursue civil remedies for human rights violations as tort
claims against private persons. There were no reports of such efforts
during the year. Citizens cannot sue the government directly, but may
petition the public prosecutor to initiate an investigation.
f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such action, but PSO, NSB, and MOI
personnel, claiming justification for security reasons, routinely
searched homes and private offices, monitored telephone calls, read
personal mail and e-mail, and otherwise intruded into personal matters.
Human rights organizations claimed security forces undertook such
activities without legally issued warrants or judicial supervision. The
PSO and MOI rejected these claims. The PSO stated its policies require
the attorney general personally to authorize monitoring of telephone
calls and reading of personal mail and e-mail. The PSO reported that to
do a house search, it first obtains a warrant and a signed
certification by an appointed ``head of the neighborhood,'' and two
neighbors who serve as witnesses accompany officers on the search.
However, human rights organization claimed that these heads of the
neighborhood lacked independence and were typically connected to the
PSO.
The law prohibits arrests or the serving of a subpoena between
sundown and dawn, but persons suspected of crimes were reportedly taken
from their homes without warrants in the middle of the night.
No citizen may marry a foreigner without permission from the MOI,
under a regulation that was often enforced. The regulation was enforced
in response to a form of sex tourism in which significant numbers of
foreigners, especially Saudis, married women ``temporarily'' (as is
possible under Islamic law) and then departed the country after a short
period of time, leaving the Yemeni spouse without means of support (see
section 6, Women). The MOI typically approved marriages to foreigners,
if the foreigner provided a letter from his or her embassy stating that
the source country had no objection to the marriage.
Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as
hostages until the suspect was located. In other cases, detention of
family members continued while the families negotiated compensation for
the alleged wrongdoing.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
There were several major internal conflicts during the year. The use of
excessive force and other abuses by all parties was reported in all
conflict areas.
Clashes occurred in the center of the country, near the capital,
including in the districts of Arhab and Nihm, not far from the Sana'a
airport and near Ta'iz. Participants were government units, including
the CSF, Republican Guards, and Yemeni Special Operations Forces, and
progovernment tribal proxies. Their opponents were tribal fighters,
including tribesmen aligned with the al-Ahmar family in Sana'a and with
Sheikh Hamud al-Mikhlafi in Ta'iz, and the First Armored Division after
its defection in March.
In the South the army and air force were deployed to combat an
insurgency in Abyan Governorate waged by AQAP and affiliated militants,
which had taken over the governorate's capital of Zinjibar.
In the North, tribes affiliated with the Shia Houthi movement in
the governorates of Sa'ada and al-Jawf engaged in armed conflict with
tribesmen affiliated with the conservative Islamic and tribal
opposition party, al-Islah, as well as Salafist groups.
Killings.--The conflict in the South between opposition and
government forces and their proxies in Sana'a and Ta'iz took place in
heavily populated urban areas. Although casualty estimates were
difficult to verify, one local organization affiliated with the
opposition estimated 1,000 dead as a result of the clashes. The
government used heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars,
artillery, and tanks in an indiscriminate manner, resulting in hundreds
of noncombatant deaths. Opposition tribesmen and military units that
had defected similarly used excessive force, resulting in a substantial
number of deaths. Republican Guard forces under the command of
Brigadier General Murad al-Awbali, in coordination with the local head
of security, Abdullah Qairan, intentionally shelled nonmilitary targets
in Ta'iz, including demonstration sites and the offices of opposition
parties and affiliated NGOs, resulting in deaths and substantial
property damage. Such shelling occurred repeatedly during the year,
including an incident on November 11 in which government shelling
reportedly killed 15 civilians. Many opposition casualties were brought
to al-Rawda Hospital before it, too, was shelled, forcing the
hospital's evacuation.
The government also employed air strikes against rebellious tribes
in Nihm and Arhab. Human rights observers and local residents accused
the government of targeting villages of these tribesmen in both areas
with aerial bombardment, leading to significant noncombatant
casualties. The government also employed air strikes against AQAP and
affiliated insurgents in Abyan, with some strikes hitting civilian
areas. Although some accused the government of intentionally striking
civilians in Abyan, most if not all noncombatant casualties from these
bombardments were attributed to a lack of air force training and
technical capability.
Terrorist activity attributed to AQAP continued throughout the
year. AQAP targeted civilians in Zinjibar, Aden, and the northern
governorates of al-Jawf and Sa'ada, resulting in numerous civilian
casualties. Although a tentative ceasefire between the government and
Houthis led to a decrease in violence in the northern governorates,
clashes persisted during the year between Houthis and Salafists.
Abductions.--Opposition tribal elements, particularly those
associated with Sadiq and Hamid al-Ahmar, and the breakaway First
Armored Division commanded by Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, abducted government
loyalists to enhance their negotiating positions. For example, First
Armored Division soldiers held President Saleh's interpreter, Mohammad
Sudam, and the son of the governor of Ta'iz, member of parliament Sudam
al-Sufi, before releasing them in a prisoner exchange with the
government. Opposition activists were also reportedly abducted by pro-
Saleh civilians and government forces during armed conflict and held
for short periods.
Child Soldiers.--Although law and policy expressly forbid the
practice, persons under 18 directly participated in armed conflict
during the year, on behalf of government, tribes, and opposition
forces. During the year young armed personnel were observed in the
ranks of the CSF, Republican Guard, and the opposition First Armored
Division. Their precise ages could not be verified. The number of young
soldiers appeared to increase during the year as pro- and
antigovernment military units recruited tribesmen directly into their
ranks.
Tribal members under 18 years of age routinely fought as part of
tribal opposition or government proxies. Tribal child soldiers were not
forcibly recruited. Carrying arms is a central component of identity
and adulthood in tribal society and is expected of all tribesmen as
young as age 12. Combatants as young as 13 reportedly engaged in
conflict for both the opposition and government tribal proxies. Also
see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Medical facilities were also
targets. On May 29, the Republican Guard reportedly raided a medical
facility in Ta'iz and evicted civilian patients during its attack on
demonstrators. Opposition activists accused the government of
conducting the raid to intentionally deny medical treatment to
activists injured during the assault. During the September 18 clashes
in Sana'a, both the opposition and government positioned snipers in the
Republican Hospital. On November 11, government forces also shelled Al
Rawda Hospital in Ta'iz, in which opposition casualties were seeking
treatment.
The opposition First Armored Division reportedly used noncombatant
and unarmed opposition demonstrators to provide cover for combatant
advances in Sana'a. Figures associated with First Armored Division
commander Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar reportedly encouraged demonstrators to
march towards government forces deployed on government ``redlines'' in
Sana'a to provoke a response, enabling the First Armored Division to
expand its area of control under the guise of protecting demonstrators
from government attacks. The most significant such incident took place
on September 18 in central Sana'a, when youth activists marched to an
intersection near the office of Ahmed Saleh, the president's son and
head of the Republican Guard. Security forces, including the CSF,
reacted with excessive force, killing dozens of protesters with live
fire. The First Armored Division counterattacked, escalating the
incident into a force-on-force clash, and expanded its area of control.
The government deliberately obstructed food and medical assistance
to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Houthi-held areas of Sa'ada
Governorate during a six-year conflict prior to a February 2010
ceasefire and did so again after the Houthis joined the opposition and
took control of Sa'ada Governorate in March. Clashes spread to
neighboring Al-Jawf Governorate in July with hostilities continuing in
both governorates into the fall. Houthi rebels obstructed the delivery
of humanitarian assistance, allowing delivery of goods and services
only under strict Houthi control. The government reportedly countered
these allegations by claiming that relief convoys with humanitarian
assistance did not deliver the aid because the Houthi rebels looted the
convoys.
A particularly difficult situation arose in the town of Damaj, a
few miles outside of Sa'ada. Zaidi-Shia Houthis who controlled Sa'ada
Govenorate after March, had a long-standing, low-level conflict with
Sunni Salafists, who run an intellectual center in Damaj's Dar al-
Hadith religious school - commonly referred to as the Damaj Institute -
a leading center of Salafist learning and home to an estimated 10,000
Salafist students and their family members. In October the Houthis
imposed a blockade on the town and obstructed the delivery of food and
medicine, claiming that the thwarted deliveries contained weapons. The
Houthis demanded that the Salafists in Damaj give up their weapons and
expel the estimated thousands of non-Yemeni students studying at the
Damaj Institute. In the weeks following the siege, fighting in and
around Damaj led to dozens of deaths and injuries on both sides. On
December 2, ICRC-supplied food aid was allowed to enter Damaj, but
obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian assistance continued at
year's end.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--Status of Freedom of Speech and
Press.--The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press
``within the limits of the law"; however, the government did not fully
respect these rights in practice.
Freedom of Speech.--The government attempted to impede criticism,
such as by monitoring Friday sermons at mosques. In one incident, one
week after a prominent imam at Al-Fardos Mosque in Sana'a criticized
President Saleh, government officials unsuccessfully attempted to
replace him with a new imam. On October 23, government media accused
the same imam of firing a missile that killed a child in a residential
neighborhood in north Sana'a. Similarly, some clerics who spoke in
favor of the president were assaulted, as reported by the OHCHR
delegation.
Freedom of Press.--The government limited press freedom, including
by confiscating copies of newspapers, harassing journalists, and
banning media outlets. The 1990 Press and Publication Law criminalizes
criticism of the ``person of the head of state,'' although not
necessarily ``constructive'' criticism; the publication of ``false
information'' that may spread ``chaos and confusion in the country";
and ``false stories intended to damage Arab and friendly countries or
their relations'' with the country. The press law specifies newspapers
and magazines must apply annually to the government for licensing
renewal and must show continuing evidence of 700,000 riyals ($3,286) in
operating capital. There were reports that authorities made the
registration process bureaucratically difficult for opposition figures
or organizations, while progovernment newspapers received licenses
quickly.
Opposition groups also participated in inhibiting freedom of the
press. On October 20, a soldier in the opposition First Armored
Division opened fire on Jamal Ezz al-Deen, a correspondent for Qatar TV
covering the opposition protests.
Violence and Harassment.--Journalists were subjected to arrest and
imprisonment, physical attack, intimidation, and deportation by the
government due to their reporting. Three journalists were killed since
the protests started. On March 18, Jamal Al-Sharabi, a photographer for
Al-Masdar, and Mohamed Yahia Al-Malayia, a correspondent for Al-Salam,
were killed when gunmen identified as government-linked opened fire on
a peaceful demonstration outside the university in Change Square in
Sana'a (see section 1.a.). On September 24, Al-Hurra TV cameraman
Hassan al-Wadhaf died from an injury sustained when men in civilian
clothing fired on an antigovernment demonstration he was filming.
Throughout the year human rights activists and journalists reported
receiving repeated threatening telephone calls day and night. Activists
and journalists considered these calls to be attempts by authorities to
intimidate them from speaking out about southern political discontent
and dissatisfaction with the Saleh regime. For example, opposition
activist and 2011 Nobel laureate Tawakul Karman repeatedly received
threats of kidnapping and violence directed at her, her husband, and
her children.
Buildings belonging to media outlets, both pro- and antigovernment,
were subject to attack throughout the year. On May 24, opposition
forces shelled the building housing the government's Saba News Agency,
which was later destroyed by fire. On May 25, government forces shelled
a building belonging to opposition Suhail TV; they shelled it again on
October 15.
The government selected items for news broadcasts and rarely
permitted broadcasts critical of the government. The government
televised parliamentary debates and occasionally permitted broadcasts
including aggressive criticism of ministries. On March 24, government
authorities ordered Al-Jazeera television's office closed and its
journalists' accreditation withdrawn. Deputy Information Minister Abdo
al-Janadi stated that Al-Jazeera's coverage ``incites revolutions.''
Al-Jazeera continued to operate in Yemen, but, because of a lack of
accreditation, reporters were not free to move around the country or
throughout Sana'a or Ta'iz, where they were located at the end of the
year.
Censorship or Content Restrictions.--Unlike in 2010 the government
did not censor media content prior to publication. Nonetheless,
journalists and publishers self-censored political and socially
sensitive items in an effort to avoid harassment, and other problems
with the government, as well as self-censored socially problematic
items such as women's rights.
The Ministry of Information influenced the media through control of
printing presses, subsidies to newspapers, and government ownership of
the country's television and radio outlets, although two private Yemeni
satellite television stations based outside the country were also
popular. The government's control of most printing presses caused
independent and opposition press that used government presses, such as
independent Al-Masdar, to exercise self-censorship.
The security apparatus, including the NSB and military units,
threatened and harassed journalists to influence media coverage. The
government denied that the media were subject to censorship by any
security apparatus.
The government penalized those who published items contrary to
government guidelines by regularly confiscating copies of newspapers
and magazines, usually at checkpoints. Seizures prevented independent
and opposition print media from reaching areas outside the cities in
which they were printed. Several small newspapers ceased publication
because of financial difficulties stemming from confiscation of their
papers, including Al-Masdar, Al-Dyar, and Al-Nida. On May 19,
authorities at a checkpoint confiscated 12,000 copies of Al-Oula
newspaper.
At times customs officials confiscated foreign publications they
regarded as pornographic or objectionable due to religious or political
content. During the year there were reports that authorities monitored
foreign publications and banned those deemed harmful to national
interests.
The government required book authors to obtain certification from
the Ministry of Culture for publication and to submit copies to the
ministry. Publishers sometimes refused to deal with an author who had
not obtained certification. The ministry approved most books, but long
delays were frequent. Both the ministry and the PSO monitored and
sometimes removed books from stores. A ban continued on publishers
distributing books that espoused Zaydi Shia Islamic doctrine or were
deemed pornographic.
Internet Freedom.--The government restricted Internet use by
intermittently blocking access to some political and religious Web
sites. There were credible reports that the government monitored e-mail
and Internet chat rooms, especially those related to planned
demonstrations, but social media versatility outpaced the government's
surveillance capacity. Government blocks were easily bypassed, while
social media sites such as Twitter used by opposition groups were not
blocked at all. Although access to the Internet was limited by scarcity
of electric power, social media sites successfully advertised marches.
During the year the government reportedly blocked for extended
periods a number of independent and opposition news Web sites, such as
Yemenat.net, alEshteraki.net, YemenPortal.net, and Mareb Press, as well
as the Web site of independent newspaper Al-Masdar. It also allegedly
blocked and changed content on independent Web site YemenOnline.
Physical attacks against Internet journalists continued, along with
government harassment, including threats against journalists and their
families, brief imprisonment, and personal surveillance. Fuad Rashed,
editor of opposition news Web site Mukalla Press, was arrested in
Mukalla in Hadramaut Governorate on January 10. He was freed after 11
days.
The government limited the Internet content its citizens could
access through commercially available filtering technology and control
of its two Internet service providers, TeleYemen (operators of the
service YNET) and YemenNet, via the Ministry of Telecommunications and
Information Technology. Human rights organizations and other NGOs
reported the government restricted what journalists wrote and how
citizens used the Internet through a variety of intimidation tactics.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The government restricted
academic freedom, nominally to prevent the politicization of university
campuses. Political parties frequently attempted to influence academic
appointments as well as university faculty and student elections.
During the year security officials were present on university campuses
and at intellectual forums. PSO representatives had permanent offices
on the campuses. Authorities reviewed prospective university professors
and administrators for political acceptability before hiring them and
commonly showed favoritism toward supporters of the ruling General
People's Congress (GPC) party.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, although it
requires a permit for demonstrations. After the ``Arab Spring''
protests began in Yemen in late January, the government increased in
practice the already substantial limitations on this right. The
government banned and disrupted demonstrations, in many cases resorting
to excessive force (see section 1.a.). The government also used
nonlethal means to suppress demonstrations, but often moved quickly to
aggressive tactics, such as the use of water cannons and tear gas. The
government continued to use expired tear gas as well as CN gas, despite
receiving credible reports of serious medical complications. According
to the U.N., government security services also reportedly used water
cannons with contaminated water in Sana'a, Ta'iz, and Aden.
In the first three months of the year, the southern secessionist
Al-Hirak, a diffuse protest movement spread across the southern
governorates, largely continued demonstrations, as it had since 2007,
calling for secession of the region (previously the People's Democratic
Republic of Yemen) from the central government in Sana'a. From March
onward, Al-Hirak protesters adopted rhetoric similar to that of
antiregime demonstrators throughout the country.
Early in the year, the government conducted mass arrest campaigns
before and during southern protest movement demonstrations. The
government claimed that it was responding to violent acts on the part
of some demonstrators. The Al-Hirak demonstrations were met with
excessive force, particularly in Aden during the tenure of Abdullah
Qairan as chief of security in Aden. Demonstrations and clashes with
government security services subsided in March, following Qairan's
removal from his post.
Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of
association, and while the government nominally respected this right in
practice, the ruling party retained control of professional
associations through subsidies and by influencing internal elections.
Associations and NGOs operated openly, but with some governmental
restrictions (see section 5). The government cooperated to varying
degrees depending on the issues with the country's more than 6,000
civil society organizations, including human rights NGOs, and generally
facilitated the work of those that were nonpolitical or were allied
with the ruling party.
c. Freedom of Religion.--See the Department of State's
International Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/j/drl/
irf/rpt.
d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and
repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in
practice, with some restrictions. The government generally cooperated
with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance
to IDPs, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless
persons, and other persons of concern. Although, according to the
UNHRC, the country's laws and policies were consistent with
international standards, the government's capacity to protect and
assist persons in need was limited. The UNHRC country operations
profile noted that as of August, public services in most parts of the
country had ``ceased to function.''
In-Country Movement.--The government also at times restricted
domestic travel by refusing to issue travel permits to conflict areas,
and the army, security forces, and nongovernment tribesmen maintained
checkpoints on major roads. Societal discrimination severely restricted
women's freedom of movement. Women did not enjoy freedom of movement,
although recent protest movements expanded exercise of these rights in
practice. One local study suggested that as many as one in four women
suffered from several restrictions upon their mobility, which some
observers believe may be attributable to inwardness and village-centric
social norms that put pressure on anyone from leaving, as well as to
gender-specific restrictions. During the year authorities reportedly
turned back several women at the airport because they did not have the
permission of a male relative. Security officials at government
checkpoints often required immigrants and refugees traveling within the
country to show they possessed resident status or refugee
identification cards. There were reports that at times local officials
did not honor official documents. In many areas, especially in the
northern areas affected by the Houthi rebels, armed tribesmen
frequently restricted freedom of movement, operating their own
checkpoints, sometimes with military or other security officials, and
often subjecting travelers to physical harassment, extortion, theft, or
short-term kidnappings for ransom.
Foreign Travel.--The law requires women to have permission of a
husband or male relative before applying for a passport or leaving the
country. A husband or male relative could bar a woman from leaving the
country, and authorities strictly enforced this requirement when women
traveled with children. The government limited the movement of foreign
tourists and other foreigners, who were required to obtain exit visas
before leaving the country.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Within its very limited
capacity, the government provided protection and assistance to IDPs,
mainly by facilitating international groups' humanitarian efforts
within the limits drawn by assessment of the local security situation.
While effects of the fragmented political system through most of the
year reduced attention and resources for IDPs, the government still
aimed to promote IDPs' safe, voluntary return or local integration
through laws and policies in accordance with the U.N. Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement.
According to the UNHRC and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, there were more than 463,000 IDPs in Yemen at the
end of the year, all of whom were displaced by internal armed
conflicts. Approximately 75 percent were in the Sa'ada and Hajja
governorates in the North related to the long-running government-Houthi
conflict. More than 150,000 persons became newly displaced during the
year, according to the UNHRC.
As the year began, displacement had stabilized in the North since a
February 2010 ceasefire after six years of fighting between the
government and Houthi rebels in the northern Sa'ada Governorate.
However, as clashes increased in the early months of the year between
the opposition and the government, Houthi rebels gained de facto
control of Sa'ada Governorate, where the government retained no
authority at year's end.
In the North humanitarian organizations' access to IDPs varied by
region and remained problematic through year's end because of the poor
security situation. Inaccessibility prevented humanitarian assistance
from reaching IDPs in certain districts of Al Jawf and Amran
governorates. At times both the government and Houthi rebels limited
access to the region, preventing food, medical supplies, and other
assistance from reaching IDPs. In contrast with prior years, however,
humanitarian agencies were able to access most parts of Sa'ada
Governorate, although with significant limitations imposed by Houthi
rebels.
In the South the conflict in Abyan Governorate between the
government and AQAP and affiliated militants led to an increase in
IDPs. Inaccessibility due to poor security prevented humanitarian
assistance from reaching some parts of Abyan, Lahj, and Shabwah
governorates.
Although some IDPs lived in official camps, most took shelter in
scattered settlements, including with host families and relatives in
communities, under trees and bridges, and in school buildings.
Journalists reported many IDPs were starving and lacked basic
requirements such as clean water, food, medicine, and sanitation
systems. Surveys completed by the World Food Program and other
international organizations throughout the country found elevated rates
of acute malnutrition among displaced and other vulnerable children.
Protection of Refugees.--Access to Asylum.--There is no law
addressing the granting of refugee status or asylum, and the government
has not established a system for providing protection to refugees. The
government has no ability to conduct refugee status determinations on
its own. The government continued to grant prima facie refugee status
to Somalis who arrived in the country after 1991. Of the UNHRC-
estimated 211,000 refugees in October 2011, approximately 95 percent
were Somalis. The UNHRC conducts individual refugee status
determinations; however, the government did not consistently allow the
UNHRC to perform determinations for non-Somalis whom they considered
economic migrants.
Nonrefoulement.--Ethiopians made up the majority of new arrivals in
Yemen in 2011. Of approximately 85,000 migrants and asylum seekers
recorded making the journey across the Gulf of Aden through October,
approximately two-thirds were Ethiopian. Ethiopian and Eritrean asylum
seekers were detained, generally without UNHRC access, and deported as
economic migrants.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully through periodic elections based on universal suffrage, but
the exercise of this right was limited in practice. The most recent
elections, the 2006 presidential and local elections, were not
generally considered free and fair.
Elections and Political Participation.--Recent Elections.--
Parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2009 were postponed for two
years in an agreement the ruling GPC Party and the coalition of six
opposition parties, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), signed in February
2009 after the two sides failed to agree on electoral reform. Following
the outbreak of widespread opposition demonstrations in January, the
JMP joined in calling for President Saleh's immediate removal from
power. The parliamentary elections scheduled for April were not held,
causing the parliament's constitutional mandate to expire. After April
the parliament failed to attain a quorum until December 10, following
President Saleh's November 23 endorsement of an international
transition agreement.
Ali Abdullah Saleh won a seven-year term in the 2006 election, the
country's second nationwide direct presidential race, securing 77
percent of the votes. International and local observers widely viewed
the Supreme Commission for Elections and Referenda (SCER), which
administers and monitors elections, as biased towards the ruling GPC.
In response to growing opposition agitation, President Saleh replaced
the SCER's membership with ostensibly nonpartisan judges in January.
International NGOs and the EU observer mission characterized the
2006 election positively relative to prior elections, but the EU
mission noted that the GPC had an unfair electoral advantage because
the state put significant resources at the disposal of GPC candidates
for their campaigns.
As reported by NGOs, poorly trained administrative staff,
registration of a large number of underage and dead voters, and
interference by security officials marred the 2006 voter registration
process. The JMP boycotted the registration process due to allegations
of SCER bias. The SCER therefore recruited voter registration staff on
short notice and without meaningful training.
Opposition parties or local constituencies never received a
searchable electronic copy of the registration list to enable them to
verify voter lists before the election. There were reports the SCER
mistakenly removed eligible voters from lists in several
constituencies. Many constituencies were redistricted a month before
the election with new boundaries widely viewed as favoring the ruling
party.
Political Parties.--The law mandates that political parties be
national organizations that cannot restrict their membership to a
particular region, tribe, religious sect, class, or profession.
Although there were instances of government harassment of opposition
party officials such as the secretary-general of the al-Haq Party,
political parties for the most part operated without restriction or
outside interference. The constitution prohibits the establishment of
parties that are contrary to Islam, ``oppose the goals of the country's
revolutions,'' or violate the country's international commitments.
The ruling GPC has been the dominant party since unification.
Tribalism distorted political participation and influenced the central
government's composition. Observers noted individuals often were
selected to run for office or given jobs in particular ministries based
on tribal affiliation. Patriarchal systems dominated in tribal areas,
so that some tribal leaders reportedly were able to influence tribal
members' votes.
Although there were no formal restrictions limiting opposition
participation, the government made it difficult for some parties to
organize. At year's end the government continued to hold substantial
assets of the former ruling party in South Yemen, the opposition Yemeni
Socialist Party, including land and buildings seized after the 1994
civil war.
In 2007 the government announced the dissolution of the al-Haq
Party for having reportedly violated the law on political parties,
although the party continued to operate without government sanction.
Civil society observers claimed the government abolished the party
because of its affiliation with the Houthi rebels and for its appeal to
Zaydi Shia. The leader of the al-Haq Party, Hassan Zaid, claimed that
he received death threats and was harassed by government officials,
including an incident on July 5 when alleged NSB officers detained him
(see section 1.d.).
Participation of Women and Minorities.--Women voted and held
office, but societal discrimination limited their exercise of these
rights, and largely excluded women from any meaningful participation in
formal political decision-making. However, women became increasingly
active politically during the Arab Spring. There was one woman in the
301-seat parliament. There were two women in the cabinet at the
beginning of the year, the minister of human rights and the minister of
social affairs and labor, although the minister of human rights, Huda
al-Ban, resigned, protesting the March 18 violence against
demonstrators by the government. Following the December 10 formation of
the 35-member National Consensus Government, there were three women
ministers: the minister of social affairs and labor, the minister of
state of cabinet affairs, and a new minister of human rights, Huria
Mashour. In the 2006 elections, 164 women competed in local and
provincial council elections, and 38 won seats. Women's rights
activists and female parliamentary candidates accused the ruling party
and authorities of rigging the 2006 elections against women.
Women, such as 2011 Nobel Laureate Tawakul Karman, a leading
organizer of youth demonstrations, played an increasingly important
role in opposition movements. The opposition movement--independent of
the formal opposition parties--formed leadership committees and
councils that had membership quotas for women to promote participation.
Similarly, the National Council, an umbrella group with independent
oppositionists as well as leaders of the opposition parties, reserved a
portion of its membership and leadership positions for women. Women
participated robustly and visibly in demonstrations in major cities
throughout the country. They marched alongside men and maintained a
constant presence at opposition sit-in sites nationwide, often sleeping
overnight in tents in the protest ``squares.''
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption;
however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
According to Article 136 of the constitution, a criminal investigation
may not be conducted on a deputy minister or official of higher rank
without first securing a one-fifth approval vote in parliament.
Subsequently, it requires a two-thirds parliamentary vote and
presidential permission to bring the results of a criminal
investigation to the general prosecutor for indictment, which in
essence creates a separate legal system for the political elite. The
procedure was not used during the year and was infrequently employed in
prior years.
Analyses by impartial international observers reinforced the
validity of the common perception within and outside the country that
there was a serious corruption problem in every branch and level of
government. International observers presumed that government officials
and parliamentarians benefited from insider arrangements, embezzlement,
and bribes. Political leaders and governmental agencies took negligible
action to combat corruption.
Corruption and impunity were serious problems throughout the
military-security establishment and intelligence bureaucracy. There
were no public governmental investigations of corruption in these areas
during the year. Some police stations reportedly maintained an internal
affairs section to investigate security force abuses, and citizens had
the right to file complaints with the Prosecutor's Office. Enforcement
of this right was inconsistent, and there were no effective
investigations reported. The Ministry of Interior had a fax line for
citizens to file claims of abuse for investigation. There was no
available information on how many fax complaints were received or
investigated.
Government procurement was regularly affected by corruption.
Between September 2009 and January, the High Tender Board (HTB),
created in 2007 to monitor government procurement, reviewed legal
compliance of 103 government tenders up to 213 million riyals (one
million dollars). The HTB found 21 cases noncompliant. Its findings
were publicly available.
The Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA) is the
national auditing agency for public expenditures and investigative body
for corruption. COCA presented its reports to parliament but did not
make them publicly available. The president appointed its top
officials. In cases involving high-level officials, COCA submitted
reports directly to the president, who had the power to veto them. Only
low-ranking officials have been prosecuted for corruption since COCA's
inception in 1999. The actual extent of corruption was generally
considered significantly greater than what was reported confidentially
to parliament.
The culture of corruption was pervasive, and petty corruption was
widely reported in nearly every government office. Job candidates often
were expected to purchase their positions. Tax inspectors were believed
to undervalue assessments and pocket the difference. Many government
officials received salaries for jobs they did not perform or multiple
salaries for the same job.
The independent Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption
(SNACC) was formed to receive complaints and develop programs to raise
awareness of corruption, and includes a council of government, civil
society, and private sector representatives. Members manage publicity
campaigns in sectors such as media, criminal investigations, and
contracts as part of a national strategy for combating corruption.
During the year the SNACC considered 241 complaints, of which 107
were referred to other jurisdictions and 76 were under investigation.
Nine SNACC-referred cases remained under investigation in the Attorney
General's Office and 10 were pending in court. Sentences were handed
down in six SNACC-originated cases. The SNACC received 10 cases of
failure of public officials to file asset declarations; none were
referred to the Attorney General's Office.
Yemen Parliamentarians Against Corruption (Yemen PAC), the local
branch of Arab PAC, is part of a network of parliamentarians organized
to combat corruption. It was founded in 2006 to stimulate legislative
branch action to fight corruption. Without any legal mandate, Yemen PAC
monitored the activities of anticorruption institutions like the SNACC
and provided limited, unofficial oversight for their activities. It
also attempted to push anticorruption laws through parliament. As part
of a transitional National Consensus Government, Yemen PAC's head
Sakher Wajeeya was sworn in as minister of finance on December 10.
The press and publications law provides for journalists to have
some access to government reports and information; in practice the
government offered few procedures that could ensure transparency. The
law requires public disclosure of government officials' assets, and the
government provided limited information via the Internet.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human
Rights
Domestic and international human rights groups operated with
varying degrees of government restriction. Groups investigated human
rights cases with little constraint and published their findings in
international, regional, and local media. However, they reported that
government officials were frequently uncooperative and unresponsive to
their views and requests for information.
The law regulates associations and foundations and outlines the
establishment and activities of NGOs. The law exempts NGOs from taxes
and tariffs and requires the government to provide a reason for denying
an NGO registration, for example, if it perceives an NGO's activities
as ``detrimental'' to the state. Registration is required on an annual
basis. The law also forbids NGOs from being involved in political or
religious activities. The law permits some foreign funding of NGOs and
requires government observation of NGO internal elections.
In April the law governing associations and foundations was amended
to provide for additional restrictions on the ability of international
NGOs to operate, including approval requirements and oversight by the
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. However,
parliament's term had expired, and the president disbanded the cabinet,
although it continued operating in a ``caretaker'' status until the
National Consensus Government's cabinet was formed on December 10. In
these circumstances the government did not attempt to enforce the new
amendments.
Although limited by the turbulent political and security situation,
domestic human rights NGOs continued to operate throughout the year.
The government met with and responded to them to varying degrees, often
arbitrarily. The operational landscape for human rights related-NGOs
was complex, as the government provided stipends and registration
approval to all NGOs. However, the government reportedly denied or
delayed annual registration and subsidies of some NGOs critical of the
government. In addition, the government used arbitrary detention to
intimidate NGOs and media outlets critical of the government. Security
services detained the director of the human rights NGO HOOD on multiple
occasions during the year. Reportedly, progovernment NGOs received
support from the ruling party and the government, while others received
support from opposition political parties. Still others maintained
neutrality and accepted no funding from political parties.
Some NGOs limited their activities to avoid government attention.
The government requires NGOs to register annually or be declared
illegal, but NGOs that were not granted licenses nevertheless continued
to operate. In some instances the government reportedly registered
progovernment ``clone'' versions of an NGO, recognizing the clone as
the legitimate NGO, thereby preventing the original NGO from renewing
its registration under its original name. In such cases registration
applications had to be resubmitted under a new name. The government
reportedly used financial reviews as a pretext to harass or close NGOs
Due to the civil unrest, the government at times limited access by
international human rights organizations, usually citing security
concerns, although the government cooperated with the OHCHR delegation
during its June 28-July 6 visit. AI, Human Rights Watch, an EU
parliamentary delegation, and the international NGO Committee to
Protect Journalists received limited access to records, information on
detention centers, and prisons in order to publish articles and reports
on various Web sites.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law provides for equal rights and equal opportunity for all
citizens; however, the government did not consistently enforce the law.
Discrimination based on race, gender, and disability remained serious
problems. One group, the marginalized Akhdam community, faced societal
discrimination based on social status. Societal discrimination severely
limited women's ability to exercise equal rights.
Women.--Rape and Domestic Violence.--The law criminalizes rape,
although spousal rape is not criminalized because a woman may not
refuse sexual relations with her husband. The government did not
effectively enforce the law. The punishment for rape is imprisonment
for up to 15 years; however, the maximum sentence was not imposed.
There were no reliable statistics on the number of rapes.
Most rape victims did not report the crime for fear of ``shaming''
the family and incurring violent retaliation. Rape victims were
reportedly prosecuted on charges of fornication after the perpetrator
was not charged. According to the law, without a confession the defense
must provide four female or two male witnesses to the crime. Flagrant
corruption often hindered investigations.
The law provides women with protection against domestic violence
under the general rubric of protecting persons against violence, but it
was ineffectively enforced. Although spousal abuse occurred, it
generally was undocumented. Courts were largely viewed as corrupt,
while tribal customary law was seen to be more effective and more
likely to present a better outcome for women complainants, because
violence against women and children was considered a family affair and
usually went unreported to police. Due to social pressures, an abused
woman was expected to take her complaint to a male relative (rather
than to authorities) to intercede on her behalf or provide sanctuary.
A small shelter for battered women in Aden assisted victims, and
telephone hotlines operated with moderate success in Aden and Sana'a,
but the large majority of Yemenis live in rural areas without such
access.
The media and women's rights activists continued to investigate and
report on violations of women's rights. During the year NGOs sponsored
several women's rights conferences dealing with matters such as
violence against women, increasing the political representation of
women, and economic empowerment. The Ministry of Information broadcast
programs on official television and radio stations promoting women's
rights but avoided sensitive women's rights' topics such as forced
marriage and illiteracy.
Harmful Traditional Practices.--The penal code allows leniency for
persons guilty of committing an honor crime, violent assault, or
killing committed against women for perceived ``immodest'' or
``defiant'' behavior. The law does not address other types of honor
crimes, including beatings, forced isolation, imprisonment, and forced
early marriage. The law regarding violence against women states a man
should be executed if convicted of killing a woman. However, a husband
who kills his wife and her lover may receive a substantially reduced
sentence. Criminal sanction for spousal violence was rare. Like all
murders and serious crimes, violence against women was usually handled
through the tribal arbitration process rather than through the criminal
courts. Local female tribal experts have argued that tribal arbitration
is fairer for women, and was often preferred to the courts for that
reason.
The law prohibits FGM, but, according to a 2009 U.N. estimate, its
prevalence was approximately 20 percent for girls. It was pervasive in
the coastal areas, where it was perpetrated on infants less than 40
days old. Although government health workers and officials discouraged
the practice, women's groups reported FGM rates as high as 90 percent
in some coastal areas, such as Mahara and Hudeidah. The Women's
National Committee and the Ministry of Endowments and Religious
Guidance provided a manual for religious leaders on women's health
issues, including the negative health consequences of FGM.
Sexual Harassment.--The extent, as well as a legal definition
within the local context, of sexual harassment was difficult to
determine, although direct observation and very infrequent media
reports suggested it occurred both in the workplace and in the streets.
No specific laws prohibit sexual harassment. There were anecdotal
reports of men accused of sexual harassment being transferred to other
offices to prevent further incidents. Regime elements targeted female
protesters and accused them of being ``unfeminine'' and ``un-Islamic.''
Sex Tourism.--No laws specifically address sex tourism from outside
the country, but it was a problem, particularly in Aden and Sana'a.
Reportedly, some elements of the MOI and PSO reporting to the president
unofficially facilitated it through corruption for financial gain,
although the MOI attempted to stop the use of ``temporary marriage''
provisions of Islamic law as a vehicle for sex tourism (see section
1.f.).
Reproductive Rights.--There were no reports of government
interference in the right of couples and individuals to decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children. However,
societal pressure, women's lack of education, and the young age of
marriage for many women and girls meant that many women in reality had
little to no control over reproduction. Decisions regarding access to
contraceptives, family size, and procedures involving reproductive and
fertility treatments required the consent of both husband and wife. It
was technically illegal for single women to access contraception, but
if a particular contraceptive (such as the pill) has another medical
use, it can be used. The information and means to make those decisions
were freely available in cities, although contraception, obstetric
care, and postpartum care were too costly for much of the population.
Most women gave birth at home without skilled attendance and did not
see a doctor during their pregnancies or after delivery. According to
the latest available U.N. statistics, there were approximately 210
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the country in 2008.
Information was not available regarding women's equal diagnosis and
treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Discrimination.--Women do not enjoy the same legal status as men
under family law, property law, inheritance law, and in the judicial
system. They experienced discrimination in such areas as employment,
credit, pay, owning or managing businesses, education, and housing.
This discrimination was accentuated by the 65 percent female illiteracy
rate.
Women faced discrimination under family law and inheritance law.
Courts awarded custody of children to the divorced husband or the
deceased husband's family when they attained a specified age (seven
years for boys and nine years for girls). In numerous cases former
husbands prevented divorced noncitizen women from visiting their
children. Under Sharia inheritance laws, which assumes women will
receive support from their husbands, daughters receive half the
inheritance awarded to their brothers.
Women also faced discrimination in courts, where the testimony of
one man equals that of two women. Sharia discriminates against women in
calculating accidental death or injury compensation; women receive 50
percent of what men receive. Female parties in court proceedings such
as divorce and family law cases normally deputized male relatives to
speak on their behalf; however, they have the option to speak for
themselves.
A husband may divorce a wife without justifying the action in
court. Under the formal court system, a woman must provide a
justification. However, under tribal customary law, a woman has the
right to divorce without justification.
Some interpretations of Sharia in the country prohibit a Muslim
woman from marrying a non-Muslim man, although other interpretations
permit marrying a Christian or Jewish man. A Muslim man is allowed to
marry a non-Muslim woman. Women may only confer citizenship on their
foreign-born spouses after the foreigner has resided in the country for
15 years. The foreign wife of a male citizen must remain in the country
for two years to obtain a residency permit.
Any citizen who wishes to marry a foreigner must obtain the
permission of the Ministry of Interior. A woman wishing to marry a
foreigner must present proof of her parents' approval. A foreign woman
who wishes to marry a male citizen must prove to the ministry that she
is ``of good conduct and behavior.'' A close male relative has the
authority to approve a female citizen's travel (see section 2.d.).
Women experienced economic discrimination. The law stipulates women
are equal to men in employment rights, but women's rights activists and
NGOs reported that discrimination was a common practice in the public
and private sectors. Women's unemployment rate was nearly four times
that of men, women's wages were on average one-fifth those of men, and
women were largely excluded from the professions.
Cultural barriers also restricted the exercise of women's property
rights. In most rural areas, social norms largely prevented women from
owning land. Cultural barriers also restricted women's access to formal
credit.
Governmental mechanisms to enforce equal protection were weak or
nonexistent.
According to the Ministry of Social and Labor Affairs (MSAL), more
than 170 NGOs worked for women's advancement. The Arab Sisters Forum
for Human Rights worked with other NGOs, the government, and donor
countries to strengthen women's political participation. The Yemeni
Women's Union and Women's National Committee conducted workshops on
women's rights. The Arab Sisters Forum, with funding from a donor
government and in cooperation with the MSAL, established projects aimed
at providing protection against violence for women and children.
Children.--Birth Registration.--Citizenship is derived from one's
parents. A child of a Yemeni father is a citizen. Women may confer
citizenship on children born of a foreign-born father if the child is
born in Yemen. Women do not have the right to confer citizenship on
their foreign-born spouses. Although the Ministry of Interior may
permit a woman to confer citizenship on a child of a foreign-born
father if the child was born abroad and the father died or abandoned
the child, such citizenship was rarely granted.
There was no universal birth registration, and many children,
especially in rural areas, were never registered or were registered
several years after birth. The requirement that children must have
birth certificates to register for school was not universally enforced.
There were no other reports of services being denied to children based
on lack of registration. The lack of birth registration compounded
difficulties in proving age, which led to minors being recruited into
the military, and juveniles being tried and sentenced as adults,
including receiving the death penalty.
Education.--The law provides for universal, compulsory, and
tuition-free education from age six to 15. Public schooling was
available to children through the secondary school level. Although
attendance was mandatory through the ninth grade, only 79 percent of
boys and 66 percent of girls attended primary school. The gender gap
was larger for secondary and postsecondary schooling, with 21 percent
of girls attending secondary school and only 6 percent going on to
postsecondary education.
Medical Care.--Due to societal discrimination, male children
received preferential medical treatment.
Child Abuse.--The law does not define or prohibit child abuse, and
there was no reliable data on its extent.
Child Marriage.--There was no minimum age of marriage, and girls
were married as young as eight years of age. The law has a provision
that forbids sex with underage brides until they are ``suitable for
sexual intercourse,'' an age that is undefined. According to a 2009
MSAL study, a quarter of all girls were married before they were 15
years old. The problem of child marriage was politically contentious,
and, according to the ministry, the government did not promote public
awareness campaigns on the negative effects of child marriage A 2009
law setting the minimum age for marriage at age 17 was repealed in 2010
due to pressure from traditional elements of society.
Sexual Exploitation of Children.--No law defines statutory rape,
and no legal limits are placed on the age for consensual sex. The law
prohibits pornography, including child pornography. There were reports
that underage girls were coerced into prostitution in major cities,
particularly in Aden and Sana'a. The practice of foreigners visiting
the country to enter short-term marriages with underage Yemeni girls
was also reported.
Child Soldiers.--Reports of child soldiers increased in a number of
armed conflicts across the country (see section 1.g.). The use of child
soldiers is forbidden by law, and the government opposed the practice
as a matter of policy. However, tribes the government armed and
financed to fight alongside the regular army used children in combat,
according to reports by international NGOs such as Save the Children.
Married boys, ages 12 to 15 years, were reportedly involved in
armed conflicts in the northern tribal areas. According to tribal
custom, boys who married were considered adults who owed allegiance to
the tribe. As a result half of the tribal fighters in such conflicts
were children who had volunteered to demonstrate their tribal
allegiance, according to international and local human rights NGOs.
International Child Abductions.--The country is not a party to the
1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child
Abduction.
Anti-Semitism.--The government's stated policy was to protect the
country's Jewish community, which numbered fewer than 250 citizens.
Members of the Jewish community are not eligible to serve in the
military or federal government.
Although anti-Semitic material rarely appeared in mainstream media,
in the March 5 October 14 daily newspaper in Aden, columnist `Alawi
Abdallah Taher accused Jews of instigating the uprisings in the Arab
world, based on instructions written in the forged and discredited
Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The historic Sa'ada community of 58 Jews, which relocated to Sana'a
in 2007 after Houthi threatened it, remained under government
sponsorship and continued to receive government stipends.
Trafficking in Persons.--See the Department of State's Trafficking
in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.
Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws mandate the rights and
care of persons with disabilities, but there was discrimination against
such persons. No law mandates accessibility of buildings, information,
and communications for persons with disabilities.
Information about patterns of abuse of persons with disabilities in
educational and mental health institutions was not available.
Authorities imprisoned persons with mental disabilities without
providing adequate medical care. According to the Ministry of Human
Rights, nurses and doctors watched the inmates. In some instances
authorities detained without charge persons with mental disabilities
and placed them in prisons with criminals. The MOI reported that at
times family members brought relatives with mental disabilities to MOI-
run prisons, asking officers to imprison the individuals. At year's end
MOI-run prisons in Sana'a, Aden, and Ta'iz operated in conjunction with
the Red Crescent semiautonomous units for prisoners with mental
disabilities; conditions in these units reportedly were deficient. At
year's end neither the MOI nor Ministry of Health had acted on a 2005
MOI initiative to establish centers for persons with mental illness.
The MSAL is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with
disabilities. The government's Social Fund for Development and the Fund
for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, administered by the
MSAL, provided limited basic services and supported more than 60 NGOs
to assist persons with disabilities.
By law, 5 percent of government jobs should be reserved for persons
with disabilities, and the law mandates the acceptance of persons with
disabilities in universities, exempts them from paying tuition, and
requires that schools be made more accessible to persons with
disabilities. It was unclear to what extent these laws were
implemented.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination
is illegal, racial and societal discrimination against the Akhdam (an
estimated 2-5 percent of the population) was a problem. The Akhdam
generally lived in poverty and endured persistent social
discrimination. According to a 2009 study by the NGO Save the Children,
the Akhdam community, an ethnic minority descended from East Africans,
was the social group most vulnerable to discrimination. The
government's social fund for development provided basic services to
assist them.
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Consensual same-sex sexual
activity is a crime punishable by death under the country's
interpretation of Islamic law. Due to the illegality and possibly
severe punishment for homosexuality, there were no lesbian, gay,
bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons' organizations. There were no
reports of official or societal discrimination, physical violence, or
harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and there
was no official discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender
identity in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to education
or health care, largely because, since same-sex sexual activity is
illegal, LGBT issues were not considered ``relevant'' for official
reporting by the government. Few LGBT persons were open about their
sexual orientation or gender identity.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal
violence or public reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS; however, the topic was socially sensitive and not discussed
publicly.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining.--
The labor code provides for the right to organize and bargain
collectively without government interference; however, these
protections do not apply to the majority of the workforce, as the labor
code does not apply to public servants, day laborers, domestic
servants, foreign workers, and other groups. The law generally protects
employees from antiunion discrimination and prohibits dismissal for
union activities.
Unions may negotiate wage settlements for their members and may
conduct strikes or other actions to achieve their demands. There are
significant restrictions on the right to strike and excessive
requirements for legal strikes. Workers have the right to strike only
if prior attempts at negotiation and arbitration fail; they must give
advance notice to the employer and government and receive prior written
approval from the executive office of the General Federation of Unions
of the Republic.
Employees may appeal any dispute, including cases of antiunion
discrimination, to the Ministry of Social and Labor Affairs. Employees
also may take a case to the labor arbitration committee, which the
ministry chairs, composed of an employer representative and a General
Federation of the Yemeni Workers' Trade Unions (GFYWTU) representative.
Generally, parties preferred to resolve cases via the committee system,
since court proceedings are costly and the system is often corrupt.
Public sector employees must take labor grievances to court.
Although not required by law, in practice all unions are federated
within the GFYWTU). Although not formally affiliated with the
government, it is the only official federation and works closely with
the government to resolve labor disputes through negotiation.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were
not respected in practice. The government interfered in union
activities. Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor bylaws require that
union elections take place at least every three years, with ministry
officials present as witnesses. The ministry also has veto power over
collective bargaining agreements.
The government at times sought to influence unions by placing its
own personnel inside groups and organizations. In some instances
political parties attempted to control professional associations by
influencing internal elections or placing their own personnel, usually
tied to the government, in positions of influence in unions and
professional associations. ]
In reality a union's ability to strike depended on its political
strength and closeness to the ruling party.
The majority of employers in the private sector register only five
to 10 employees, which allowed them to avoid many social security and
labor union regulations. Fewer than 100,000 employees worked for
companies with more than 100 employees, making it difficult for the
vast majority of workers to enjoy union protection and benefits.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children;
however, the government did not effectively enforce such laws, and
there were reports of such practices (see section 7.c., Prohibition of
Child Labor). In some instances children were forced into domestic
servitude and agricultural work, women were forced into domestic
servitude or prostitution, and migrant workers were vulnerable to
forced labor conditions.
See also the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at
www.state.gov/j/tip.
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The
child rights law prohibits child labor; however, the government did not
effectively implement the law, and there were inconsistencies in the
law with regard to minimum age for work and hazardous work.
All child labor under the age of 14 is illegal under the National
Rights of the Child Law. Under the law children ages 14 to 18 may work
under formal contracts for no longer than six hours a day, with a one
hour break after four consecutive work hours, on weekdays between 7
a.m. and 7 p.m. Children under age 18 are prohibited from engaging in
hazardous forms of work based upon work conditions and health
circumstances, rather than by specific sectors or industries.
The child labor unit at the ministry was responsible for
implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations; however,
the unit's lack of resources hampered enforcement. Due to limited
resources and the security situation, child labor inspectors were
unable to travel to conduct their work during the year.
Although penalties exist to punish the worst forms of child labor,
the government made minimal enforcement efforts. The ministry has
trained safety inspectors to work also as child labor inspectors,
raising the total number of inspectors to 57. Reportedly, most cases
were resolved between inspectors and employers with a verbal warning if
child labor violations were found.
The child labor unit at the ministry was responsible for
implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations; however,
extensive ministerial budget cuts reduced the unit's resources and
hampered enforcement. There was no available information on the number
of arrests, investigations, and prosecutions for offences related to
the worst forms of child labor.
Child labor was common, including in its worst forms. As of 2009
the U.N. estimated approximately 23 percent of children between the
ages of five and 14 worked.
Approximately 52 percent of boys between the ages of 10 and 14 were
in the workforce, compared to 48 percent of girls in the same age
group. An estimated 83 percent of working children (including street
beggars) worked for their families, and 17 percent worked outside the
family. In rural areas many children were required to work in
subsistence farming due to family poverty. In urban areas children
worked in stores and workshops, sold goods, and begged on the streets.
Many children of school age worked instead of attending school,
particularly in areas where schools were not easily accessible.
According to the MSAL, small factories and shops, particularly in rural
areas, employed children outside the family.
Children also reportedly worked in dangerous conditions in
construction, off-shore fishing, mining, and waste dumps.
Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of
Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda/htm and the
Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/
tip.
d. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no established minimum
wage. The labor law provides equal wages for public sector workers
working in joint ventures between the government and the private sector
and in parastatals and civil servants hired by the Ministry of Civil
Service. Private sector workers, especially skilled technicians, earn a
higher wage. During the year the minimum civil service wage fell below
the country's poverty level, below which, according to the World Bank,
an estimated 60 percent of the population lived.
The law specifies a maximum 48-hour workweek with a maximum eight-
hour workday; however, many workshops and stores operated 10- to 12-
hour shifts without penalty. The 35-hour workweek for government
employees was seven hours per day from Saturday through Wednesday.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is responsible for
regulating workplace health and safety conditions. The labor law
regulates occupational health. However, enforcement was weak to
nonexistent due to lack of capacity and constrained resources. The
ministry's vocational safety department relied on inspection committees
to conduct primary and periodic investigations of safety and health
conditions in workplaces. Such committees, however, were also
constrained by a lack of funding and resources, such as vehicles for
committee members to travel to factories for inspections. Some foreign-
owned companies and major manufacturers have implemented higher health,
safety, and environmental standards than the government required.
Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work
situations and may challenge such dismissals in court, but there were
no reported instances during the year.
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